1918*
SON PUTS OLD MAN HERB DUFFILL IN CLOVER (Gerry Geran's hockey pal) Boston's bigshot coal dealer is disposing of cottage in N. H., has bought himself no acres and an old Cape Cod house with trout brooks, etc. near Kennebunk, Maine (King and Peggy Rood are farm hunting near Bowdoin College, Maine). At last, here's a man that "planned it that way" for Herbs boy graduated 2 years ago from Univ. of N. H., expert poultry chicken breeder, winner of several prizes, and the boy has gathered in the crops, runs the farm, and Squire Duffill rocks in his granny chair and lets the world roll by... . from GENE CLARKE, Bacteriologist, Springfield, 111. a note to Red Wilson "Regret that 2 graduations, Louise from High School and Patsy from grade school (Mary Elizabeth is the 3rd) prevent me from increasing my check to the Al. fund—best of luck to you and good wishes for the personal sacrifice you men must make that we 'iBers can enjoy high ranking in the Al. Fund.". .. .Here's hoping, 808 RYAN, that your wife is fine again and feeling tops.... from RALPH NORTON (Halsey-Stuart Cos., Chicago 3 yrs.—ls yrs. with them in Detroit) "tickled to death to see the swell job 'lB did on the Al. Fund—go back home to Vermont for a month every summer"—and another 'iBer welcomes classmates—namely Bill Shellman at 705 Sherman Av., Evanston, 111
TRUSTY JAKE BINGHAM NEVER FAILS (Jake and Ruth are 'lBs star news gatherers) on an important business assignment for the college, Jake was in Hanover last June, we regret missing him this summer in New York putting his boy 10 on the boat for Puerto Rico for a visit to his aunt. Young Jake as a result se hablas un peu d'espagnoli. Says Jake "saw ZEKE BALL in Hanover, HI BELDING was there to see young HI Jr. graduate AMOS BLANDIN had 2 great happenings in one week, the sorrowful loss of a very dear mother and the welcome birth of a daughter Joanna on July 12th Professor ED BOOTH is building a house in Hanover; TOM CAMPBELL was there to see his son graduate EDDIEFERGOSSEN was there scouring trout streams around Hanover EM MORSE, the big Chicago buyer of Lever Bros, was in Boston JACK O'DONNELL was at Commencement and his son, I believe, is a Senior this fall.... the TOM SHIRLEY'S spent July at Edgecomb, Maine"...-a pleasant evening was spent this summer with Labor Relations Director BENNYMUGRIDGE (Nancy 16, Bobby 14)—who may publish a book of "Case Methods"Benny has made an outstanding success in administering labor problems and having frank discussions with labor and employer, —a great student—recognizes fairly the rights and duties of both sides, makes frequent talks before gatherings and Benny, it's believed, will go on and up.
MEL SOUTHWICK FROM HOT-SPOT HONGKONG—"Still having our worries out in this spot—carrying on business with the Chinese Government, live in a British Crown Colony, and trying to make both sides meet, it doesn't take much guessing as to where my sympathy lies. Before this reaches you, the face of more than one part of this mad globe is more likely than not to look a whole lot different than today. (Later.) My family evacuated from here in July and now in Los Angeles, where my 4th daughter was born Sept. 14th. Will leave here Nov. 20th by Clipperwas loaned to have charge of all the supplies the Chinese Government was purchasing here after the fall of Shanghai. With these routes closed one by one until there are now none left, my operations have spread out all over the map. I am also executing out here the contract purchases the Chinese Government made for oil under the American loan to China."
GEORGE HULL HAD TO BE A SPRY JACK RABBITT IN FRANCE.
