Dartmouth-on-the-Pacific Conference

THIS first Dartmouth-on-the-Pacific Regional Conference was the fifth sponsored by the Alumni Council. Delegates from nine states and Hawaii attended the meetings at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, from October 6 to 8. The top aim of the conference was to review enrollment objectives and the mechanics of finding "the boy Dartmouth wants" and getting him into the College. Along with that goes a strengthening of local alumni organizations and a stronger Dartmouth fellowship for all concerned.

The conference committee consisted of the Alumni Council members for the Pacific Slope: Guy P. Wallick '21, San Francisco, Leon I. Rothschild '24, Los Angeles, and George C. Nickum '31, Seattle. The Host Committee was headed by William R. Abbott Jr. '27.

The College team was headed by President Dickey, and included Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College; Albert I. Dickerson '30, director of the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid; Edward T. Chamberlain '36, acting director of admissions; Robert K. Hage '35, executive secretary of the Committee on Scholarships and Loans; and Donald C. McKinlay '37 of Denver, chairman of the National Enrollment Committee.

The Class of 1931 ran off with honors with most members present: Dana Howe from Long Beach, Calif.; W. D. Douglas, from Los Angeles; Charles Robinson from San Francisco; George Nickum from Seattle; and F. E. Russell from Kansas City, Mo. Oldest member present was Louis P. Benezet '99, president of the Honolulu Association. Mr. Benezet made the conference en route to Colorado Springs to watch his son Louis T. Benezet '36 inaugurated as president of Colorado College.

Throughout the conference, the "Denver System" by McKinlay out of the Rockies was credited with helping local groups to do a better enrollment job. Against that background, and with the ideas and suggestions from the College team at the conference, the Far West gradually should do better by getting more boys interested in, and into, Dartmouth. Keeping pace with that will have to be more local scholarship funds. Southern California has a big start on one and expects to award it next year. San Francisco is doing the spadework on a scholarship. And the Pacific Northwest is accumulating a fund to provide enough annual income for a scholarship.

A problem peculiar to the West is that of covering communities far from the big cities. There are many smaller centers where good material for Dartmouth is available. According to Don McKinlay, "There's gold in them thar communities."

Twenty-one Bay Area school administrators were guests for dinner Thursday night and were given an explanation of the liberal arts college, the reasons for a boy's going 3,000 miles East to college, and the financial aid story by members of the College team.

A stag dinner (with the ladies off to a Japanese SukiyaKi dinner in Chinatown) gave delegates, local alumni and the College team a chance to get acquainted and reacquainted. Music was furnished by a Haywire Orchestra including Bill Mudgett '18, Roily Howes '27, and Guy Wallick, '21, along with several non-Dartmouth men. Dr. Brad Long '44 played Dartmouth songs on his accordion. Jim Wilbee '42, president of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of Northern California. and Nevada, presided over the dinner. Roger Wilde '21 of Chicago, president of the Dartmouth Alumni Council, talked on its activities. Colored slides of the College were shown by Sid Hayward. Eddie Chamberlain talked about the Admissions Office and the striving for better rather than more applicants. Don McKinlay '37, chairman of the National Enrollment Committee, told his story, as he has done so capably throughout the country, with the result that the "Denver System" is becoming the pattern for Dartmouth's enrollment activity. President Dickey expressed official appreciation for the work done by the alumni, particularly in producing annually 700 or more freshmen of the kind the College needs.

The working part of the conference closed with a session Saturday morning on regional alumni organization and activities, as well as plans for visits by the basketball team next Christmas, Red Rolfe and Coach Blackman, and, we hope, the Western tour next spring of the Glee Club. All these can and should be used to sell the story of Dartmouth, and to help with enrollment activities in the West. Mr. Dickey talked on the plans of the College: the bicentennial, the Hopkins Center and the Tucker Foundation.

At the concluding banquet Saturday night, President Dickey stressed the challenge to Dartmouth to produce men of both competence and conscience, with a review of how that growing job has been handled since the war. He also told of plans for the future.

On Sunday, Mr. Dickey, with a cavalcade of Dartmouth Outing Club of Northern California members, headed for Sacramento, and the High Sierras. In Sacramento, a coffee stop organized by Charles Cusack '43 was used as a kickoff for the formation of a Dartmouth Association of Sacramento and Stockton. This should result in better organized enrollment activities in those communities.

The purpose of the trip to the mountains was the dedication of the Ray Taylor '11 memorial fireplace in the Donner Summit cabin (7,100') of the DOC of N.C., Carl Ward '32, president. Ray was the first president of the club.

The ceremony became a double dedication. On the eve of the conference, Winsor D. Wilkinson '10 passed away. It was Winsor, as secretary-treasurer of the DOC, who more than anybody else kept the organization active since the war. He designed the present cabin, after the original quonset was largely destroyed by a falling tree, and worked constantly to get it finished for year-round use. On the eve of this achievement he passed away. His reports at the weekly Dartmouth lunches will be missed, as will be his guiding hand in DOC affairs.

The California committee that ran the successful three-day program. Front row, l to r: Pete Gummings '51, host chairman Bill Abbott '27, Alumni Councillor Guy Wallick '21, Paul McKown '23, Charles Cusack '43, Back row: Ed Drechsel '36, Duncan Williams '42, Len Vines '39, Pete Zischke '52, guest Eddie Chamberlain '36 of the College team, Abe Winslow '20, Dick Brown '52, Pete Bogardus '51.

The concluding banquet at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco.