1916

As I was saying, I had a letter from BobDana, whom I have not had the pleasure of seeing for many years. Bob writes:

"As Bill Cunningham once said, 'There is no news in an honest man.' I might equally well say there is no news in a member of 1916 who has done nothing but keep his nose to the treadmill (Block that metaphor, BobEd) since he left Hanover. If it is of anj help to bring any of my brethren up to date, I will mention that I have been in the same business, wool, since I left Hanover, and with the same company since 19a 1, and even this was a pick-up of the previous company which liquidated at that time. In the earlier years of my efforts I used to travel a bit, particularly in the British Empire, on one of which trips I had with me Jake Fenno. If he should read this I hope he will have forgotten some of the shortcomings of his South African foreman. He can tell you something about the privations of elephant hunting. (So long as he is working for the Govt., Jess better keep mum about shooting elephants; no telling when the Republicans may be back.—Ed.) In the way of a family I have a son who was no better student than I and who started to work at 19, then joined the Army before we entered the war, served a year before Pearl Harbor, was let out because the Army forgot their own one year enlistments in the Service Extension Act, and then after trying after Pearl Harbor for two months to get back in the Army, got fed up and joined the Navy till V-J Day. He has a wife and two children, and works in New York. This letter is beginning to sound like James Montgomery Flagg's autobiography, so I will stop here."

Thanks for these interesting bits of news, Bob. Since getting that letter, I have been at Fenno's house, the Cutlers, Wilsons. Bob Harvey spending a very pleasant hour with Jess, Sally, Linhy and Stevie at their place in Belle Haven, Va. Jess was getting packed for a flight to Paris, where he will sit in on the international conference on civil aviation. Jess confirmed Bob on the South African days. .... I have been looking daily for HoneyAbraham, who wrote from Florida he was spending some time in the sunshine at Miami with son who had been ill. We have had scouts posted along the Virginia roads to herald his approach, but no sign yet. With Max Saben already accounted for, Bob Harvey and the Cutlers come and gone, and President Aleman of Mexico and Honey converging on Washington what remains of Boston's claim to the Hub?

An incoherent letter apparently written by Alec Jardine while making a parachute jump, with a pen that writes under water, informs me that those present at the Boston Alumni dinner included Tapley, Newmark, Eigner, Hayward, Filene, Dinsmoor, Bean, Bobst, English, Cutler, Ellis, Upham. At the play-off of the Yale hockey game, Alec counted MarianBarr with her son Bud and 6 friends. "They get down from Hanover like we did not," says Alec. Also present: Bean, Hayward, the Bobsts, Cutlers with son Sam just graduated as the other son began at Hanover, Ruth and Gran Fuller, Upham, Estelle and himself. He also found Jim Coffin was there from Nashua. Getting in the spirit of the thing, Alec also attended the Dartmouth-Toronto affair in Providence, with Cap Carey and the Cutlers. He talked with Ollie Barr at the game, Ollie having taken Estelle to dinner the previous Wednesday in New York. (Are you following me; I know it gets complicated.) Ollie's son Bud broadcast the game over the Dartmouth Broadcasting System. Jim Coffin was there with son Kelly Stew Paul's handsome son Dick '44, now a major in the Army, was at a Dartmouth luncheon in Washington, after a tour in the Pacific; he is readying for a tour of duty in Brazil. Dick is making a career of the Army as his father did.

Larry Doyle, who used to be my neighbor in New Rochelle, and whose wife lent the Wilsons their baby crib when Peggy was born, writes of passing the old neighborhood and having trouble realizing it was 20 years ago we were there. Says Larry:

I can remember as if it were yesterday, RosMagill and John Ben Butler stopping by to go to the Yale game with us, that tantalizing 14-14 tie. We spoke of you and your family. I have three sons and a granddaughter (you shouldn't have parted with that crib, Larry.—Ed.) The oldest is Dartmouth '4O, the others Princeton '49 and '5O. We all attended that Dartmouth Princeton game and as you can imagine there was some difference of opinion.

