1923
The big news at this time, as your correspondent moves quickly to compose this column to meet the October 5 deadline, is the many 1923 Dartmouth nights which are held each fall in various parts of the country to celebrate what happened September 25, 1919. To begin with, I will report herewith on the Chicago party which Barbara and I attended on September 25.
The men met at the Chicago Yacht Club at high noon for highballs and lunch as guests of' Sum Sollitt who then took us out on the lake in his new 50-foot Chris Craft Seven Seas." The weather was perfect. It was an Indian Summer day in the true sense of the word and our only regret was that the cruise did not last the entire weekend instead of just three hours. Truman and Bunny Metzel took over from there and the men caught up with their wives who had already assembled at the Metzel home. Just about the time appetites were being whetted with distilled spirits, news came by radio that Dartmouth had snatched victory from defeat in her annual battle with Holy Cross. A very fine dinner followed which everybody enjoyed. I took with me the pictures of our 31st reunion and Truman showed these on his projector. The climax of the evening was a very exciting poker game which lasted until 3:30 Sunday morning. Barbara had such a good time that she is becoming quite enthused about my being secretary of the Class. Those in attendance included George and Ruth Whiteside, Dud Pope, Bob Maxwell, Bud and Connie Freeman, Truman and Bunny Metzel, Sum and Betty Sollitt, Butch and Dottie Kimball, Karl and Dear Williams, Marie Moore and Don Moore Jr., Ted Swartzbaugh, Bill Juergens, Ward and Connie Hilton, Vin Baldwin, and Chet and Barbara Bixby.
Clary Goss's New York group reports as follows:
"1923 held a cocktail party at the Dartmouth Club in New York on September 23, the 35th anniversary of our matriculation in Hanover in 1919. Assistant Coach Joe Sullivan gave a runthrough of our football prospects for this season — an encouraging if not downright optimistic one - and answered many questions after his talk. In addition to Kip Couch, who was chairman, those who attended were Tom Norton, Ken Quencer, Johnny Allen, Brooks Palmer, George Billings, Charles Rivoire, Sol Levine, George Plant, Stan Ungar, Phil Keigher, Sam White, Mox Hubert, Al Pierce, Len Bronner, Joe Lombards Irish Flanagan, Cy Gordon, Joe Zone, Bob Whittinghill, Lou Van Orden, Ben Milberg, Dick Kershaw, and Bill Strong. The party outran the Club's dining room hours; some of the clan left early, one contingent ran aground later at the bar, while another went to a nearby hotel for dinner. Everyone had a good time."
I will now quote from a running account of the Dartmouth get-together which was held at Charlie Zimmerman's home .in West Hartford on Sunday, September 26:
"On Sunday evening, September 26, over 150 Dartmouth men and their wives gathered at the residence of Opal Marie and Charlie Zimmerman in West Hartford, Conn., for an informal cocktail party and reunion. The party, arranged by the Dartmouth Club of Hartford, largest such organization in the country, was advertised to run from 4 to 7, but neighbors within a half-mile radius must have been well aware that 'Dartmouth was in town again' as late as 10 p.m. Five '23 men and their wives were present, in addition to hostess and host Opal Marie and Charlie Zimmerman. They included Jean and Charlie Rice,Betty and Fred Davis, Jane and Bill Wallace,Dot and Bill Blake, and Ed Peters. The occasion was pronounced a most successful one by unanimous acclaim."
Joe Pick returned to this country in lateSeptember after a fairly long sojourn in Europe. He reports to this correspondent of aClass A recent DECCA release of a recordcalled "Candlelight Melodies" which includeda waltz number of his, entitled "Let UsDance." For your information, the recordnumber is DL8962.
I have a report on the goings-on of DickUdell who writes as follows:
"My job is that of supervising principal of Valley Stream Central High School. Our central high school district cares for the educational needs of Grades 7 through 12. It is a rapidly growing area with 3500 pupils housed in two buildings, against 1800 in 1928. "We are now constructing two six-year high schools, each with a normal capacity of 1500. Within ten years, we must provide for a total of about 8000 junior and senior boys and girls. Fortunately, our Board of Education has provided additional assistance or my job would be impossible."
Dr. John D. (Jack) Booth reports that as chairman of the alumni interviewing group in the Danbury area, he attended a meeting of all the enrollment and interviewing chairmen of .the State of Connecticut at Hartford in September. The Class of '23 distinguished itself in that there were more representatives from this class than from any one class. These included Charlie Zimmerman, Charlie Rice,Jim Hennessey and my informant, Jack.
The Boston Herald has many readers in our class. This statement is authenticated by the fact that I received eight clippings which announced the engagement of Miss Carolyn Caswell, daughter of Olive and Ted Caswell, to Mr. Rollin Frey Haynes '54.
We are all glad to hear from Win Travell as follows:
"I have been struggling along as Comptroller of the U. S. Foreign Operations Mission to the Philippines since leaving Korea and Japan in May 1951. Plunged back into Korea for another six months last winter, however, on emergency detail, but am comfortable again in Manila. Have a son John entering Dartmouth as a freshman this fall. My address is FOA, A.P.O. 928, San Francisco, Calif."
Al Albee did a very good job getting your secretary caught up on twenty active years in a letter just received. Al reports he has "a splendid wife, a lovely country home, and a small but interesting business." He goes on to say his first wife died in 1936. He then served in the Canadian and U. S. Armies. After this experience, he organized Albee-Campbell, Inc., which operates a "clearing house for salesmen" in New Canaan, Conn. Because of the impending marriage of his daughter Ann, Al did not get to Hanover for the reunion until Sunday morning, just in time to attend the Memorial Services. "The true significance of those services stays with me, and more than any other happening brought to me the real meaning of the College and the Class."
From Fort Slocum, New Rochelle, N. Y., comes the announcement of the retirement of Col. James Barry (Jim) Kraft. As a member of the Artillery Branch of the service, Jim completed thirty years of active duty while serving as Commanding Officer of Fort Slocum. A formal military review with all Fort Slocum personnel participating was held on the post parade ground to honor the retiring Colonel. Prior to his service at Fort Slocum, Jim was Military Attache in Hungary and commanded the Berchtesgarden Recreation Area after World War 11. His decorations include the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster.
During the Navy game weekend, Lou Wilcox, with wife Peg, attended the three-day meeting in Hanover of the National Enrollment Council which the Alumni Council recently set up. John Dickey told the writer he has never had the pleasure of sitting in with such a hard-working group. Lou has been chairman of the enrollment committee of the Northern New Jersey Alumni Association for four years. The results of the 22 members of this committee speak for themselves: applications of the 140 high and prep schools covered have increased from 280 to 400 men a year. Next month Lou completes 29 years with the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company. For the past three years, he has been engineering personnel supervisor. After 26 years in every phase of outside plant, Lou says the present job is the most interesting of his telephone career. For outside activities, Lou is heart and soul in the Community Players, an amateur project that boasts 500 members and has its own club house. As president last year, Lou's "Players" won the New Jersey championship in a one-act play competition.
Secretary, 170 Washington St., Haverhill, Mass.
Treasurer, Commonwealth Shoe & Leather Co. Whitman, Mass.
Bequest Chairman,
