1920
Grosvenor Plowman is our Man of Distinction this month. Syracuse University, knowing a good man when it sees one, invited Grosvenor to give the Salzberg Memorial Lecture on February 15 and at that time bestowed on him, through Chancellor Tolley, the heartwarming citation which appears on this page. His Salzberg Lecture, devoted to fundamental problems of freight rates, emphasized the desirability of maintaining our railroad system at a high level of efficiency and warned against excessive regulation, which could bestow unearned advantages on other types of carriers and could thus lead in the direction of nationalization of the railroads.
In an earlier speech on "Wartime Transportation Problems" before the Transportation Section of the New York Board of Trade, our distinguished classmate reminded his audience of the vital part played by the railroads as shippers in World War II and discussed the role of "voluntary cooperation" on their part, which can be so essential in the event of a civil defense emergency in the future. Questioned about other current aspects of his daily life, Grosvenor replied that his job remains the same as before and as much fun as ever; that his four grandchildren, three girls and one boy, are a source of pride and joy; and that his "retirement hide-away, 1400 acres of mountain slope in Danbury, N. H., will have a welcome mat out for Twenties beginning in 1965, we hope."
The Class Convocation in Chicago, now regarded as an annual affair, took place as usual at the University Club, the date being March 7. The ceremonies included a television program watched with rapt attention by one anonymous customer, a suitable quantity of bourbon whiskey, and the customary hot chicken and cheese sandwiches over which the Club preserves some sort of monopoly. In attendance (besides your secretary) were LaddieMyers, Nate Whiteside, Len Davis, Frank Corbin, and Frank Mayer. Laddie and Nate, bowlers approaching the addict classification, both have pushed their averages very close to Class A rating. Laddie, who keeps himself in condition by rolling as many as thirteen games of a Saturday afternoon, certainly is out to prove that practice makes perfect. Nate reported on a lunch with Art Stockdale, who spent several weeks in Chicago last summer, looking happy and healthy; then vanished (in the direction of his hometown of Cleveland) as quietly as he had appeared. Nate's older son, Nathaniel the Third, is due out of the Navy late this year, at which time he will have served three years plus and will have completed three trips to the Far East.
Len Davis and Snake Corbin were talking mostly of their respective families, though Len - reminded of fellow-townsman Red Rolfe's new activities in Hanover - fell to reminiscing briefly of the Bog Pirates of forty years ago in Penacook, N. H. Len was a stalwart catcher for the outfit and young Red was allowed to shag flies in the practice sessions. Len's second boy, Harry, will be ready for college in the fall. Snake's son, like Nate Whiteside III, is on his way out of the Navy, and his daughter Margaret made him a grandfather on July 16, with the arrival of James David Vail IV in Columbus, Ohio.
It was good to see Frank Mayer again. As usual, he is up to his ears in civic responsibilities, his current assignment being that of Chicago chairman of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The Mayers were in Europe last summer, traveling through England, Italy and France. Maybe on the junket they unknowingly crossed paths with the Don MacKays, who did their own happy bit of European'touring at that same time. Ubiquitous as they are, the MacKays were in Florida at the time of the early March get-together in Chicago, and Wallie Schinz was likewise unavailable'on account of personal rehabilitation in the sunny South.
Those Caribbean cruisers kept their friends well supplied with postcards. The Rog Popes, sunning themselves for a month, encountered the Stan Newcomers in the shopping center of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the Popes being at that moment on the verge of hopping a plane to St. Croix, while the Newcomers continued their more leisurely way to Venezuela. According to Buttons Hill, he and Eva had ten days in the same waters at about the same time, they having as travel companions Duke and Dot Howe of the Class of 1917. The Class of 1918 also gets into our special tropical bulletin, thanks to secretary Ernie Earley who sent some much appreciated jottings from Pompano Beach, Fla. He had visited with Ed Curtis and had picked up word of George Loehr's hardware business in Delray. Also, commented Ernie,
"Your Chuck Garnsey has slaved for Dartmouth for six years; did a big job this year on admissions; had all applicants out to his home and wrote up all interviews himself. All gave" him much deserved praise."
Newt Nash's second daughter Suzanne became Mrs. Andre Pommellet, December 11 1954, when she married a young captain in the French army, here in the United States on an F.O.A. mission. Originally the young couple had met at the Sorbonne, when Suzanne was a junior at Smith and her husband-to-be was studying at the Ecole Polytechnique. Later he was with NATO for more than a year, and after his mission here is completed he will take his bride to France. Suzanne's twin brother Newton is this year finishing law school at the University of Virginia and will" soon be embarked on a legal career of his own. Newt Sr. suffered a severe loss when his law partner, Paul McNutt, passed away recently.
As our 35th Reunion approaches, the high school classes of forty years ago are beginning to close ranks and track down their missing persons. Jim Jewett, Dartmouth '19, wrote to ask whatever became of "Charles RussellKeep, whom we knew as Russ or Ruckie" and whose presence is requested at the up-coming 40th Reunion of Hartford Public High School's Class of 1915. It was a pleasure to reassure him that Russ was in the finest possible fettle when observed at a recent Dartmouth function. Boston Latin School's Class of 1916 has lately put Paul Richter into its secretarial slot and he is sleuthing down those that are left of the 92 graduates, most of whom went to Harvard. In case you are of a classical bent, you will be glad to know that Boston Latin's motto (straight out of Plautus) is Ubiamici esse ibidem opes. Buttons Hill is another Latin School Sixteener who must have liked a Colliers article of a year ago which termed the Richter-Hill alma mater "a model academic high school."
Norm and Doris Richardson spent most of the winter at Delray Beach, Fla., but are backhome in Laconia, N. H., now. Their oldest boy Fred, recently sprung from the service, has commenced medical practice in Lebanon.... Elizabeth (Mrs. Hal) Bernkopf, fashion coordinator of the Boston Globe, gets her picture in the paper on occasion as a guest expert for fashion shows.... Dr. C. Herbert (Alarshie)Marshall, member of the D. C. Commissioners' Youth Council, addressed the first annual smoker-dinner of the Veterans Memorial YMCA of Arlington, Va., on February 4, talking on "Our Role in World Affairs." ... AbeWinslow writes sparingly from San Francisco, reassuring us that he is still doing business at the same stand, secretarying as usual for the Northern Californians, and admiring the readable prose which appears daily in the local Chronicle.
Secretary, Blind Brook Lodge, Rye 17, N. Y.
Class Agent,: 438 E. Elm Ave., Monroe, Mich.
