1916
Writing these lines the day after the great victory over Yale, on a quiet but smoky Sunday, amid the vari-colored Maryland autumnal foliage, I can't help thinking how much better than some of those other Sundays when we had to swallow bitter defeat. Now I can wait peacefully for the account of the New Haven picnic from one of my scouts. And speaking of scouts, I am without a single report all season from Jawn McAuliffe, who usually follows the games like a Gordon setter following a quail and gives me the benefit of his long and keen observations in this field. Why this uncanny silence, Jack?
However, I am not without reports of the Harvard spectacle. Remembering what a good time I had at the Harvard game some years ago, and especially at the 1916 dinner at the University Club the night before, I always want to get up to Boston for the event, but something always happens to prevent it. The vivid accounts of this year's party by AlecJardine and Heinie George indicate that it was the best ever, and my regret at missing it accordingly greater. How can you guys who live so close bear to miss it?
Alec's story of the dinner runs like this: "Had the biggest crowd in years at the Puritan Hotel the night before the Harvard game I attach a list of those present—pain had been forgotten when it came time to eat. Everyone enjoyed a splendid dinner; then we had a fewwords from Lincoln Filene 'The Chief'he looks and feels well at 84 years young, and I hope we can all do as well. Then John Del Isola, the line coach talked on the football team, how they work and plan, and told us some of his experiences. We all learned something. The party broke up about 10 p.m. and we enjoyed the game the next day. Everyone sent their best to you, and all said it was a grand party. Saw quite a bit of Stew Paul that evening—in fact Estelle and I, along with Cap Carey and Larry and Lee Hayward, spent the evening with him."
To this Heinie George has this to add: "I attended the 'l6 pre-Harvard game dinner and we all had a grand time. Cliff Bean gave us an interesting talk on the selective system of admissions. Johnny Del Isola was the principal speaker and gave us a very good talk on Dartmouth football. I am recently a summer neighbor of Cliff, so I rode back to Hampton after the dinner and we returned to Cambridge Saturday for the game. It was a swell game although rather nervewracking to natch. .... My family are all well. My oldest gal Millicent married a Penn man, who served in the Navy and is now in his second year at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. They have an eight-months old daughter, so I am a grampaw.
"Ruth and I took in the International Rotary Convention last May in Rio de Janeiro. Had a beautiful trip—fine weather and the scenery in and about Rio is really something. We stopped at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, Trinidad, Bahia, and then a week in Rio. On the return cruise we stopped in the Barbados, also Curacao, a very interesting Dutch port. We had quite a harrowing experience with Father Neptune as we crossed the equator. I was the first he and his court picked on. I was accused not only of being a Ford Dealer but also a Bridge Hound. I got the works and wound up in the pool, clothes and all.
"We are picking up our youngest gal, a junior at Wellesley, Friday noon and proceeding to New Haven to see Yale get whacked by Dartmouth (I hope). I s'pose I might as well go on with the Colgate game—it was a lovely day and the Big Green did a job on them. I got up early to meet Cliff and Peg Bean and see the current Frosh take New Hampton 34-0. They have some big burly boys on the squad. Hope they develop as last year's Frosh did. What a class! .... Among those present at a slight reunion in Larry Hayward's room were the Beans, the Bobsts, the Jardines, and several others. Guess I am getting old; I can't remember everyone.
"The middle one of my family, Ralph Jr., is with me here in the automobile business. It's nice to have him with me as I can get away with the feeling that one of the family is on the job. We expect to drive to Florida this winter, and if we go through Washington will look you up." Thanks for that very interesting letter, Heinie. It is the kind of letter the boys eat up. To me it brought back a flash of the sight of Rio from the top of Corcovada, in the afternoon sunlight, a sight I won't even try to describe.
Alec, going back to the Harvard party, reported the following at the 1916 dinner at the Puritan Hotel: Barr, Bailey, Baker, Bean, Bernkopf, Bobst, Carey, Caldwell, Cutler, Ellis, English, Fletcher, Filene, Fuller, George, Hayward, Jardine, Lewis (Duffy), Marsden, Mott, Mullen, Newmark, Paul, Parkhurst, Parker (Howdy), Phinney, Soule, Steinert, Tapley, Walker, plus the guest of honor, Line Coach John Del Isola.
Well, one more good party the rest of us missed.
Another interesting letter from Dr. PhilDavis, who sojourns in the sunny environs of Tangerine, Fla., promises me an exclusive contribution by Verda (Mrs. Davis), apparently a lady of talent (even discounting Phil's prejudiced account), and I hope to give it to you in an early edition of the Newsletter, thus adding one more editorial resource to the store I have found among the Society of Loyal Dames of 1916, one of our more important and distinguished patriotic organizations. Phil, as you may or may not know, has four daughters, the eldest, Jacqueline, is married to Lt- (jg) Davis C. Pohrman USN, who is attached to the U.S.S. Manchester, now in Philadelphia. If I have spelled the lieutenant's name wrong, blame it on Phil's writing.
Cap Carey reported Dick Parkhurst stop ping in to see him a few weeks ago, after returning from Hanover, where he had taken his son. From the office they phoned ShortyShaw and chatted with him. Cap's son Jack, following two years at Georgetown, transferred to Brown, and is now a member of the Junior class, the first time the boy has resided at home in six years. Cap reports that he and Grandma Carey find it difficult to suppress the yawns after 8 p.m. but are otherwise all right.
I had a letter also, a while back, from Jimmy Colton, reporting all well in Sutton, Mass., children growing up, etc. Jim and EdCraver have summer camps near together in Webster, and they have a few sessions of tennis every summer, with Ed's boys participating. Jim sees Jawn McAuliffe and Paul Goward at Dartmouth affairs, and occasionally RedKimball from Southbridge. Jimmy is active as an officer in the Naval Reserve, and reports working with a good bunch of men. He also reports business booming at the Whitin Machine Works, manufacturers of textile machinery.
Reported at the Hanover Inn, in addition to those already named, were Ken and Mrs.Tucker, and Max and Mrs. Bernkopf.
A letter from "D.D." Linehan says he is still in the paper business, in Mechanicville, N. Y. His son Bob, who put in 31/2 years in the Navy, is a junior at Sienna, Loudonville; Mary Jane is a junior at St. Rose's College, Albany; and Helen is a high school senior, heading for Cornell. D.D." is one of those guys who got a new car. Remember them?
Tex Rogers, literary editor of the ChicagoSun for two years, returned to Dallas to work for the Daily Times Herald, with which he had a long former association. He is a columnist with the privilege of writing about anything that pleases him. Also, he has been commissioned by E. P. Dutton to write the book on Dallas in their series on social life in cities, a work that will take until 1950. Tex, who is married to Kenneth Horan, author of "Remember the Day," "A Bashful Woman" and "Papa Went To Congress," spent the summer at Taos, N. M.
A 1916 STORY by Class Agent Bill McKenzie (right) draws a rather subdued response from Cmdr. Stirling Wilson, class secretary, and Cliff Bean, Alumni Council member. They were all in Hanover last May.
Secretary, CMDR. F. I 2721 Blaine Drive, Chevy Chase 15, Md. Treasurer 370 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles 5, Calif.
