1915
For no good reason at all, I have been given the pleasant duty o£ reporting the belated 30th Reunion, held at Hanover, July 12, 13 and 14, 1946, and after this report, your new Secretary, Sid Crawford, will take over for the next term.
It is always difficult to start one of these stories, and to pick out the high-lights, because when one has been out of college the number of years we have, almost every incident in the happy three days together is a highlight in itself, and it would take space far more than that allotted to us by the generous editor of the MAGAZINE, to inject everything one would like to say.
Moving chronologically is perhaps always the safest and surest method of doing a complete job, and so this swan-like effort will start off Friday night when the bulk of the 85 'isers who made up the attendance reached the compact clubby quarters assigned to us in the quadrangle of Ripley, Woodward and Smith Halls, located just over the back fence from what certainly is a new Dartmouth, with its clothes reels in the rear of South Fayerweather containing G.l.'s, their wives and infant children, and the usual things belonging to the latter which are hung on clothes reels.
The Committee warned our members ahead of time not to expect "Waldorf-Astoria service, and furthermore the depressing thought that we might starve to death, but for real comfort as to quarters, none has exceeded this year's, which were assigned to us. A quick after-thought by Fletch Low, who made all the Hanover arrangements, provided a fine buffet supper on Friday night, which solved the eating problem for all, and made for a splendid start for the week-end. A last minute delay prevented me from getting there for that delightful supper, but those who attended said it was tops.
It was one of those reunions where a minimum of regimentation was planned, yet there were enough scheduled to have a semblance of orderly procedure, and the balancing of the two was perfect. Had the committee ordered up_ the brand of weather needed to make the reunion complete it could not have been improved upon, for we had the best of Hanover sunshine, and clear blue skies, allowing everyone to remain outdoors from dawn to dawn.
Saturday morning the Alumni meeting was held, and I can assure you the attendance was probably just as large as it ever was, even though I didn't go. The picture which adorns these pages was taken Saturday afternoon, and I believe all were present except Kike Richardson, who, when the choice arose between getting there to have his picture taken in time, or finishing a delightful slab of watermelon, he characteristically chose the latter.
What had been kept a dark secret for some months in the fear that it might be imitated, was easily one of the outstanding events of the reunion. In the latter part of the afternoon on Saturday, the Classes of 1913, 1914, *915 and 1916 gathered in front of Dartmouth Hall for an old-fashioned Class Hum, where we saw Ray King do his stuff as of yore as chorister, and one would never be able to count the number of ships we saw go by, nor how many times we went "down Mobile," nor how well we proved to the onlookers that we really were "pals, good old pals." Perhaps the best compliment we received, was when, in a conversation with Don Cameron '35, Maestro of Reunions, he told me that he heard songs that he had never heard before, so apparently time was turned pretty far backward in its flight.
Early Saturday evening came a cocktail hour on the terrace of the Inn, perhaps in many respects unnecessary, as one might observe, but none the less delightful for the participants.
Came the time for the annual banquet and Class Meeting, and the women folks were shipped off to a dinner prepared for them at the Norwich Inn, while the Class and its male offspring repaired to Thayer Hall, where the management certainly outdid itself in serving a delightful satisfying and thoroughly deluxe buffet supper.
Our chief speaker was Eddie Chamberlain '36, assistant to the late Bob Strong, whose subject was "Admissions," and Eddie not only has a fine grasp of the problems facing the Admissions Department, but likewise a sensible and convincing way or explaining the problems to those of us far away from Hanover. He went statistical only to the extent of illustrating quite graphically the fact that the brick walls of Hanover dormitories cannot be stretched to take care of more students than they have facilities for, particularly in these few transition years, when a definite obligation to. returning G. I.'s requires a priority for them if they wish to continue their interrupted scholastic work. Eddie didn't say this, but I can. It is just that type of strain in trying to accomplish the impossible which probably hastened the death of Bob Strong, and which has worn out a number of the executives of the College, and we at our end must bear with those who are doing the work, with the full knowledge that it is being done sincerely, fairly and honestly to the best of their ability, with the facilities available.
The Class meeting ran with well-oiled, clocklike precision. 'Twas a hot day, and no one wanted to listen to lengthly reports. "Cut it short," was the by-word. A beautifully audited report of Treasurer. Chan Foster, which would have been a joy to any Board of Directors or stockholder to ponder over, was cut to total cash received, here's what I spent, this is what's left. Well anyway, what was left was $510.80, indicating that the boy is a wonder, for this is net after donating $500.00 to the permament 1915 Memorial Fund about two months ago.
