1898*
The secretary received a nice letter from Pete Adams the other day. One paragraph at least will interest the class. He says, "You ask about the two-hundred-inch telescope. The mounting, which was built by the Westinghouse Company and had to be shipped by water because parts were too large for the railroad tunnels, is now being erected and is a most imposing affair. A man can walk comfortably through the inside of several of the supporting parts of the huge frame. Everything ought to be completed in between one and two years, and then we shall know whether we have doubled or tripled the size of the observable universe."
I also received a good letter from Chief Justice Sherman Roberts Moulton, showing a very keen interest in lending a helping hand to '98 affairs.
George Lock wood wrote from Naco, Arizona, giving an interesting resume of his work and bringing me up to date on his children and grandchildren. I shall have this letter at the spring roundup of the class Saturday, June 3, at Bucky Chandler's.
Ted Leggett writes, "My hobbies in the order my wife would name them are (1) stamps, (2) golf, (3) anything she is interested in. She is probably right about the first two. Between them they give me a large amount of exercise, relaxation, and enjoyment."
Fred Lord is still on the road to recovery, and writes that his son expects to get his M.A. at the University of Minnesota in sociology this summer. Whether that means he will eventually follow his father's profession of teaching or not I do not know.
"Bill" Hewes writes from far-off California, "I have been eighteen years in San Francisco and thirty years on the West Coast, and I see my classmates only when I go East." Fred Pope writes, "After a long lapse it was a real joy to meet the old crowd at the reunion last year. Would that we could see them more frequently." He adds, "I am proud to be a member of the class of 1898."
The Secretary was in New York recently and had time to drop in to see Ted Leggett and our honorable president, Fritz Robbert. Ted is in the pink of condition, as he usually is, and bubbling over with business and good nature. Fritz had just returned from a week's bout with the grippe, but showed his same courage and good cheer and genuine interest in every member of the class. Our newly adopted member, Robert S. Osborn, came in while I was there, and he certainly is an enthusiastic member of '98.
Our good classmate Witte is on the eve of retiring, and expects to travel from now on quite a bit with Mrs. Witte. They are now in the West on a three weeks' trip and in 1940 hope to go around the world.
Fletcher Harper Swift writes the same friendly, kindly letter that he always does, and I only wish we could see him oftener.
Charlie Littlefield writes about his two boys and fine daughter; one son is a doctor and on the staff of the Rhode Island Hospital, the other son is a member of his father's profession, the daughter, a college graduate, is keeping company with the good mother. Charlie's philosophy is as he states it as follows,
"To spread a little sunshine on life's way; Do well the tasks I find to do each day; Relieve distress and help the fallen rise. Give to the world the best that in me lies; Keep my mind open in the search for truth With all the vigor of perennial youth; Smile, when 'twere easier far to frown; Look up, when sorely tempted to look down; See something good in all my daily chores; That's my philosophy."
Archie Kendall writes a good note and says, "it is always a pleasure and a privilege to do anything I can for the class of 1898."
The Secretary called recently on our classmate William W. Forbes of Manchester, N. H. I had a most reminiscent chat with Forbes, and how I did laugh when he told me his experience with a Dartmouth testing machine when he was a freshman. I now remember it and think many of the classmates will. He said the object was to see how much you could lift. The first effort he did not get a good grip, so requested the privilege of trying again. The next time he broke the machine to smitherines. His boyhood life on a farm in Groveton, N. H., settled that machine right then and there. He spoke most interestingly of his son, a Dartmouth graduate of the class of 1919. He then took a fine course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ended up with a course at the University of Grenoble, France. He is now a chemical engineer in Bethlehem, Pa., and does his research work in the laboratory of Lehigh University. What fine opportunities our classmate opened up for that son of his? Forbes has made a real place for himself among the lawyers of New Hampshire, and I am sure '98 backs me up in the wish that he could join our '98 gatherings oftener.
Secretary, 57 Grove Hill Ave., Newtonville, Mass.
* 100% subscribers to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, on class group plan.
