1929
Karl Michael is undoubtedly very proud of his swimming team's dual meet record this past season — seven wins against three losses and one of those losses went to Yale when the Elis won their 125th straight win over a ten-year period. Karl's greatest pride and pleasure probably stems from the performance and accomplishments of the team captain, All-American free-style ace John Glover, whose father is Class Treasurer W. Curtis Glover '18.
Other news from Hanover indicates that Bob Carr and his family have gone to England where Bob is working on a Guggenheim grant while on leave from the College for the second semester of this past year. We also hear that Bob Monahan is the author of two short articles published in New England Journeys No. the 1955 special edition of Ford Times. One article describes Wilder Lake - which most of us now know is the broader and quieter Connecticut River for many miles above the new Wilder Dam - and the second article summarizes what Bob calls "The New Look" on Mount Washington.
Not far away, in Canaan, the March election results show that incumbent Selectman Stan Bogardus was reelected by the narrow margin of 166 to 145.
And likewise, in politics, we hear that DickDanforth was one of the principals in some very lively action in the Wilbraham Town Meeting in March. Dick, as chairman of the Finance Committee, was the victor over the other three principals in connection with several proposals which resulted in a duel between the selectmen and the planning board on one side and the finance committee on the other.
The March 13 Los Angeles Times reports that Carl Spaeth, Dean of the Stanford Law School, was one of the principal speakers at the 23rd annual Stanford Conference at the Ambassador there. Carl's topic was "Our Foreign Policy: A New Role for America."
The April 13 Boston Herald reports that George Nay lor was elected president of the board of directors of the New England Home for Little Wanderers at its 90th annual meeting. George succeeds Alfred H. Avery, who has been president since 1943 and associated with the home since 1918.
We also hear that Ben Stacey, industrial analyst of the First National Bank of Boston, predicted a favorable business outlook for the future, especially here in New England, in an address before the Chelsea Rotary Club recently. Aside from references of a national nature regarding business recovery and optimism and some clouds on the horizon for 1955, Ben said in part:
"The industrial climate has improved greatly here. One force for the better is the existence of active business development or credit corporations in each of the New England states, sponsored by the local financial institutions, and meeting some of the medium and longer-term credit needs of new or growing firms.... Don't sell New England short — we have a long background of solving tough adjustment problems and we have every reason to feel encouragement about our future prospects."
In reply to our inquiry, Art Rose's wife Peggy has informed us that Art is back in Turkey, at the moment, on a special mission for the steel industry there — if Art comes through with a letter, we'll report more details later.
We deeply regret reporting the recent death of Bob Hemhauser and wish to take this opportunity to express his classmates' condolences and deepest sympathy to Mrs. Hemhauser and the other members of Bob's family. We appreciate the fact that Bob was with us only one year, but, to our way of thinking, he was one of us. Further information concerning Bob's death will be found in the In Memoriam section of this issue.
In 1943, David Cogan was presented the Warren Triennial Prize, in 1953, the award of the New England Ophthalmological Society award, and in June 1954, Dave was presented the Proctor Medal of the Association for the Research in Ophthalmology, and we now have sufficient information to report on this last award. Dave is the very active director of the Howe Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Associate Professor of Ophthalmic Research, Harvard Medical School. He is also chief of the Thursday Service and a senior surgeon of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, director of the Eye Pathology Laboratory, and a member of the editorial board of the A.M.A.Archives of Ophthalmology. He serves as consultant to numerous national and international organizations, including the National Research Council, the World Health Organization, and the National Society for the prevention of Blindness, as well as the Los Alamos Medical Center, the U.S. Naval Hospital of Chelsea (Mass.) and the U.S.A.F. School of Aviation Medicine. Despite these various commitments, Dave's principal interest and activity is not in administering and advising but in actually carrying out experimental and clinical investigation. In his few nonophthalmologic hours, we understand that Dave easily metamorphoses into a gentleman farmer and woodsman. At his southern New Hampshire farm, with the help of his wife and four daughters, he attacks the practical problems of primitive living with the same enthusiasm and ingenuity as he approaches the problems of ophthalmology in the laboratory.
And now to quote Dave byway of his "Remarks Made on Acceptance of the Proctor Medal Award":
"Mr. Chairman, members of the Research Association, guests, and most particularly those members of the secret committee charged with the award of the Proctor Medal, I am deeply grateful. To one whose professional, life is an attempted compromise between research, teaching, clinical practice, and a minimum of administration, this occasion is a happy milestone. The doubts which I have on the wisdom of your selection are momentarily overbalanced by the satisfaction that anyone might have when, standing in judgement before his colleagues and peers, he has been found not without merit.
