1942
The hot breath o£ one Charles Widmayer '3O, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine editor, is uncomfortably warming the back of my neck. And with good reason, too. Like the Boston and Maine, I'm always late.
First item concerns the formal addition of a new member of our class, Mr. Russell H. Britton, father of Russell {Jack) Britton, who was killed in action during World War 11. If you remember, we voted without dissent at our fifth reunion class meeting to invite all fathers of deceased members of the class to become honorary members of 1942.
Mr. Britton recently applied for that status and it was my great pleasure to accept him as a new tribal member. He is president of the Rochester, N. H., Trust Company, for any of you who are situated in southern New Hampshire or thereabouts.
A second request came from a Mr. Henry Merrill of Boston, Mass., asking the whereabouts of Andy Wood. I couldn't oblige him, since the Alumni Records address is no good —his mail having been returned from that point. If Miss Charlotte Ford, the best address sleuth in the United States and our Alumni Recorder, doesn't know it, I don't see why I should. However, anyone who knows same will oblige Mr. Merrill and myself by communicating either with him at the C. W. Whittier & Bro., real estate brokers, Shawmut Bank Building, 82 Devonshire Street, Boston 9, Mass., or with me.
Newest '42 letter at hand comes from expatriate Mike de Sherbinin, who, with wife, Polly, and daughter, Laura, is residing in Geneva, Switzerland. Mike is a public information officer (high level lingo for publicity man) with the International Refugee Organization there. He says that his office is scheduled to shut down between now and 1951 and he soon will be looking for other pastures.
Part of his letter may be of interest to those of you who wonder how it goes with Geneva:
"Our life here, except for some interesting trips and vacations which we could never have taken but for being on the continent, is not too unlike the life we might be leading in New York or any other city in the States. There are material differences; for one thing, in the States we never could afford the fulltime (Italian) maid we have here.
"For another, the pleasant apartment we have in the old section of Geneva would probably be impossible to find in the U.S., at least at the price we pay. At that, prices are about the same in Switzerland as in the U.S. and prices on anything which the Swiss make (and hence employ tariffs to protect) are usually higher than one would have to pay at home. Another difference is in our group of friends, which although made up perhaps 60 per cent of Americans, still contains other nationalities—French, a few Swiss, British, etc.
"We are of course very familiar with Geneva now, having been here over two years, and it has both advantages and disadvantages. We are getting to the point where we notice the latter more than the former, and we would like to move to Paris or London, if work were available in either place."
Entrepreneur and extravaganza-promoter Dick Lippman sends along a puzzling request from New York City, concerning another of his New York 1942 clambakes and progressive drinking parties. It is in the form of a penny postal return notice for a 1942 affair run off at the Dartmouth Club of New York on December 12. Written hastily in ink is, "Give us a plug in the Jan. issue! I'll send you the list who attended for the Feb. issue. Lipp."
Well, sir, that's an easy request to fill. All of those of you who live in the New York area be sure to have attended the 1942 meeting at the Dartmouth Club of New York, December 12, by the time this has come out on or about January 1. If you didn't attend, you'll have to wait until December 12, 1950, and you know how far off that is.
I have in hand a mimeographed sheet from some organization called the Committee on Informal Class Reunions. (It can't be but a sub rosa committee since I notice that the name of Sidney C. Hayward, the prince of all committee-formers, is not listed.) At any rate, these people seem to want to know if there is any 1942 sentiment for informal reunions at Hanover, either winter or summer. Since I can only speak for myself, and then only haltingly, it seems best to throw the idea into play and let anyone kick it around who wants to.
The College evidently is willing to cooperate with such nefarious schemes, if we are to assume that this is indeed a bona fide committee, despite its Hayward-less state. If any of you think it a feasible, sane and sensible notion, drop me a line and I'll forward your requests along to the committee. (Fortunately, I no longer live in Hanover, so you'll find it quite hard to pin me down to any work of that kind.)
A long letter from Carl Holekamp, previously noted for his epistolary reticence, gladdens this month's mail bag. Prefacing his remarks by saying "I swore I would never write one of these 'Dear Editor' letters until I had something to report—even when you grievously missed listing me at the fifth reunion doings!" Carl ends with a forlorn postscript: "Could you give me some idea of the sad statistics of the number of bachelors remaining in the Mad Marrying Class of 1942?" (The only one I can vouch for is myself, Carl.)
In between, he notes, "Into our now maligned Navy in June, 1942, and 27 Pacific and 29 stateside months later out with the rank of lieutenant. Some interesting encounters with J. B. Headley, Dick Cardozo, etc., while on staff duty at Guam, but that's history. (All o£ which reminds me that I saw Dick zip down Hanover's Main Street in a car a month or two back—Ed.)
"Back to St. Louis, Webster Groves in particular, to my father's lumber business and naturally quite busy for the last several years. I did make reunion as class pictures clearly recorded—and more!
"One of the 'lyers celebrating his 30th brought along his Smith senior daughter. It started at the dance in Commons, later went on a ski trip to Franconia and (delay due to distance difficulties) now has blossomed in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Mott Brown of Columbus, Ohio, formerly Dedham and Chatham, Mass., are announcing the engagement of their daughter, Barbara, to lucky me this week. (The things that go on at reunions!— Ed.)
"Without knowledge, but evidently premonition of a situation I was elected president of the St. Louis Dartmouth Alumni Association last June. Now you can well understand my zealous interest in all things Hanoverian."
And now the clipping. Yes, the singular number is correct. So many of you have followed the long trail down the middle aisle that there are few of us left for the clipping services (no disapprobation meant).
The clipping in hand from the NewarkNews reports that Miss Nancy Rothwell Bowers, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Alan Bowers of Montclair, N. J., was married November 5, 1949, to Edward Charles Newman, son of Mr. and Albert Charles Newman of New York City. The wedding took place at the Watchung Congregational Church of Montclair. It also reports that Ed is working for his master's degree at Columbia in the library school there.
A Hanover Inn guest card says that H. B.Hinman, Jr., of Rome, N.Y., was there November 13.
And now, a slightly delayed Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Rest, it's wonderful!
Secretary, The Claremont Eagle, Claremont, N. H.
Treasurer, 357 S. Orange Grove Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.
