1920*
Well, here goes for the last issue of school year. The putting together of the Class Notes has been easier and a greater pleasure this year than ever before, the reason being that our subscription list numbered 225 rather than the usual 60odd. The Group Subscription Plan wasn't completely self-supporting this year, but Roc tells me that we still have a little left in the treasury. In the first issue next fall we'll show just how the plan worked out financially. There is no doubt how it worked out otherwise. This fact will be further borne out when Bun Harvey totals his contributions to the Alumni Fund, and when the roll is called for Twenty's Twentieth. This brings to mind that there must be several slogan concocters in the class who really ought to be able to do something about the fact that the class of '20 is having a 20th reunion. By the time fall comes around there will no doubt be a suitable prize available for the best one submitted, and as an added feature no box tops will be required.
It's a sad state of affairs when the Secty. can't quote the number of bachelors in the class, but newspaper clippings have been rushing in to the effect that there will be one less this month. As one article had it, "Announcement of the engagement of Miss Harriet Prescott Wright of Shrews- bury to Dr. Erwin Curtis Miller of 25 Somerset St., Worcester, was made this afternoon " Just to show you what an important fiance Doc is, note some of his connections. He is a member of the Ameri- can Medical Association, the Mass. State Medical Society, where he is secretary of the Medical Section and trustee of the permanent home in Boston; fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Boylston Medical Society of Boston, Worcester District Medical Society, Dartmouth Scientific Association, New Hampshire Academy of Science, etc., etc.
Al Frey crashed through with the following items: "I hope I'm not too late with the following two or three items for the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. This first is taken from the Dartmouth of April 29: Professor Goddard Calls Class forThree A.M.
A three-o'clock-in-the-morning class is the latest addition to the Dartmouth daily schedule.
The class, Professor R. H. Goddard's Navigation Class, will hold a 3 a.m. meeting to observe the moon and take certain observations necessary to completing the course. The meeting will be Saturday, May 6, or, if Saturday isn't clear, Sunday.
There will be no attempt to enforce the "no visitors" rule sometimes clapped on Green Key classes; in fact, Professor Goddard has suggested that girls be brought to class to take notes while the boys observe the moon.
Green Key, it seems, is right at the fullest of the last full moon before finals.
"Bill Carter was promoted to a full professorship at the spring meeting of the College trustees.
"Harry Sampson will be at Hampton Beach again this summer in the capacity of chairman of the board of directors of the de luxe restaurant, The Chat. Harry promises to reminisce with any of the '20 boys who may drop in."
Paul Richter forwarded a program of the Massachusetts Press Association. One of the headliners was a talk titled "A Suburban Retailer's Sales Promotion Problems." The speaker, Hal Bernkopf, manager of Filene's branch stores.
Paul Bowerman submitted a brief note (along with a check), and proclaimed that the only news he had of himself was that he was teaching English at the University of Southern California and enjoying it a lot.
The Alumni Office has sent in a raft of address changes, as follows: Rod Hatch is now V.P. and general manager of the Richardson Boat Co. at North Tonawanda, N. Y.; Peanut Fenderson is counsel for the Florida Power Corporation in St. Petersburg; Hub Duffy is back in the law business with offices at 33 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio; Jim Daniell hadn't been heard from since our records were started, but he recently informed the College that he was an engineer in charge of taxes and real estate with the Wisconsin Public Service Corp. His business and residence address are both in Green Bay, Wise.; Kelvin Smith is president of Cleveland Industrial Research, Inc. He lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio; Grov. Plowman is traffic manager of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp. in Denver. He also lives there; Bud Weymouth is a free-lance writer and lives at 87 Belvidere St., Boston.
