1933
Our well known, self-advertised misanthropy that assumes paranoid proportions with the approach of every deadline, as you well know, poor reader, has us really limp and gasping this month. Page Worthington rates a cheer from all hands for reviving the Newsletter this year and getting out three issues within some six weeks. It is only an incidental by-product of this worthy crusade that class news has been milked to the last dew-drop, and your secretary finds himself almost without a crumb to feed his devoted pigeons, if you will permit us the luxury of thoroughly mixing our metaphors in the absence of anything better to do.
As we write, our Alumni Fund campaign, due to Sam Black's herculean labors during the off-season in giving every man a recap on his gifts to the Fund since graduation, and to Page and Sam's team of assistant agents, appears to be rolling well with some $3000 already in the till, and some 115 contributors. Increases are running well ahead of decreases, and if every man does his level best we are pointing for our best year yet.
The Hanover sector of the '33 front has been pretty lively lately, and, fortunately for us, we've had a slight edge on Worthington in covering it, since 1) Morgantown, W. Va. is a little further away than we are, and 2) we serve as Page's Hanover reporter and can and do dry up his source in these parts at will, or Tather, whenever we have to squeeze out a few lines for the MAG.
Big news of the month here is the birth of a bouncing baby girl to Jean and John Meek, on May 4. The Mecks' third, her application for admission with the Class of 1971 at Smith will bear the name Julie. Mother and daughter are reported to be flourishing; the father, •(then last seen disappearing in certain investment portfolios in the Treasurer's office, appeared to be wearing a rather preoccupied, if not a subdued, expression. Whether this was due to his now enlarged responsibilities as pater familias or to thorny problems in the finances of the College has not been determined. Jean reported a few days ago that Julie was "placid and definitely funny-looking" but that since several visitors had already ■commented on her obvious resemblance to her father "perhaps I had better make no ■comments." That reminds us of a story, perhaps apocryphal, that we've always liked about a colleague of ours who, visiting a mother and new baby for the first time, took a long look at the infant, then glanced at the expression on the mother's face, and said; "Cheer up. It'll grow out of the reptile stage—eventually."
Which brings us, in the natural course of human events, to school problems, specifically, Hanover's school problems. Like most communities across the country that are having to face up to the consequences of the war and post-war rise in birth rates, Hanover has been grappling all spring with school expansion troubles, and we mean troubles! Hanover Plain has been divided into two camps, the "economy-minded" and the "our children deserve. ...sorties by both factions on Main Street, in forum, and through the mails, armed to teeth and tongue with statistics, eloquence and passion, have raised tempers, broken friendships, and generally raised havoc in this usually peaceably-disposed community. But the '33 angle is the point of all this. When the battle was finally joined at the School District meeting, not only did the expansion program go through, but Jack Manchester led all candidates in being elected to the School Board. It is quite a tribute to Jack that, with sentiments well above the melting point, he should have polled some 590 votes, of 790 votes cast at the meeting. He obviously drew heavily from both factions, solid evidence of the respect he commands in the community.
Only out of town news. that has filtered through Page's green curtain to me in recent weeks came via our father-in-law, and your Biography prof in the old days, Dr. Speight, who reported having had lunch recently with Mel Hershenson. Mel lives in Lynn, Mass., is married and has two boys. He shares with his father the management of a leather factory in Peabody. Mel was hospitalized recently, but is reported on the mend. Good to have news of him; he's had far too much of a reputation as a "quiet one."
We have also received an item from the Rahxoay (N. J.) News Record about Dr. HenryWeitz. Henry studied at Rutgers, was a member of the Rahway High School faculty and served in the armed forces during the war. He is now an associate professor at the University of Delaware and is serving as Director of the Veterans Administration for the State of Delaware.
Finally, it may stir old memories to call your attention to a want ad that appeared in TheDartmouth this morning. A student advertises for a new roommate for next year. Qualifications desired: said roommate should 1) have a car, 2) have plenty of money, 3) have a father in the liquor business and 4) be congenial.
Secretary, 20 Valley Rd., Hanover, N. H. Treasurer, 2812 Grant Bldg., Pittsburgh 19, Pa. Class Agent, The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn.
