1917
A good letter from Capt. Bart Shackford MC USNR keeps the Hats Off Department active, and delights us with the news of Bart's promotion. His picture, herewith, shows him with all four stripes, and the photograph was taken by Mrs. Shackford. To keep the record up to! date, Bart sends us "the last of this war's personal items" about himself:—
1. Transferred from USN Hospital Treasure Island, to USN Hospital, Long Beach, Calif., January 1945. Assigned to duty as Officer in Charge, Laboratory, an intensely interesting service, as the hospital is the West Coast Tumor Center. With some of the country's best doctors on the staff, this has been as fine a postgraduate education as one could wish.
2. Promoted to Captain, MC, USNR, November 10, 1945.
3. Placed on terminal leave status November 28, 1945, at Los Angeles. Terminal leave expires March 19, 1946, when I shall be on the Naval Reserve inactive list.
4. Will resume practise of pathology at my old office, '416 Professional Bldg., Long Beach, Calif., after January 1, 1946.
It was a swell experience, no doubt about it, for the Captain, but we'll bet it feels pretty good to be just Dr. Shackford again, and at the old stand.
Another four-striper in the best gang of guys in the world to whom we do homage is Capt. Mike Donehue MC USNR. We are sorry not to have known of modest Mike's promotion before, but the Hats Off gang is always on the job and ready. Mike is now on inactive duty in the Naval Reserve and back in civvies.
A letter from Mrs. Dora Scott tells us, "Natt is still serving in the Army as a chaplain, doing transport duty between the United States and France at the present time. I am hoping he may get back to port for Christmas." Our last record shows Natt as a lieutenant and Mrs. Scott says nothing of his present commission. Some day it will be fun to have this war's record down in black and white so we may know what service and fortune befell each one during the past four years, and over.
If you pause a moment to go back, you will recall that a good 80% of our original number were in active service in World War I. Now, twenty-seven years after the well-remembered Armistice Day, and with our Thirtieth Reunion coming up, a full 20% of the gang have served in World War 11. They say that practise makes perfect, and that you can't hold an old fire horse when the gong rings. Whatever the basis, the '17ers who joined up in this man's war certainly collected a lot of gold braid for us to add to the record and to cherish. We have one general, Brig. Gen. Ed Langmead, and no admirals, to the best of our knowledge; but you could not count the Army colonels and the Navy captains on your fingers if you were, twins. Although most of us could not qualify, come this latest fracas, we take a genuine pleasure in the honors and promotions which have been awarded those who could and did.
Our report last month of those who attended the dinner at the Dartmouth Club following the Columbia game was, as we suspected, incomplete. In addition to those already reported, Capt. George and Helen Currier, the Bill Birtwells from Asbury Park, and Kent Hawley from Hartford also attended. Altogether, Rounder-upper Tom Cotton says that "The members of the Old Guard with their guests numbered about twenty-five, and we certainly had a wonderful time, not only at the cocktail party, but at the dinner following, to say nothing of indulging in lots of gossip, chatter, and what have you. We naturally had a lot to get caught up on and proceeded to do it efficiently."
Knowing how much the change means to Dewey and Helene, we take pleasure in giving you Dewey Duhamel's letter in full:—
Here's some real news for you. The Duhamels are going back East and will settle down at our old home at 364 Main St., North Andover, Mass., after December 23. What a break for us after the last five years pent up in these flat lands where the only break we got was this fall when Dartmouth played (?) Notre Dame. The company has seen fit to make me New England District Manager for the full Libby Owens Ford line. My office will be in the Statler Building and I'll be glad to hear from any or all of the old gang socially, if not regarding glass. Where is Sam MacKillop's lunch club? Needless to say Helene and I are thrilled at going back home to God's Country.
We are glad for Dewey that he is back east of the Hudson River, but you can be sure that by his move we miss one hospitable port of call on our regular trips to Toledo. To answer his question and as a general reminder, the MacKillop Luncheon Club is Schrafft's at 356 Boylston St., hard by the Statler Building. And if you find mostly ladies in the waiting line, just remember that the alcove is reserved for men, and that the service for friends of Sam MacKillop is really excellent.
From reports in the press we have learned that "The Right Reverend Donald B. Aldrich, Bishop Coadjutor of Michigan, has been advised by his physicians to resign because of ill health." This news comes as distinctly unfortunate, to say the least, for it was obvious that Don saw a real opportunity in his new post, and we all felt that it was a broader challenge for the man we know him to be. The brighter side is that Don Brooks phoned his old office at the Church of the Ascension to see what further information he could get, and was told that it was a case of strained heart muscles, and not heart trouble in the usual sense of the word. It is expected that a complete rest for from four to six months will put the Right Rev. Don back in good condition. Our hope is that he will take the best of care of himself so that soon he may pick up and go on ahead in the leadership for which he is so evidently destined.
