1915
The newspapers of last month confirmed the resignation of Jim Forrestal from the Office of National Defense and his return to private life. The record of his accomplishments as a Cabinet Officer during World War II are now a matter of history, and it is with pride that we Fifteeners can share with his countrymen in the admiration for the grand job that he so ably concluded. The Pulp if Paper Magazine for March carries a complete story of the new unit of the St. Regis Paper Cos. at Tacoma, Wash., of which Justin H. (Mac) McCarthy was Chief Engineer. The article is too long to be included in this column, but Fifteeners can well be proud of their classmate, from whose brilliant architectural and engineering mind was developed and erected a plant that is the talk of the industry.
Had a nice long letter from Carl Swenson which I am going to pass on to you classmates for your interest and pleasure. He writes:
"I left New York with Mrs. Swenson. via the Grace Line on Jan. 21 for Lima, Peru. The trip took twelve days and was most delightful. We stayed at Lima for five days and then flew _ to Antofagasta, the airport for Chuquicamata, Chile, where we are building a large copper plant for the Anaconda Copper Cos. in the foothills of the Andes. We stayed there for a week and then motored about one hundred miles to Tocapilla where we enjoyed two days of marlin fishing as guests of Mr. Horace Graham, President of the Chilean Nitrate Cos. We were ahead of the real fishing season but we are planning to return the first week in June in the hope of landing a few of the large broadbill. From Tocapilla we flew via Panagra to Santiago, Chile, where we^spent ten days in visiting that city as well as Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. After becoming acquainted with that part of Chile we took a ten hour train trip to Pucon where we spent the night, and the next morning we started down the Tolten River for a distance of about sixty miles to Mr. Graham's log cabin camp where we stayed overnight. The trout fishing was excellent. Each of our party had his or her own boat with a guide rowing against the current, leaving the angler facing the stern of the boat—a very comfortable and convenient arrangement for fishing and landing operations. The river was a succession of rapids and pools and the vegetation around the river is almost tropical, with the snowy tops of the Andes Mountains always in sight. We then proceeded to the town of Los Lagos, farther south, and fished the San Pedro River where one trout broke my eight pound test leader. The guide estimated the fish to be about fifteen pounds. After returning to Santiago we flew across the Andes (28,000 ft.) to Buenos Aires where we stayed for a week before going on to Rio de Janeiro for a five day stopover and then on to New York."
From the N. Y. WorlcKTelegram of Mar. 31 comes the following item: "Brig. Gen. HowardE. Fuller has been named manager of the New York district office of the Veterans Administration at 346 Broadway. He will supervise insurance and death claim activities for 2,000,000 veterans in New York State and Puerto Rico.. Gen. Fuller, a veteran of both World Wars, commanded infantry in the New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Florida Islands, Tulagi and Guadalcanal campaigns."
Chan and Dorothy Foster, with their daughter Rebecca, drove to Florida in March for a couple of weeks vacation. While there Chan had an opporunity to chat with FrancisPoor, found him in excellent spirits, and wishing to be remembered to all the gang.
A nice long letter from Herb Potter, the eminent new Deputy for the Court of Civil Appeals in El Paso, Texas. Among other accomplishments he has acquired are cook, dishwasher, bed maker and ladies' maid, all because his wife Kay tried to keep the auto door from slamming and ended up with a broken wrist. If the U. S. Mint is still functioning next year, Herb hopes to collect enough to bring the family back to the Reunion.
Doc Rowell has just returned from his first holiday in ten years. He took a trip on the Panama Line's "Ancon" to Panama and had a marvelous rest in the coffee highlands near the Costa Rican border. Since his retirement from the Columbia faculty five years ago, he has been giving all his time to the Sunnyside Restoration, a project of the Rockefellers. He is also serving his second and final term as Governor of the New York State Branch and Hudson River Division of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims.
Pete Pray writes of his jaunt to California.
