1920 Has "Best Ever" Reunion
No class ever had a better reunion. With the blessing of good weather (two days out of three), a convenient and comfortable location in the Ripley-Woodward-Smith dormitory block, efficient committee management, and spirits that bubbled high but never over, 1920's Thirtieth ran the course of a happy weekend. Seventy-three twenties, with wives and children of assorted sizes, enjoyed the festivities.
Checking in Thursday night and officially establishing reunion headquarters on the morning of Friday, June 22, Chairman FrankMoulton settled himself behind the office desk, opened up the register to page one, and prepared for business. Equally prompt in assuming their reunion responsibilities were Frank's fellow committee members, HarrySampson and Bill Carter. The three made a great team, functioning smoothly at all times.
First customers to put in an appearance were Al Stillman, on hand all week following his son's graduation, Laddie Myers, who drove all the way from Chicago in a handsome Ford convertible, and Pete Potter, who alighted from his car with his sleeves rolled up and ready for work. He served as chief auctioneer throughout the proceedings, getting relief as needed from Sherm Adams, Al Foley, BenAyres, and Stan Newcomer. Preliminaries, apart from collecting class taxes and assigning new airivals to their rooms, consisted of get- ting males and females alike properly attired in their reunion sailor hats and icing a suitable supply of beer in the 1920 tent. Across the roadway from class headquarters, the tent became temporarily next-door-neighbor to the Sphinx tomb.
Formal celebration began with a buffet supper Friday night. Ranking as one of the best reunion meals in 1920's history, it set the stage for equally welcome breakfasts in the same convenient spot—the tent—and under the same catering auspices Saturday and Sunday mornings. Twenty was well represented at the President's reception Friday night, at the Alumni Association luncheon on Saturday where Sherrn Adams was a featured speaker, and at the memorial services in Rollins Chapel Sunday morning.
Top events on our program, for greeting and gaiety, were the class dinner in Thayer Hail Saturday night and the picnic Sunday at Keene's beautiful studio-farm, high in the hills above Etna, looking out across the valley to the uplands of Vermont. The dinner began with a report from the Nominating Committee (Al Frey, Norm Richardson, and George Page, Chairman), whose n-man slate for the class Executive Committee was elected without opposition, as follows: John Beranek of Seattle, Wash., Roc Elliott of Arlington, Mass., Al Foley of Norwich, Vt., George Macomber of Wellesley, Mass., Frank Moulton of Littleton, N. H., Stan Newcomer of Monroe, Mich., Dick Pearson of Rye, N. Y., Rog Pope of Swampscott, Mass., Pete Potter of Rochester, N. Y„ Harry Sampson of Hanover, N. H., and Craig Sheaffer of Fort Madison, lowa.
Carl Newton, who had feature billing as top performer at the class dinner, hurried to Hanover Saturday afternoon, fully equipped for his magical performance. It developed that Carl's mystic now-you-see-it-now-you-don't stuff of 30 years ago has long since given way to experiments in extra-sensory perception. And his tortured tearing of thoughts and images from the minds of his watchers would have done credit to Dunninger himself. Straining every nerve, he completed his performance with an incredible feat of reading unseen words from three different books, held in the bewildered possession of three wholly responsible and incorruptible members of his audience.
Its elections completed for the next five-year period, the Class acted upon only one other item of business between courses of the dinner. In recognition of new trends in Alumni Council thinking, with respect to Memorial Funds, individual gifts, and bequests, 1920 formally passed a resolution of encouragement for the inclusion of Dartmouth in the estate plans of members of the Class. As its Memorial Fund passes into history, Class and College both thank Stan Newcomer for a good job, well done. The final figure was $25,125.
The auctioning of objects contributed by members of the Class for the betterment of our Alumni Fund standing kept moving ahead xvith great exuberance. Sherm Adams' "Are ya done, once—are ya done, twice?" is still ringing in the ears of some of the charmed listeners who fell victim to his persuasion. The most spirited bidding of all, in fact, took place under Sherm's mellifluous pleading, when Roc Elliott and Dot Harvey competed for possession of a Paul Sample original water color, with Roc in the end graciously conceding to the fair lady. Bill Carter came into ownership of the camera donated by PetePotter; Ben Ayres outbid all others for the imported chinaware set that came straight from Gerry Stone's department in Macv's; Buttons Hill acquired for Eva a tremendous bolt of the finest Australian wool, shipped on from Cleveland by Elmer Koski; and other equally worthy gifts found equally worthy new owners. "Cowboys and Indians" Foley couldn't resist the Hopalong Cassidy outfit but hurriedly transferred possession to Andy Mack, the youngest reuner. Eddie Bowen's sole acquisition was Georgette, the 1920 goat, who was contentedly munching her hay in the back seat of Eddie's car as he set off for Albany.
