1878*

Hayt attended the Alumni meeting in San Francisco as usual, and decided the visiting Dean was the sort of man a student, even such as he once was, could get along with. Says it was a fine turnout. Says also that California's unprecedented, continuous and excessive rain has been fine for cattle and sheep, but tough for farmers, especially for peach growers. He seems to agree with Harvard's President about the war, saying, "We shall eventually get into this scrap; why not now?" Yet he thinks taxes can't be raised as much as proposed as they already absorb 60% of his income.

Bouton attended and enjoyed the Alumni meeting at St. Petersburg, Parkhurst at Boston, and Tarbell at Milwaukee. So half of us turned out.

But Tarbell reports himself as later passing through a major crisis of his life, and thankful that it was deferred until well along in his ninth decade. It is the critical illness of his wife, the issue of which was still in suspense at the time of writing (May 3). The Tarbells have been wintering at West Allis, scene of the great strike, which he says was due to bad leadership in the CIO, and, at enormous cost to all three parties involved, have gained for the employees nothing that might not have been obtained without such cost. Incidentally, Tarbell has a 1941 Oldsmobile in which to drive home to South Dakota when Mrs. Tarbell recovers.

Parkinson, too has been passing through a crisis due to the serious illness of his wife, now, however, happily home from hospital and able to be about house and garden, although under more immediate care than hitherto.

Mrs. Walther H. Small has had to break up her home. The maid who had been her dependence for 54 years, broke down, and she herself became ill; has been in a convalescent home for some months, and expects to settle into small quarters when she resumes housekeeping.

Mrs. M. L. Stimson, whose home address has been Coral Gables, Florida, is now at 43 Beckwith Terrace, Rochester, N. Y. She finds her health better in the North and thinks she has made her last trip South.

Harlow's lame back makes it hard for him to stand erect, but he manages to do most of the housekeeping for himself and daughter Margaret, who now compose his household, and to do a little outside work each day. He hopes to go to Chatham, Mass., again for the summer.

Secretary and Class Agent 321 Highland Ave., Fitchburg, Mass.