"I flew out as a guest in the Food Machinery plane, a two-motored Beechcraft, and they certainly gave me a personally-conducted tour. We spent the night at Tucumcarie, N. M.} after leaving Philadelphia a little after 8.00 in the morning. I got a kick out of this place as it is one of those southwestern boomtowns (pop. 6,000—now 15,000). The next day we stopped at Winslow, Ariz, for gas and saw the "Flying Wing." The pilot and I produced our military I.D. cards and got our party of five through the ropes for a tour. Then we detoured so that we could see the Grand Canyon and Boulder Dam. The Sierras were passed safely, and we hit San Jose early in the afternoon.
Needless to say we had a marvelous time—some ten days or so in San Jose with side trips to Redwoods, a weekend in Napa Valley, the best wine region in the State, several days in San Francisco, etc. There I had a nice chat with Al Livingston and Milt Ghee. Missed seeing Tommy Tomfohrde, who was in Southern California buying wool. Stopped in Santa Barbara and a day and a half in Los Angeles, where I had a good chat with Art Hornblow, but missed Dick Kedfeld. We also had a nice chat with Walt and Joan Wanger at the Columbia Studios. Walt is as distinguished as ever, and Joan certainly is a most attractive grandmother. At Cheyenne we chatted with JohnLoomis and his wife. Omaha, where we spent three delightful days with Zeke and Lib Carpenter, seeing the Don Howes, Virge Rector (16) and a trip to Al Sibbensen's 1000 acre farm. Drex, unfortunately, has been sick for some time. At Chicago, we talked with Mai McDonald and then home. My son Sam is living in Chestnut Hill, Boston; is about to take off with his French bride for France next month—flying both ways."
From Buster Sawyer:
"Feb. 16 Mollie and I left with my brother Robert and his boss for a vacation in the South. We motored down leisurely, and stayed overnight in Charlotte, Va. The next morning we went to Monticello and Ashlawn, and there we spied Duze and Mrs. Lounsberry. We wound up at_ St. Petersburg, on the beach close to Passe-a-Grille, where John and Florence Kimball had been spending the winter. They looked healthy and happy. My son Howard, who has been a Junior Resident in Anaesthesia at the Vet's Hospital in White River this year, has enlisted in the Army. He hopes to be assigned to Mary Hitchcock Hospital for further training. My daughter Mrs. Samuel E. Haines Jr. of Philadelphia is counting the hours till she gets her B.A. at Smith. Keeping a house going in Philadelphia and attending Smith is quite a chore. Jack Mason surely has done a great job, and deserves a lot of credit. The only thing I have against him is that the last time I saw him, he looked me over and complained of my "Jowls." They are good jowls and cost me plenty and should be admired, because at least they are better ones than Jack's."
Dick Redfield writes:
"Last August my son Dick Jr. was married to a nice girl from Texas, Mary Ellen Parker. They live in Pasadena and Dick has come to work in my business, which makes me happy. Last Fall as Mrs. Redfield and I were starting on a trip to Honolulu, a Pasadena friend urged me to look up a Dr. Boynton Merrill over there, who he said was the finest man he had ever met. So you can imagine what pleasure it was to renew acquaintance with our own Dick Merrill. I heard his sermon both Sundays we were there and I'll say that I would be a regular church attendant if Dick were in the neighborhood. My daughter Katchen and her husband Bill McElvain have moved back to New England and have bought a farm at Litchfield, N. H., which is about 6 miles north of Nashua. We plan to visit them in June, and I'm looking forward to seeing my classmates that struggle up to Hanover for Commencement, even if this is an off year." Since this concludes the column until next October, your Secretary ends with the wish that you all have a fine summer and please keep in mind that we have a Reunion a year hence and lay your plans accordingly. Guests of the Inn during April:— Mr.if Mrs.George H. Martin, Mr. & Mrs. Paul G. Sargeant, Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Bissell, Dr. ir Mrs.L. C. Dunn, Mr. & Mrs. E. N. Downing.
Changes of Address:— Harold H. Budd, 1506 Potomac Drive, Toledo 7, Ohio—James V. Forrestal, 3508 Prospect Ave., Washington 7, D. C.
Secretary, 11 Paul Revere Rd., Westwood Hills, Worcester 5, Mass.
Treasurer, Ames Bldg., 1 Court St., Boston 8, Mass.
Class Agent, Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. 70 Pine St., New York 5, N. Y.