Likewise the Secretary's report ground out over sleepless nights, became actually a five minute resume, and the complete manuscript will be slipped away in the dusty files.
The Secretary, however, did read one paragraph which is reproduced here, and as itwas read those who were present rose andtook a bow. This is the paragraph. "This being, inevitably, a report of a war period, itsomehow seems to me that the highlight isthe actual active service of 18 of our Classmates in the war as military and naval officers.Were we graduates in a Class of recent vintage, 18 would be a negligible number, butwhen we realize that on the day of Pearl Harbor we had been 'out in the wide, wideworld' some 26 years, I think the number isremarkable, and I believe we should saluteat this time the following Classmates who didrepresent us in uniform:
Comdr. A. Murray Austin, USNR., Capt. John Bache-Wiig, USAAC.,-Comdr. Vincent G. Byers, USNR., Lt. Col. Marvin L. Frederick, USA., Brig. Gen. Howard E. Fuller, USA., Capt. Robert H. Griffin, USNR., Capt. John N. Harriman, USN., Col. Russell B. Livermore, USAAC., Major Norville Milmore, USA., Capt. Leo M. Murphy, USAAC., Lt. Col. Herbert S. Potter, USA., Comdr. Thornton C. Pray, USNR., Major Richard W. Redfield, USA., Capt. Harold T. Rich, USA., Comdr. Earl F. Ryan, USNR., Comdr. Ralph A. Sawyer, USNR., Comdr. Elliot R. Sharp, USNR., and Capt. Wendell H. Woolworth, USA., and of course the Secretary of the Navy, James V. Forestal."
Now comes the Class Agent, whose report was confined to telling us that the final total of the contributions to the Alumni Fund for 1946 by our Class was just over $12,000, and of course the top figure of all time. The Nominating Committee presented the following slate, and all were elected by unanimous vote to serve until the next reunion in 1950:
President, A. Stanley Llewellyn; Vice President, Russell B. Livermore; Secretary, Sidney C. Crawford; Treasurer, Chandler H. Foster; Class Agent, John R. Mason; Executive Committee, William C. Huntress, Perry H. Stevens, Harold S. Turner; Regional Vice Presidents; Leßoy G. Porter, Hanover, N. H.; Albert C. Cleveland, Portland, Me.; Carroll A. Parnell, Pittsfield, N. H.; Frederick P. Lowe, Montpelier, Vt.; George W. Simpson, Boston, Mass.; Gilbert M. Campbell, Springfield, Mass.; Arthur A. Tower, Meriden, Conn.; Carl K. Gish, New York, N. Y.; Harold S. Ellms, Raquette Lake, N. Y.; Joseph P. Pitman, Chambersburg, Pa.; Jared J. Mowry, Hartsville, S. C.: Stuart M. Hill, Boulder, Colo.; Malcolm R. Mac Donald, Northbrook, 111.; Alpheus English, Columbus, Ohio; Charles H. Ingram, Tacoma, Washington.
The report was submitted by the Nominating Committee, consisting of Dale Barker, Chairman; Johnnie Johnson, Jonny Mullin, Thornt Pray and Kell Rose.
Only one piece of legislative work was required, being the amending of Art. IV, Sec. 1, the increasing of the Executive Committee to 8 instead of 7, by the inclusion of the Class Agent as a member thereof.
On Sunday morning, under the masterful direction of Stan Llewellyn, a Memorial Service was conducted in the peace and dignity of the White Church, for those of our members who have passed on. As each name was read many a memory of a roommate, close pal, or a friend in later life was brought back to those who attended to give a few moments in fond memory.
