1886

On the 20th day of this month our BillieNewton is due to enter the very select group of oldsters the 90-year men a distinction attained by only two others of our class, Philbrook of Los Angeles and Rose, now deceased.

One of the earliest recollections of Billie's long life is that of seeing President Nathan Lord, who was living in Hanover, when he was seven years old. From that time on he has known personally every President of Dartmouth College.

His acquaintance with alumni covers a very wide range. As he travels he meets them individually or in groups and is in his element at commencements, club meetings, games, etc. On one occasion he was at breakfast with his classmates at the Inn, giving them little attention, however, bobbing up to speak to other alumni as they passed the table. Meanwhile they amused themselves by drinking his coffee and eating his cereal undetected.

His early familiarity with College life as a "townie" qualified him to arouse college spirit during our freshman year, and his undying enthusiasm has held the class feeling strong even to this day. This is evidenced by the success of his idea of continuing to participate in the Alumni Fund through gifts in memory of men of the class who are no longer living. Though the idea has spread to other classes, as he hoped it would, '86 has led them all for the last ten years in the proportion of gifts to the number of survivors.

Since retiring from business his hobby, his dominant interest, has been Dartmouth College. He has exerted every means possible to arouse interest in placing in Hanover a memorial to Eleazer Wheelock, the great founder, more consistent with his character and achievements than the caricatures now exhibited to undergraduates in song and pictures. Although forced to remain at home, he has sent his views to the committee on bequests at their recent meeting, and pursues these objectives with a zeal that is often beyond his strength.

His class and his many friends extend to him their congratulations on his past accomplishments and wish him pleasant memories and peace of mind in the years to come.

On December 17 another great-grandchild of Ed Frost was born in Portland, Me., to Mrs. Jocelyn Frost Sampson. Her husband fortunately was able to telephone her just before the event from Korea, and the word came to her grandmother in St. Petersburg immediately after. Jocelyn's father is Frederic Frost, a research chemist, and her mother is a member of the City Council of Portland and onetime mayor.

Mrs. Ed Frost, whose recent volume of short poems had a successful sale, is now preparing an autobiography for private circulation. She put together and published The Astronomer'sLife, Ed's autobiography, which he was unable to complete on account of the blindness which he suffered during his last years. That is a very interesting book.

Secretary and Treasurer 2650—and Ave. N. St. Petersburg, Fla.