1912
Apparently your radios will again be blasting another "song hit" from the pen of Al Eiseman. We glean the following from the Hartford, Conn., Courant
A party of the first-shift assembly-room forces of Pratt and Whitney Division, United Aircraft Corporation, at the Hotel Garde Thursday night, was the scene of the launching of a brand new song by the writer of the hit ballad of about a year ago, "Johnny Zero."
The new song, a novelty rhythm number, is entitled "Hubba-Hubba" after the same joyous expression which originated in the Army Air Forces, and is fast becoming popularized by Jack Carson and other radio stars such as Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Kay Kyser and Fibber McGee and Molly.
Alfred S. (Al) Eiseman, Pratt and Whitney assembly-floor inspector, is the writer of the lyrics of the new song, and he is hopeful that the number will reach heights in popularity because of its theme, as well as its catchy tune.
The music was composed by another assembly floor employee, 26-year-old Don Bearse, who wrote the music for "Jersey Bounce" when he was a senior at Hyannis, Mass., High School in 1937.
Now a resident of 51 Central Ave., East Hartford, Mr. Eiseman formerly lived in New York City. Following graduation from Dartmouth College in 1912, he was associated in business with a textile concern, an automobile finance company, the Postal Telegraph Cos., and the Otis Elevator Cos., before becoming an inspector for Pratt and Whitney.
His lyric writing has always been a hobby, the first of his musical avocation, "Johnny Zero," having been inspired by his son, Lt. Alfred S. Eiseman Jr. USN, who has been serving as gunnery officer on a destroyer in the Pacific for two years under fire from Jap Zeros. The music of "Johnny Zero" was written by Howard Steiner, and although the names of the collaborators do not appear on the published song because of altercation with the office of Irving Berlin, Mr. Steiner and Mr. Eiseman, through litigation, have been recognized in court as the rightful authors and have accepted a money settlement.
Among Mr. Eiseman's published songs is "Troop Train" which he wrote in collaboration with Kay Toomey and Al Goodhart, the team that created "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in Ireland."
Commodore Jimmie Boak USN writes from a Naval base "somewhere in the Pacific" that for the past two and a half years it has been impractical to forward second class mail matter to him because his address has been changed so frequently and therefore suggests that the mailing of the Dartmouth ALUMNI MAGAZINE to him be suspended. "It is with regret that I sever my relations for the duration of the war. I have enjoyed greatly the occasional contacts that I have had, since I left college, with the members of the class of 1912."
Last month Doc Quint and his wife flew to Boston from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to consult a specialist regarding his wife's health. Pett Pettingell and his wife had the pleasure of spending an evening with them and Pett reports: "Doc looks well and is very busy with his regular practice and with three war jobs. He is head of the staff of the local hospital, also the hospital for returned wounded in Calgary, and he has charge of the medical examinations for those going into the service. His son is an aviator now stationed on an island near Vancouver. Doc hopes to have an opportunity to sit down with a bunch of 1912ers some day soon."
On the evening of March 15 Doc O'Connor spoke at the Dartmouth College Club of New York on the topic, "The American Red Cross on the Fighting Fronts." By the time this is published Doc will be on a six-weeks' inspection tour of Red Cross installations in the Central and Southwest Pacific, supplementing the official visit of Red Cross facilities in England, France arid Italy that he made last Fall. The syndicated column Who's News Today recently carried the following, concerning Doc:
The happenstance or affinity or whatever which drew Basil O'Connor into a law partnership with Franklin Delano Roosevelt years ago makes him now the guardian spirit of every American mother's son in a war prison camp. Out of the partnership the following association has come O'Connor's chairmanship of the American Red Cross, and no present Red Cross responsibility weighs more heavily than the watch maintained over American and Allied soldiers who had the bad luck to land in the Axis net.
Roosevelt was O'Connor's law partner. When the President-to-be decided to specialize in elections, O'Connor decided to go it alone. His admirers say that nowadays he goes it 18 hours a day and sleeps only six. Of the 18, only nine interest the income-tax collector. The other nine, they say, he works for free. He works for the Red Cross, for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, for the Warm Springs Foundation, for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Inc., for the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and for others of the same sort.
O'Connor is an immigrant to New York from Taunton, Mass. His education is out of Dartmouth, with one of the most attractive campuses in the country, and Harvard, with one of the ugliest. He Cannot claim a success comparable to his onetime partner's; but he can afford a town establishment on Park Avenue and a country place on Long Island and his health is as good as his bank account, especially since he stopped smoking. At 53 he considers himself still a burly softball pitcher good enough to make suckers out of sluggers half his age. From on top he looks only about half his age. Few; men of his years have so much hair, so sleek, so little touched with gray.
New York classmates were shocked and saddened by the sudden death o£ Hugh Eaton on April 3, while making a business call in Baltimore when he was stricken with a heart attack. At the funeral services in New York the class was represented by Morris Knight, Jim Steen, Dick Remsen, Les Snow, Randy Burns, Charlie Gately and Heinie Urion.
The following recently appeared in the magazine, Food Marketing in New England.
SNOWVILLE WAS NAMED AFTER SNOW FAMILY— The picture of Snowville, N. H., Postoffice in a recent Food Marketing was looked at—by some. If we were in a Promoting Mood we would say: "Thousands of New England folks viewed, with breathless interest the superb photograph," etc. We do know One Reader sent the paper to Col. Conrad E. Snow, head of the Signal Corps' Legal Division in Washington, mailing us a copy of his appended letter to Colonel Snow.
So we wrote Colonel Snow, hunching that per haps the town was named for a Snow family instead of just plain snow (lower case, please, Mr. Printer). Here's Colonel Snow's response:
"In reply to your letter, the Village of Snowville was named for the Snow family. One of the first settlers in the Village was Joseph Snow, who arrived shortly after 1815, and built a house in the center of the Village together with a sawmill, gristmill, cider mill, etc. He had a family of 13 children, many of whom settled in the Village, so that at one time every house in the Village was occupied by a descendant. His son, Edwin, who was my grandfather, was Village Postmaster, and ran the country store, as well as all the mills. The Village was originally called Snow Village, but when the Post Office was established, the Post Office Department shortened it to Snowville."
Lyme Armes sent us the foregoing, saying: "The photographer and the editor were friends of mine. So when I saw the picture of the icicle-framed Snowville Postoffice, I clipped it and sent it to Connie to stir up his nostalgia."
Last month we reported on Bob Belknap via Lt. Col. Dick Plumer. From Bob directly we get the. following:—
The peregrinating Belknaps seem to be the next in line to contribute to the disintegration of the 1912 delegation with the Signal Corps in wartime Washington. I am now back with Motors Holding Division of General Motors where I was before the war. I have not officially changed my address from Washington because we still have our apartment there, and I do not know where I will be located eventually. I will be in and out of New York and will see you one of these times. Daughter Barbara expects to stay in Washington with the Navy, and Bob 11, who is now at Great Lakes, expects to move the middle of April. So you see we will be "yell scattered.
Dick Remsen recently acquired a house at Buck Hill Falls, Pa., where he expects to spend weekends the year-round. He says if you want to find him it is the house on the highest hill there. Last month Dick attended the commissioning of a submarine at Portsmouth, N. H., of which Lt. (jg) Bill Remsen USNR is communications officer. Dick Remsen Jr. is executive officer of the corvette on convoy duty in the Atlantic.
After more years than either of us could remember, Bush Mensel and I had a visit, when he called on me during one of his frequent business trips to New York. I hope he keeps his promise to have lunch with me at an early date.
Acting Secretary, 120 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Acting Treasurer, Court House, Dedham, Mass.
