Dartmouth in Manhattan
WHEN YOU enter the Dartmouth green doors of 37 East 39th St., New York City, you're at home.
A gracious lobby opens its arms to you. A broad, winding staircase at the right leads to a library and a card room on the second floor. Large leather chairs and sofas invite your ease. Here are Dartmouth publications, a cork board with the latest Dartmouth news tacked to it, and behind you (right) there are welcoming hands and the helpfulness of a staff headed by Ed Redman '06, the Club Manager. Straight ahead is the air-conditioned "Hunt Room" and the bar.
One would never dream from this busy, well-run club, of the headaches and heartaches which had befallen previous efforts to start a Dartmouth Club in this city. Previous to 1926, there was no Dartmouth Club as such. Dartmouth men scratched around for meeting places in hotels and such.
In May, 1926, a group of hardy pioneers met to make plans and raise money for a permanent clubhouse. We shall spare you the rigors of these early efforts. They still bring the hardy pioneers an occasional shudder. Bill Minsch '07 handled the financing through his office, Minsch Monnell & Co. Some 131 men bought the first bonds. To give you an idea of how rugged Dartmouth men are, fifty original purchasers of those bonds are members of the Club today. They go all the way back to Albert Hadlock '87.
For ten long years the Club held forth on 38th St. Then a move was made to the old Morgan building on 37th St., where a special spur ran in fresh tank cars of red ink every other day.
In 1939 the Board asked Ed Redman '06 if he'd come out of retirement, take over as Club Manager—and close up the joint. It looked like curtains. But "Never-Say-Die" Redman was bound and determined to have a Dartmouth Club in New York. He spent almost three years combing the neighborhood. Then he found a site. The building next door to the Princeton Club. Ed was greatly helped in this enterprise by Joe Nuelle '06, who went to BOTH Dartmouth and Princeton. Nuelle was on the Council of the Princeton Club.
Joe said: "It will help us financially. It will offer you boys many of our facilities. It may well prove the financial salvation of both clubs." Turned out Nuelle was right. True, certain Old Oranges and certain Old Indians didn't go crazy with joy at the idea of the mix. But advantages finally outweighed differences, and we moved in early in 1942. Membership of the Dartmouth Club is now sound and sassy at over 1500.
Our own club has added many new facilities. Under the direction of last year's president, genial Jib Dingwall '16, and of Carl Ray '37, last year's chairman of the house committee, the whole first floor has been given a new look. The Hunt Room is new altogether. In one corner .stands a new, high-voltage Du Mont TV set with -.20" screen. The Bar, too (ah, the Bar!) has had new paint and—so some say—21 separate applications of oil. Six blown-up photos of Ye Olde College recall Ye Olde Dayes. In fact, the only used items in the bar are Pete and Pat, the gifted practitioners who minister to the downcast and the jovial with proved results.
Who Runs the Club
Eight gifted people now serve your Dart- mouth Club in New York. Ed Redman has been Manager since 1939. Jim McKeon has served as Assistant Manager for two or three years. Miss Lorraine Stanley is Girl Friday, and one of the most obliging you will ever encounter. The aforementioned practitioners of firewater for parched throats, Pete and Pat. Harry Johnson lends the helping hand of an evening. Bernard, the gentle houseman, has been at the Club since the old, bad 1937 days. Joe is the new bar waiter who ministers to evening customers.
What the Club Offers
Three private dining rooms are available to members for business or social occasions... .
The Landon Room, downstairs, is used for class dinners, cocktail parties, Board meetings, and may be rented out for social banquets, bachelor dinners etc.... The Ladies' Cocktail Lounge, for entertaining ladies (or gals, as they are called today) open from noon till 10 PM... Three regular dining rooms: The Grill, The Buffet Room for lunch and dinner downstairs, The Ladies' Dining Room
Four squash racquet courts, with professional Charlie Costello to run you ragged. ... A Barber Shop ... a Card Room, where the mental titans of the inter-club bridge matches lock in combat when Dartmouth is the home team. ... A theatre ticket service.. . . The Wilson Library, upstairs, which houses Woodrow Wilson literature A Lending Library, maintained by Princeton, where best-sellers are available.... 76 rooms, between the two clubs, which can sleep 106 guests, transient and permanent. And the dues—honest—the dues are the lowest in town. If you need to be convinced, take a look at the schedule in our ad opposite.
Headquarters for Events
There are many events which take place at the Dartmouth Club of New York. Here are some: Dartmouth Night—at the Club you'll find the largest gathering of Dartmouth men (save at Hanover) on this night. DartmouthFathers' Dinner—an annual affair given for fathers of freshmen. Tea Dances—started last year with terrific success. We expect to con- tinue 'em. Alumni Dinners—annual fixtures for many years. Class Dinners— these are sched- uled almost every week.
The Club's Officers
Here they are, for 1951-1952: President, Harry H. Enders '29; Vice-President, Donald F. McCall '27; Secretary, Kenneth C. Quencer '23; Treasurer, George N. Farrand '33, who succeeds himself in this office.
The Board of Governors is made up of: Howard Chapin '28, Jim Field '45, Carl Ray '37, Herb Ball '29, John Foster '23, Harold Eckardt '42, John Crandell '40, Jim Landauer '23, and Ted Swanson '27.
Finally, after this rather rambling round-up of the Dartmouth Club of New York, we conclude with an invitation. Any and every Dartmouth man is more than welcome at 37 East 39th St. Come for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Drop in for a drink. The staff will give you a warm, Dartmouth-style welcome. Chances are better than good that you'll meet someone you know—someone you'll enjoy talking with about Ye Olde Dayes on Ye Olde Campus.
MAIN LOBBY OF THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLUB OF NEW YORK
Next to Hanover, the Dartmouth Club of New York is the largest meeting place for Dartmouth men in the world.