Bung Roland contributed a magnificentcollection of the finest orchids "made inAmerica," for damsel decoration at the dinner. These naturally found ready takers atsubstantial prices, but four of them were reserved for presentation to the two ladies whohad come the longest distances, Catherine Allen from Seattle and Mary Ainsworth fromFort Worth; for Dot Sampson, wife of the"youngest father" in the class, whose sonGeorge Williams was born May 6; and forDolly Elliott, wife of the finest class treasurerof his day and age. From all the fund-raisingactivities of the weekend something over $500found its way into the Alumni Fund kitty.
The new Executive Committee continued Roc in office when it met in Keene's barn before the close of the picnic. It likewise reelected Dick Pearson as secretary-chairman, although both these holdovers are disposed to ask review and perhaps amendment of the class constitution with respect to length of term of office. Such matters may well come be-
fore the next meeting of the Committee,which proposes to foregather in HanoverSeptember 28 and 29. Sherry Baketel has accepted appointment to the new office of Bequests Chairman for the Class, and GeorgeMacomber is taking on responsibility for investigating the desirability of informal offyear reunions.
The Ben Ayreses were properly pleased tohave reunion commence as it did just afterthe 21st, when they celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary, while the Eb Wallaces,whose eighth fell on the 23d, did themselvesproud by picking up three prizes in the classraffle.
Here's the final tally of Thirtieth Reunionattendance, all present and accounted for:
Sherm and Rachel Adams, with son Sam and daughter Sally (daughter Jean was also reuning with her husband Bill Hallager in the '47 camp), Tom and Mary Ainsworth with son Tommy, Johnny and Katherine Allen, Ben and Ellen Ayres with daughter Janet, Sherry and Betty Baketel, Hal Bidwell, Pop Birch with nephew Bruce Hanan, Eddie Bowen, Ginger Bruce, Bill and Laura Carter, Sam and Marion Center, Hal and Catherine Clark, Dal and Marguerite Dalrymple, Lewis and Pearl Darling with Lewis Jr., Roc and Dolly Elliott, Gugger Fiske, A1 Foley, A1 Frey, Jim Frost, Warrie and Mary Gault, Dick Goddard, Phil and Hilda Gross, Fred and Dorothy Hamm with daughter Terry, Bunny and Dot Harvey > Henry and Julie Hayes, Ed and Beatrice Higgins with Ed Jr., Buttons and Eva Hill, Howie and Dorothy Hitchcock, Pat and Rita Holbrook, Paul and Bea Hutchinson, Raynor and Ruth Hutchinson, Phil and Grace Kitfield, Jack and Anna Lappin, Scout and Alice Lee, Fritz and Katrina Lord, Sel and Anne Mack with son Andy, George and Hazel Macomber, Jack and Margaret Mayer, Charlie and Dorothy McGoughran, Frank Moulton with son Jim, Laddie Myers, Stan Newcomer, Carl Newton, George Page, A1 and Emilie Palmer with daughter Hannah, Jim and Grace Parkes with son James, Dick and Robin Pearson, Gov and Genifred Plowman, Rog and Marjorie Pope, Pete and Neen Potter, Norm and Doris Richardson, Paul and Lillian Richter, Jim and Mary Robertson, Don Rogers, Bung Roland, George and Mildred Sackett with daughter Joan, Harry and Dot Sampson, Art and Peg Smith with son Bob, Spence and Mary Snedecor, Dick and Martha Southwick, Ken and Hilda Spalding, Bob and Elinor Steinholz, A1 and Eleanor Stillman with son David, Gerry and Frances Stone, Carroll and Henrietta Swezey, Red and Gwendolyn Tillson with daughter Deborah, Eb and Ruth Wallace, Dick "Watts, Ted Weis, Bud and Alice "Weymouth, Chet and Mildred "Wiley, Lek and Marian "Willard, Irv and Caroline "Worth.
That's the score, folks—a grand total of 144 men, women, and children. May they all come back—and more—for our Thirty-Fifth!
1920, IN A CAREFREE MOOD DURING SUNDAY'S CLASS PICNIC AT KEENE'S, POSES WITH "GEORGETTE," THE CLASS GOAT
CLASS SECRETARY
