1920
Writing these notes on the California streamliner would have been a real chore. The thing swings and sways, but at least it keeps the passengers awake. So we improved our time by analyzing Alumni Fund statistics and wondering hopefully how much more generous 1920 might become this year than it ever has been before. The lists of our class contributors over the last three years make an enlightening study, for they show that 186 out of the 258 individual contributors are the "regulars"—the Old Guard who chip in without fail, year after year, whether from habit or loyalty or good conscience. Less than half the Class, the same men every year, account for more than 70% of our contributions. Others must join their ranks, and the average gift must be increased, if 1920 is to do its part in support of Dartmouth.
St. Louis was the first stop on the transcontinental tour which occupied most of March for this secretarial Forty-Niner. Convention activities, unfortunately, left no opportunity in St. Louis for rounding up the local Twenties; but George Rassieur, still plenty busy with his legal practice, has established a new office address at 408 Olive St. His home is at 7230 Maryland Ave., within the St. Louis city limits. Don Mac Donald has been dubbed "The Big Time Man" by Charlie Crathern who recently, single-handed, voted Don out of the Class and back in again in the space of one convivial lunch hour. Actually it's Life that Don represents, and he takes care of Life interests in five states, extending all the way down to Texas from his St. Louis headquarters. Don has been with the magazine since its inception is years ago. His daughter Frances, '46 graduate of Bradford Junior College, is now placement secretary for the Junior League in St. Louis. Summers the Mac Donald family go back for vacation to Hampstead, N. H., where Mike Darling keeps them supplied with everything they need, from Frost's old general store which Mike took over some years ago. The rest of the Darling family, too long unreported in these notes, is said to consist of Mrs. Darling and a boy in his middle teens.
Stop 2, San Francisco, found Abe Winslow in fine form—his own best evidence of why and how he has been such an able secretary for the northern California group over the years. Lunching at the regular Dartmouth rendezvous, St. Julien's on Battery St., Abe told of an occasional exchange of greetings with Rus Cotner and Ed Taylor, relatively recent additions to the population of the Bay area. Dick Charlock too is not far away, in his resent location at San Jose. Mildred Winslow is as busy as ever, but she and Abe hope and plan for a Hanover visit, either when son Alan graduates this year or when 1920 reconvenes in 1951.
Dick Kimball continues to be the chief organizer and reporter for the Class in southern California. Just back from a business trip up north, Dick had been reuning with his son, on vacation from California Polytechnic, and with his daughter, who will soon join her husband on the island of Guam. Dick has a new Long Beach address—2324 Carroll Park South. When he and Forby Forbush attended the Tuss McLaughry dinner back in the winter, they found California's BobLoomis (Robert H.) seated at the same table with them—the first time any fellow Twenties had caught sight of him in many years. Bob is in the building material business in Beverly Hills and makes his home in Pacific Palisades.
Our only secretarial manhunt of the month had Dick Hayes as its victim. Finding his Sherman Oaks home a little too much to handle, the retired colonel recently bought himself a smaller place on the outskirts of Van Nuys, maybe 35 miles from Los Angeles. As luck would have it, his new home abuts the grounds of the Birmingham Veterans' Hospital. And that is .where we found him temporarily incarcerated, while the medicos use him as a guinea pig for exploring the mysteries of "valley fever." Dick doesn't know how he got it; expects to be rid of it soon. Meanwhile he debates with himself whether to acquire a trailer and go back east for some sightseeing. Dick's daughter is just now finishing a nursing course at Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood.
Reports from our other class travelers have been brief. Stan Newcomer's postcard ("this is our home for two weeks") shows a picture of the impressive Hotel Del Prado in Mexico City. Sherry Baketel didn't get to Mexico after all. Hal Clark sent his wife and two small children to Florida, but decided to stay on duty at his new home in Scarsdale, N. Y., where he and the town's two other H. E. Clarks keep occupied answering each other's phone calls.
But deservedly the most notable voyageur in 1920 is Charlie Crathern, whose "haylift" operations were alluded to all too scantily in last month's issue. Charlie himself has now rounded out the picture with interesting details. Visiting in Denver with his daughter, whose husband is stationed there on Navy recruiting duty, he had the best possible opportunity to get caught up with the one and only Jack Jordan of the Denver Post. They chewed everyone's ear and pulled all hair down." When the orders came for Charlie's old outfit, the 15th Air Force, to start "Operaton Haylift," it was inconceivable that he should not be among the first to report.
. The next two weeks I really saw snow and winter conditions that New England and Hanover Know nothing about. After flying several missions transferred to 'Operation Snowbound.' Headquarters of Disaster Area No. 2, 5th Army, was at Alliance, Neb. As the storms and disaster center shitted I went to Cheyenne and Caspar, Wyo. One night at Caspar 20 foot drifts blocked the road to town. Frozen stock may look attractive dressed and on display in freezer chests, but not on the western plains."
Charlie says that his Denver grandson, five months old, is rightfully king of all he surveys; while back in Worcester another grandson (the six-months-old son of daughter Dorothy) claims his proper share of attention. Charlie Crathern III ("Terry") was captain of the freshman football team at Worcester Tech last fall.
The word from Wilmington, Del., is that Grosvenor Plowman was the featured speaker at the annual dinner of the Traffic Club, March 8. Referred to as "an outstanding personality in the field of business and transportation," Grosvenor talked on "Nationalization of British Railroads in Relation to American Transportation Policy." A detail previously unknown to us about the U. S. Steel v.p.'s present standing is his vice-presidency of the American Society of Traffic and Transportation, of which he was a founder member.
The Eb Wallaces of West Newton, Mass., report the engagement of their daughter Marnee Jane to Richard K. Gilbert, a 1948 graduate of Syracuse, who is now associated with the First National Bank of Boston, in its advertising department. The wedding will take place June 10.
Eb was one of those who attended the annual alumni dinner held in Boston in February. Paul Richter, down from Concord, N. H., called the roll for us, noting also GeorgeMacom,ber, Roc Elliott, Rog Pope, RaynorHutchinson, Sam Center and Fred Calhoun among those present.
The Department Store Economist for February made favorable note of the column "The Floorwalker at Swezey & Newins,"— "neighborly chitchat intermingled with the selling message," which, so the Economist says, "the store uses effectively both to advertise merchandise and to promote good customer relations." Our Carroll Swezey is, of course, president of the 54-year-old store, and we suspect him also of being author of the column. His fiftieth birthday comes to pass on May 16. So does Dick Charlock's, on the third; Ned Shnayerson's on the 5th; FrankMoulton's, on the 24th.
Silver wedding anniversaries in May: The Hal Bernkopfs and the Rus Cotners, both of the 17th; the Grosvenor Plowmans on the 24th; the Doc Fipphens on the 31st. Many happy returns!
"OPERATION HAYLIFT": That's Charlie Crathern '20 dropping bales of hay to cattle and sheep buried in deep snow in Wyoming. A World War II Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, he happened to be in the disaster area (Rocky Mts.) in February and immediately volunteered for rescue work with his old outfit, the 15th Air Force.
Secretary, Blind Brook Lodge, Rye 17, N. Y.
Treasurer, 1 Windmill Lane, Arlington 74, Mass.
Class Agent, Box 315, Hanover, N. H.