Also Greg Tobin, Macy's shoe department manager, has moved from New York and lives in Saddle River, N. J.; Rog Nutt has his law offices at 149 Broadway, N. Y. C. and lives on Pomander Walk, Teaneck, N. J.; John Allen is a field auditor for the Gen'l Insurance Cos., but has been transferred from Portland to Seattle, Wash.; Bill Bishop has changed his residence from Montclair to Forest Hills, Long Island; Larry Clarkson continues teaching in Los Angeles but has moved to 822 N. June St.
Also, Pike Emory has a new Honolulu address, 3178 Kaohinani Drive; Charlie Garnsey has moved from Atlanta, Ga., to Miami. He is an inspector of theatre sound equipment; Les Willard has the title of general purchasing agent with the National Aniline & Chemical Cos., New York; Art Pierce, Ralph Whitney, John O'Brien and Charlie Sargent have made intracity residence moves in Reading, Needham, Worcester, and Greenwood respectively. For the information of our Westerners these places are all in Massachusetts.
Also, Jim Gibson, Carl Gaffron, Syl Mark, and Paul Kay have new addresses in Detroit, Kirkwood, Mo., Buffalo, N. Y., and Peekskill, N. Y., respectively. Bill Farnham has moved from Spokane to Olympia, Wash., and Gugger Fiske from Newton Highlands to Newton Center, Mass.
Due to wholesale enlistments during the World War many of the class of '19 graduated with us. We know most of these fellows about as well as those in our own class. Why not try to get to Hanover at Commencement time THIS spring and see them gambol on the green. There is always a nucleus of '20 men around, and we can get together and defy the sometime sophomores with the old familiar " '20 Up"!
INSURANCE STATISTICS
"Staggering Insurance Statistics Point to Soft Life for '20 Heirs." So ran the headline in the March, 1929 issue of TWENTY which reported the story of the life insurance survey which I made at that time.
A comparison with 10 years ago is certainly interesting. In the first place, the 1929 survey included the reports of 158 men, while that just closed is based on 150 answers. That's certainly consistent. Just to be sure the number was sufficient with which to work, I wrote Rock Elliott whose reply was, "If you had that many replies you were very fortunate. I can locate only 125 who will say it with money."
That sets the stage to do a little comparing. Ten years ago the total amount reported was slightly over 3 millions. Now, with the intervening years practically without exception having been depression years, the total is $5,243,645. This figure represents returns from every part of the country; large and small salary centers, as well as a few from foreign countries. The individual range is all the way from one man who reports $250,000, down to one bachelor who brags about owning none at all.
Of the 150 reporting, 132 men are married and own $4,912,645, or an average of 537,217 per individual. The 18 non-Benedicts are worth a total of $331,000, an average of $18,389. These averages 10 years ago were respectively $20,671 and $18,427. Accordingly, the family men can derive satisfaction in an improvement of some 80%, while the bachelors seem to be getting nowhere fast. The combined average of $34,958 compares really remarkably with that of $20,108 in 1929, and would certainly tend to show that the class as a whole has made real strides.
As a matter of individual interest, 11 fortunates own in excess of $100,000, while 13 others have between $50,000 and $100,000. Those owning between $25,000 and $50,000 total 26, leaving 90 with less than $25,000.
We might draw a bit on our imagination and try to guess the average income enjoyed by the class as a whole. Assuming the average age at which the total amount of insurance was bought to be 33, we find the net premium to be about $20. per thousand. If this is approximately correct, the average premium deposit would run about $700. If some 12% of total income goes into insurance savings, it means that average income is close to $6,000. If so, that's fine.
One return, however, indicated in a few words one of the tragedies that might have been prevented. The card simply said, "Dear Sherry: died 2½ years ago leaving three small children, and very little insurance." Unfortunately, it won't be a soft life for at least three 'go heirs.
This has been a most interesting survey, and it has given me a great deal of pleasure to make it. I want to thank all of the 150 who so promptly replied to the questionnaire, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity of repeating it for the last time in 1949.
H. S. BAKETEL JR. '20.
Secretary, 158 State St., Albany, N. Y.
* 100% subscribers to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, on class group plan.
