Thayer School
SEVERAL newsworthy and welcome items have come from the recent holiday season. In the first place, Hanover, at least the winter sports element, has been enjoying a good oldfashioned winter with generally low temperatures and a good snow cover on the ski hills, a condition which we have missed during recent years.
Also, we have had a good inflow of Christmas greetings with scraps of news appended from a growing of alumni, items from which will be included below.
Finally, during the holiday season the engagement has been announced of Mary Wilkinson Steele to Joseph John Ermenc, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Thayer School. Mary, a graduate of Bucknell and holder of a Master's degree from Carnegie Tech, is at present radio storyteller of the Boys and Girls Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. She was formerly children's librarian at Howe Library in Hanover. A June wedding is planned. I am sure Joe's many former students join his colleagues of the faculty in extending warmest congratulations and best wishes for future happiness.
Millett Morgan, our Director of Research, has recently been honored by election to membership on a technical commission, Commission 11-USA-of URSI, the International Union of Radio Scientists.
Dick Dunham DC'39 has tendered his resignation as Research Technician with Professor Morgan's ONR lonospheric Research staff to accept a position on a classified development project being conducted for the government. Dick leaves with the best wishes of us all in his new undertaking. His position has been filled by W. Cutting Johnson, formerly instructor in mathematics at the Clark School.
Steve Olko CE'47, who edits a competing news sheet to this, has sent a copy of a recent issue of that journal, the Harvard EngineeringSociety Bulletin, for our inspection. Steve, who is with Frederic Harris, Engineers, qualifies for his position as editor of this foreign publication by virtue of a year's graduate work at Harvard. The Harvard bulletin is an interesting and professional-appearing organ.
The School has received an autographed copy of "Speaking of Sanborn Company—Here Are Its Ups and Downs From 1917 to 1942" from the author, Frank B. Sanborn '89. This interesting and entertainingly written history covers the period of Mr. Sanborn's presidency of the company from its establishment in 1917. Modestly and informally told, it nevertheless presents a record of outstanding achievement by a Thayer School son.
Bob Roberts CE'45 has written in from Camden, Arkansas, where he has been Administrative Assistant for C. F. Haglin and Sons Company on a $35 million Navy Rocket project. Commenting on his Thayer School experience, Bob says, "I should like to let you know how pleasant my memories of Thayer School are and that in many contacts with graduates of other engineering schools I am convinced that our Thayer curriculum is superior to that found in other schools. And particularly, the personal contact our Thayer School class had with you, Professor Minnich, Professor Brown, and Professor Ermenc has contributed greatly to the success of each of us in our chosen profession. Hardly a week goes by but what I tell someone about our surveying instructor in College who pointed out that it was 'always good form to run'. X hope you are still giving that advice as I have found that on a construction job the boss is quick to note a man who is 'in a hurry'." Bob was married in August 1950 to Eleanor Balch of Minneapolis and on September 22, 1951, they became the proud parents of Miss Sally Elizabeth Roberts. Many thanks, Bob, and congratulations.
Don Phinney '34 has written in an interesting description of progress on the twin tunnel job on which he is resident engineer for Morrison-Knudsen in Venezuela. In addition to being in charge of construction, he has also had to do the engineering work whenever anything tricky has come up such as relocation of the tubes on superelevated curves. Don is hopeful of bringing his family to the States in time for his twentieth reunion in June.
We have recently received copies of three civil defense bulletins published by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which show the fine hand of Merit White '31. These bulletins have to do with blast resistance, home air raid shelters, and the reaction of buildings to atomic blasts.
From Jack Martin CE'51 comes a Christmas card with the salutation, "A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Sultan's Casbah in Casablanca." Jack is an engineer on an airbase construction job and appears to like the work, arduous though it is. He says, "My crew consists of 2 Frenchmen, 2 Arabs and 1 Jewish boy, and I feel very proud of the fact that X taught them everything they know about surveying."
Alex McPherson ME'45 who returned to the engineering fold last year after a spell as manager of a large cooperative farm in the Midwest, writes, "I am now working for Gustin Bacon Manufacturing Company. We had seven plants in the flood area but all are back in operation and we're starting another million dollar one Thelma and I are all settled now and are always holding open house for any of you from God's country." The McPhersons' address is 929 Jefferson Street, Apartment 203, Kansas City, Missouri.
Recent communications from George Hartmann ME'50 and Paul Barnico ME'51 announce that both are enrolled in the highpowered Advanced Engineering Program of study offered by the General Electric Company.
A visitor to the School during Christmas vacation was Ken Lieber '37 who unfortunately happened to choose a day when the building was practically deserted. Sorry to have missed his call.
