Hurricane Provides Memorable College Opening
Elms and Pines Decimated
THE TROPICAL hurricane which swept over the northeastern states on the night of September 21 did no major damage to the College buildings but left in its wake a saddening spectacle of giant pines and elms uprooted all over Hanover Plain. The stately Cathedral Pines on the golf course were virtually leveled by the 60mile gale, which roared in from the east after three days of steady rain, and College Park, particularly the historic Bema, was reduced to a tangle of twisted and broken trees. The century-old elms which border the College Green survived the blow in comparatively good shape, although six fallen trees made the campus strangely bare along its western end.
Because of the general havoc and the pressing need of clearing the clogged roads and streets, President Hopkins called off the convocation exercises scheduled for the morning of the 22nd and announced that classes would start the following day without any of the traditional opening formalities. It was the first time in the history of the College that convocation was omitted. President Hopkins was personally active in the rehabilitation work which hundreds of students and townspeople had undertaken even before the hurricane had blown itself out. Yeoman service was done by the Dartmouth Outing Club, which put a large crew of its woodsmen to work chopping open the vital lines of travel. Willard M. Gooding 'll, superintendent of grounds and buildings, enlarged his ground crew to about 50 men, and townspeople turned out to aid the local fire company. Within 24 hours a miracle of order had been achieved out of the mess left by the storm, and Hanover was far better off than any of the neighboring towns, some of which were severely hit. All communication with the outside world was cut off, except by radio, and for two days that part of Hanover not on the College circuit was without electrical power. Lighting and telephone service was maintained for the College proper throughout the entire storm.
Most of the damage to College property was done by falling trees, although the wind alone carried away part of the roof of Reed Hall, scrambled the temporary bleachers on Memorial Field, blew in one of the hup-e fvmnasinm windows. riDDed a dizzily whirling ventilator from the top of the hockey rink, and eliminated sundry cupolas and projections. The portico of College Hall escaped serious damage when a huge elm crashed down upon it, and a broken window was the only damage when two trees toppled toward Robinson Hall. One whole wall and half the roof of the Moosilauke summit camp were blown away by the hurricane, and a D. O. C. crew set out over the week-end to chop their way up the trail and save the exposed equipment.
Numerous faculty and town homes were damaged by the wind and falling trees. The home of Prof. Adelbert Ames was almost completely hidden by uprooted trees, and the garage and car of Prof. Harry E. Burton, one of the fortunate persons with hurricane insurance, were flattened to pancake proportions. Out of the whole debacle emerged the amazing fact that no one in Hanover was seriously injured.
Left: The top two pictures show the remains of the majestic pines which surrounded the ski jump, while the bottomview shows the debris of trees and smashedplatform in the Bema.
(1) MEMORIAL FIELD BLEACHERS CONVERTED INTO A GIANT GAME OF JACK STRAWS, (2) TREE EXPERTS CUT AWAY THE FALLEN ELM IN FRONT OF COMMONS, (3) A FANTASTIC VIEW OF TUCK DRIVE, (4) A MORNING-AFTER VIEW OF NORTH MAIN STREET, SHOWING THE WORST CAMPUS DAMAGE IN FRONT OF COLLEGE AND ROBINSON HALLS, (5) HOME OF PROF. ADELBERT AMES JR., (6) WILLARD M. GOODING '11, SUPERINTENDENT OF GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS, SURVEYS THE WRECKAGE IN THE BEMA, (7) REMAINS OF THE GARAGE AND CAR OF EMERITUS PROFESSOR HARRY E. BURTON.