Regarding- our personal experiences, as you were informed by the American papers, the Germans entered Paris July 14th. We did not know that the city was not to be defended, and so there was a general exodus on anything that could run. It was a most ghastly experience which I would not have missed for anything. We left by car, seven people and the dog in my Ford, with baggage piled all over the roof and the running boards. Gasoline was already scarce and the road jammed. We had tried by train but the station was full, and although we had tickets there was nothing to be done. I have had considerable experience in travelling which stood me in good stead. When I was about 35 miles out of Paris with the roads jammed, everybody driving without lights and with 3 people over 70 and not in very good health aboard, I wasted no time but got into a hotel where I was known, in a village near Fontainebleau. For the next two days I waited there until everything in the town was eaten up and watched traffic like Broadway and 42nd Street going by. When a German plane came over and carefully marked a cross in the sky for the next bombing I thought that it was time to move on, and got going again on the 13th. The first few miles went all right, but then we got into a jam and made 15 miles in 10 hours. God help you if your car gave out,—no gas, no mechanics and certain to be pushed _ into the ditch by the maddened crowd behind. I being an old-timer had put some gas aboard in a can. You advanced 200 yards and then waited 15 minutes. At every cross-road you were held up to let troops go by. It was not a case of going along any particular road, but following any road where you could get through. Human selfishness and crowd panic was never better illustrated than then. It was the biggest problem that the French army had to cope with, the jammed roads preventing military movement. Three times as many civilians were killed on the road as were troops in the field. There was no trench warfare this time, only along roads with the object to break up communications. Here again I must admit that as a whole the Germans were merciful and only machine-gtfnned when it had some military importance such as at a crossroad to prevent bringing up supplies. When Hitler said in one of his speeches that he could have killed five or six million people if he had wished to do so, I readily believe nim.
Most people tied mattresses on to the roofs of their cars as protection against machine-gunning from the air. People were sleeping out in their cars at night, as no beds were to be! found. I was luckier in providing for my family as I have done considerable motoring in France and had friends along the road and the worst that happened to us is that my wife, Richard and myself slept on mattresses on the floor one night in a garret. When we got about 200 miles from Paris, as far as St. Honore les Bains, where we had friends, we got quarters first in a house, then in a hotel and finally in a farm where we had all we needed but were a bit crowded. In about a week the Germans started to pass us, and when they started back after the Armistice on the 21st, I talked to them and they said that it was quite all right to go back to Paris, and so we came home arriving on June 23rd being absent about 12 days in all. We were wise to do so, as it prevented our house being occupied although American property has been respected so far. The Germans even gave us gasoline for the return trip, although 60 miles from Paris when we wanted to eat breakfast there wasn't a cup of coffee or a bit of bread to be had in town, and we ate about noon when we got home. We also slept in an abandoned house which had been sacked with everything pulled onto the floor. Here again I am forced to be fair and say that the refugees did probably more damage than the soldiers. It is extraordinary in the absence of all control how the mob spirit comes out with its aching to steal and even destroy wantonly. It was seen in America during the 48 hours of the Boston Police strike.
On June Bth, when I started up to get my furniture in a coal truck, I had a bit more excitement. About a year ago when the war was declared, I thought that the Germans might get to Paris but would not go to Normandy, so sent all our best furniture, rugs, silver, etc., to a little chateau in Normandy belonging to friends. The German advance passed to the North, and so I went up to get the furniture with the only car I could find, our coal-man's truck, which rattled so that you couldn't hear anything. I stuck my nose into the advance of their motorized column on the Bresle. We were following along near Gisors with a French convoy when there was a noise like firecrackers and all the soldiers got out and jumped in the ditch. The German plane passed on without doing more than cutting off a branch about 50 yards behind us. Then we arrived in Gisors where great columns of smoke were rising, the town having