1889
The value of class reports and how to put them to greater use is the subject of a letter, "To the Editor," written by your secretary, published on a front page of this issue.
The Alumni Fund campaign will soon begin. It will close the end of June. Contributions given to this fund by the widow or relative of a deceased member of our Class in his memory is a splendid way of keeping alive his memory. Mail contributions direct to Dartmouth College Alumni Fund, Hanover, N.H., and state in whose name and by whom the memorial contribution is made.
The death of Dr. William W. Lougee '88 of Maiden, Mass., on January 10 removed a loyal alumnus, a staunch citizen, a man greatly respected by all who knew him. Throughout life he was a close friend of your secretary, and in college days a roommate in Reed Hall. Less than five weeks before he died was the Golden Anniversary date of his marriage to his devoted wife, the former Winifred Berry of Farmington, N.H. Due to his illness and their two sons being in distant lands —Richard '27 in Norway and Laurence '29 in Alaska - it was decided to have no public observance of the event. Their closest friends remembered the date, however, and early the morning of December 3 a hundred or more telegrams and cards were received. Later in the day came beautiful flowers - chrysanthemums, yellow roses, yes, even baskets of fruit. Knowing that Dr. Lougee had been ill, his friends came in small groups through the day and evening - men from the Maiden Bank where he was a trustee, members of associations and societies to which he belonged. It was one of the happiest experiences of his and his wife's life — and so unexpected. He enjoyed every minute of it. At the end of the day he remarked: "I have never been kissed so much in my whole life." So ended the happy married life of the devoted parents of two of Dartmouth's distinguished sons.
Miss Gladys Doane, daughter of our Cape Cod classmate, in a recent letter, writes that her father is quite well, but has occasional upsets that make her reluctant to leave him alone other than for an occasional day trip. The Cape, she says, is having an unusual amount of extreme winter weather, but her father contends that it evens up over the year.
Other than mention of our Class President's 85th birthday on November 3 last, information gathered from Class records, nothing has appeared about Hardy Ferguson in our Class Notes for many months. Finally, through urgent request of your secretary, his iron curtain of silence was recently lifted. It now can be reported that he is in good health, still enjoying home life on the Maine coast. A few months ago he went to Minneapolis and International Falls in Minnesota to do a professional job for an old client, and, he writes, during the year, he made three visits to New York, twice to visit his son, who lives in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, and once to attend the marriage of his son's daughter. If our Class President, in his hastily written letter, had stopped to consider the genealogical value of giving names, dates and places, his announcement of the marriage of his granddaughter would, of course, have given his granddaughter's name, the date and place of marriage, and, quite important, the name of the bridegroom. But, as Sarah Bernhardt once said to your secretary, it can't matter. The Bernhardt incident took place years ago when your secretary was taking the role of a "super" (stage parlance for supernumerary actor) in a first night's performance of La Tosca the French actress was giving before a large enthusiastic audience in a Boston theater. At close of performance, your secretary had difficulty in finding the exit from the stage. Accidentally he wandered into the dressing room of the actress. She was completely disrobed. While he was apologizing and desperately trying to leave at once, the famous actress said, in broken English, "It can't matter."
An item in our Class Notes in last November's issue announced that a sketch of the early life of Dexter Dow had recently been prepared by Mrs. Eliza A. Bliefiing. Later, recalling several matters of interest not included in what she had prepared, she re-wrote the entire sketch. It filled eight typewritten pages, which she, at the age of 91, personally typed. Copies were made. Some were sent to Mrs. Bliefling and Mrs. Henry, our classmate's sister. Others were mailed to our living members. The eight-page sketch, personally typed by Mrs. Bliefling, was deposited in the Archives of Baker Library. Commenting on it, "E: B." Davis wrote: "The sketch of Dexter Dow's youth written by his foster sister shows how fortunate anyone is to have so devoted and intelligent a friend and admirer to tell the story of his youth." George Bard commented, "The early history of Dexter Dow, written as it was, not by a relative but a foster sister, breathes the true spirit of love and deep appreciation. I am surely pleased you have given it proper weight by having it placed with our Class records in the Archives of the College."
Secretary and Treasurer 108 Mt. Vernon St., Boston 8, Mass.
