1905
On a beautiful early spring afternoon, with the brisk northwest breeze tempered by a bright sun, it was my sad privilege to attend the funeral rites for our highly esteemed and greatly loved classmate Rufus Day. The service, while simple, was in excellent taste; the minister, Rev. Mr. Vivian X. Pomeroy of the First Parish in Milton, Mass., in voice, presence, and choice of words, was admirable. Sage Memorial Chapel was well filled and probably would have been crowded except for the fact that spring vacation had begun. The wide esteem in which Rufus was held was evidenced by the great wealth of beautiful, massed flowers.
I was particularly pleased that it was possible for me to be present and represent the class. The few men of our class whom I was able to reach in the short time available had urged me to go, though I required little urging. In our earliest days in freshman year Rufus and I had become fast friends, a friendship which had endured through the years, though unfortunately we had seen all too little of each other. We were both looking forward to seeing a little more of each other next summer, when we both had expected to be on the coast of Maine.
My visit in Ithaca, brief as it was—l arrived at about 8:00 in the morning and left at midnight the same day—was made as pleasant as possible by the kind thoughtfulness of Mr. Foster Coffin, Director of Willard Straight Hall, the student center there.
In the course of the morning I called upon the Day family. With their mother had gathered all the children, each with respective wife or husband: Dr. and Mrs. Emerson Day, Mr. and Mrs. David Day, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Copeland with little Emily, the only grandchild I saw, and Martha Elizabeth (Betty) Day. Mrs. Day's sister, Martha Emerson, was present, also.
Emily Day was wonderful in her composure and self-control. She showed me Rufus' study where he had a beautiful view over Lake Cayuga and the opposite hills. In it was a desk with an appropriate, kind inscription, a gift of the faculty. Then she showed me a beautiful memorial booklet in red Morocco that had been presented to Rufus by the trustees in recognition of what he had meant to the University. Also, there was an Encyclopedia Americana with a cordial dedication, this presented by the students.
The Days had fortunately become established in their beautiful new home some weeks earlier. It is very sad that Rufus could not have lived to enjoy it much longer. Rufus will be very greatly missed, but by none more deeply than by us, his classmates.
Tubby Besse, we are happy to say, is reported as in better health. He was scheduled to start for Florida on March 28. We hope you have a good rest, Tubby, and return feeling fit.
Bill Knibbs and Les Studwell, as well as Ed Redman '06 and Randy Burns '12, attended the funeral of Katharyne, Tubby's wife.
Walt Conley arrived home March 22. He and his wife had a fine trip in the Caribbean and encountered only one day of rain. He'll now be very busy on his farm, clearing up the damage to his trees done by last fall's hurricane.
Off for Florida, too, is Fred Chase. He was leaving about the middle of March with his son Hugh '36. The latter is pursuing his Ph.D. at Columbia. Fred said he hoped to see the Charlie Goodriches while in Florida.
Because of the attack of thrombosis in December, Walter May has had a tough winter. However, he has, fortunately, made a complete recovery, though still compelled to move with less alacrity than of old. He says his enforced idleness enabled him to do some interesting reading; for instance, the exchange of letters between the two political opponents, both patriots and statesmen, Adams and Jefferson.
Bob Harding, also, has made such a good recovery that he is carrying on much as usual. He has been busy with plans for the five-year dinner, May z, at Schrafft's in Boston. This affair will be over before this copy of the MAGAZINE is out. An account next month.
Notes from Harry Peyser indicate that he is busy as usual in the legal affairs of good old Portsmouth. We mustn't fail to look in on Harry when we go through Portsmouth on our way to the vacation land of Maine.
Word received late in March reported DocLoder laid up with a severe attack of the flu. We hope you have fully recovered, Halsey, and are busy as usual with your noted work in surgery.
Roger Brown's already extensive trucking business has, I'm told, nearly doubled during the past year. Fine, Roger!
George Proctor, according to my good informant, Royal Parkinson, is looking wonderfully well. He was expecting to attend the fiveclass dinner.
Doc MacMillan, according to a news clipping, while surf casting, caught the largest sea trout ever taken in the vicinity of Clearwater, Fla. He and Mrs. MacMillan were staying at the Clearwater Beach Hotel. He was back in Concord hale and hearty after a grand time in Clearwater.
Those of 1905 who attended the Dartmouth dinner in Boston early in March were RoyalParkinson, Roger Brown, Dr. Cornish, L. C.Grover and Sliver Hatch.
Your scribe has taken on two or three little duties lately. He has undertaken to teach English to a small group of DP's at our local Y. Recently he spoke before the Latin Club in Glen Ridge High School. His topic was "The Value of the Study of Latin," a subject that he has been pondering, 10, these many years. On the evening of March 30 he was the speaker at a dinner in East Orange given by the PBK members of the faculty of Upsala College for the honors groups of the junior and senior classes of that institution. President Lawson conferred, the honorary title of Adjunct Professor— an honor which carries with it a standing invitation to all Upsala faculty affairs—all in fun, of course, but appreciated nevertheless.
