1948

Since last dipping the quill for these notes, I've done quite a bit of travelling around in New England, and have bumped into a good many '48s along the way. Several years had passed since I had last seen some of the fellows. Each had seen classmates in the recent past, and I'll try to set down the information they gave me as I remember it.

Went up to Hanover for a wedding one weekend and ran into none other than JimWoods in the Inn lobby. Jim was watching the post-marriage reception, watering his mouth in trying to figure out a polite way to get hold of some champagne. He has a fine market research job with Procter and Gamble which takes him all over the nation. In recent weeks he had done work in such widely separated points as Georgia, Texas, Indiana, and New Hampshire. He had seen Bob Cormack a few days previously in Springfield, Mass., where Bob's bank was putting on a big Christmas party for the staff. Jim said Bob and the rest were really enjoying the fun presented by that arch-entertainer King Alcohol. Bob is attending night law school.

Jim had seen Tom Huffman in Cleveland last June just after Huff's graduation from Rochester Medical School. Huff later began his interneship at the University Hospital in Columbus. Have you run into Dr. Bill Pace down there, Tom? Jim also reported that Shorty Johnson is living in Indianapolis, is married, has one offspring, works for a financial institution in the city, and like his old sidekick Cormack goes to night law school. That right, Shorty? Jim ran into Mouse Taylor in Milwaukee over a year ago when Mouse was working for Yale & Towne. Since then, Mouse accepted Uncle Sam's kind invitation to step back into the Navy for a while.

Ran into lawyer Dick Donahue on the streets of Lowell a few days ago, just before Christmas. He's in his father's law office, is getting some interesting case work, and is up to his ears in local and state politics. He was one of successful senatorial candidate John Kennedy's campaign managers. Reported that Speed Leggat was expected home from the Navy any minute. Speed has had quite a deal three trips to Europe and one to Japan in the last year. He's had time ashore, too. Maybe that old saw about "join the Navy and see the world" sometimes works out.

Lan Macartney came east from Wyoming over Christmas. He's a geologist with the Stanolind Oil Cos. He, Walt Cairns, Dick Howe '46 and I went skiing at Stowe and Mad River in Vermont for a couple of days. It was like old times. Plenty of deep powder, too. Also up there was ex-Olympic skier ColinStewart, continuing to show his old form on the boards. Ran into Gil Shattuck and MikeShea on the slopes. Gil is working in Hartford, while Mike is an insurance agent in nearby Montpelier. He spends almost all his weekends as a ski patrolman at Mad River Glen, thereby riding the lifts gratis. He was proud as a peacock when we saw him, for his wife had just presented him with a big Christmas present, a baby boy. Congratulations, Mike! To your wife, too! The boy's real name is Mike rather than his dad's Harold P. The senior Mike reported that he had seen a letter from Normie Laird who is a sales supervisor for Becton-Dickinson in the southeastern states. Norm is married and I believe Mike said he has a son. Mike had seen Don Gilmore a few months previously when the latter had spent some time in Montpelier doing economic research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Don apparently has a very fine position, for he is left pretty much to his own devices in doing his research and travels widely in New England. He's still a bachelor, and doing nicely, thank you. Gil reported he had seen Bob Foster in Hartford where Bob is in the insurance business. Gil works for a manufacturing concern.

An interesting Christmas card from Al Epstein contained a photo of himself and some native Indian friends. The shot was taken on a trip earlier this year in a little village south of Delhi, India. Al had a big smile on his face, and the natives grouped around him all appeared pleased with the situation.

At the time of this writing, I am in Providence. The first night here I accidentally met Dick Loomis. He and Bob Reynolds occupied the end room on the top floor of Richardson that summer semester back in 1944. Dick has lost a lot of weight since then probably the Army helped and he's working in the statistical department of the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Cos. No female attachment. We had a couple beers to talk over the old days.

This will announce that John Fenno has taken over the thankless job of Class Treasurer. Bob Merriam found himself too overwhelmed with other work to be able to continue to handle it, so John graciously agreed to step in. It's a thankless job, for who wants to pay out money! My thanks anyway, John. If the treasury is running low, we may all be asked for a couple of bucks in the near future. And with reunion not too far off summer of '54 some money will undoubtedly be needed.

Well, that's it in a nutshell for this month A cocoanut shell. See you in Portland, Me. in about 30 days.

Secretary, Norwich, Vt. Treasurer, 18021/2 North 7th St., Terre Haute, Ind.