1909

The accompanying picture gives rather graphically the difficulty experienced by one of our classmates, namely, Robert Burns, in attending classes in his freshman year.

It seems that Bob Burns was recently going over some old correspondence and came across the following letter which he wrote to his father in his freshman year at college, apparently after the first reports were out and in reply to a letter from him in explanation of a very poor report received.

"Dear Dad:

I was not surprised you should be concerned about my recent college report.... in fact, the Dean and several professors seemed to be showing unusual interest in my progress here.... what with basketball, football and class activities these are busy days Do not doubt you have heard there is a real problem of survival in this here college.... the problem of arriving at class in the morning usually exhausted with a temperature of 30 degrees below zero, five foot of snow, and usually a band of Indians with tomahawks and bows and arrows, hiding behind trees and in trees ready and willing to block your efforts .... in fact, some of us were captured recently and held for three days .... it was a very grueling experience and one never to be forgotten Of course, we learn some tricks that may stand us in good stead these coming years but all this has prevented close application to books and learning in general .... however,.... and then "

Bob states that his father's reply to this brilliant effort in self defense indicated that a cut in his allowance was in order on account of no expense while in the custody of the Indians, and he hoped that Bob had learned that two pairs were no good in any man's game. Then followed a few pertinent remarks that abruptly terminated any further facetious comments about his College progress. We all know that Bob has not lost his sense of humor and still could get out of just as bad a situation if he had to.

Allen McCurdy, who is superintendent of schools in Supervisory Union No. 48, a large district centering in Plymouth, N. H., is taking a leave of absence from his duty for a period of a year to rest up. A year ago he was stricken with pneumonia, and although he has pursued his duties during this school year, he has never fully recovered his strength. Allen has been doing an outstanding job and has been mentioned frequently in the newspapers for his work. He is going to continue living at Wentworth during his leave of absence.

I am very sorry to report that Bob Stone has been quite seriously ill with pneumonia at the Winchester Hospital but is now well on the road to recovery.

Reginald Colley is the author of "Poles and Pole Treatment" printed as monograph B-1352 of the Bell Telephone System technical publications.

I recently attended a Class Secretaries Meeting held in Boston, and I am sorry to learn from statistics given out that our Class is not responding as well as many of the other classes in paying their dues and subscriptions to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. We are probably not going to be able to have our Class reunion in '44 because of the war, so it is more essential than ever that we have as much information about each other as we can through the MAGAZINE. Can't we, therefore, get you to help us out with your subscriptions which should be sent to Edgar S. Chappelear, 16 Wall Street, New York.

Norman Catharin received a nice letter from "Buster" Brown enclosing funds for his donation to the Alumni Fund. "Buster" was recently promoted as a major in the Air Corps and is now located at 3rd Prov. Staging Det., Baer Field, Ft. Wayne. He states that he has been doing special "staging" work on combat airplanes, moving from field to field and has pretty well covered the country east of the Rockies and is expecting another move soon.

Jim Greenebaum just came across with his check for the Alumni Fund and states to Norm Catharin that he is very busy with war work and has all kinds of increased responsibilities occasioned by war demands for materials that he mostly cannot supply. Jim is at 2435 S. Indiana Ave., Chicago.

A letter from Harry Burroughs states that his son, Jack, is enlisted in the Marine Reserve and assigned to Dartmouth. He expects to be put into uniform and sent to officer training school somewhere else. Jack has just had an operation at Hanover on sinus at the base of his spine but is making a quick recovery. Harry says he is still "peddling shoe laces" and trying to get deliveries out of his factories, which is some probl em these days. In addition to shoe laces, he is now up to his neck in civic affairs, being chairman of the Recreation Committee which runs the Community House and Playgrounds as well as chairman of the School Committee.

"HE WENT INTO THE WILDERNESS" Hazards experienced by Bob Burns 'O9 at-tending classes during hard rpoj winter.

Secretary, Wm. Filene's Sons Co. 426 Washington St., Boston Class Agent, 42 Jackson Road, West Medford, Mass.