From Duluth, Leon Cone says, "The family is fine. The three boys came through O.K. Leon '4l is in Hawaii at present. Chuck, the Marine, is at Camp Pendleton and his six year enlistment is up in June. He had four major engagements in the Pacific. Has Purple Heart, Unit Citations, and more ribbons than the general. Bill was in the Philippines but as we haven't heard from him in the last ten days we think he might be on his way home. We are not so worried any more. Come up and see me some time. A 17 twosome is tentatively planned for Michigan City, Ind., for several times a year Leon has occasion to visit the plant of one of his company's suppliers there. And Michigan City is one of the points on our map, too Walt Sisson says, "Carol is back at Wheelock College, Joe at Vermont Academy '(junior year), Polly and Pete at home with the old folks. The family had nine weeks on the St. Lawrence River last summer. I joined them weekends. Our 1917 contacts are limited to Hank and Ella Allison who live in Potsdam. Ruth and I are wondering how we are going to attend two graduations in 1947 and still make the 30th."
Reg Smith, writing from his home in Albion, Mich., says, "We fellows in the 'bush' who have not seen a '17er in a couple of years appreciate the activity in class affairs. It's a refreshing thought, too, about a 30th Reunion, but I hate to think of 30 years out of Dartmouth! But I'll have a son at Dartmouth this coming term which will keep us interested again" .. . Ned Dewey brings us up to date by saying all too briefly from Riverside, Conn., "I am now Manager of the Market Research Dep't of the Air Reduction Co., of New York City. In addition I continue as Director of the Foundation for the Study of Cycles on the side." Jess Hawley dropped us a line from Hartford but gave us no news of himself. It is a pleasure, though,. to pass along his regards to the gang.
From Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada, comes the first word from Dick Morenus in a long time:
Wish it were possible for me to have seen some of the gang at the games this fall. Used to make 'em regularly when in New York, but for the past five years we've been living up here in the wilderness. We have an island in the bush country, live in log cabins the year 'round and worry little about meat rationing. Came up here for a summer and have been here ever since. My business is still writing and I do my best to keep the airwaves sufficiently filled with Morenus dialogue to keep a good supply of Scotch on hand. That, and fish and game are plentiful,—so—if any of you run out of points come on up. The Dartmouth banner out in front will show you where to land.
A card from June Halloran tells us that Don arrived home from the service in time to make Christmas a very happy one for her and Buff The word from Harry and Alice Hawkes is that Wilson entered Trinity School in New York, which is Harry's old school, last fall, thus getting back to normal and preparation for Dartmouth after the long period of wanting to be an underage enlistee in the Army Al Emmons says Dave made home for Christmas from Great Lakes on a fourday leave. Steve had already arrived from Kimball Union, "five feet eleven and one-half inches and weighing one hundred and eighty-seven in his birthday suit." Steve likes the North Country and may well appear on the Big Green team in the not-far-distant future. Al himself has been appointed clerk of courts for the county to fill a vacancy and must run in the primaries next spring to succeed himself Fred Leighton and Sunny Sanborn are new members of the New York Dartmouth Club. Rey Reycroft spent an evening there recently while waiting for a transcontinental plane departure.
Our trip to New England for the holidays was well rewarded. We met Walt Carr in Boston and can report that he looks in the pink, —no change from Hanover days. He is with A. W. Smith & Co., Inc., 111 Devonshire St., and from all appearances is doing all right for himself. We were privileged, Fran and I, to have dinner with Howie and Dorothy Stockwell, and with Sam and Dorothy MacKillop. The Stockwell family is worthy of note in that it consisted, besides Howie and Dorothy, of Capt. Howie Jr., recently discharged from four and a half years in the Army, including the early days on Guadalcanal, his wife, Jane, and their children, Susan, years, and John, 4 months; Stewart, Fred's wife Marjorie, with their daughter Sandra, 8 months; Dick, V-12 at Yale and graduating this month, and the girls Joan and Martha, students at Beaver Country Day and Concord Academy, respectively. Fred, after sixteen months in the South Pacific, missed Christmas at home by a hair but was expected within a day or two. With nine adult Stockwells sitting around the table and three little ones in the background, the Stockwell household is a most enjoyable and inspiring privilege. Our dinner with Sam and Dorothy MacKillop was a delightful evening, as always, at the gracious hands of these loyal '17ers, and conducive, as always, of much talk of '17ers and '17 affairs. A further reward was a long chat with Sunny Sanborn in his office overlooking Boston Common. Sunny had moved his base of operations from Beacon Hill to the Sanborn summer home at Hampton Falls, N. H., for the holidays, and regardless of his defiance of the season, seemed to be profiting from the brief change from the alternating ice and slush of good old Boston.
ON TERMINAL LEAVE until March, Capt. Bartlett C. Shackford '17, MC USNR, has resumed medical practice in Long Beach, Calif.
Secretary, Silver Leaf Ave., Chatham, Mass. TREASURER, 9 Park Terrace, Upper, Montclair, N. J.
