1942
That slight sigh which accompanied the delivery of your July ALUMNI MAGAZINE came from none other than Bob Dewey relinquishing the reins of the secretary's office which he so ably managed for the past four years. You may have noticed the term, retiring class secretary, on the by-line and wondered "what next?" Editorship, as of June, moved from Detroit to Cranford, an eastern community of modest proportions where your new scribe maintains residence. To fill you in on the Baldwin family, there is wife Dot and two children, Billy and Sue Ann, eight and five, respectively.
Your attention is called to the Adrian Bouchard cover shot on the July issue of this Magazine. To fill in the dinosaur with an adequate foreground, Adrian turned to the time-honored custom of looking for the appropriate Homo sapiens. I have been assured there was no palm crossing involved by any member of the illustrious quintet so casually strolling down Wheelock Street. Another look at Dinny '46 reveals Bobby and Gus Newell, Barbara and Johnny Brewer, and Chuck Gibbons. It appears as though '42 again scored prominently in the personnel department.
Summer has gone the way of all seasons and with it, in all probability, those vacations. So now that most everyone is back from Shangri-La, let's turn to the catch-up department which means a report on anything and anyone from the last six months.
John Ryan, who elected to stay with Uncle Sam after a full wartime career, now holds the rank of Commander USN with 14 years of service. Present assignment for John is with the Department of Justice where he specializes in admiralty litigation for the Third Naval District. During those off hours, I suspect one can find the Commander arguing his case before the domestic court on Staten Island where Louise has the veto power and John, six, and Kathleen, three, direct the court calendar.
In Glens Falls, N. Y., is located a Consultation Center that is fortunate to have the services of Dr. Hans Huessy. Prior to going to Glens Falls in 1953 and subsequent to graduation from Yale Medical School in 1945, Hans was regional consultant in mental health with the U. S. Public Health Service in Denver, Colo., and clinical instructor in psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
With the fall and its many activities, there is one community project that most of us become associated with in one way or another, some of you to a major degree. Such is the case of Doug Stowell who has been appointed chairman of the Community Chest campaign in Danbury, Conn. They couldn't have picked a better man than the personnel manager of the local firm of Davis and Geek, Inc., manufacturers of surgical sutures. I'd be willing to bet that Doug has Danbury all sewed up even before he starts. And over in Newton, Mass., they have a similar activity, but there it's Red Feather. This year it's more likely to be green feather before the campaign is over. We find several Indians in the capacities of assistant or village chairmen in their respective areas. Both Fred Nichols and Al Thompson have assumed chairmanships while your new Treasurer, Ira (thank you for your dues) Berman finds time to act as an assistant.
Perhaps you baseball fans remember the unsuccessful bid of $5,250,000 (how I like to use those round figures) submitted in July for the Tigers by Bill Veeck's syndicate. What you may not know is that Hank Reynolds was a member of the group. Better luck next time, Hank. In the meantime, I understand you were more successful in a coaching capacity in Grosse Pointe where you were grooming a Little League team to replace the Tigers within a few years.
"New Haven's Prestige as Port City Rising with Upturn in Harbor Tonnage." Thus reads the headline on a story about this city so familiar to us for other activities. And behind this story is Jim Kellers as director and general manager of the New Haven Towing Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the McWilliams Blue Line. The story goes on to say that this company operates two tugs and supplies four masters and mates as pilots to ships at a point five miles from shore. You '42s might take note of this service, for there is nothing like having a little guidance when venturing into New Haven, particularly when the weather closes in. Jim has been with the company since 1947 and is one of the area's ablest spokesmen on the subject of why Naugatuck Valley and Waterbury manufacturers and merchants can profit by using freighting from the harbor. Any '42s affected, take note.
We all know that State Department employees, particularly in the category of diplomat, have a long list of speaking requests to fulfill, when time permits, that have little direct bearing on their professional activities. Bob Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, obliged at least two such requests recently, acting as the dinner speaker for a large conference of Rotarians in Swampscott and later in the year appearing to give the commencement address to the graduating class at Littleton High School where Bob was once an undergraduate himself.
In the department of promotions, honors and recognitions., we have the following to report:
Dick Maxwell has been appointed to the Board of Health by the Mayor of Westfield, N. J., Dick's hometown, with the approval of the Town Council. Good luck, Doc, in your public duties. The annual Awards Day ceremony last May at Transylvania College in Lexington, Ky., honored John Wright, professor of history, by naming him faculty member of the year. The ceremonies are under the sponsorship of the student council and the above reward is a reflection of the high regard for John among the undergraduates. And clown at Ole Miss, Robert L. Gale, assistant professor of English, has been granted a Fulbright teaching fellowship for the 1956-57 school year at the Oriental Institute in Naples, Italy. In fulfilling the fellowship, Bob will teach courses in American literature. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he and Maureen found time, while abroad, to return to London which I believe is Maureen's home.
At the Brockton (Mass.) High School Gordon McKernan, the successful basketball coach of five years, has been appointed acting director of athletics. During Gordon's years as basketball coach, his teams have won one Eastern Mass. championship and one Bay State tourney championship. Bob Myers, sales promotion manager for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., has been elected treasurer of the Boston Chapter, Sales Promotion Executives Association, Inc. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard W.Lawton has recently become head of the physiology division at the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory at the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pa. Dick's previous assignment was that of associate professor of Physiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Since graduation, Neil Barber has been with Hooker Electrochemical Company spending the first three years in production of chemicals in connection with the Manhattan Project and from 1945 on, as a sales representative. Neil is now sales manager for the Philadelphia district, an area where I am sure he knows the sales potential and howto increase it.
In closing for this month, I find myself confronted with an item which was the last thing I thought I would have to report. In fact, it hadn't occurred to me that obituaries would be called for. It is with sincere regret that I inform you of the death of John C. Rohrs of White Plains, N. Y., on July 10, 1956. At the time of his death, John was a copywriter for Redbook magazine. Further information can be found in the In Memoriam section this month.
Dr. Joseph R. Wilder '42, former Chief of Surgical Services at Wright-Patterson AFB and Fellow in Cardiovascular Surgery in Sweden last year, is now Assistant Professor of Surgery at New York Medical College and the author of "Atlas of General Surgery" (1955) which has received excellent reviews.
Secretary, 209 Beech St., Cranford, N. J.
Treasurer,: 34 Thaxter Rd., Newtonville 60, Mass.
