1926
At the biggest and best New York Alumni Dinner in many a year (the ball room in the Hotel Pennsylvania was crowded to the gunwales) a goodly number of '26ers joined together for one of the largest turn-outs of the evening. That we failed to win the cup for class attendance was due only to a technicality whereby the winning class took the award by scoring more than a 100 per cent attendance record and possibly to the fact that one or two other classes had more men present than we did. But it was a good dinner and Prexy was at his best. Those on hand were Pete Wolff, Russ Newcomb, Herm Trefethen (over from Philadelphia), Nick Nickerson, Bleeck Williams, Fred Hurd (who did a splendid job in rounding up the class for the occasion), Ed Simmons, Bob Breyfogle, Nate Parker (back in civies and with his old firm of Kay, Richards & Co., Pittsburgh), George Champion, Hap Johnston, George Scott, Sid Haywaru, Gordon Chipman (enjoying the evening despite his duties as assistant manager of the Hotel Pennsylvania), Snipe Esquerre, Ed Dooley, Jake Jacobus, Brant Wallace, Bob Cleary, Andy O'Connor with his boys Andy Jr., and George and Albert E, Hadlock '87, father of Canfield, who was elected on the spot an honorary member of 1926.
Bob Breyfogle, whose address was reported last month as again being Peterboro, Canada, has been in New York at the main office of the National City Bank for the last several months. It is just a breathing spell between assignments, he explained, and he'll be off again soon to a new post, possibly in Europe. Nick Nickerson had news which somehow had eluded our drag-net system—he resigned from the Chase National Bank last fall to join the American Smelting & Refining Company. Nick is at the main office at 120 Broadway.
It's comforting to realize that the stork still can find the home of a '26er once in a while, despite the approaching dignity of our becoming a twenty-year class. Lee and Eleanor Powers welcomed a son in Wellesley on February 27 and named him Leland Francis Jr. Harold Rosenberg paced the floor of St. John's Hospital in Lowell where Grace was born on March 11.
Ernie Stebbins is on a temporary leave of absence from his job as Health Commissioner of New York City in order to serve as consultant to a special medical mission which left for Italy recently.
Bill Chism has kept himself busy with the Navy. Now a commander, Bill skippers the assault transport, U.S.S. . He participated in all five major assaults in the African-European theatre of operations: Casablanca and Sicily as gunnery officer; Salerno and Normandy as executive officer; and Riviera as commanding officer. Some good news has come in regarding Oz Fitts—he's now a lieutenant colonel. A card arrived the other day from Major Ralph Thomas—he's enjoying a short stay at Asheville, S. C., before again tackling the heavy financial activities o£ the U. S. Army.
The handsome gent in naval uniform, we hope is pictured this month, is Lt. Ritchie Smith, and the lovely lady in his arms is Deborah, now three.
The banking fraternity is in the news—and not because of chastisement by the SEC. Jim Jenkins left the Central Hanover Bank & Trust last fall to become an assistant vice president of the Bankers Trust Co.
From Kittanning, Pa., comes good tidings about Chappy Jones. After his serious throat condition, Chap is now well recovered and has resumed his law practice.
Paul Venneman has announced the formation as of May 1, of two new firms, in both of which he has a principal interest. The firm of Campbell and Venneman, certified public accountants, will conduct a general accounting practice with offices at 514 M & T Building, Buffalo and in New York City, probably in Rockefeller Center. The firm of Venneman, Campbell & Saunders with the same offices will provide a contract termination service to harassed manufacturers facing the cancellation of war contracts.
Tubber and his Fund assistants are again working like Trojans and doing a bang-up job. They can't succeed, however, unless every man in the class does his share. How the Dartmouth Alumni Fund and its magnificent achievements over the years look to a sister institution can be seen in the comment in a Princeton newsletter to its fund agents. Speaking of the results of our last year's Fund this is what was said—"The figures from Dartmouth arrived a day or so ago. As usual, their record is astounding. They set a pace, even when Princeton's Memorial Insurance figures are taken into account, which no other college has been able to equal."
BARBARA SEEMS TO ENJOY HER LESSON as her father, Lt. Ritchie Smith '26 of the Navy, guides her through one-syllable preliminaries before delving with her into the intricacies of naval strategy.
Secretary, Welsh Farms, Inc., Long Valley, N. J.
Treasurer, United Shoe Machinery Corp. 140 Federal St., Boston, Mass.