Bring 'em all back to the 35th, Larry, especially Mayor Doyle Chan White celebrated a birthday last month in New York, with Mrs.White and daughter Betty, who is a senior at Sarah Lawrence College. Chan says the war speeded up the dyestuff business so much that he has not had a chance to get to Hanover since the big scrap started That new gray hair of Frank Bobst's was caused by the mental struggle he is having designing a proper heading for the Balmacaan Newsletter. Soon now he'll regain his old Jacko form Did you see the Boston Post on February 22? After a brief mention of George Washington, it printed two columns 011 the life of DapperDan Dinsmoor, with a picture of Dan seated at his desk. The subheads of the article will give you an idea: "Grew with industry," "Tried different jobs," "Enlisted as private" "Became superintendent," "Sent to England," etc. A good write-up of a good guy.

DeWitt Stillman phoned my office, passing through Washington, and I was unlucky enough to be but. I would have welcomed the chance to talk over Reunion and the Chicago bunch. Hope he stops on the way back The Boston Traveler had an article on the restoration of the old Upham Colonial home built in Milton, Mass., in 1703. It tells the story of the stout, patriotic Uphams. Wish we could reprint the whole thing. It mentions James B. Upham of Maiden, who in 1892 wrote the pledge of allegiance now recited over the nation by young and old. We have no data but presume this is Tog Upham's branch BillBiel has a daughter at Goucher in Baltimore and says he may drop over and see me some time, I hope Ev Parker, sending me a clipping announcing the birth of O. James Barr IV in Denver, mentions that this makes Ollie Barr a grandpop. Ev has a field day with the clipping:

It is wonderful what these children do, even changing the old man's name from Oliver J. to O. James. There sure will be hell to pay if Ev Parker Jr. changes over to E. Humphreys Parker. Of course old Ollie may be serving time or had trouble with the income tax department, or the law hasn't caught up with him yet, and the young people thought they had better change their name. No one would ever suspect that O. James Barr II is our good pal Ollie.

Ev adds some cantankerous remarks about Washington, D. C., which I scorn to answer, except to tell him he spelt "cantankerous" wrong Well, Lou and Betsey Cutler came to Washington, received with alarums and excursions, and laid a wreath on the Information Desk in the Union Station. Betty showed her the Capitol, Library of Congress, Shakespearean Library, the Washington Monument. Janet took Betsey horseback riding. We all visited Arlington, Mt. Vernon, Columbia Country Club, etc. Lou laid wreaths on the Whelan Drugstore at 14th and F, the stamping machine in the postoffice, and the big newsstand on rsth St. We took Bob Harvey (here for a patent law search) to Mt. Vernon and we all had fried chicken at the Collingwood Inn, and Lou laid a wreath on the traffic sign at Glebe Rd. and Woodrow Wilson Blvd. Mrs. Van Wyck Mott took us to lunch at the country club. Everybody had fun.

Rog Evans was scheduled to fly from Frisco to China the 14th of April and maybe Japan to do some special work for the Rockefeller Foundation. He will be back by August and then go to England and Scotland until October Hi McLellan of Humble Oil, Houston, Texas, reports his daughter Laura being married. His son Bob is backstroke champion of the S.W. Conference at the U. of Texas, and his younger daughter is at home. Hi had some trouble with his back, cured by an operation and he is now playing tennis and squash. Rog saw Alec and Dan in Boston, the latter at a China Institute Dinner where big firms were thanked by China for wartime help. Dan received the scroll for Monsanto Chemical Cos. Along with Roger Jr. he had lunch at the Harvard Club with Park Hayden and Dr. Charles Curtis, head of the Grenfell Mission. Calling Bill Hale's office to offer his services as a messenger, Rog found Bill is due home shortly. Rog expected to see Bones Joyin L. A. A long letter from Bob McClure will be in the next Newsletter. Now, please excuse me while I go to Bermuda.

Secretary, 2721 Blaine Drive, Chevy Chase 15, Md. Treasurer, 11 Copeland Ave., Reading, Mass.