Those members of the Class, no longer with us are: Theodore Adams, Edwin L. Alderson, Timothy E. E. Anderson, August S. Atwood, Henry E. Bacon, Henry L. Bancroft, Henry F. Bayley, Carleton P. Bardsley, Harry S. Bickford, James G. Bickford, Charles E. Bishop, Ben V. Borella, Silas H. Burnham, James L. Churchell, Edgar A. Curtis, Richard H. Cutter, Paul E. Dailey, Frederic D. Day, Joel S. Fawcett, Carleton D. Fletcher, Everett J. Graves, Ben W. Grills, Richard N. Hall, Frank J. Harlow, Woodbury Hough, Chauncey P. Hulbert, John R. Hurlburt, Henry I. Ingersoll, Paul W. Johnson, Chester B. Jordan, Horace B. Keeler, Russell M. Kelley, David B. Kinne, Philip A. Leary, John Y. Mackintosh, William A. McDonough, John R. McMichael, James D. MacFarland, Donald Mac Murray, William F. Magruder, Maxwell H. Mernstein, Scott Montgomery, Bertch W. Moye, Allen S. Norton, Donald S. Page, Frederick L. Parchert, Raymond S. B. Perry, Alfred S. Priddis, Allan L. Priddy, James H. Regan, Edward G. Rice, Herbert C. Richardson, Franklin H. Rohrs, William N. Rogers, Arthur M. Rowe, Milton M. Rosza, Harold C. Ryan, John S. Slattery, Phillip D. Smith, Robert M. Snyder, Roger W. Spaulding, Francis W. Stone, Charles R. Taplin, "William M. Taylor, Charles R. Thomas, Edwin B. Thomas, Elmer F. Thyng, William H. Townsend, Alan F. Waite, Edwin S. Whit, Donald H. Whitmer, Lawrence A. Whitney, Charles Wilder, Arthur P. Williams, Roger Winship, Charles F. Woodcock, John H. Woolverton, Samuel T. Wright.
The final scheduled gathering of the Class was the picnic which included Classmates, their wives and children, at the Outing Club House on beautiful Occom Pond, Sunday noon. Here with the setting of a perfect day, and quiet surroundings, a buffet lunch was served, a social hour enjoyed and one by one the exodus began to the accompaniment of "I'll be seeing you in 1950."
So much for the chronological period, now for the impressionistic.
There are always certain events at a reunion which stand out over and above all others and it is this part of the report which enables the author to ramble, personalize and in general reminisce in setting forth the events of the three pleasant days spent in Hanover at five year intervals, for some, but for many 10, and 15 and even 30 year intervals. Each year finds those who return for every reunion, some who come periodically, and others who are attending their first reunion since graduation, and this year was no exception.
Not only is it undesirable to select any one person as the outstanding reuner, but it is also somewhat impolitic, for a reunion is essentially a leveler; each and everyone is on the same footing. The only ticket of admission is a Classmate's desire to mingle once again with those with whom he spent one or more years as an undergraduate on the College Campus.
We can, however, specify certain general features, and whoever conceived the idea (and I think Don Cameron '35 is the author) of having a Class reune by College generation has definitely established a new era in Class reunions, and changed a tradition, which should have occurred to those who made reunions possible, many years ago.
For the first time the Classes did not return in multiples of 5 years, but reuned as an undergraduate unit, and we were tied in with the Classes of '13, '14 and '16, and the plan met with, as far as I can see, 100% approval. In that particular classification 1915 was once again the sophomore class, and there was a double thrill in seeing those of contiguous classes, many members of whom we have never seen since our own graduation, but who became grand old seniors, drunken juniors and pea-green freshmen for three days* while we as gay young sophomores belied bald heads, greying and stiffening joints. Of course, it took a war to make this change from the traditional five year plan, and whether it can happen regularly I don't know, but if the fertile brain of Don Cameron conceived the original plan, he probably can find some manner of accomplishing the same result again.
I know my memory is not perfect, but at least some of those who came back for the first time in many many, years were Tom Connelly, Jack Ferguson, Dick Granger, Shorty Gray, Roy Lafferty, Freddy Pearce, Thornt Pray, Dud Rogers, A1 Sherman, Art Tower, Jim Mowry, Gabe Walker and Jiggs Donahue. Jack Ferguson back after 30 years, had the brightest idea of anyone. He took with him our booklet after 25 years and got the signature of each Classmate opposite his picture in the book, and assured each signer that there was no carbon paper beneath to secure the traditional name on the dotted line of a contract, which oil men are purported to use.
Did I say that we never personalize any one reuner? No, we do not, but this Reunion wrote the happy climax of probably the most tragic, yet romantic story ever written of a 1915 Classmate. When Jiggs Donahue walked into Hanover there was accomplished and made a reality a dream of 30 years the last five of which probably are without equal in the life of any 'iser. Some of his story has appeared in our Class notes, some more extensively in letters he wrote to various members o£ our Class, and others, of the tortuous days and months as Jiggs and his beloved wife Lisette hid in the hills and lived in caves to prevent their capture by the Nazi forces, their only contact and help coming from the French Underground, defy all imagination. To add to the horror of their predicament, Lisette was stricken with cancer and required several operations to save her life, and only the kindly care of the French patriots made it possible for these operations to be performed, after which again they fled to places of safety, wherever they might be found. I don't believe that Jiggs closed his eyes during the three days at Hanover, and when I told him he should get some sleep, he told me that he didn't want to miss a single hour in the place of his dreams, but wandered alone even after all of us had retired for the night, feasting his eyes on familiar sights. Can there be any greater exemplification of "Though round the girdled earth they roam, her spell on them remains"? Vive Jiggs; Vive Lisette.
