1911*
Maybe the success of some classmates in getting their families through college age and afterwards is somewhat discouraging to our friend, Jim Conroy, who seems a bit down in the mouth about it all, as witness the following remarks from him.
"I do not quite understand those classmates who have sons and daughters in college, and now this new group of alleged super-men boasting about grandchildren. What have they got that I haven't?
"My only girl—six years of age, Nov. 11, 1938, now in kindergarten, one boy in the seventh grade, and the older boy finishing in February his first year in high school.
"Dec. 5, 1938, I was appointed by the court trustee to reorganize the Arcade Malleable Iron Co. in Worcester."
Now, let's interject a little news about one of our recent widows who has done a swell job in adapting herself to a hard situation. Our hats off to Mrs. Harry Bicknell! Here is her story.
"I am very happy to inform you that for the last seven months I have been managing the Scoville Manor, and I am so busy that I have little time to feel sorry for myself. In trying to fulfill my strenuous duties, and with so many people to look out for, I find it most interesting—and it is certainly the feeling of accomplishment that spurs one to work on.
"There are sixty-two units in the Scoville, and there were twenty-one vacancies when I came in, due to mismanagement. I have only two vacants today. I have a lovely apartment and I draw a very satisfactory salary. Of course I do not know what might happen from time to time, and as I had had no experience I have had this challenge to meet, but from all indications the Bondholders Committee seem to appreciate my work.
"Harry's daughter, which I call 'my adorable wedding gift', is twenty and a junior at Smith. I am enjoying her these Christmas holidays. I have had her since she was four and a half. She is so very much like her Daddy—a great girl.
"I have had two positions offered me, one out West, so I am very grateful for what my conditioning has been, and I believe the greatest contribution to my life was the fifteen years in the constant companionship of my dear husband, whose principles and strength of character and good sportsmanship anyone could emulate. Please say to all of Harry's friends that his wife is trying to carry on in the same way he would want her to—mainly in the old New England spirit—'work with a smile, and a prayer in the heart.'
"I shall be glad to hear from you or any other of Harry's class. His affection for Dartmouth was like a child's. Whenever the Winter Song came in on the radio his lips would tremble, and I knew why. I wear the Alpha Delt pin sometimes as a symbol of the concerted brotherly love of many I know not where."
Bert Dugdale says: "No change of consequence has occurred in my family tree since the last data sent in.
"Am still with P. S. E. & G. Co., Newark, N. J., Electric Engineering Dept., assistant engineer. (Note: this same department was formerly the Newark Branch of the United Engineers and Constructors, of Phila.)
"One son, Chester Bert, is a senior in Brothers College, Drew University, Madison, N. J., majoring in biology, and expects to teach."
It was good to get a word from Bert, as we do not hear from him very often, and the same goes for Tom Wanty, who sends this information. Tom is with M. R. Cady, Inc., manufacturing chemists, Transportation Building, Grand Rapids, Mich.
"The Wanty family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Wanty, George Wanty, age 25, a graduate of the University of Michigan in the class of 1936, Virginia Wanty, age 21, of Barnard College, New York City, and Thomas C. Wanty Jr., age 13."
Vail Applegate is renting agent for the New York Telephone Company with business address, 140 West St., New York City. He is living in Upper Montclair, at 12 Caroline Road.
A letter from Monty Montclair's widow states that she was again married in June, 1933 to Lt. Col. Vincent P. Erwin, U. S.. Army, retired, and her home is in Colorado Springs, Colo.
There are some good wives among the Eleveners who take pity on the Secretary and when the husbands fail to report, they do the jobs for them. For instance, there is Mary Steeves with the following interesting information.
"Guy and I remain at the same place—if our address changes it is Mr. Farley's fault, since he has at last given us postal delivery. As to the children, the big event in our life this year was the award of a Phi Beta Kappa—given as of her junior year—to our oldest daughter, Louette, who is a senior at Vassar. Mary, eighteen, is a freshman at Swarthmore, and John, fifteen, devotes most of his time to music. I regret to say that none of our children is as good a bridge player as their father.