been bombarded. Just as we arrived passing over a pile of paving blocks which had been torn up and over a heap of broken glass and grounded telephone wires, back came the planes. I hurdled a fence and plopped down in a garden just as the bombs were falling. One landed about 75 yards away and I could feel the ground shake, but if you are flat there is not much danger unless it hits you on the head. Having come so far, I thought we might as well see it through, so we continued through Gournay, which was also in flames, and got as far as Dampierre when I heard the planes coming again. We left the truck, the chauffeur and I, and plopped into the ditch just as fourteen planes came over about 200 yards up. Then I saw 3 armored machine-gun trucks come across the cross-roads about a hundred yards away, and stood up, thinking they were French. The chauffeur shouted to me to get down, as they were Germans'. Back in the ditch I hopped, landing in a mess of thistles, and holding a little 2-year old girl in my arms, as we had just picked up a woman and her kid who was making her way to the next town with her child in a basket on the handlebars of a bicycle with all that she could carry off strapped to the machine behind. Then there was a burst of machinegun fire and the cars passed on and the chauffeur lost his nerve and said he didn't want to be taken prisoner and we were going back. I had signed up for the truck and an assurance for him in case he was killed, which would have cost me plenty as he had six children, and when I looked at the truck I sort of agreed with him as there were three bullet holes in the gasoline tank and the gas was pouring out, another through the back just where my head would have been if it hadn't been in the ditch, and three holes in a bag containing sandwiches that was on the seat beside me. So back we came, bringing the woman and child and bicycle and 12 soldiers who were pretty tired, their battery having been shot to pieces on the Somme and they having walked for two days without food. Nothing happened on the way back, as I guess the Germans were ready to go to dinner after a good day's work. I stood up pretty well while the excitement was going on, but felt a bit weak in the knees the next morning. It is terrible to have nothing in your hands to shoot back with. Most of my American friends who had to travel around had similar experiences. You would be surprised how a fat middle-aged man can turn into a spry jack-rabbit when the planes come along, and hit the ditch the first crack.
AT THE CORNELL GAME—GEORGE DOCKSTADER (angling for big war contract for his company) was with a Cornellian JACK STORRS, SYL MOREY and LEWIS LEE renew their youth—a letter from Syl as follows: "Lewie certainly had a bright idea when he sold Jack Storrs and myself the notion of going back to Hanover for the Cornell game—I went along because Lewis, Jack and I haven't stormed the place altogether we roomed at 8 Crosby Hall back in 191(>. Jack is still Sales Mgr. Automotive Hardware, Bassett Co., Bridgeport, Conn. Lewie is with the National Electrotype Co. here in N. Y. and believe they're the same Lewie and Jack that I used to room with. You'd have thought so too if you had seen 'em take over the Alpha Delt house after the game. Lewis supervised the mixing of Champagne punch (made as usual in Hanover with cider) and in no time the boys were affectionately calling him "Brother Lew"Jack spent most of the evening chasing young Jack who is a Junior this year and big and ding-toed like the old man. Young Jack flashes his D for swimminga Green Key hat and a Phi Psi badge—the latter to his Pa's disgust, STUMPIE BARR and his gang will tell you all about Jack and his tricks We went up there after the game to enjoy the New Hampshire air and brew and Jack got so obstreperous we had to lead him out by the nose like a prize bull. Lucky for me I took Walter Andree along from the office. He thought he went up to see his son who was a Sophomorebut really he went along so he and I together could handle Jack. Incidentally there was a real '18 turnout at the bar Beside Stump and his ever-charming Better Half—there was DICK HOLTON, DAVE GARRATT, BUB FROST—all probably accompanied by their wives. The Stump has certainly taken on the job of jobs and he gives 'lBers the grandest welcome as we can testify—that is until Jack gets us all run off the place."
Moody's FRANK CLAHANE tried out hisparlez-vous with Marion last summer inQuebec—"ls it true arthritis often comesfrom sewing wild 0at5?"....808 FISH, Lightolier Sales Manager who infringedjustice recently by escaping a ticket presented him on 5 counts, speeding, recklessdriving and on the wrong side of the road"lt's a damned unpleasant reminder if50.".... GOOSEY HAZEN (runs swankyHazen Paper Co., Holyoke, Mass.) withscattered discharged cups under his seatand a full one on tap.
Secretary, 161 Remsen St., Brooklyn, N. Y. Treasurer, Parkhurst Hall, Hanover, N. H.