What punishment those two pianos in the Class tent took, and the depreciation for overtime must have been terrific. Johnnie Johnson did the honors, and likewise Red Stevens, and even Red's beloved guitar of by-gone days made its appearance on several occasions, and to see him and Russ Chase harmonizing took me back to the sophomore year which we were representing, when Russ, Red and George Dyke provided the musical atmosphere in New Hamp.
As mentioned previously in the account of the Hum, there were songs produced which haven't been heard in Hanover for 30 years, and what if a few of them were repeated. Gay young sophomores are likely to do most anything, even to the resurrected 1915 green derby of doubtful vintage and the Chamberlain umbrella which String so proudly wore and bore continuously. We missed Casey Jones' inspired accordian which has entertained us so many times, but we were thankful, -even though he was not strong enough to play it, to have Casey with us, after his recent serious illness. His trip to Hanover was made possible by Eben Clough, who provided the transportation and looked after him like a mother.
And so we must stop our ramblings, even though a generous editor assures a maximum of space in the Report of the MAGAZINE.
And now your new Secretary becomes your editor, and as an editor he must have news. A gathering of the past and new officers Sunday afternoon, decided unanimously that the best means of keeping Classmates in touch with events is through the columns of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, and all members of the Class are to receive it. Thus the matter of news becomes of primary importance and I urge you to send every scrap of news you can to Sid. A Secretary cannot gather news himself. He must depend upon others, and it should be wide-spread. I had two outstanding newshounds in Jack Healy, who kept me informed on gatherings in New York, and Eben Clough, who kept the pot boiling with Boston news. The danger therein lies in hearing about the doings of the same ones, and of course a diversified list is desirable. Where only a few contribute items, some are neglected, with the result that the editor hears that his news column stinks; but there are compensations too, when for example a certain bald-headed member of our Class wrote me that he always waited until two o'clock in the morning to read the 1915 Class notes, as he could then enjoy them without interruption; and Jiggs Donahue, God bless him, must have memorized every word in the Class column in the last 20 years. Give Sid all the news. He's a grand guy, and he'll do a swell job.
Here they are, the loyal reuners: Leon Aronowitz, Murray Austin, Dale Barker, Bill Bemis, Don Bennink, Bob Bigelow, Jack Bowler, Ernie Boyd, Ralph Brown, Sid Bull, Bush Campbell, Gib Campbell, Russ Chase, Hal Claflin, Dick Clarke, Tom Connelly, Hal Corwin, Sid Crawford, Hal Davison, Bud Doe, Jiggs Donahue, String Downing, A1 English, Dolph English, Jack Ferguson, Chan Foster, Marv Frederick, Howie Fuller, Carl Gish, Lee Graham, Dick Granger, Shorty Gray, Bob Griffin, Charlie Griffith, Bob Guest, Chan Harwood, Dave Hitchcock, Bill Huntress, Johnnie Johnson, Johnny Kimball, Ray King, Roy Lafferty, Russ Livermore, Stan Llewellyn, Duze Lounsberry, Fletch Low, Erl Mac Andrews, Harry Marcy, George Martin, Jack Mason, Norvie Milmore, Johnny Mullen, Nut Norwood, Doc Noyes, Freddy Pearce, Phil Pelletier, Thornt Pray, Bill Reynolds, Russ Rice, Kike Richardson, Dud Rogers, Kell Rose, Buster Sawyer, Dick Scharmann, A1 Sherman, Ben Slade, Ken Smith, Duke Sullivan, Art Tower, Leon Tuck, Turk Turner, Dan Waugh, .Howie Wing, George Young, Eben Clough, Casey Jones, Walt Meader,' Jim Mowry, Hal Pinkham, Roy Porter, Art Sheldon, George Simpson, Red Stevens, Gabe Walker, and Dick Wyman. Sic, thirty.
DONALD C. BENNINK.
FOR THE RECORD 1915 poses for its delayed 30th Reunion Picture in front of McNutt Hall.
WITH MCNUTT HALL IN THE BACKDROP, 1916 appropriately wears baseball caps as they sit in the bleachers for their Reunion Picture.
Secretary, 11 Paul Revere Rd., Westwood Hills, Worcester, Mass.
Treasurer, 31 State Street, Boston, Mass.
