1934
If by chance your wife makes you sit down and read this magazine before giving you the Dennis the Menace comic book - and you happen to see the subject of reunion mentioned here more than casually, it is not only because ye sec is becoming grey and garrulous. The whole thing is now being put on the fire.
As, for instance, your executive committee has, after long and lengthy deliberation, decided that the great honor of acting as chairman of this historic event should not rest heavily upon one pair of shoulders, but more heavily upon two. In words fewer and clearer, we shall have our reunion committee chairman Marty Dwyer calling on Dick Gruen for help, as and when this is needed.
Perhaps now is the time for you, too, to look forward to June of '55 and begin to put a few bucks in the sock here and there. It won't take much and it'll be worth it.
While we're still on the subject, some of you fellows who took pictures last reunion, dig up a few and send them to me - we'll guarantee the return and as one of our old classmates once said, "One picture," etc.
However, the regularly monthly franchise stares us in the face and we might slide along to NAMES IN THE NEWS to find that, as first predicted in this column, Perk Bass, of Peterboro, N. H., was the winner, albeit a narrow winner, in the state vote for representative to Congress. He was the overwhelming choice of Hanover voters and should go all the way unless somebody steals the foundation stone of the Granite State. On second look, the other clippings in the file are duplicates of last month, so why don't you fellows go out and get yourselves written up? And while your doing it, get yourself written up in publications which get clipped — by our service, that is.
From ADDRESS CHANGES we find that ... Bob Ford is back from Washington to NYC as manager, Standard Products Dept., Westinghouse Electric International Co. at 40 Wall 5t.... Ted Gregory is now teaching in the division of remedial English, Hopkins Grammar School, Blanford, Conn Jack Adams, with us only freshman year and for some time unreported, is located in good old Bahston at 53 Grove 5t.... Jack Corcoran makes only a short move to Winchester, Mass., but the change reminds me that we bumped into each other a short time ago in the course of our duties, Jack's in public relations work for Hood Milk of Boston.
Lucky HANOVER VISITORS in late August and September included Mr. and Mrs.Dick Poisson and daughter, who came from a location very close to that Tower of Babel known locally as Princeton University.... Roily Morton and sons (junior indoctrination, evidently) Mr. and Mrs. Phil Eckels and family from far off Atchison, Kansas... and Mr. and Mrs. John Bathrick just a long iron shot from Darien, Conn.
You stout fellows all (came out wrong — meant to be good fellows - ED.) are doing a real job in the questionnaire department. They had scarcely been mailed when the Foley mailbox contained more returns than bills — which is no mean accomplishment. It's too early, of course, to do much in the way of a summary, but it's for sure this class is writing itself quite a record.
It's no secret that some of us now have kids in college, but there are also a couple of new youngsters on the production line. There are quite a few five-children families, but one of us is just starting out to learn to fly a plane. And you'd be surprised what news there is around when a fellow really gets around to taking pen in hand.
Like Bill Wilson, for instance, one of the hardest working brothers for '34 as well as for Mary Hitchcock Hospital. He writes:
"You asked for it! While in Chicago recently for an American Hospital Assoc. meeting, made contact with a couple of eminent members of the eminent class of '34 - to wit:
"Bob Engelman, whom I tried to persuade to pause from taking down mail orders at Spiegel's (the famous concern of which he is Pres.) to join me at lunch at the Dartmouth Club. Had an emergency top policy meeting which strangely took precedence over Dartmouth. On the phone he sounded good - oldest son going to prep school this fall at Berkshire Academy.
"Ed Moore, whom I hadn't seen since his hair turned gray (at least he's got some to turn gray). He's also a Pres., E. R. Moore Co., but was able to come to town to have lunch. Had a swell visit and among other things learned that Ed probably holds the unique distinction of being the father of both the oldest and the youngest class babies. His oldest son is in college - Colgate. Ed was remarried in March of 1953 to Emily Spencer and they are the proud parents of the youngest Moore, Anthony Knight.
"After hobnobbing with these top-level executives, I was happy but on the ropes, returning to Hanover to see whether I could legislate for myself my justifiable title of Vice-Pres. in charge of wastebasket emptying. No luck."
There are other candidates for honors, too, like Stu Barber, who although a special assistant in the office of Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (air) in the Pentagon, seems to have some faint inclinations towards the Democratic Party. Nothing serious — just suggests we wouldn't have had those hurricanes up here in N.E. if Adlai had won (possible, possible - ED.). Stu's claim to honors is on the basis of the last first baby in the class - which may sound a little complicated, but, hell, ye sec has never been in the Pentagon and he can understand it! On May 2, 1952, Stu was remarried, to Anna Schleselman once of Hunter College, and fathered his first child Richard Bogart, born June 3, 1953. Please follow this column, Stu and Anna, for the complete list of contest winners and would you like your refrigerator to be a GE or a Westinghouse!
And "then we have Oscar Cohn who is a partner in and general manager of a real estate firm in Bloomington, Ill., which he points out is the hometown of Richard Hovey and Adlai Stevenson (how does his name keep cropping up - Ed.). Oscar is one of the few who has never been involved in any matrimonial difficulties but spoils it all by saying "Sorry." He adds, "Let me remind you we have damn little grist for any mills except soy beans and corn out this way. We have a helluva big hexane extraction soybean outfit here, but Decatur, the town down the road, is the soybean capital of the world."
You remember Stan Abercrombie who is now asst. secretary of the National Education Association's Natl. Committee on Safety Education. He's got ten years of a contemplated twenty of Naval Reserve time and is now a It. comdr. He also has a little grist - "Occasionally play drums in a small orchestra for school, church, and lodge dances. (But don't tell any of my former Barbary Coasters!) Even though we no longer live in New England - left, in 1937 - we managed to be in Newport for the 1944 hurricane and 1954's Carol."
At this rate you can see that with a slight flick of the wrist, you fellows, providing the mailman and my wife's filing system hold out, can keep the current sec busy until he becomes the ex-sec. And you know what another of our classmates said about the devil finding evil deeds for idle hands. Or was that Craven Laycock?
Secretary,12 Berwick St., Worcester 2, Mass.
Treasurer,13 Parkman Rd., Reading, Mass.
Memorial Fund Chairman,954 Gladstone Ave., S.E. Grand Rapids 6, Mich.
