1914*

The Tufts College Weekly recently included an article on Myron Files in the series of professorial profiles known as "Faculty Focus." They say, of Myron: "A farm, a big Macintosh tree to climb around in, and the country-side, especially around Harvard, Mass., and that would complete a Heaven for Professor Files. In fact, his farm in Harvard is his pride and joy, and gives him an opportunity to practice his theory of de-urbanized life Books and reading! He spends every minute reading, that is, when he isn't teaching American Literature, English Novel or Imaginative Writing. It gets to the point where Professor Files even reads the labels on broom handles. Everywhere he goes, he takes a book with him and is continually leaving books around, anything from novels to farm materials to advertisements One of the most wonderful experiences that he had while he was in the army, he said, was hearing twelve hundred Negroes singing spirituals on the night of the false armistice." The article pays further tribute to Myron that he is one of the best liked men at Tufts, not only for his courses but for the sage advice he makes available to his students on their personal problems.

We spent a most pleasant evening last week at the home of Win Snow in Watertown. Win had called up to say he had contacted Bobby Hogsett and his wife, who were in town. We called several of the boys but most were busy. However, Ernie Kimball and I and our wives dropped around. Bobby, incidentally, looks fine and weighs exactly 156 today against the 153 on that Saturday afternoon when he, standing in that huge puddle of water, kicked that wonderful field goal in the Harvard Stadium. Bob is travelling about the country contacting colleges, having to do with academic costumes. Between times he is a gentleman farmer in Ohio, has some 500 sheep and other blooded stock. He expects to do some extensive travelling this coming year and looks forward to contacting as many '14 men as he can meet.

Win Snow has been appointed to the Tire Rationing Board of his home town, Watertown, Massachusetts, and much as we worked on him we are afraid that Win is going to be very-tough so you had better not count on much from Win.

From Mrs. Jane A. Taylor and family the Secretary has received a note of thanks for the many expressions of sympathy received from classmates since the passing of her husband, Doctor Harold Taylor.

Perhaps this does not come under the heading of 1914 News but we feel sure that all of you will join in an expression of sympathy to the Class of 1941 upon the loss of Fred Howland, naval aviation cadet, who was killed last week in a plane crash, while in training in Florida.

At fourteen Fred made up his mind to go to Dartmouth but family reverses prevented his even completing high school. Not only did he progress in his daytime job, but he took on evening work as well and found time to keep up with his preparatory studies. After five years work there were further complications of a financial nature but again, undaunted, he went to work even harder, and we shall always recall with pleasure the small assistance we were able to render whereby he entered Dartmouth in the Class of 1941, when he was 25 years of age.

At Hanover he carried a heavy load and actually came through with money in his pocket. He dropped in last fall to say "Goodbye," telling us he had been accepted as a naval aviation cadet. Although he had already planned his career, his attitude toward the oncoming war we must admit was more realistic than ours, and we well remember him saying as he left, "that the good things in life and the institutions such as Dartmouth College had to be maintained, and therefore he was going to enlist and get a head start."

In fact, we have never known an undergraduate or an alumnus to whom Dartmouth meant more, probably because he got his loyalty the hard way; and had you all known him we are sure you would have agreed that he would have made a fine member of the Class of 1914. Truly . . . . he kept for her the old chivalric faith."

Secretary, 16 Grove St., West Medford, Mass.