1940
As our wonderful winter continues in the north country, with excellent skiing available at least two more weeks, the reunion mood comes hard. Yet it's only a little over two months from this writing, and one month from your reading, to the big party, June 16 to 18.
To show how it's going, there were 25 men of 1940 at the Boston spring dinner March 29, and 24 o£ them, plus wives, will be at reunion. Question, how about you? Don Rainie is the worrying kind, and reservations are the only things that keep him happy. So, if yours isn't in his bulging file, see that it gets there, pronto.
The program will be: Friday, register, find the beer tent, get ready for the big game between the teams of Sluggin' Ken Arwe and Masterful Manny Mansfield; evening there's a President's reception and alumni dance. Saturday, class movies, produced and directed by Chal Carothers, preceding the Class Meeting, including one-paragraph reports from the class officers and the election of the next Executive Committee, adjourning to the taking of the class picture (price is in the tax, every one gets a copy). There is also the noon Alumni Luncheon in the gym for the men, and a buffet at the Inn for the gals. The movies will be repeated late in the afternoon for the late-risers and second-viewers. Saturday evening is the high point, with SachemRogers presiding at the Class Dinner at the Inn (as we pass from pandemonium into chaos). There is also a Players' show that evening. The times are planned so that most of it is unscheduled, the tent will be staffed continuously, and the programmed events held to a minimum.
The tax,'last we knew, was figured at $l4 per, including beer, Saturday lunch and dinner, crew hat, T-shirt, large name button, and the College tax (covering the tent, piano, dance and Players' show).
Hanover Holiday runs for the week preceding the big week-end, ending on Thursday. Dormitory rooms will be available, whether or not you take in the Holiday, at $2 per night per person. The general idea seems to be, come as early as you can, there'll be plenty of company.
The Boston dinner March 29 was an unqualified success. The drinks were available in suitable quantity, the steak was delicious, the turnout was tremendous. The Moody chariot succumbed to its winter beating at the wrong time, so with the capable assistance of Don Rainie, we hitched the last 40 miles, which served only to increase the thirst and whet the appetite. We seem to be one short on our list, and memory being what it is, he'll have to accept apologies instead of inclusion in the following: Sam Snow, JackO'Brien, Jim Schaye, Don Hause, Harry Hoyt,Bill Chapin, Bob Rodday, Staff King, DickHawkes, Bill Squier, Jack Fitzgerald, HowieStockwell, Bob Clark, Gordie Wentworth, TedMiller, George Cutter, John McDonald, RonWoodberry, Larry Cate, Stet Whitcher, HarryMidgley, Larry Herman, Don Rainie and the Secretary.
There were also reports that New York,Cleveland and Chicago were planning similarshowings of 1940 spirit, but the spirit musthave been completely used at the parties, for,at deadline, there's nary word from any ofthem.
Letter-writing honors for the month to ChalCarothers, who says,
"In NYC last week I talked with Dick Bowman in his office at Foote, Cone and Belding. He looked prosperous and has just bought a new car. Also, Bill Bumsted was on hand to toast my wife Jo at her surprise birthday party. He and BillWrightson plan to do some fancy yachting on Wrightson's new yacht around the West Indies in May. Chap Went-worth was in NY from Los Angeles promoting the sale of an ingenious secret ray toy aluminum gun he manufactures at his Longren Aircraft Cos. plant. The gun is terrific and is the fifth largest selling toy in the giant Rexall drug chain. It shoots air and will noiselessly put out a lighted match across a room. This is its first appearance east of the Rockies."
Chal enclosed the following from Pete Basquin, via Terry, who evidently is the correspondent of the family,
"Although our address says Washington, we actually reside in a small town called Suitland, Md. The town was a sparsely populated country town until apartments started sprouting up here and there, said apartments housing the quantities of families of Andrews Field personnel, Census Bureau and Navy Hydrographic Office 'slaves.' The last is the why of our existence at present. Pete tired of shifting every five days with the Weather Bureau and I tired of meals at all hours of the day and night, so we are now well settled (since January 19) in the luxuriant life of a normal fiveday week. Ed is very fond of the new position, 'Head of Ocean Weather Section of Program Branch of the Division of Oceanography of the United States Navy Hydrographic Office—that means me and one other guy." The family is fine, consisting of us, natch, and our two 'lndians, Peter and Philip. Peter, going on 7, and Philip, just turned 3, are fairly respectable citizens when they aren't playing cowboys and the like. The thought of June and reunion runs around in our brains often and we keep thinking how wonderful it will be. No guarantees on it at the moment, but we sure as heck are going to attempt it. If any of you get down to tea with the President, drop in at the Basquins and we might whip up a beer for you."
And word from the wilds of Minnesota, Minneapolis section, again from the long hair side of the family, since Art Ostrander is too busy,
"We too have made a major change in our way of life. We bought a house. Such little words for a major upheaval. It's among the oldest in Minneapolis. We debated space versus modern and decided on space. We bought from some people with a son studying architecture and another a full fledged artist, resulting in our having one of the few houses with an 1860 exterior and a 1960 interior. Debbie will shortly be five, a thought which gives us pause, particularly with my rapidly greying hair. She has settled down to a normal pace of catastrophes per year only because she's so busy talking there's no time for anything else. Tommy is progressing in amazing fashion due to medical science and the person of Dr. Creevy, who is practically our personal god. It is unbelievable that a child could change so much in six months time."
Some guys we never hear from: Al McKernan is high school principal in Amherst,N. H., a fact he neglected to communicate tous (we heared it some place or other); PeteLamson is selling so much insurance, down inLowell, Mass., that the news of it has penetrated even to the far north; Larry Boothbyis teaching in Vermont, at the Putney School,down south; and Fred Pillsbury is on thestaff at American International College inSpringfield as a visiting lecturer in law.
The Class of 1940, close affiliates division, welcomes: Ellen and Jay Franklin Schechter, March 6, 1950 additions to the family of Ed and Betty; Jean Heggie of Sierra Madre, Calif., and Hanover, engaged to Dr. BobStorrs, Hanover's leading pediatrician; and Margaret Perham, married to Paul Johnson February 15 in Worcester, Mass.
Which seems to be the end of things, except, 1940 has a little unfinished business known as the Alumni Fund. How about getting your chip in among the early birds?
Secretary, 203 College St., Burlington, Vt. Treasurer, W. B. Fonda Co., St. Albans, Vt. Class Agent, 1361 Dorsch Rd., South Euclid 21, Ohio
