1909
To look at these young men posed so artistically in front of the home of that great and glorious fraternity, Psi Upsilon, you well might imagine that they represent the cream of the present-day Dartmouths, except for those high, stiff collars worn by some of the men. Psi Uers, through the years, have been recognized as fashion plates and leaders of the ultra set. They wear their laurels with becoming modesty and have been known, on occasion, to mingle rather freely with their Dartmouth contemporaries.
Despite a statement made in The Dartmouth some months ago that Tri-Kap was the first frat at Dartmouth, if you will look at any of the old Aegises, and turn to the fraternity section, you will see that they are listed "in the order of establishment of Chapters at Dartmouth College," and that Psi U is listed first; Kappa Kappa Kappa second. However, they were both established in the same year, 1842. The guy who wrote that in The Dartmouth must have been a Tri-Kap.
Getting back to the sterling characters you see in the photo, the picture does not take in the whole chapter, but representatives of four classes are shown. Seated on the floor of the portico (Psi U's always call their porches, porticos) are: H. F. Sanborn '12, who was murdered some twenty years ago under mysterious circumstances, the crime still unsolved. He was a brother of Bruce (Spike) Sanborn '04. The next four young men are also '12: Randy Burns whom Dutch Schildmiller and I got to go Psi U after considerable struggle. Randy, now retired and a frequent Hanover visitor, has been forever grateful to us. The next guy I'm not sure of, but I think he's Henry Viets. If I'm correct, he's a prominent physician living in Brookline. Murray Boutwell, next in line, is still alive and kicking, being in the insurance business in S. Lyndeboro, N. H. Maybe he's got enough renewals piled up to enable him to retire. The next four gents on the front stoop (pardon me, portico) have passed into Kingdom Come: Wallace Jones '12, Paul Whitcomb '10, Johnny Bartlett '11 and Tex Morris '12.
Standing by the post is Allan Doggett '10, another departed brother, and seated in the second row are these fine gentlemen: JackChilds, your country correspondent, who hails from the Garden Spot of America (Aurora, Ohio, that is), Lynde Tucker, retired to Chappaqua, N. Y., after years of honorable service with Western Electric; Duke Naylor and RussellAlvord, both deceased.. These four are '09, the grand old seniors of the group. The other seated person is Brainy Bill Williams '10, a hot shot advertising executive in Chicago.
Now move to the back row. On the left end is Bill Stillman '11, who was killed in the first World War. Others in that row are all '11, except one man who will be noted when we come to him. Chub Sterling hasn't changed much in appearance over the years. He's an eminently successful advertising man in the big city of New York. Rupert Luey is in the real estate business in Northfield, Mass. I don't believe I've seen him since college days. Swede Needham, also in the real estate business, is in Clarksburg, W. Va. The guy on the end of the line, Edo Poole, who's in the insurance business in Albany, N. Y., was a pal of the Swede's all through college. They were a great pair. Bill Pounds, to the right of the Swede, has been called to his Fathers. Eddie Keeler turned out to be a highly successful coal distributor in Chicago, but has retired to his home town of Rockford, Ill., where, I understand, he's in the lumber business, merely to keep himself occupied. He's got enough dough otherwise. I don't dig the next guy, but from his handsome mien you can tell he's a Psi U. The fellow with his hands in his pockets is Ted Smith '10. He was a personality kid, as I recall him. For years he's been in business down in Havana, Cuba.
When I went to college, I had the secret hope that I'd get the opportunity to go Psi U _ probably because of influence brought to bear on me as a kid by one Raymond Patterson, a Yale Psi U who was an old friend of my family and who later was Washington correspondent for The Chicago Tribune. He was a classmate of William Howard Taft, also a member of the Garnet and Gold crew.
Remember the photo of the old stage coach with Dud in the high silk hat that appeared in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE some months ago. Dan Comstock '08, who lives in the Cleveland area, identified five 'OB guys who were in the coach, in addition to those mentioned in the cutlines: himself, Don Frothingham, String Hale, Joe Goodhart, and Howard Cowee. Joe was graduated with '09 and is affiliated with our class.
A wedding announcement with an accompanying note was sent to me by Gladys Morowski, Freddie's widow, who was married on August 18 in Duluth, Minn., to William Oscar Carey. She says that Bill is a fine man who knew Fred in South America in 1917 and also her family. Here's wishing em plenty of that stuff called happiness.
What was happening to '09ers forty years ago? Suppose we sample an account written by Freddie Carroll:
"On September 22, 1915, I was married to Mary M. Sheehan, of Dorchester. She's some wife. On September 16, 1916, a son was born, Robert Mackin Carroll He's some boy. I am therefore now a family man. In November, 1916,1 left the American Steel & Wire with whom I had been for three years, doing legal work, and came to Boston with the Mass. Employees Insurance Ass'n, as assistant to John W. Cronin, Dartmouth '04, the Association's attorney."
Fred was then living in Worcester and had offices there and in Boston. He reported that he liked his work and was getting good trial experience. Then he spoke of a Dartmouth dinner and deplored the fact that more '09ers didn't show:
"I am unable to understand the apparent lack of enthusiasm that seems to exist in the class as a whole. Something should be done to stimulate interest. What that something is, I can't say, but I' feel that an expression of opinion by the class as to the trouble with us and the way to remedy it should be obtained."
We've been working on that for forty years, Fred, if you're listening up yonder. Maybe some day we'll find the answer. Got any ideas, classmates?
The Psi U boys of 1908-09, about whom details appear in the 1909 class notes.
Class Notes Editor, 141 Pioneer Trail, Aurora, Ohio
Secretary and Treasurer, Sandwich, Mass.
