Thayer School
THE BEGINNING OF the fifth term of V-12 instruction last month brought the largest enrollment to date in civil engineering courses, with a dropping off of enrollment in the heat power and electrical courses offered to Deck Officer candidates. Eight trainees are included in the seventh term civil engineering curriculum group, 29 in the fifth term group, and 33 are enrolled in plane surveying, the third term course conducted by the Thayer School for civil engineer candidates. Owing to the substantial reduction effected by the Navy in deck officer trainees, enrollment in Elementary Heat Power has been cut to about 60 and in Elementary Electrical Engineering, to about 100.
On October 13, Professor Brown and If took twelve students of the eighth term civil engineering class on an inspection trip to Springfield, Mass. The objectives of this trip' were Westover field, the Army air base at Chicopee and the sewage treatment works of the city of - Springfield. The trip was madepossible and made doubly, enjoyable by thecooperation of a group of Thayer School alumni living in and near Springfield. Arthur C. Nichols '16 heard through his son Arthur N. Nichols who was a member of the group that the trip was planned and immediately wrote to us to invite us all to visit Springfield as the guests of the alumni there. We were met at the train by Mr. Nichols, Edgar H. Elkins '15, Paul R. Rothery 'l6, Robert P. Harvey '17, James O. Martin '26, and Tim Paige '29. Mr. Nichols had the trip perfectly organized as to automobile assignments, routes, and meeting places, and we took off immediately for the home office building of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, where we were the guests of the alumni at an excellent luncheon. The alumni then transported us out to Westover field and joined our inspection of the facilities there, following which we were taken back across town to the sewage treatment plant. After a full inspection of this plant, the students gave a Da-Da-Dartmouth for the alumni and the group broke up for various destinations, several of us being accommodated overnight at alumni homes. The geniality and hospitality of all the Springfield alumni were a fine illustration to the students of the Thayer School and Dartmouth spirit.
Robert P. Trainor, Instructor in Mechanical Engineering last term, and Malcolm D. Corner '44, Instructor in Electrical Engineering, have left to accept positions in industry.
Francis R. Drury '38, who received a medical discharge from his commission as Lieutenant in the Civil Engineer Corps, USNR, last spring, has joined the faculty for the current term as Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering. Prior to accepting this position, Dan had been doing engineering consulting work with headquarters in Hanover. Incidentally, the oldest Drury son, Sonny, who is one of the outstanding skiers in these parts, is a member of the second-semester freshman class at Dartmouth.
Thorndike Saville '15, Dean of the College of Engineering at New York University, spent a few days' vacation in Hanover in October. While here he was a guest at a meeting of the Dartmouth and Hanover Planning Commissions at which plans for the construction of a new dam and hydro-electric power plant at Wilder were described by a representative of the New England Power Association. Dean Saville has a wide background of experience in such developments through his work on the Water Resources Committee of the National Resources Board and as consultant on many water power and water supply projects.
Daniel C. Frost '28, who has been Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Newark College of Engineering, has recently accepted a position as staff industrial engineer with the Armstrong Cork Company, of Lancaster, Pa. Sidney L. Ruggles '09, who has been office engineer supervising the construction of the Whitehorse Refinery of the Canol Project, has recently been transferred to Anchorage, Alaska, and after a brief stay there to one of the advanced islands in the Aleutian chain. Mr. Ruggles is with the U. S. Engineers and will be engaged in the construction of waterworks and sewerage facilities. In connection with the use of the gasoline refined at Whitehorse, he wrote:
The fact, which we have known for several months, that about half of the fighter planes and bombers going to Russia are being ferried over the Alaska Highway airports has just been made public, and this use of the highway has eclipsed the trucking use. For months those of us stationed on the highway have seen red-starred bombers and fighters going overhead which we knew were destined for the eastern front. I made a trip to Fairbanks recently and saw some of the Russian pilots who take them over at Fairbanks and fly them to Russia.
Congratulations to Nettie and Jim Dunn '35 on the birth October 7 of a son James A. Dunn Jr. Jim is a superintendent at the Ambridge shipyard of the American Bridge Company.
Good letters from Lt. (jg) Jim O'Mara '43 USNR have kept us up-to-date on his activities with the 6th Naval Construction Brigade. Jim is located in the Marianas group and has been engaged in a wide variety of work including stevedoring. At last reports he was in the operations office in charge of water supply and distribution for the island.
Jim's brigade commander is Captain Paul J. Halloran 'l9 USN. Captain Halloran has formed a Dartmouth Club in that area which had its orzanization meeting early last month.
Lieutenant Bruce Espy '41 USNR has completed his flight training at Dallas, Texas, and at last reports was engaged in fighter training at Pensacola.
Lieutenant Ed. Coakley '33 USNR has moved forward from Australia to "a beautiful spot in the hills of New Guinea. Even though we are practically on the equator, temperatures are not too bad, principally because of the altitude of our camp site.
John Sewall '43 is a private in the infantry and at last reports was in training at Camp Robinson, Arkansas, with expectations of being sent overseas at an early date.
