1926
Another summer has rolled by—a good one for everyone, I hope—and I am once more faced with the task of attempting to report all that has happened since last I penned a column in May. Since that time the class has been a busy little bunch of beavers and a complete report will take a bit of doing, but if the good old Remington will stand up to it, I shall try.
The climax of all the activities was, of course, our 12th consecutive, informal reunion in Hanover the week-end of August 27. 20 members of the class, together with wives and children aggregating an additional 33, gathered together for the annual party which, as usual, proved to be an outstanding success. Why any member of the class who could possibly attend these affairs does not do so is incomprehensible to me. There could be no better way to spend a vacation, as all who do attend will readily attest. But to get to a chronological account of the
week-end Your scribe and his helpmeet arrived late on Tuesday evening, after a circuitous and arduous journey by way of New York, to find that the Abbotts and the Orrs had been installed at the Inn since Sunday. On Wednesday this vanguard of six held down the Inn porch, inspected the town and completed arrangements for the picnic. On Thursday the Orrs brought their son, David, over from camp and everyone was on hand to welcome the Salingers, who arrived just before dinner. Later that evening, the Johnstons and Roberts arrived to find the Vennemans playing Bingo and the rest of the group attending the movies (believe it or not!). Friday the Abbotts journeyed to Whitefield, the Salingers visited friends, the Johnstons sallied forth to call on a starch customer and the Vennemans and Roberts played golf. That afternoon saw the arrival of the McCarthys, Phil Benjamin, the Nor strands and Hal T refethen, the Herm Trefethens, the Hansons and the Fishers at the Inn and the McAloneys arrived to visit the Merrills for the week-end.
After dinner Friday night, the entire party repaired to the Ski Hut in back of the Inn where we saw several delightful movies, including last year's football games, with a running commentary by Elmer Lampe, assistant football coach, who attended the party with his charming wife.
After the class meeting at the old Beta house Saturday morning, several of the male contingent competed in the annual "Jacobus Sweepstakes," donated numerous golf balls to the valleys and scaled the hills and mountains (they get steeper every year) of Hilton Field. Harry Fisher wrested the famous "Thunder Mug" trophy from Red Merrill and will retain possession thereof until next year. The Far-wells and Clearys arrived during the afternoon and after impromptu cocktail parties, everyone journeyed to "The Keenes" in Etna for the annual picnic which even exceeded last year's Good food, beer, soft: drinks for the kids—everything was available in abundance and after supper we all joined in the song-fest while Emmy Merrill again entertained in splendid fashion at the piano with intermittent accompaniment by Jud McCarthy's son, Bill, on the ukelele. The complete roster of those attending the picnic, compiled by the junior assistant secretaries, David Orr and CharlieMcKenna Jr., follows:
Charlie and Lois Abbott and daughter, Sally; Phil Benjamin; Bob and Pense Cleary; Dan and Sally Drury; Tom and Rene Farwell and daughters, Susan, Sally and Lee; Harry and Mary Fisher and son, Andy; Reg and Ethel Hanson; Sid and Barbara Hayward and daughters, Nancy and Mary Ann; Hap and Pat Johnston; Jud and Mackey McCarthy and son, Bill; Holt and Lillian McAloney; Red and Emmy Merrill; Don and Dot Norstrand; Stew and Loretta Orr and son, David; Jack and Dot Roberts; Bob and Dot Salinger; Hal Trefethen; Herm and Dot Trefethen and son, Harold, and daughter, Beverly; Paul and Grace Venneman; and Charlie and Helen McKenna's kids, Charlie Jr. and his sister, Sharon. (Charlie, himself, was unfortunately in the hospjtal but the kids were at the Party.)
While many of the group were forced to take their leave on Sunday, and sad partings they were, Don and Gladys Church drove down from Whitefield and spent the afternoon and evening with the survivors. The Clearys, Herm Trefethens, Jack Roberts and my frau golfed and your scribe and Don attempted to take the measure of "Champ" Fisher, and his son, Andy, on the nine-hole course much to our chagrin. Monday the rains came, but the Clearys, Trefethens, Johnstons, Roberts and Hansons braved the storm and started home and only the Abbotts and Vennemans were on hand Monday night to welcome Hal and Marion Marshall who arrived en route to their sons' camp, and just three days too late for all the fun. Tuesday saw the last of the departures and another reunion even better than its predecessors, became history.
Os and Dot Fitts, who had planned to attendthe party, were unable to do so at the lastminute because of conflicting dates. Os was inBuffalo on August 18 attending a funeral andwe had a cup of cheer with him before hisplane departed and commiserated with himon the fact they would not be present at theparty. Os, who is soon to deliver a speech before the Bar Association on "telegenesis" (youlook it up!), has the distinction of probablybeing the only man in the class who is a vicepresident (for the second time) of a HarvardAlumni and a Dartmouth Alumni club at thesame time. He tells us Howie Rice, who recently became a director of the Princeton Library, has just built a new home in Brattleboro, just next door to the Fitts' domicile.
