1920
Our special Spring Festival Tribute for 1951 goes to Craig Sheaffer, whose pen is mightier than anybody's sword. Magazine and newspaper writers have been ganging up on Craig, with the net result of a cover picture and accompanying article in the January 19 issue of Tide magazine and a March 14 story, also with portrait, in the New York Herald-Tribune's interesting series, "Business and Finance Leaders." Tide pointed out that Sheaffer by last year had tripled its 1940 totals of business volume and that it could now properly advertise to be "America's first choice by actual sales records." Orchids are bestowed on President Craig for his labor policies, his advertising ingenuity, his encouragement to young men and his modesty. He "not only knows more than anybody else about the operation-having worked in every production and management department—but sparks many of the product improvements and advertising and selling moves that keep the company competitive." The H-T contributes some personal items which his classmates will welcome, pointing out that "at age 52, husky, six foot Craig Sheaffer still has time and energy to enjoy the sports of his youth, duckhunting and boating.... as a relief from the sometimes devious paths of business, he still can guide a small boat skillfully through difficult Mississippi River channels and cross-currents to some good shooting grounds."
Second prize this month for "Twenty Most Likely to Succeed"—who has succeeded—goes to Class Treasurer Roc Elliott, new president of the Boston Alumni Association. A BostonHerald picture taken at the scene of the election shows Roc in the good company of Pres- ident Dickey, Johnny Sullivan, President Conant of Harvard and Bill Andres. And Roc looks as young, robust and happy as any of them.
These notes are being relayed from the Nation's Capital, where a back-alley view from the Mayflower affords not the slightest glimpse of a cherry blossom in bud or in bloom. All the better, perhaps, for this particular issue of Washington Non-Confidential, as open, aboveboard, and unscandalous as children rolling Easter eggs on the White House Lawn.
To head the local Easter parade, we pick our fellow-transient, Grosvenor Plowman. Starting to wind up his fourth tour of duty (without pay) in Washington, Grosvenor has trained a successor and resigned, as of March 23, as the nation's first director of Military Traffic Service. That takes him, he says, "right back where he started last August as consultant to the Secretary of Defense" and he is also serving as consultant to the chairman of the Munitions Board on all matters relating to transportation. When he was notified of his appointment on a Friday of last August, he wound up his business affairs so fast that he was ready for work in Washington at nine on the following Monday. He still breakfasts at seven every morning and is off for the Pentagon by eight; but he is on the way now to cutting down his government service from a six- to a four-day week and hopes in short order to have it down to two. The ultimate end in view is the first vacation in a long time, starting in May at his Danbury, N. H., home and winding up with all the fanfare of Reunion. Grosvenor has gathered together, parcel by parcel, what now totals 1500 acres up there on Ragged Mountain and intends in due season to go into the business or hobby of tree culture.
John Carden's Washmobile headquarters are right down here in back of the Mayflower. An interesting operation. Just recently Time magazine displayed a big Erie Railroad Diesel locomobile being "washmobiled" and John says they can clean up in short order almost any piece of mobile machinery. Although the outfit is nation-wide in scope, John himself runs the Federal Washmobile Corporation, agency for the District of Columbia and hereabouts. He not only sells the gadget, but can operate it, install it, teach others how to work it, and repair it when and if necessary. Reunion prospects for the Cardens: Good.
Had quite a visit with Harry Harris, taking us both back some distance, because Harry's last recollection of Hanover goes with playing football against Dartmouth for West Virginia in that memorable game of our time which the Big Green somehow squeaked through victorious. After Dean Academy with Mel Merritt Harry stopped only briefly at Hanover, where he roomed freshman year with Mel. Then the air force caught his fancy and he was on his way. Somewhat later he picked up a law degree in Washington, filed it away in a desk drawer, and started selling a lot of life insurance. Harry L. Harris Inc. is his very successful general agency. His daughter, a Wellesley graduate, has been married about a year.
The offices of two Washingtonians reported their respective bosses out of town. Sal Andretta, who keeps the Attorney-General's affairs in order, submitted to some surgery a while ago and is down in Florida with Mrs. Andretta, taking it easy for a bit. Clayt Wallace, Public Relations Director of the Temperance League of America, is doing the opposite of Sal right at the moment, because his job keeps him on the move through all the 48 states. He comes to Washington headquarters often and stays here as long as he does anywhere, but he's a difficult man to locate.
Coming to Washington by the devious route through Pittsburgh, we made inquiry for Sports Editor Chet Smith of the PittsburghPress. Like fellow-townsman Plowman—and like most sports editors at this time of year Chet was out of town, but his picture makes daily appearances in the Press at the head of a readable column, "The Village Smithy." Not bad, that. The column for March 28, although implying not the slightest disloyalty to the Pirates or to California where they were then flexing their muscles, was nevertheless written from St. Petersburg, Fla., training ground of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Report of a trend, significance undetermined: Within recent years three Twenties have seen fit to establish themselves in Arkan- sas— Charles Ashton in Mountainburg, JohnnieBryan in Mountain Valley, and CharlieCheadle in Springdale. ... Dick Hazen, too long lost, is reported by Class Secretary Ralph Bartlett 'B9 to be associated with Peterson Tractor Service in Logan, Utah, where Dick's father, a member of the Class of 1889, also resides.. . .Artie Stern, after successful opera- tions on his eyes, which had been giving him trouble for some time, is having himself a short siesta in the Virgin Islands Did you notice that picture of Al Stillman's boy David '51 in the March issue of the MAGAZINE? Dave was Winter Carnival Committee member in charge of police, a function that may cause some of us to brood dreamily about the old unpoliced days when we were very young.
Secretary, Blind Brook Lodge, Rye 17, N. Y.
T reasurer, 1 Windmill Lane, Arlington 74, Mass.
Class Agent, Box 315, Hanover, N. H.
