1935

This March column brings installment No. 3 on the facts of life for 1935. With marital statistics under the belt we venture into "home life." Let's start with the roof over our heads. For almost three-quarters o£ us it's a house. Only 27% live in apartments. Since all the cliff-dwellers and a few of the housedwellers have landlords, it leaves 60% of us who own or are in the process of buying our own homes. As for cars, 85% of those replying have at least one, 22 individuals have two, and one has three. It's a neck-and-neck race between Fords and Chevvies for first place. By actual count the 382 cars line up as follows: Ford-65, Chevrolet-60, Buick-49, Plymouth-47, Pontiac-32, Oldsmobile-23, Dodge-20, Mercury-16, Packard-13, Studebaker-12, Nash-10, Desoto-9, Chrysler-8, Cadillac-7, Hudson-7, Jeep-3, and one foreign car.

When it comes to alcoholic stimulation before dinner, 25% of us enjoy the meal without it, while three-quarters piefer a cocktail or two. Actually, 20% of us consider one enough, 42% would rather make it two, 11% three, and the balance are wishful thinkers or don't have to go to work in the morning. And, Mr. Bartender, you can stock up on the gin and vermouth because when the class orders, onethird call for martinis. Old Fashioneds are preferred by 20%, and then in order down the line come Scotch, Manhattans, Bourbon, Beer, Rye and Wine. When the meal is over and the evening calls for a drink, Scotch is the first choice of 38%, followed by Bourbon—2s%, and Beer—lo%. (Whatever happened to all those good beer-drinkers we trained so carefully on Vermont home brew or Saia's 3.2?) The balance drink Rye, Brandy or assorted liqueurs.

Moving on to shaving, three-quarters of us make out all right with Gillette's invention, nearly one-quarter buzz the fuzz with a plugin number, and 13 courageous lads face the steely glint of a straight edge every morning. And, brother, they're welcome to it. Experimenting with one of those weapons was the closest I ever came to unintentional suicide.

Dig out the ash trays, mother, '35 is puffing into town. Eight out of ten of the boys smoke and seven out of ten of their wives. We find that 82% of those who puff use cigarettes, 25% smoke pipes and 11% work on cigars. That totals more than 100% because some of us don't care what it is as long as it burns. As for the actual brands of cigarettes, Liggett & Myers will be happy to know that Chesterfields are still our favorite (32%). Next come Camels (23%), Phillip Morris (17%), Luckies (15%), Pall Mall (6%), and only 5% want a Treat instead of a Treatment.

In politics we are overwhelmingly Republican, two-thirds of us in fact. Only 17% claim to be Democrats, 9% are Independents, 8% admit to no political leanings what-soever. There's one Socialist, one American Labor Party, and apparently no communists. We'll finish this installment with a religious note that is not particularly encouraging to defenders of the faith. Only 14% of us go to church regularly. 63% attend services occasionally and that can be as rarely as once a year. And nearly one-quarter never approach the sacred portals. It seems most of us would rather spend Sunday morning on a golf course or making up for lost sleep.

Now for some news. Seasons greetings(dated December 29!) from Hughie Wolff,who is with the Allied Secretariat in Berlin:

"This is a helluva time to be getting off a Christmas Card but I am expecting most recipients to blame it on the APO or the North Atlantic rather than on my laziness. Some day I hope to sit down and write you a small, closely-typed volume recording for your vast reading audience and for posterity my impressions of Berlin as the tug-of-war between the Bolsheviks and the 'Monopoly- Capitalists,' but this little card won't carry it." Hughie, boy, you write it, we'll print it. Andit ought to be damned good reading, too.

Word comes from Hawaii (via McCarty'sDartmouth Club News) that Fitz Donnellhas been made manager of radio station KMBG in Honolulu. Looks like Fitz is settling down for a long stay.

Jack Petrequin was married early in December to Miss June Marguerite Hunt in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The reception was held in the home of Jack's parents, following which the newlywesds drove to Hot Springs, Va., to stay at The Homestead. They now live at 18501 Newell Road, Shaker Heights. Jack is with the Harris-Seybold Co., where he recently received a promotion. Mr. and Mrs. Dave Johnson added a new daughter, Carolyn, to the family on the first of December.

The above two clippings were included in a twenty-three-page letter just received from Jack Gilchrist, a record that will probably never be beaten. However, since about half of it was written with the aid of five oldfashioneds and some ink, it boils down pretty much as follows:

"Just a note to advise you of the following, which I intended to telegraph but thought might be misconstrued and censored: Bob Hage arrivedin town for alumni dinner Stop First question heasked Lew Weitz and me was whether there wouldbe ladies present Stop In view of beautiful modelaccompanying him W& re< sure he didn't hear replythat there wouldn't even be any women presentStop Bob's model is lovely in line and figuresomething we all yearned for as undergrads something Hanover still needs Stop Yours Gilly. The model, of course, is Bob's portable (but sizeable) one of the new Hopkins Center. He is accompanying Prof. John Adams and Tuss McLaughry in the Cleveland appearance of "Hanover Holiday-in-Town" —a new vehicle for participation in college activities. From my experience with Bob, it will be a very successful mission. And he still has that old eye—the same eye that didn't flinch in London when good King George VI took him by the arm and said, 'This is my daughter, Princes Elizabeth—your dinner partner.'

"Jack Au Werter put in an appearance at the last Dartmouth luncheon but missed the big dinner because of a birthday party for his one-yearold. Jack is sales manager for Slabe Machine Products, Cleveland. Ran into Ty Carlisle last summer en route to New York. He boarded my train at Ashtabula and we chinned awhile in the smoker. Ty was heading for New York to do some buying for Carlisle-Allen, his family department store. An odd coincidence occurred back in late August. After quaffing a few ales with you and Grant Meade in Rockefeller Center Plaza, I was heading back up town to my borrowed Park Avenue diggings and decided to cut through St. Patrick's Cathedral to see the remodeling and admire the carvings. Left by a small rear door that lead out to Madison Avenue and bumped right into-Fred Depinet, who was completely bewildered to find one Gilly emerging from the private door of St. Pat's. Assured him I hadn't taken my vows yet and found that he was looking for a little bar where he had spent several successive evenings in bon-voyage parties before being shipped out with his Army group some years back. Thinking this might be good sport, I joined in the search. Several blocks gave no clue, so to temper the heat of the day we resolved to drop into the first grogshop we encountered. This proved to be the Stork Club, where we had many and many an ale (inflationary note: at 934 Per bottle). All in all a very pleasant reunion (and very expensive). Saw* Betty and Jim Hughes at a cocktail party last week. Hadn't seen them since a Lake Shore Blvd. coal-miner's dance back in November. Jim says he's making millions. Could be!"

Thanks very much, Gil, for a very comprehensive report on Cleveland. Anybody else feel like writing? So long until next month.

Secretary, Compton Advertising, Inc. 630 sth Ave., New York 20, N. Y. Treasurer, 1001 North Eye St., Tacoma, Wash. Class Agent, 89 Grovers Ave., Bridgeport, Conn.