"But I would hasten to add that this supposed merit is a virtue dependent as much, or more, on inherent qualities. This award is in fact made to a congerie of circumstances which I happen to represent. These circumstances are too numerous, and many too personal, to enumerate fully, but I can't refrain from referring with gratitude to my predecessor in the Howe Laboratory, Dr. F. H. Verhoeff, whose uncompromising adherence to what he holds to be right has been my moral guide. Nor can I forbear mentioning my former associates, Dr. Elek Ludvigh and Dr. Everett Kinsey, and my several associates, especially Dr. Morton Grant, on whose counsel I have depended heavily over the years.
"Awards such as this are said to have two possible effects on a person. They make him grow in stature or they may make him merely swell. I pray that my lot may be the former for it is an exciting time in which to grow. Never before have the opportunities and facilities been available to a comparable extent for one who is seriously interested in pioneering in research. The only question is how to reconcile the demands of research with the material and emotional demands of modern living. To be sure this must be an individual matter, but it is perhaps the prerogative of one who has been through the mill, and made his full quota of mistakes, to offer a few observations.
"In the first place I should like to set aside the popular misconception that research is a matter of test tubes and Geiger counters. The essence of investigation is originality, curiosity, and perseverance, and this applies to laboratory as well as to clinical research. Barriers separating the laboratory and clinical investigations have naturally widened with the acquisition of new knowledge and specialized techniques, so it is rare for any one individual now to encompass them both successfully. Thus has come about the development of the clinical research laboratory where the basic scientists and clinician may meet. I am proud to say that ophthalmology has been one of the leaders in the development of this type of laboratory. Made possible first through private beneficences and expanded more recently by government agencies, who can foretell what the future holds in store? All we can say at the present is that this development has already had a profound effect on the teaching and research in this country.
"The problem facing the individual, particularly the individual with academic aspirations, is how to acquire the broad training necessary for the general practice of ophthalmology and yet acquire the advanced knowledge of one small phase in which he hopes to make an original contribution. Many budding clinicians believe they can accomplish this by spending the spare time which they foresee in the early years of practice by working on some problem in a laboratory. It is my experience that most such high hopes come to grief. The attempt to learn research while conducting a practice usually leads simply to unhappy frustration. Perhaps it would be otherwise in a clinic where one can schedule his responsibilities effectively, but not where private practice is concerned.
"On the other hand, if a person has learned the method of scientific enquiry and has identified himself in one field of research, however small, it is possible to pursue this with authority and savoir faire despite the demands of practice. Thus it seems to me of the utmost importance for those individuals with academic aspirations to spend one or more years in a laboratory devoting their full time to research and teaching and to pursue these with the same vigor and enthusiasm that they pursued their clinical traineeship. This sacrifice of one or more years in the early stages of one's training is small by comparison with the intellectual and humanitarian dividends which it is certain to yield in later life.
"Finally, I would like to end by telling a story which has little bearing on the Proctor award, other than that such an award gives rise to reflection on times past. It makes one speculate on how he would have done things differently. The story is that of a modern Faust who wanted to recapture his youth, but instead of making a pact with Mephistopheles he obtained some hormones from his physician. He was instructed to take one pill a day, but being an impatient sort, he took the entire box of pills the first day. The following morning his family had a time rousing him. After being shaken violently, he finally opened one eye and said 'All right, I'll get up but I won't go to school'."
In closing the Class Notes for the 1954-55 year, it is a pleasure to report that your chairman, Bill Andres, Walt Gutterson, secretary of the South Shore Dartmouth Club, and your secretary were in attendance at the recent Alumni Officers meeting in Hanover. Very humbly and with deep sincerity, your secretary extends his thanks to you all for the opportunity afforded him to be present at this inspirational and informative meeting.
And in conclusion, in Nick Sandoe's report on the status of the Alumni Fund, which was optimistic but cautious, he quoted Cardinal Newman's expression "Growth is the evidence of life," and related it to things both human and otherwise. In the relationship between ourselves and the College, it is your secretary's hope that "life" in the Class of 1929 will continue to be evidenced by our individual and group "growth" in participation with Class and College affairs.
THE PROCTOR MEDAL has been awardedto Dr. David G. Cogan '29 by the Associationfor Research in Ophthalmology for outstanding contributions in his field. The story ofthis distinguished award appears in the classcolumn.
APPOINTED GENERAL SOLICITOR ofthe Southern Pacific Co., Stanfield Johnson'29 was formerly general attorney in chargeof Southern Pacific's law office in Washington,D. C. His new headquarters are in San Francisco.
Secretary, 26 Wampatuck Rd., Dedham, Mass.
Class Agent, R.D. 1, Oley, Pa.
