1890

The untimely death of Jimmie Reynolds left a vacancy in the office of secretary, treasurer and agent for the class of '90. As a last resort, I have reluctantly consented to serve as secretary until 1950 when the class can duly elect its secretary. His success in obtaining gifts from widows and next of kin and class notes was wonderful. Jimmie had two obsessions, his love for Dartmouth and the Grand Old Party. His princely bequest to his alma mater was therefore no surprise to his classmates, but his legacy of $8OOO to Alumni Fund endowment, the income to be credited annually to the class of '90, is something else again. This simply goes on forever. It is up to each of the 15 living members of '90 to follow suit, make codicils to our wills providing a similar legacy; the invitation is extended to the widows and next of kin of all members of '90. If all this serves as precedent for other classes, Dartmouth will never have to worry as to its finances.

My first act as secretary was to accept an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Hardy to call on them at their residence in Arlington. Hardy received me boisterously. It was hard to realize that he was and had been an invalid. For the first time I was informed that Mrs. Hardy was a native of Bridgton, Maine, not far from Sebago Lake Village, where I spent most of my boyhood: After receiving from them clippings and notes pertaining to 'go, I came away assured that Hardy was not soon to leave us for a better world. The date of this call was March 14 as I recall it. The notice of his death in the Boston press, March 30, came as a shock. My second service as secretary was to send flowers for the class to the First Parish Unitarian Church of Arlington, of which church Charles and Mrs. Hardy were prominent members. There, March 31, funeral services were held. As Charles was associated with many town societies and had been for 21 years treasurer of Arlington, the services were in charge of the town government and delegations of societies he was for many years connected with. Walter W. Rowe and myself represented the Class of '90. There were also present Ralph W. Bartlett, secretary of '89, and Frank E. Rowe, secretary of '91. Miss Ford informs me that one of the duties of class secretary is to write In Memoriam notices for the ALUMNI MAGAZINE for members of the class who die. As Reynolds failed to write the In Memoriam for Rev. Henry N. Pringle, that duty pertains to me for this month's magazine, and next month there will appear an In Memoriam notice for Hardy. The class of '9O is growing gradually smaller and beautifully less. Let's not have any more of these In Memoriams. I propose as a slogan for the 15 living members of '90 "Life begins at 80."

April 5, I went to Lowell to see Hilton, my third visit. He had had a severe heart attack and only members of his family were permitted to see him. Three doctors, two from Boston, had been summoned. He refused to go to the hospital, so they brought the hospital into his room with an oxygen tank. Three nurses were in attendance. He made a gallant fight to live but on April 10 the end came. Henry Hilton started the alumni contributions. When I think of him, it brings to mind a character that John Bunyan made immortal in his Pilgrim's Progress, Great Heart. Phil Marden '94, Hilton's close friend, has agreed to prepare an obituary for next month.

Acting Secretary-Treasurer, 3 Dartmouth Place, Boston, Mass.