Letters

Coed Grid Star

To THE EDITOR:

I wonder if my husband is the only living graduate of Dartmouth who ever returned to Hanover to see his daughter play on the football field.

The occasion was the New Hampshire game September 29. What Marie played was a trumpet in the U. N. H. Marching Band! This is the only game Dartmouth has played with New Hampshire in two decades; hence I think it likely that Ben, class of '27, is the only alumnus who has ever seen his daughter play on the football field there. And the trumpet she played was the same one he played so many times, on the same field with the Dartmouth Band, a mere thirty years ago.

Rutland, Vt.

In Praise of Poets

TO THE EDITOR:

It was gratifying to learn that Richard Eberhart '26, the distinguished American poet, has joined the Dartmouth faculty.

Although I have never met or even seen him, one always feels a certain intimacy with a poet whose words one has read again and again. He is that rarest of modern artists - one with tremendous spiritual perception.

If Mr. Eberhart's powers as a teacher come anywhere near his creative powers, the vital but often overshadowed cause of poetry at Dartmouth will prosper. If not, Dartmouth will still gain by his presence and lustrous reputation. For he is one of the few truly important figures in contemporary culture connected with the College.

This is not a complaint, for few of us would quarrel with Dartmouth's avowal of the primacy of teaching over scholarship or authorship. But am I wrong in thinking that the College's contribution to business and government in recent years has outweighed its contribution to letters?

At any rate, Mr. Eberhart's poems are the first since Robert Frost's to appear in anthologies and to be heard on records. His "The Groundhog" is becoming a classic. Alumni who are unfamiliar with his achievements might welcome your publication of examples of his work and an appraisal of it - especially if John Hurd writes the latter!

Stamford, Conn.

EDITOR'S NOTE: We are pleased that we anticipated Mr. Strauss' wishes and asked Mr. Eberhart to write the lead article, "The Poet as Teacher," in last month's issue. Another Dartmouth poet, Kimball Flaccus '33, is the author of "Gotham Gambit" in this issue.

A 1915 Incident

To THE EDITOR:

The October 1956 issue carried the sad news of the death of Harold J. D'Ancona '18. This writer knew Dan, as he was called, but casually, though an incident always kept him in my mind.

In those days of 1914-15 an "old clothes man" from New Haven, named Robby, was a regular caller at Hanover. Always liberal in his payment for old clothes, he was most welcome when the boys needed a few extra dollars for a "peerade." Dan was one of Robby's best contacts.

One spring day the boys at New Hamp were whooping it up with the old game of dousing unsuspecting pedestrians with a paper bag full of water. On this particular day Robby was headed toward the Gym, deep in thought, when plop came the loaded bag and soaked him thoroughly.

He looked up at the laughing faces in that second-floor window and, shaking his fist, yelled angrily - "Wise guys" - and then, spotting Dan among them, opened his hand to a wave and smilingly added - "Hello Dan."

Newton, Mass.

Completing the Record

To THE EDITOR:

I was sorry to learn of the passing of my old-time college friend, Fernando (Rios) Guarch '14, as outlined in the ol)ituary sketch of him in your October 1956 issue.

I am sorry that it omits mention of Ferd's military service in World War I. He was a graduate of the famous Culver Military Academy, in Culver, Indiana, rated as "a distinguished institution" among the military schools of the nation by the U. S. War Department of that day. Ferd was thus able to step from his civilian life into a lieutenancy, of the National Army, in 1917, serving throughout the war with the Puerto Rican Infantry Regiment (part of the Regular Army).

If possible, I should like to see this item added in a future issue, just "to complete the record."

West Roxbury, Mass.