1940
Stet Whitcher and his gang are in the midst of another Alumni Fund season, and for those of you who have let it slip your minds, now is the time to give. Stet has some new helpers on his team this year, some of whom are working as assistant class agents for the first time. The added hands are Dick Babcock, George Burleigh. Bob Castle, Bob Dingwall, Larry Durgin, Bud Hewitt, Bill Holman, Dr. Harry Koch, Phil McCoy, Manny Mansfield, Joe O'Hare, Jack Rourke, At Smith and Jordan Van Cleve.
The Class of '40 managed to put together seven members on March 25 at the New York kickoff dinner for the Alumni Fund. Three confirmed bachelors, Bill Bumsted, Jack M.McDonald, and Hewitt composed the nucleus of the group, supplemented by Hugh Dryfoos,Malcolm deSieyes, Dave Leake, and the writer. At the Boston edition of the dinner, the next night, Don Ramie, John Fitzgerald, Wentzvorth, Mansfield and Whitcher showed up. Bill Squire was out with a cold and Fred Porter decided to make that Friday night one with the family, having been on the road all week.
Staff King dropped a line the other day enclosing a commentary removed from the editorial section of the Concord, Mass., paper which he suggested might be of interest to all who knew Bob Rodday. Entitled Thanks, Bob," it reads as follows:
"When at Town Meeting next Monday evening, the moderator names the finance committee members for 1954, the name of Bob Rodday will not be included. The youthful chairman has decided to step aside. For eight years this good citizen has given generously of his time and exceptional talents in helping maintain the financial stability of Concord. ... Bob's only reason for stepping aside is his conviction that no man should serve too long on a board or committee, lest his thinking carry disproportionate weight with his fellow members Nobody, in our memory, has served Concord more conscientiously than Bob Rodday, who combined practicability with idealism in just the right proportions."
That's quite a tribute for any man, and we're mighty pleased that Staff King was thoughtful enough to send it on, so that all of us might see it. Staff adds: "Although he is very much deserving of this eulogy, you may rest assured that Yours Truly has his eye open for nay signs of a halo, and is ever ready to remind him whence he came."
The other evening, I was browsing through a list of Dartmouth alumni clubs and their officers. I was surprised to find that a full dozen members of the Class are serving either as president or secretary of their respective clubs. The list of these men which follows does not include those Forties who may be occupying other officerships in their local alumni clubs. The secretaries include GeorgeMahoney, Indianapolis; Gordon Wentworth, Boston; Ed Curtis, Portland, Me.; Sam Snow, Worcester; Bob Lake, Cincinnati; Eb Cockley, Cleveland; Jack Moody, Burlington; and BillHolman, Seattle. The presidents number among them Stu MacPhail, Minneapolis and St. Paul; Byron Mansfield, Nashua; Bob Tatgenhorst, Cincinnati; and Jim Kuhns, Dayton. Just to complete the roster of brass in the class, Mel Wax is serving the first of his three-year term as alumni representative on the board of proprietors of The Dartmouth.
George T. Mills Has recently been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University. The last we heard, George had been serving as director of the Taylor Museum, Colorado Springs, Colo., so his receipt of a degree on March 8 came as a surprise to us.
Eben Cockley has been given a leave of absence from his law firm to accept appointment to the staff of the new federal district attorney, in Cleveland. He will be prosecuting criminal and other federal cases that come up in the Cleveland area. It is most pleasing to know that a citizen of Eb's caliber is serving on such an important assignment, and we can rest assured that he'll be doing his darndest to put assorted crooks behind bars.
February and Florida provided the setting for the wedding of Roger H. Thiele to Florence Hapeman Lainhart. The ceremony took place February 26 in the Royal Poinciana Chapel, Palm Beach. Rog was backed up ably by another classmate, John Stark, who hopped down from Des Moines, lowa, to act as best man.
Word had just been received that EarlKochersperger Jr. and Ellen Connor Day became engaged in late February. Coke has been associated with the United States Rubber Company since he departed the Marines. His fiancee is on the faculty of the Byram School, Greenwich, Conn. The wedding date has not been announced.
As most of you are aware, your annual class dues bill, set at $5 this year, is not much more than sufficient to cover your subscription to this ALUMNI MAGAZINE, leaving only a small overage to cover the needs of class opeiations and to help build a small savings fund. For the past three years now, by earlier decision of your class officers, the MAGAZINE has been sent to the total class membership, even though the usual practice has been to send it only to those who have paid their dues or made a contribution to the previous year's
Alumni Fund drive. You can see that such a plan can get fairly expensive for the class if there are many members not in good standing. In fact, it has been such an expensive experiment that we're about to have to abandon the program for lack of class participation and the accompanying financial support we had hoped would be engendered through renewed receipt of the MAGAZINE by those who had not been paid up subscribers in the past. The final decision will not be taken on the fate of this 100 percent subscription program until the current year ends, in June, so we would like an expression of opinion from those of you who may have something to say on the subject. How about it — should we continue sending the MAGAZINE to all? Any opinions — or better yet, any delinquent dues payers — who want to step forward? Your treasurer, Don Rainie, still has his books open.
HONORED GUEST: Red Jensen '39 came to the Charles River Club dinner at the Wellesley Country Club from the Mary Mac Arthur polio center in Wellesley Hills, though confined in an iron lung and still a patient. He is shown with his nurse, Maddy Demers, and (l to r), '39ers Fred Tower, Tom Brooks, Charley Thompson and Bill Buckley.
Secretary, 322 Canterbury Road, Westfield, N. J.
Class Agent, 168 Reed St., New Bedford, Mass.