C. C. Hills and your class officers will welcome suggestions for the 1952 reunion. Shall it be held in Hanover or elsewhere? Frank McCabe has suggested Hanover in June; Tub Besse, Norwich Inn. What are your wishes? lam in receipt of a concise, forceful statement
under six headings on "Why I Believe in Immortality." This appeared in the Clarion, a sheet published by the Calvary Methodist Church in East Orange. The author is GeneMusgrove. The final summary is as follows: "Immortality? Jesus believed in it, others have believed in it, Nature suggests it, my mind justifies it, my heart reveals it, and very life at its best confirms it."
Ned Estes has been jockeyed, as he expresses it, into the position of Director of Civil Defense in South Berwick, Me., in charge of fire control, police control, mutual and disaster relief, transportation, communications, etc. He doesn't believe his town is in much danger of bombing at any time, but there might be a need to find places for refugees and evacuees in case Boston were ever hit.
Who's Who in '05 WILLIAM D. BLATNER
One of the best-known men of the Class is Bill Blatner, now of Chicago and Geneva, Ill. Son of an Albany, N. physician, he came to college already an accomplished musician and 'cellist, and for four years contributed beautiful music, not only to the college and to Hanover, but also to communities within a 20-mile radius. Since then, his career has included mortgage-banking, law partnerships, promoting legislation fostering and protecting industrial jobs, and protecting property rights traversing America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Hudson Bay, and from Atlantic to Pacific. Bill is our '05 contact man for Chicago and points west, and is a landed proprietor of some 360 acres of cattle and hog-feed farms. Withal he still enjoys playing the big fiddle. He has taken his ups and downs in health and business philosophically and with a sense of humor, such that today he is by no means a retiree, and his vigor of mind and body appear unabated from the days of Cap Kelly's original play—Fresh- man—"the 20th Century Immorality Play, Exempli- fying the Illegitimate Drama."
From a clerkship in the Albany Trust Company something attracted Bill to Chicago, where in 1910 he married Besse Manchester and in 1921 graduated from Law School (Kent College of Law) and became a member of the Illinois bar. For a time he served the Western Roofing Company of Chicago, and then was title searcher for the Los Angeles Title Company. By 1914, he had become Manager of the Bond Department of Chicago's Woodruff Trust Company. In 1928 he was a member of a three-man law partnership. For the past 30 years Bill Blatner has been a member of the Executive and Legal staff of the Association of Employers of Illinois, and the Associated Retail Confectioners of the United States. Pressing for state and national legislation such as to provide a healthful climate for business and employees, he is well-known among state and national officials. His acquaintance is wide in Dartmouth circles, too.
His farms, also, require his active attention. They are within ten miles of his Geneva, Ill., home, but Geneva is 35 miles west of his Chicago office. A hundred years ago, his Geneva home was a courthouse. Today it has on the outside beautiful elm shaded lawns and a large vineyard, and the inside shelters Bill's collection of books, etchings, record albums of all the great symphonies and chamber music ensembles, and samples of his color photography. In this environment Bill and Besse have lived since 1932, and keep a welcome mat for visiting classmates.
Having mentioned the enjoyment that Bill receives and gives with his cello, let's return to the campus and listen to this comment by Bill 20 years ago: "I have always been grateful to the old instrument (cello). It saved me many a paddling in my Freshman year. When the hazing groups arrived in my room, I was invited to give them a tune. After playing through my repertoire, I would conclude my program with the strains of our Alma Mater song. This somehow prompted the savage sophomores to exercise their vocal chords and wander away in search of other prey. The old cello brought to me many other interesting experiences: delightful evenings in the home of President and Mrs. Tucker. Mrs. Tucker was an accomplished pianist, and together we played Beethoven duets. Also, Sunday evening suppers—and such suppers! at the home of Professor Louis Dow, then musical evenings with Mrs. Dow, another charming hostess and delightful musical companion. At funerals the cello intensified the sorrow of the mourners. At weddings it brought joy to the heart of the bride. Winter trips by sleigh to Pomfret, K. U. A., Woodstock, and other towns whose names I have forgotten, with a selected group of the Glee and Mandolin Clubs, ten to 20 miles over snow-carpeted hills and valleys in sub-zero weather; steaming pans of chicken pie, maple syrup, doughnuts, hot coffee—these were our rewards for an evening's entertainment, and well paid we were."
None of the Class will disagree that Bill Blatner was and is an artist with that cello, and generous with the music he enjoys. A man of refined cultural tastes, and observant of beauty in life, literature, and scenery, he has nevertheless attained high station in the main current of business competition.
VERNEY W. RUSSELL '05, engineer with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, commutes between Ephrata and Wenatchee, Wash., carrying out his work of planning irrigation projects for farming areas.
WILLIAM D. BLATNER '05
Secretary, 358 N. Fullerton Ave., Upper Montclair, N. J
Treasurer, 8027 Seminole Ave., Philadelphia 18, Pa.
Class Agent, 6 Lakewood Rd., Natick, Mass.
