Thayer School
EARLY LAST MONTH the School enjoyed the privilege of hearing a paper by Dr.Charles F. Goodrich '06 on "The Structural Steel Industry Past, Present, Future." This event was sponsored by the Student Chapter of the Dartmouth Society of Engineers. As chief engineer of the American Bridge Company until his retirement last December, "Charlie" speaks on this subject with deep knowledge and authority. His spring and summer location near Gilmanton Iron Works. N. H., gives us the enviable opportunity of seeing him in Hanover more often than has been possible before.
Word has recently been received that GeorgeCollins '35 has located in New York City, where he is employed by Drake, Startzman, Sheehan and Barclay, Consulting Engineers at 50 Church St. His temporary address is the Dartmouth Club.
Harold D. Comstock '04 has recently retired as regional director of Region IV of the Bureau of Reclamation after forty-one years' service in western reclamation work. His retirement was not absolute, however, for Commissioner of Reclamation Straus accepted his request for retirement only on the condition that his service be available for consultation by the Bureau.
Somewhat delayed in reaching this column is the announcement of and appropriate congratulations on the arrival on February 25 of George William Bailey Jr., at the home of papa Bill '40 at Street, Woodhaven, Long Island.
"Bright sunshine makes him squint, for Jack Macdonald, one of the nation's top tunnel men, has spent too many hours underground ever to get used to full daylight Give a man a tunnel he can drive, and Jack Macdonald will drive it." That's how the editors of Construction Methods opened, and closed, their full-page "Cited for Service" feature in the April, 1947, issue. Incidentally, though actually it is far from incidental either to Jack or to the School, Thayer School has the privilege of listing John S. Macdonald as a graduate in its class of 1914.
I am indebted to Carl Washburn '26 for the following account of "The smallest—but bestclass to graduate from Thayer School." After this inaccurate start—disregarding classes previous to 1900, '22 and '37 both had only threequarters the enrollment of '26, and quite obviously '29 is the best class—Carl proceeds to give the following interesting data re the records of the four members of one of the smaller and one of the better classes to graduate from Thayer School.
Carl himself is currently Assistant Chief Engineer of Fraser-Brace Engineering Corporation, a member of Am. Soc. C.E., and a registered Professional Engineer in New York and Pennsylvania. Previous connections with Hazen and Everett, consulting hydraulic engineers; Gavin Hadden, consulting engineer; as executive assistant to New York State Director of P.W.A.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (design engineer for all outside work and utilities serving $50 million "Parkchester" housing project); wartime work with Fraser-Brace as assistant chief of design of $115 million TNT plants, and with Kellex Corporation as job engineer in charge of all plant utilities for gas and dilfusion atomic bomb plant at Oak Ridge. Carl and wife Peggy have two sons, Harry age 9, and Clint, 17, who has been admitted to Dartmouth this fall and is headed for Thayer's mechanical engineering curriculum.
K. P. Coykendall is currently general superintendent of all construction for David D. Bohannon Organization of San Lorenzo, Calif., a member of Am. Soc. C.E., and a registered Professional Engineer in California and Oklahoma. One of the projects of this company is a $5 million housing project, one of the largest single projects in the country. Previous connections prior to 1940 with Galveston, Houston and San Antonio R.R.; Robert E. McKee, General Contractor of El Paso; Imperial Irrigation District, Calif.; California Division of Highways; Adams and Ruxton Construction Company of Springfield, Mass. (Edgar Elkins '15, President). Phil joined the Civil Engineer Corps in 1940 as a lieutenant and served with that corps until 1945, rising to the rank of commander. Outstanding assignments included investigations for Argentia Naval Air Station in Newfoundland; member of Naval Air Site Selection Board; Officer-in-charge of construction of Naval Air Stations in Oklahoma and Texas totaling $14 million; commanding officer of 104 th Naval Construction Battalion in Australia, New Guinea, Admiralty Islands, and finally Assistant Public Works Officer at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
J. O. Martin is currently chief of operations and co-manager of the main office of Del. E. Webb Construction Company, Phoenix, Ariz., is a registered Professional Engineer in Arizona and, formerly, in Massachusetts. Previous connection with Adams and Ruxton Construction Company, working up to chief estimator and member of the firm. With this firm assigned to important work for Monsanto Chemical Company, Chapman Valve, Smith and Wesson, American Tel. and Tel., and war work converting Rolls Royce assembly plant to aluminum and magenesium foundry, special buildings for Springfield Armory, Westover Air Base, and others, including erection of seven buildings in seventeen days at Poorman Gunnery Range. Among other jobs keeping Jim out of trouble at the moment are, quoting reporter Washburn, "a $1,700,000 department store, a $3,000,000 store and ramp garage, a $1,250,000 resort hotel and—hot dog! a $700,000 distillery. Jim and wife Kathleen have three Dartmouth prospects in sons Paul, 8, William, 12, and Jim Jr., 15.
H. A. Schroedel is currently in charge of construction of the $5 million Firestone Memorial Library at Princeton. He is now, and has been ever since graduation from Thayer School, with the Turner Construction Company. In this connection he has served as superintendent on many large industrial building projects. He figures prominently in David O. Woodbury's exciting book, Builders for Battle (E. P. Dutton, 1946) for his activities in the construction of Pacific bases immediately prior to and during the first months of the war with Japan. He was general superintendent of the Kaneohe Naval Air Base, Barbers Point Naval Air Station, and the Marine Air Station at Ewa, T. H. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and was later awarded the Meritorious Civilian Award by Admiral Ben Moreel for outstanding performance in the construction field over and beyond normal duty.
And this accounts in full for the Thayer School class of 1926. May we have more offerings of this nature for future columns.
FIRST WINNER OF NEW TUCK SCHOOL AWARD: Robert P. Fisher '45, left, accepts the congratulations of Dean Herluf V. Olsen '22 after being named the first winner of the Walter A. Jacobs Memorial. The award, presented by the widow and parents of a member of the Class of '42 who lost his life in the war, is an annual gift of books to the man who is voted the most outstanding Tuck I student. The winner's name is also engraved on the permanent plaque shown on the wall to the right.
THAYER SCHOOL OUTING: Four members of the Class of/26 at Thayer photographed near Moose Mountain Cabin during the winter of 1926. Left to right, Howard Schroedel '25, Ken Coykendall '25, Jim Martin '25 and Carl Washburn '25.
