The Reunion Weekend
IN the bright Monday morning sunshine the reunion tents are deserted, their canvas tops fluttering in the June breezes. The wooden chairs sprawl in clusters and empty beer kegs are tumbled on the lawn, while in the dorms the college crews restore order and lug away mattresses and blankets. Down on Main Street a few caps, slightly battered, mark reunion members who have stayed over for a few days to recuperate or perhaps just to enjoy Dartmouth's summer quiet.
Another weekend reunion program is over and for the eight classes, '11, '20, '21,'22, '41, '45, '46 and '47, which took over the campus from June 22 to June 24, it means another four to six years before the reunion call from Dartmouth sounds again.
The 600 reuning alumni along with 200 wives and children began streaming into Hanover Friday. By the time the lateafternoon receptions and get-togethers were held there was a good crowd on hand and it continued to grow during the evening and on Saturday.
For the average -alumnus there were many familiar faces, some new ones. Harry had put on twenty pounds, Jack had gray hair, and Fred showed up with three kids. There was a lot of catching up to do and five years had wrought many changes. So you shook hands, made introductions and talked, and then collected a group and went off to supper at the Inn or the Outing Club or Thayer Hall.
Tucked in your pocket was a program they'd given you when you registered. It told you where to go and what time to be there and let you know where everyone would be, or was supposed to be. What it didn't tell you was what to do when the Saturday rain washed out the class picnic, or where to find your wife, or what to say to a guy you once knew well but who, in five years time, had changed so much that you didn't recognize him.
The sound of the Baker Library chimes through the Friday evening twilight called you from the tent and you walked through a drizzling rain to the Library to meet more college mates and exchange greetings with President and Mrs. Dickey. A few hours later, perhaps, you were drifting across the floor of Commons, your wife nestled in your arms and the music soft and lazy like the breeze wafting in through the open windows. Down in the '21 tent the classes of 1921 and 1922 had teamed up for a jam session and the hot licks reverberated over the whole campus. Then there were bull sessions and jokes and laughter, and that relaxed feeling that comes when you sit back with a drink in hand to hash over the old days.
Even the Saturday rain didn't dampen your spirits much. You went to the gymnasium Saturday noon for the Alumni Association luncheon and meeting and, with chicken salad and ice cream put away, you sat upstairs, where not so many years ago you were taking exams, and listened to talks by President Dickey, Sid Hayward and New Hampshire's Governor Sherman Adams. These, together with the speeches made Saturday evening by college officers at the class banquets, gave you a better idea of what the College is doing and is trying to accomplish. You realized anew that as an alumnus you had a responsibility to Dartmouth that goes beyond reunions and handshakes and beer.
There were moments of reflection too. Perhaps you sat on the Inn porch or the College Hall verandah, just looking out across the campus towards Dartmouth Row or Baker Library, feeling a bit nostalgic. It was nice to be back. Things were pretty good even with the high cost of living. Everyone had problems and maybe the world was going to pot, but here on the campus the past, present and future blended together and you had a feeling that somehow the good would win out.
Saturday evening the skies cleared and the sun slanted down for a few minutes before the shadows of twilight descended. After the class banquet you preferred to sit around in the tent talking. Later you went over to Webster Hall for the Dartmouth Player's production of The RoyalFamily. It was stuffy there and you thought that maybe you should have stayed at the tent, but it was a good show and there would be time for the tent later.
You woke up late Sunday morning with the sun high in the sky and just had time Tor breakfast and a quick look at the papers before your class picture. Dave Pierce lined you up in the bleachers for the class picture and you noticed that already many in the class had started home. A few classmates had gotten up early to play golf and some of the more athletic wives got in a couple of sets of tennis before lunch.
After lunch, the final keg was tapped at the tent and you walked around exchanging handshakes. There were the invitations to stop over in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and the usual promises to get together next fall at the football game or have dinner in the city some night. The hills were green and fresh from the rain as you pulled out of Main Street and headed down state. Beside you on the seat the wife curled up for a nap. You were pretty tired and had a long drive ahead, but somehow you felt good. You were going back to your own world carrying a little more of Dartmouth with you.
REUNION WEEKEND: Left, part of the alumni throng at the luncheon in the gym preceding the General Alumni Association meeting June 23. Right, typical of the gabfests and informal activities around the reunion tents is this scene at the 1946 tent near Lord Hall. A welcome local visitor was Charlie Tanzi (right).
