1938
During our four years of Dartmouth life, we made a great number of sincere and true friends. The kind that would really stick by one and give that old word of encouragement when the going got toughYeah, the hell we did. Take Von Pechmann as a horrible example. Comes Uncle with the beard and comes the class of '38 minus a Secretary and I get a touching letter from Pecker, written en route to Camp Dix. Filled with honeyed phrases and a lot of malarky about what a snap the job was, he goes on to say that all I have to do is wait until the hot dope is sent to me by the Clipping Service and then assemble it in readable form. Pretty peachy—it certainly sounded easy, and it looked like a beautiful opportunity to tee off on some of these wise guys that have been hacking away at me. Comes a hurried note last week from South Carolina, reading as follows: Dear Matty,
Many thanks—here's the material you'll need. 5 pages to be in Hanover by April 10 th.
Love and kisses, Pecker
Looking in the envelope, I find five red hot newspaper clippings—three of them telling me all about an engagement I practically helped construct (and which, of course, Reno mentioned last month.) Well, the only thing to do is to tread water—and fast—so here goes.
Engagements, Marriages and Such Silly Stuff
Last month, Robert C. Harvey got braggin' to a Miss Sue Falter of Kansas. "After I get in this man's Navy, things are going to be a hell of a lot different. I'm going to be consulted about ship movements—my pay is going to be $350 per month with another $100 if I get married and"— (At this point, Sue interrupted with SOLD). In three days, all plans were made and Muff Davis, Johnny Tower and Mattimore had signed away their Summer vacations in order to attend a June Wedding in Kansas. That's the way those things happen.
Now, the next one is the story of a real smart turkey and how he went about doing it. Stearns McNutt saw that draft board look threateningly in his direction, so he tore away to Georgia with the old Seventh Regiment. Before he went, however, he threw a ring in the general direction of a Miss Mary Owen of Auburndale. That kid was smart; he figured he'd have a chance to do a lot of thinking during the next few years and that while he was gone, he didn't want his preacher's daughter to be takin' up with any wolves.
The last note which is really old news is about Charley Keyes marrying Helen Struble, a girl both too big and too good fer' him.
They're talking about it around New York. He was just about the wettest guy in our class. In his fraternity, he was the guy they locked in a closet during rushing period. He was also the reason why you thought five or six times before you asked your parents to come up and chaperone house parties. The boys dubbed him "Rover" and he lived up to it. He hit New York about a year ago and strangely enough, seems to be doing fairly well. He convinced Time, Life that he was a powerhouse and they gave him a good job and he's doing well in it.—His name is Muff Davis (and he's doing an even better job with my girl!).
Remember that carefree, irresponsible guy Lou Frick? Well, he's not carefree anymore. He's really hangin' on the ropes because before long it's going to be Papa Frick. This dope is straight from the horse's mouth and probably the only bit of news in the column.
See Hans Barber and E. J. Dearman once in a while. Barber continually smoking that stinking pipe and Dearman continually stinking. Carson is burning up the Macy's drapery department and talking fabrics like a Seventh Avenue veteran.Scott Runkle has been living at the Dartmouth Club and is working, I believe, at Abraham & Strauss.—That old shoveler Bongiovanni is living far from his much beloved Plymouth Rock and enjoying the many aspects (?) of New York life. As you already know, he is an adjuster for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. As I get it, an adjuster is a smooth talkin' guy who gets you to sign a paper saying that your nose wasn't really broken—that's just a cold! Cocky Here Brandis with a draft number up in the Booo's just left National Broadcasting where he was a news editor to go to United Air Lines where he's nothin'. Saw "Jug Head" Thomas (Johnson & Johnson, the last word in bandages & supporters) and he took me for a merry chase.
Punchy Reynolds doing graduate work at Columbia and teaching school during the day. Says that the school is a bit lifted pinky and that the kids are all free thinkers.
He was a guy in our class that probably most of us didn't know too well. One of those rather quiet guys who sat next to you in Math 3. Lived somewhere in Hanover and you can remember him vaguely padding around with a Senior cane. At Dartmouth, he tried like hell to be a shining light for the Players, but Henry Williams and Warner Bentley never thought he was too hot and for the most part they passed him up. However, he had his heart set on being another Evans, so he banged around Broadway for two years trying to hit the big time. Casting Agents have a beautiful knack of giving the heave-ho and he finally stopped going over to the Dartmouth Club because all of the other punks in the class would ask him what he was doing and then be so solicitous when he said that he was still trying. A few weeks ago,
he got his break. Now that kid is holding his head up—and high. He opened on Broadway five weeks ago with the Second lead in Brooklyn Biarritz and went on the road soon after with Helen Hayes in Twelfth Night. His name was—and is— Sammy Main. Watch for him when he hits your town.
ARMY AND NAVY LIFE
" 'In High School, it was when in doubt, punt'—in College it was 'When in doubt, lead trumps'—now it's 'when in doubt, salute.' McChesney is here and so is a guy named Stuart from our class." So says Private Von Pechman, Company I, 34th Infantry, Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
"They put us all in a circle with boxing gloves and then give us a lecture about how tough the marines are and how lucky we are to be marines. Then the command get to it (which means start punchin' the guy closest to you, and keep at it for hours)." Lt. (to be). John Mayer somewhere near Phil. "Six o'clock is the hour the Jap butler calls me and I am given 8 1/2 minutes to dress. Then comes go min. of setting-up exercises. The temperature has ranged from 20 to 16 below, and it is supposed to be envigorating. Me, I'm dying." Private Sparrow Jim Thompkins Troop D, 101 st Cavalry, Fort Devens, Ayer, Mass.
THINCS I CAN'T IMAGINE
Bunky Dunlap married to a real honestto-Gawd woman—Von Pechmann as one of our country's defenders—Lou Frick as a responsible head of the family—Doctor Onslow Gordon, the typical country doctor getting up at all hours (vice versa now) and playing the part of the sage counsellor to be consulted on all family matters—medical or otherwise—Hah.—Father MacKinnon-John Tower—reporter on the "Nashville Big Blow."
THINGS I WONDER ABOUT
Now that Miles Prentice is in the Army, whatever happened to that Sweater Girl of his.—How much hair is left on General Hosmer's head—Does Jake Carey still exercise fourteen hours a day? Whatever happened to Hollingsworth? Whatever happened to that no-good (Editor's note 7 letter word censored) Ferrin Davis? How did Cy MacKinnon's beautiful wife ever break the pages of Glamour (Cond6 Nast's new magazine—it's goin' over like a Han- over House a'fire) without my knowing anything about it?
ALUMNI FUND BUSINESS
This year Bud Walls is really going to be in a jam trying to stir up interest in the alumni fund. Half the guys in the class are making $21 a month and the other half are giving what little money they have to England, so it means that everybody has to get in there and pitch. Get it up, guys!
J. CLARKE MATTIMORE.
Secretary, Automobile Insurance Cos. Merchants Bank Building Indianapolis, Indiana Class Agent,
Suite 701 609 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.
