1920

If there are times of year when your correspondent sounds like Thomas Cook himself, and the column is its own advertisement for Southern Tours Inc. or Hill's Travel Service (both the properties of our own Pickles HUT), it just plain can't be helped. In Jimmy Durante's phrase, "These are the conditions that prevail." Take a look at a few samples from the bulging mailbag:

"I am leaving for a sea trip on February 24 - a coastwise freighter, 10,000 tons, - twelve passengers — from Baltimore; then Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Mobile, Tampa and back to Boston in seventeen days." (Roc Elliott).

"We are sailing from New York on March 4 for a Caribean cruise, getting back March 24." (Stan Newcomer).

"This is to advise you that Mr. Theodore Cart is in Bermuda at the present time and will not return until the end of the month." (Ted's secretary).

Ted wasn't the only one reported missing, on behalf of southern relaxation, from Twenty's one class dinner of the year in New York. Jim Chilcott was in Florida at the time, and Spence Snedecor was roaming around there somewhere on a winter holiday. But the turnout on East 39th Street wasn't bad, considering. Eddie Bowen, who had planned to come down from Albany, had to sign off at the last minute - "illness in the office," whatever that connotes - and Sam Stratton, a more or less routine haunter of Gotham on one errand or another, was sticking close to Middlebury to crown its carnival king and queen. All the same, we collected a quorum of seventeen souls, - fourteen "locals" plus Pete Potter, down from Rochester, SherryBaketel, up from Philadelphia, and GingerBruce, over from Waterbury.

This is the list of the loyal, who gave every evidence that Twenties can still fight off slumber until the late trains leave for Suburbia: Hall Clark, Beardsley Foster, Tom Glines, Phil Gross, Rus Keep, Arch Lawson, Carl Lenz, Tinker Lombard, Jack Mayer, Charlie McGoughran, Carl Newton, Dick Pearson, Sig Sigler, and Lek Willard. Messrs. Baketel and Gross gave way to flights of oratory, which were as well received as would be expected of their patient and urbane audience. Jack Mayer graciously accepted the torch of leadership for doubling attendance at similar occasions planned for the coming semesters.

Seeing Pete Potter, in his usual fine shape, was reminder enough of a feature story that had reached the editorial desk a week or two earlier. Pete was "saluted" by his home-town Times-Union of Rochester, N. Y., on January 8 in one of a series of weekly articles on "men and women who have contributed in an outstanding way to community progress." Reminding its readers that Pete originated the idea of the Advertising Council of Rochester five years before, the Times-Union went on to recall the citation for meritorious service in advertising awarded him in January 1952. The piece summarized our friend's career in a series of terse paragraphs and wound up with this concise commentary on his place in the advertising profession:

Potter has served as chairman in many committees for the Association of National Advertisers; a director of the Advertising Council, Inc.; coordinator of the Advertising Council's campaign for the American Heritage Foundation, which promoted the Freedom Train's 33,000-mile tour of 300 cities in 1947; chairman of the board of the Association of National Advertisers; chairman of the board, Advertising Council of Rochester; member of the board of directors of the Advertising Federation of America, largest advertising organization in the world, and a member of the board of the Advertising Research Foundation.

Now... to get back for the nonce to our travelogue... the Al Freys, on sabbatical leave, caught a freighter of their own at the tag end of February and were off for two months in southern climes. This particular ship was destined to get them through the Panama Canal before tying up at Guayaquil, which is in Ecuador, in case you don't have the family atlas handy. Thence they would use the railroad briefly (to Quito) before flying to Lima, Peru (Dick Goddard's home for two years of our remote past). Guatemala City was to be host to Al and Ann for several weeks before they started home.

Dick Kimball of Long Beach, Calif., reversed the prevailing trend by coming on to New York at its most dismal February depths. Dick was en route to Philadelphia, where he had a club managers' convention on his schedule, to be followed by a restful week with the in-law Baketels.

Trend-reversing award of the winter, however, goes to Warrie Gault, long-time lover of the Arctic. When nobody was looking, Warrie and his good wife took off for another three-year stretch in Alaska. The exact nature of his assignment remains unknown, but mail will reach him via Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Hq., Alaskan Air Command, APO 942, Care of Postmaster, Seattle, Washington.

Our own Robert Bruce Dow is one of the two late members of the New York University faculty to whom the recently published volume Thomas Wolfe at Washington Square was dedicated by authors Pollock and Cargill. Referred to as "a New Hampshire man whose acerb speech concealed a tremendous fund 0f good nature," Bob is credited with being the inspiration of Wolfe's decision to apply for a teaching job at N.Y.U., where LookHomeward, Angel was written. Bob's own estimate of the part he played was characteristically modest; but a quoted letter from him, referring to his association with Wolfe at Harvard, makes the amusing remark: "To be honest, I must say that I was a bit of a snob in those days. As a New Englander I couldn't understand what was supposed to be so damn wonderful about Harvard or why the outlanders reacted to it as they did."

Bridegroom Eddie Jeremiah, Big Green hockey coach, may be pardoned a satisfied smile as he thinks of one schoolboy goalie who has his eye on Dartmouth. Sam Adams,sherm's boy, who guarded the nets this winter as a senior at St. Paul's, is said to be headed for Hanover. He was on the job in Madison Square Garden (with Pa and Ma on the sidelines) when his team beat the Princeton freshmen, and later was placed on St. Paul's All-Opponents' team by the boys who tried to get the puck past him.

Another father-and-son combination with established Dartmouth ties has likewise been in the news recently. State Mutual Life Assurance Co. has announced that Donald W. Ayres, Class of 1950, has been appointed general agent in Worcester and will be associated with his father, Benjamin W. Ayres, who has headed the Worcester County agency since 1936. The Worcester Telegram appends this good report of substantial accomplishment by Ben and his colleagues:

Last year was the agency's most successful since it was founded in 1882 and today the total volume in force in Worcester County is well over $100 million. In 1953 the agency produced the second largest amount of new business in the company, received the President's Cup award, and was runner-up for the Agency Builders Award. A World War I Army veteran, Mr. Ayres is past president of the State Mutual General Agents' Association, past commander of Gen. Charles Devens Post of the American Legion, past president of Worcester Kiwanis Club, and is active in many other civic, service and charitable organizations.

Again it is our unhappy responsibility to report the death of a classmate, Buster Moore of Wellesley, Mass., whose story is briefly told in the back pages of this issue. His passing came with shocking suddenness. To quote Helen's own words, "He had seemed physically well and in very good spirits that evening while we were baby-sitting in son Bob's home and planning a trip to Florida." The Class remembers Buster well and will miss him greatly.

Secretary, Blind Brook Lodge, Rye 17, N. Y.

Class Agent,, 438 E. Elm Ave., Monroe, Mich