"That completes the Steeves news, except to say that Jack and Dorothy are enjoying a short, but very delightful trip to Switzerland, returning the first of next month."
A long and newsy letter from Burt Burbeck is of such interest that it is herewith given practically in toto.
"I do not think there is anything of great interest personally, worth recording, and as for boasting about children and grandchildren, I am not in a position to do it. I further am also convinced from many years from experiences that I have suffered under, that when any man starts boasting about or talking too much about his children he is getting well into middle age, and as regards grandchildren, if the bulk of his conversation is solely about them, he is rapidly approaching senile decay.
"Most of the time I still find it difficult to realize I am approaching the half-century, but it is rarely that I feel it physically, and I hope I may continue as at present for a great many years to come. In other words, I have good health, possibly no larger amount of worries then many others, and I hope nothing along this line may change for the worse for a good many years to come, if then.
"I am still as reported at the time o£ your last request for news, with J. Lyons & Co., Ltd., London, and am just commencing my seventh year with them. I believe you have been to England several times, as have also a great many of our classmates and friends, and consequently probably know some- thing about my company and their many interests and ramifications in this country and to a lesser extent in the British Colonies. My official title is department sales manager, and I have two departments under my control. I am glad to report for 1938, and I hope everyone else had the same experience, that our results for the year in spite of weather, difficult employment conditions, threats of war, and crises of all kinds, although 'nothing to shout about' also were far from being such 'as to cry about.' It possibly might be of interest to you that with one exception, I am the only American in this organization, which numbers now just under 40,000 employees.
"In spite of twenty-five years abroad, I still consider myself a good American citizen, and I have the passport to prove it. This might mean more to you if you could see a certain type of expatriate that still exists here and in several other European countries, who are apt to out-native the native when it comes to sympathies, expressions of view, accent, and even methods of living. However, that is their business and not mine.
"As stated above, I cannot claim children or grandchildren. We have been favored with one child only, but I can as- sure you she is my 'favorite' daughter. Full records available as regards her birth and so forth have been previously reported. Naturally, she is quite English in appearance and viewpoint (even though she has only one English grandparent, the other three all being American), as she was born here and has lived here all her life with the exception of two visits to the United States with me and, of course, the usual visits and holidays to the Continent, which we can all more or less frequently get, which are interesting but nevertheless usually make one glad to get back to London and have no effect in any way upon one.
"I will say that she does inherit, I think, sufficient of my American sense of humor to enjoy the things that we do together and possibly also my milder examples of salesmen's stories. This may give you some slight picture if it is of any interest. Her educational career is as follows:
"After the usual kindergarten and preparatory school we sent her, following her mother's footsteps, to Roedean at Brighton, one of the three oldest and best known girls' public schools in the United Kingdom. I say public school in the English sense, which does not mean public in the slightest. After six years there, where she did quite well, ending up as head of her house and as one of six school prefects, not that this means much to anyone who does not know English school student government conditions, she had a year at home. Last October she went up to Girton College, University of Cambridge, where she is reading English. I gather from her first term's activities that she will get a lot out of university life and should have no difficulty in getting a reasonably good class degree in 1941.
"I am not sure whether or not you met Mrs. Burbeck when she visited Hanover with me for the Cornell game in 1923, but at any rate I will report as far as she is concerned that she is just the same. I have nothing noteworthy or of any interest to report about her, except that she has put up with me for a long time."
A word from Mrs. Ed Sawyer is to the effect that after Ed's death she sold their home in Medfield, Mass., and took an apartment in Wakefield, where she and her mother are making their home to- gether. She spoke of the pleasure of again seeing the 1911 letterhead, as she recalls with pleasure the many delightful occasions that she shared with Ed in connection with Dartmouth affairs.
Although my mother, Mrs. Harry W. Burleigh, did not know personally all of the members of the class, yet she had met many of them and always was interested in the doings of all of the class. To those friends whom she did know, I regret to announce that she died in her sleep on Sunday morning, January 15.
Secretary, Hanover, N. H
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