Hub and Det Harwood had to cancel their reservations for the reunion due to the fact that Hub is to be transferred from Washington on about October 1 and therefore had too much work to clean up at the office. Hub says either Cleveland or Pittsburgh will probably be his new address and our best wishes go to him. We missed them in Hanover. Hub says that on Long Island recently he saw ChuckWebster, Paul Allen and Courtney Brown but had no news to report other than the appalling increase in Courtney's waistline.
However, we have other news of Courtney. On May 19, Dr. Brown addressed the National Oil Convention in Boston, and in the WorldTelegram of June 1, the financial editor states that "Dr. Brown may not be entitled to credit for the discovery that corporations have souls, but he should be awarded some kind of medal for making this discovery in a convincing manner." rr~see«ls that Dr. Brown addressed members of the Young Republican Club the day before and stated that Adam Smith's stuff is antiquated and completely unreal as far as modern corporations are concerned and went on to say, in effect, that these organizations are more interested in getting along with the public than in making money. The financial editor further accuses Standard Oil of hiding Dr. Brown's light under a bushel; suggests he should be loaned to the government to debate with the Communists.
Wah-hoo-wah Department—Joe Batchelder was elected Vice-President of Fidelity Management and Research Cos., of 35 Congress St., Boston, on July l—Bob McConnaughey, having resigned as Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will resume the general practice of law and has become, as of July 1, a member of the law firm of Greenman, Shea, Sandomire and Zimet in New York and the firm of Shea, Greenman, Gardner and McConnaughey in Washington. Bob has been an S.E.C. commissioner since 1943 and has been one of the most respected of Washington officials for years, as witnessed by the many articles bemoaning his departure from the official scene—Dr. George D. Snell was appointed scientific administrator of the Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Me. on July 26. George has been associated with the laboratory as a research associate, staff member and trustee since 1935 and was chairman of the committee that planned the laboratory's reconstruction after the disastrous 1947 forest fire which destroyed part of the plant—Edwin B. (Bud) Dooley was again cited in the New York Post in May for his excellent work as Director of the Brooklyn Cancer Committee—Wadleigh (Wad)Woods, formerly assistant Red Cross director at Camp Kilmer, N. J. and southern New England field supervisor during the war, has just been appointed Field Director of the Red Cross at Grenier Air Force Base— VernonA. (Tuff) Hill has just been named Assistant Sales Manager for the Davey Tree Expert Co. which operates in 40 states and Canada.. Tuff joined the firm right after graduation and has been with them continuously except for service with the U.S. Engineers during the war years.
Herb Darling's class treasurer's report presented at the class meeting in Hanover shows that only some 270 men paid their class dues last year. The total amount of dues collected did not quite defray the cost of the class group subscription to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE and with other expenses of postage and stationery, the year's operations resulted in a sizable loss. All of us, I think, read the MAGAZINE. If we are to continue to receive it, we shall all have to pay our dues. If you overlooked your dues last year, how about sending that check to Herb now?
At the class meeting Reg Hanson, Holt McAloney and Dick Gunthorp were appointed as a committee to investigate the matter of a 25th year report. The matter of a 25th reunion chairman was brought up and the consensus o£ opinion at the meeting was that the Vennemans were again elected only that this time Grace should have the title of chairman inasmuch as she did most of the work on the 20th, anyway. The class memorial fund was discussed and the necessity for each of us to give his support to Bob Stopford and his committee in the next two years was stressed. So far, contributions to our class fund have been rather intermittent, except on the part of a few, and the pace must be accelerated from here on in to June 1951.
Spring and summer visitors to Hanover, other than during the August reunion, consisted of Lou and Muriel Ingram, Warren Fellingham, Os Fitts, Bud and Audrey Shaver, Artand Edith Alexander, Paul Ide and family,Norrie Williamson and family (all the way from Denver), Gardner and Mary Brown and Royal and Stephanie Baker.
It is with regret that we report the death of Dick Major's wife, Gladys, during the latter part of May. We extend the belated, but nonetheless sincere, sympathy of the entire class to Dick in his bereavement.
The class finished in sixth place in the Alumni Fund Green Derby with 390 contributors and a total of $11,623.99. We can do much better another year if each one of us will do his share—early!
Football—There will be a '26 party for all those attending the Holy Cross game in Hanover on October 8. Details can be obtained from Dan-ny Drury in Hanover. Another party for '26 will be held in Boston on the day of the Harvard game, October 22, and details may be had from Don Norstrand, c/o Kennedy's, Inc., 32 Summer Street, Boston or HaroldTrefethen, National Shawmut Bank, 40 Water Street, Boston. Contact them if you plan to attend. On October 29, Harry Fisher will again post the '26 sign on the fence opposite Portal 3 of the Yale Bowl and all '26ers are supposed to bring their picnic lunches and join the gang there before the game. See you all there, I hope. That's the three-oh mark for this month.
WHICH TWIN HAS THE TONI SHAVE? Here we have the Trefethen twins at the '26 get-together in Hanover in August. If the one on the left is Herman .... you're right! .... the other one is Harold.
Secretary, 502 M. & T. Bldg., Buffalo 2, N. Y. Treasurer, 131 California Dr., Williamsville 21, N. Y. Memorial Fund Chairman, ROBERT M. STOPFORD Box 460, Mamaroneck, N. Y.
