1936
As we pull up to stroke the old Underwood one guy comes to mind - Dink Gidney. Be it known that Dink is, as he points out. the most vociferous one-share holder of New York Giants stock! Can you imagine what a complete idiot oF Dink made of himself when Lorraine Day's husband's aggregation of baseball monsters wiped up them scrawny mid- western Injuns in an even quartet of encounters?
Had a Rainbow Room lunch on Dink in New York at which time we learned of his having joined Bing Crosby a"d Bob Hope in the matter of ball club ownership. Learned too that brother Jim Gidney is in Cleveland (a town with an American League franchise) and happily laboring for the Clevite Corp., on relations industrial and setting up their pension program. Also garnered that JimWhipple has forsook professoring at Western Reserve and is now with the Ford Foundation.
You will recall that some months ago we baited Phil Gilbert with a statement in the column concerning his political viewpoint and the surmise that he might be walking alone, Class-wise. Frankly we thought this would cause a commotion, but Joe Millimet refrained from entering the brawl. On the other hand, Phil came back with a swell letter, parts of which we quote: "Your statement in the June issue broke my heart, and I'm sure it is inaccurate. Neighbor Jack Sullivan '36 is president of our local Democratic Club in Westchester County. I .can't believe we are the only two members of the one true party."
Phil goes on: "I have a gnawing question and you may be able to help obtain for me the answer. In August 1944 I was occupied in the race across France in one of the units of General Patton's Third Army. One day one of my boys brought in what appeared to be a French civilian wearing a beret, etc. They told me he wanted to speak to an officer. I tried to remember the best French I had learned from Professor Verriest and greeted him with "Bon jour, monsieur." He looked at me and said in a familiar brand of Americanese, "Are you Dartmouth '36?" When I recovered I found he had been shot down in France and had been hiding out for about three weeks. He was another member of the Class of '36 and we spent a wonderful evening together. Being on all-night duty myself, I volumeered the use of my sleeping bag and arranged for him to go back to the Air Corps base in our ration truck. At the time I had recovered from a slight mishap and memory wasn't what it should be. Perhaps your column could find out who this classmate was.
"There is a real and unsentimental reason for my inquiry. Before I left England I had acquired a very fine bottle of Scotch which I kept at the bottom of my sleeping bag to preserve it from my depraved comrades Scotch, of course, was at' a premium in France. When I came of duty the next morning my longlost classmate had gone back with the ration truck, and I tried to catch a few winks in my sleeping bag. As was my custom, I sent down an anticipatory toe to make sure the bottle was still there. Instead of that comforting coolness, I felt only the canvas end of the bag. Later I found the bottle lying dejectedly a few feet away, empty.
"I suppose the statute of limitations has run on this claim, but I would like to know the identity of the one who so abused our friendship. If I tan find him, I'll pay him back in kind by having a drink with him at the Dartmouth Club bar." Will that despicable ex B-17 pilot make known his identity after ten long years? Phil's address, you wretch, is 52 Wall Street, N.Y.C.
Anolher classmate with whom we talked recently is Boyce Price, ex of Time, Inc., and presently in the advertising agency whirl with the firm of Wildrick and Miller. Boyce pointed out that he had earned the tag of an editor during his stay with Time's Architectural Forum. To shake it for the salesman's mantle, he and Ernie Draper '35 practically traded jobs, Boyce taking Ernie's accounts at W and M and Ernie joining Time as a solicitor with Fortune magazine.... Last month we ran a photo of senator-innkeeper, DickTread way and Massachusetts Governor Herter in front of the latest Treadway acquisition on Cape Cod. We can add one more duty to Dick's busy list - that of chairman of the Motor Hotels Committee of the American Hotel Association.
Had a swell chat by phone a while back with Mac Row ell and Gerry Hasbrouck. Mac reports he can still get a tune out of the old trumpet but that Mac Jr. takes over when it gets to the upper register stuff. "Am feeling my years in spots," says Mac, "particularly when I realize that my daughter Virginia is in Fisher Junior College this year." Gerry reports he's made music his livelihood and is keeping busy giving private lessons.... Thanks to Al Harrington for news of his fellow townsman, Russ Goss, who is New England manager for Art Metal Company and boasts a two-boy family.
Former president of Pittston Oil Company, Gib Sykes, has switched to Metropolitan Petroleum Corp., as assistant executive veep with offices at 220 E. 42nd Street, N.Y.C Back in November 1940 Zeb White joined up with Pomeroy and McGowin in Ark. In those days Z Waters was their forester. Time and a lot of hard work for this forest management concern and Zeb has won himself a full partnership....Al Bunker is still in Sumner, Wash., with Standard Oil of California.
Hold your hats, men, there's more of the same news from Textron! Yup, Ted Whitmore has moved again! We had barely blotted the posting on the Lowell, Mass., assignment when word came in that Ted had been made assistant to the chairman, with offices in Providence, R. I.... Navy Doc Bud Soule took the night watch again on August 7. Robert Ragle is the smallest Soule now, having found brothers John and Dick got to San Diego some eight and five years before him. .. . Sneaked up on Connie Wichham in his legal tower at Wanamaker's in Phila. and found him fixin' to take a la'e-in-the-year vacation. Found also that a little miss named Anne lansdowne Wickham was as new to the Wickhams as October 27, 1953.
Lt. Col. Tom Lane has been assigned as Chief of Operations and Plans, 7th Army Headquarters, Medical Section, in Germany. He previously attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Surgeon Tom graduated from George Washington Medical School, holds the Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross and Bronze Star Medal.
Following a quick trip to the National Sta- tioners annual meeting, ad man Al Gibney filled us in nicely on three classmate attendees. According to Al, Brew Toiune has stopped counting calories and looks mighty happy with his new bride and the chairmanship of a new committee set up by five manufacturers in the stationery business. The operation is known as Research Associates and is within the framework of the National Stationers and Office Equipment Association. From said effort Brew is getting national recognition for a job well done. Also at the meeting were Emily and Steve Stotzer. Steve continues to head up the Stotzer Granite Company of Milwaukee but has recently acquired substantial holdings in the Juneau Stamping and Mfg. Co. of the same city. We mention this in case any of you would care to shunt a little business to Smilin' Steve. At the same gathering, which must have seemed like a reunion warm-up, Al came face to face with Ted Dearborn. A grey hair or two but otherwise unscathed by passing time, Ted claims he's just the office boy at F. S. Webster Company. Actually Ted is the very capable sales promotion manager and assistant to the vice pres. in charge of sales for this big old maker of carbon paper and stuff.
And now we leave you uncommunicative but fondly remembered brethren for another month.... news, pliz!!
OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENT: Lt. Col. ThomasH. Lane '36 has been named chief of operations and plans, Seventh Army HeadquartersMedical Section in Germany.
Secretary, 15 Linwood Road Wellesley 81, Mass.
Treasurer, 753 Upper Blvd., Ridgewood, N. J.
