1940*
As I type this column, the radio reports Jap successes in the Far East; it behooves us all to have an unquenchable faith if we are to face the future unflinchingly. I have considerable material on hand relative to military choices, activities, and locations of many of the class; however, I shall relegate most of that news to next month's column in deference to various items that I feel are more timely.
"On December 27 at 8:45 A.M., Hiram Mather Shaw gave a 'Wah Hoo Wah' for Dartmouth, 'chug-a-lugged' a draught of mountain dew, and then pitched his tepee" —and therein lies the long-awaited winner's claim for the Class Baby. Eighteen months and ten days after Commencement the contest was decided in favor of E. K. Shaw, and the proud mother of his '7 lb. terror' is Janet Mather Shaw, Colby '3B. However, although the race was a slow one, it was also a very close one: runnerup (per my records to date), with the solace of having the heaviest contender, is Dick Kidder, whose son, Alan Goss Kidder, was born on January 6, 1942, weighing in at 8 lbs, 1314 oz. Rumors of other '4O progeny have sifted in without verification, so please write me names, and any other data you deem pertinent, relative to additions to your family.
Since January 30th at 4:30 (St. Bartholomew's, New York City time) there has been a Mrs. J. Malcolm deSieyes; she was Virginia Solley, Smith '4l. It was a wonderful wedding, with Elmer Browne and Johnny Knutsen as two of the ushers, and your acting secretary as best man; at the reception I got a glimpse of John Burnap, who is working in New York in some consultant capacity, and of Lew Chipman, who came up from Philly between exams at Penn Med. School. Dizzy, while finishing at Harvard Business School, and his wife Gina, who finishes at Katherine Gibbs, will live at Beach Bluff, Mass. The Saturday and Sunday following the wedding was the cause for a minor reunion of 1940 available in New York; host Mac Cross and his wife Marilyn kept the jamboree rolling until plane time for Clevelanders Knutsen and Rogers; it was a why-don't-you-try-to-recover-from-Dizzy's-wedding party coupled with a farewell-to-Babcock-and-Willson party that brought the following '4o's together, in addition to those already mentioned: Jim McElroy, who was in town for the week-end taking time off from his International Harvester sales campaign in Chicago; Eddie Miller, efficiency expert and methods engineer from the Norma Hoffman bearing company in Stamford; and Jack Rourke, appearing with two scrumptious beetles.
Dick Babcock and Jack Willson should even now be on their way to some fighting front as members in the American Field Service, a volunteer ambulance unit which was active in the last war and has seen service already in this one. These two close friends chose this branch of the service independently and only by chance were assigned to the same contingent.
Bill Hutchinson, a sales-supervisor for the Coca-Cola Bottling Cos. of New York, has passed on to me a letter written July 6 last by Hans Joachim Heinz, who has been fighting for the Nazis for nearly a year: writes Heinie, ex-40, "Write me whether you think the U. S. will enter the war;" writes Hutch, "Today Heinie is fighting for the things he believes in, just as you and I are ready to fight for the things we believe in; so I say hats off to Heinie, and may he live to see his mistake." Another ironical note was hit by Jim Cooke, whose Xmas card to Braden was sent to me by Tom before he and Ted Ellsworth embarked for England. Word from Vermont says Cookie is safe, as is Ensign Robin Hartman who was on duty in Pearl Harbor.
Dick Funkhouser writes that he is in the Air Corps, and that he and Ed Curtis have their wings; he also furnishes a more complete description of Whit Miller's wedding, for which Dick, Dave Lilly, and Roy Merchant ushered. Allen Hessler has been located in the 87th Mountain Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington, training on Mt. Rainier with the Ski Corps Bob Kinsman is a member of the North Carolina University faculty, as he studies for his doctor's degree in philosophy Art Root, Natl. Exec. Officer of the Volunteer Land Corps has presented in Boston a resolution to enlist the youth of America, who for any reason are not in the armed forces, in a movement to replace farm labor.
Weddings: Lieut. Robert C. Dempsey, ex-40, to Miss Caroline Bartsch of Chicago at Kelly Field on Dec. 12; Lt. Joseph Marston Bird to Miss Barbara Vandersloot of Kansas City on Dec. 27. Engagements: Miss Mary Jane Mulherrin of Hanover, N. H. to George Burleigh, who is teaching at the Plainville, Conn., High School; Miss Mary Bill, of Hempstead, L. 1., to John Coulson; Miss Louise Tibbetts, of Chicago and Wellesley, to W. Howard Wriggins; Miss Jane Elgar of White Plains to C. Clinton Clad; Miss Phyllis Burkett of Concord, N. H. and Wheaton College to A 1 Humphries, who is studying medicine at N.Y.U.; Miss Adele Friedstein of Brookline and Lasell Junior College to Jim Schaye; Miss Nathalie Blaisdell of Belmont, Mass., and Wheaton College, to Julian Hartwell; Miss Theresa L. Hoffman to Pete Basquin.
In the first of a series of articles on Navy wives, the Boston Advertiser featured Mrs. Paul Hurley, who said, "We must keep our health and vitality, even though the tendency is to slump." .... Art Root is the author of an article in the January issue of "Free America." .... The January issue of "Trend contains two poems by Ed Fritz. .... Just uncovered a card from Walt Kelley from Knoxville, Tenn.; Walt writes of '4O get-together before, during, and after the Georgia football game last fall (I'm just getting around to Braden's unprinted news), at which were Cal Sterling, Kim Flint, Joe Maloy, Paul Wessels, Bill Clarke, and Derrol Rogers, as well as Walt; good group, poor game.
Tom Braden's letter, written before his departure, includes this: "At an impromptu beer bout with Danny Sullivan and Bryon A. Mansfield in Boston, we decided that we got out of Hanover at the best of all possible times. In New York, Grabby (Dick Babcock), Mac and Marilyn Cross, and Tom George saw me off at the train and we kidded and had a good time. There were some fellows I knew in Hanover, too. The professors say their every spare hour is being taken up with recent alumni coming back to say good-bye. For Dartmouth men the road to war leads from Hanover, New Hampshire, which ought to be a pretty good sign."
ROY R. MERCHANT JR. '40 Has completed successfully two months'preliminary flight training at Squantum(Mass.) naval air station and is preparingfor advanced training at Pensacola.
Secretary, From SCOTT A. ROGERS JR. 2935 Brighton Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio
