1909
Just back from the Dartmouth-Yale game and, in spite of a diligent search, did not see another member of the class present. It seems as though there must have been somebody there but I didn't see anyone. Art Swenson told me he went to the Syracuse game but he didn't see anyone either.
Ben Dudley gave me a most startling piece of news. He and Mrs. Dudley were at the Hanover Inn the middle of October and whom should they run into but Bill Holzer and his bride of only two days! Bill has been a confirmed bachelor all his life but has, at last, been snared by what Ben calls "a most lovely, intelligent and likeable lady." He predicts she will be the youngest and most attractive '09 wife at our next Reunion.
Frank Austin has just been appointed Manager, Purchases and Stores, New York Central System, with headquarters at New York.
The Boston papers recently carried several pictures of Mary Carroll receiving the Presidential Medal of Merit presented to her by Basil O'Connor for Freddie's services during the war.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get any further details of George Burns' death so the following letter from Jack Childs, together with a picture of George, was most welcome:
The passing of George Burns, details of which, I imagine, will be forthcoming in an early issue of the Dartmouth MAGAZINE, was a considerable shock to me, for George was one of my good friends in college. We became acquainted as freshmen, both roomed in Reed Hall as sophomores, but not as roommates, and our friendship was further cemented during the remainder of our time in Hanover.
After graduation, I rather lost track of George, and I guess most of the class did, too, for he seemed to retire to his own affairs, and didn't participate in Dartmouth activities. This inclination had its beginning during senior year when he began to withdraw from active association with many of the men with whom he had been more or less intimate. Why this was, I was never able to find out. But George was a guy I always liked. One of my pleasant memories associated with the College was the spring vacation, sophomore year, I spent with George at his home in Ayer, Mass. Bill Bailey was also along, and the three of us, with the aid and abetment of a couple of local girls, whose names slip me at the moment, took in all the sights of the Ayer countryside. His folks were hospitable and we felt like members of the family.
In the selection of candidates for athletic managerships, George was one of the ten men elected by the class, and he qualified as assistant manager of track his junior year, then manager his last year. I, too, was elected, but was disqualified, because the powers thought I had played too much politics in running for office. Maybe that was the forerunner of the PAC, but college authorities sure nipped it in the bud. That might be an idea in the case of the present PAC.
Our junior and senior years were spent in the new Massachusetts hall, Schildmiller and I on the first floor, and Burns on the top floor. At the Delta Alpha banquet our last year, Burns had "Dartmouth" assigned to him as the topic of a talk, and I was tagged as toastmaster. I still have a copy of the printed menu in my Memorabilia, with the signatures of many of those who attended.
One day in February, 1907, I got a letter from some dame in Nashua who said she would like to get acquainted with me, that the letter I had written her had such appeal that she thought she and I might become "intimate friends." I couldn't figure out what it was all about until George told me that he had started the deal by signing my name. I never did follow up this lead, and whether or not George met the lady under my name, I don't know. It was one of those practical jokes that was common in those days.
When you hear of guys like Burns and Hawley going across to the other side, you kind of wonder who'll be next in line. About a quarter of our graduating class have departed this life, and a number of those who never finished. This picture that I have lifted from my Memorabilia (now disintegrating from age) shows George out in front of Reed Hall, all set to go on a peerade. I thought his friends in '09 would like to get a final shot of him as they remembered him in college. His last peerade, I hope, has taken him to a happier land where the ills and troubles of the world are viewed with complacency from the heights above.
Jack continued his letter with the following: Not much news about other members of our class. I saw Cad Wellsted a few weeks ago and he's looking as chipper as usual, one of the few lads you'd recognize, if you hadn't seen him since graduation. He is no longer in the brokerage business for himself, but is with a good sized outfit, same line of business, in the Union Commerce Building, Cleveland. As for me, I'm still enjoying life in the village of Aurora, Ohio, the garden spot of America, where I'm executive chairman of the Men's Club and on the zoning commission. My piano playing is beginning to show the results of an hour or so practice each evening, and every once in a while I play the banjo for diversion. Business is beginning to look up, and all in all I'm enjoying the kind of life I'm leading. Best regards to the '09 gang.
Secretary, Wm. Filene's Sons Co. 426 Washington St., Boston, Mass.
Treasurer, 16 Wall St., New York 15, N. Y.
