1934
With Valentine's Day just around the next bend it seems appropriate to start things off with the happy peal of wedding bells. They rang on Christmas Day for Harry Brague and Margaret Steers of Gedney Farms, White Plains, N. Y. The bride is the sister of Mrs.. Bill DeRiemer, who attended her, and Bill made it unanimous by best-manning for Harry.
Before proceeding further we are mindful of one or two items of unfinished business. Our flash on the new Gussenhoven twins has been confirmed with the word that their names are John and Jean and they arrived on November 20, 1946. And we have some additional football spectators to report. At the Harvard game Don Crowther was glad to see Stan Neill and Bob Webb. It was just about then that Don was appointed Superintendent of the Group Division of the Aetna Life Insurance Company in Hartford, and he is also the current president of the Aetna Life Club, an employees organization. Meanwhile, just to show how complete is our news coverage, Stan Neill filed a few lines to the effect that at the same game he had spotted Chuck Rolfe and Bill Reid in addition to those mentioned here previously. Stan also reports that he is working mighty hard in the wool business up Boston way.
At the Princeton game there was a fine delegation of '34s who were rewarded with a very gratifying result indeed. Hank Werner noted the presence of Orv Dryfoos, Ray Hulsart, Bill Scherman, Peanuts Davies, Gail Raphael, Gene Orsenigo, Fred Wolf, Karl Weber and Dick Gruen. Others we recall seeing were Al Jacobson, Bob (W.) Smith, Les Reeve, Bob Ford and Frank Ford. Besides there were those whom our spotty memory has unfortunately failed to retain. There, that brings us pretty much up-to-date. Now for some new stuff.
The middle part of January was Blue Bootie week for the class, with two very recent '34 boys appearing on the scene. Ada and Walt Blood announce the arrival of Walter William Blood, III on January 14, weighing in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. Then, on January 17, along came Liz and Hank Werner's Peter Henry Werner to make it an all male affair.
Other happy announcements are those revealing that Hank Rigby is now a member of the firm at Tillinghast, Collins and Tanner, his Providence law connection, that Bob Allabough is a member of the firm of Evans, Hand and Evans, lawyers in Paterson, N. J., and that Bob Reynolds has left his position as navigator for American Overseas Airlines to become Assistant Director of the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, at White Plains. Most recent promotion of all is that elevating Dick Gruen to the post of Agency Supervisor in the head office of the Home Life Insurance Company, in New York.
All this time our earth-girdlers are roaming far and wide. Stew Brown, for instance, is back in England, serving now as a sort of liaison control officer between the American and English Technicolor Corporations. On December 11 he writes that "I'm concentrating on dye control and am making lots of tests with the dyes. It is all very interesting and I am enjoying a lot being back here." For instance again, Frank Pamelee has been named South American manager for the Toledo Scale Company and will be spending most of his time down there. Reports that he saw Bill Ramsey in Omaha and found him "very comfortably settled in a 'regenerated' house on a beautiful plot of ground on the outskirts of town—a veritable dream for anyone who travels as much as I do." Also gone Latin is Ned Mudge who can be reached at Banco de Boston, Apartado No. 49, Habana, Cuba, and who cheerfully extends to all '34s an invitation to Sloppy Joe's. Great Day! What are we waiting for? Other invitations have come from several of the lads who cordially offer true '34 hospitality to any classmates who might be passing through. Herb Andresen, at 1357 40th Street, Sacramento, California (phone 6-3047) is one and so is Dr. George Sayre, on the staff at Mayo Clinic in the division of Pathologic Anatomy. His vacant bunks are at 1526 Durand Court, Rochester, Minn. Herb, incidentally, was married in November to Margaret V. James, with the ceremony performed in Pittsburgh by his mother, a Justice of the Peace. Also, Swede Lindstrom, 328 Kensington Road, Rocky River, Ohio, asks "the gang to drop in whenever they're in Cleveland." Good stuff those invitations!
One of the more recent returnees from the Service is George Cogswell who is with the Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Chicago. George ended up as a Signal Corps Officer on Okinawa. Since his return he's seen Tom Hicks and Jack Fogarty who are reported to be in good shape.
Not in such good shape but steadily improving is Bud Yallalee, who suffered a serious head injury while in the Army with resultant impairment of his vision. Three operations have helped set things aright, though, and Bud should be all okay pretty soon. Meanwhile he's continuing his career as a freelance writer by means of a dictaphone. Has had stuff published in Motor Boating, OurArmy, Nineteenth Hole, Sea and the WallStreet Journal, in addition to several Maine newspapers. One of the latter devoted a lengthy column to Bud and his recent history. His specialty right now appears to be light verse, though he's a prose man, too.
Speaking of writers reminds us of the recent meeting which Al Hewitt attended in connection with one of his current acting interests, a radio show called "The Eternal Light." Object of the conference was a complete understanding between author and actor. Something like that (this comes to us second hand, courtesy of Bill Scherman). Anyway, who should turn out to be the writer than Stan Silverman! Pleasant surprise on both sides. With that kind of talent we'd like to be the sponsor on that show.
Another surprise meeting took place up in Syracuse (or was it Ithaca) during football season when transplanted Tennesseean Dick Houck bumped into his old pal and buddy Chuck Hirschey in a corridor of a hotel there. Dick advises that Chuck is healthy, wealthy and happy, which is the same report we can give you on Dick, who stopped in around the end of November during one of his trips for the Kingsboro Silk Mills.
Stan Abercrombie, who has just moved into a new home in Alexandria, Virginia is coauthor of a recent article published in TheJournal of Educational Sociology entitled "Concepts of Accidents." Stan is a Specialist in Traffic Safety Education, National Commission on Safety Education, and one of the best informed men in the country on that subject.
Bob Rodman is working on the second edition of his book, first published in 1941, "Massachusetts Procedural Forms, Adjudicated." Back from 26 months combat sea duty on a Coast Guard Assault transport, Bob is once again a lawyer in Boston and is Chairman of the Boston Chapter No. 5, American Veterans Committee.
And neatly reversing the field we have Dick Hardt going back into the Navy at his old rank of Lieutenant Commander. He says "After 5 months at Whitman's Chocolates, my pre-war job, I was asked to return to active duty to administer the training program of the Supply Corps Component of the Naval Reserves for the 4th Naval District. Here we go again!" Meanwhile, still in the Navy is another Lt. Comdr., Walt Keady. Walt got a good look at both the European and Pacific theatres and now lives in Cambridge, Mass. And that's the news from here.
There are still some guys who haven't checked in with dues and questionnaires. So that we can go to press with the promised class directory we regretfully announce that on February 15 the polls close. A directory, to be a good one, should be complete. That's why we're hoping that all who haven't yet will right away sit down, fill in and mail the questionnaires which will make our address list complete.
Secretary and Treasurer
110 Fulton St., New York 7, N. Y.
