1942
Spring is just around the corner. All of you fellow unfortunates who are not basking in the sunny climes, just think what spring means this year. Showers? Yes. Flowers? Yes. And best of all - just a few more months 'til the jumbo-sized Fifteenth Reunion in Hanover.
What's this I hear about a special train from the Midwest to White River? Come on now, I gotta have facts. How do we hook on? And even more important, who has the name of a good baby-sitter?
Although the Alumni Fund drive is not yet officially underway, we already have our 1956 slogan for the class. The "Lip," Class Agent par excellence, puts out the word that in 1956 it's: "$10,000 and 500 Donors" for '42. Actually the 1955 figures were $9400 and 452 donors for us, so we're not too far from our goal already. If we are to take the word of one Richard W. Lippman (and I guess we are), all we have to do is keep all of the '55 donors and just get back those who gave in '54 but passed up '55. Let's just hope employers are reading and believing all of the rosy predictions of rising incomes in '56. Money talks.
There are some lucky guys who don't have to worry about employers. Or maybe when you're in business for yourself you worry even more. Gibb Clark should know. He's had a year of running his own company. Gibb is a manufacturer's agent with a main office in Cincinnati and branch offices in Dayton and Louisville. He is in the materials handling field representing Lewis Shepard Products. Gibb reports seeing John Craig, DaveList and Red Wilson.
Bill Foster has also had a year in business for himself with the Bill Foster Company. They are a sales organization for packaging equipment and supplies in the produce packing field in the North Central states, operating out of Minneapolis.
More people are on the move. Maybe there's some truth in that story about over 30 million people moving in this country per year. Ed Butcher has finally made it back to his home state of Maine. He's now living in Cumberland Center and working out of Portland as state agent for the Phoenix Insurance Company.
Another state agent in the insurance business is Ev Johnson, a New England fugitive now holding out in Montgomery, Ala. Why don't you direct some of those ball players down there to seek their higher learning in Hanover, Ev? That Southeastern Conference would never miss a few and the Big Green ought to be able to use them.
Posie and Bate Ewart are currently in Mt. Holly, N. J., which they find somewhat different and considerably preferable to Libya. No more uniforms for that boy! Bob Highmark is another traveler. Last reports had him in Porto Rico in his capacity as a management consultant. Even farther afield is Don Amy, still building U. S. air bases for Brown-Raymond-Walsh in Spain.
Jim Skinner has moved his office from New York City to Roselle Park, N. J. Hugh Halsey has moved his medical practice from Glen Cove to Southampton, N. Y. Hugh's brotherin-law Nat Sherman is living in Waynesboro, Va., with Carol and their four children.
The new advertising manager of John Hassall, Inc., Westbury, L. I., is John D.Brewer. John and Barb also had their second child, a son, last December.
Paul Breck made it a point to stop and see John Wester and Charlie Hunt when he made a trip to Colorado last year. We have it on Paul's authority that both worthies are healthy and prosperous looking. There can't be too much question regarding John's health. Any guy with six kids has to be pretty rugged. They're planning to make some alterations and additions to the Thayer Dining Hall in Hanover and Paul is currently working on the structural design for them in his Boston office.
Dutch Schaefer reports that the '42 contingent in and about Westfield, N. J., is in good shape. Dick Maxwell, George Rounds and Johnny Glesmann are prominent among the local contingent who suffered through the bleak football season last fall. Wait 'til next year! We hear that the freshman club last fall was most encouraging. And next year it will be just the Simon-pure Ivy League.
The Chicago Medical meetings brought together a number of '42s. Tom McElin, JackChandler, Bob Wilson, Jim Dietrich and Tom Moore were all in attendance. The Silver Follies never had it so good. Those pill rollers really live it up when they get out from behind their stethescopes.
Ben Page, one of our hardier bachelor types, made his annual trek to old New England from sunny Houston a few months back. Jim Mulligan and Bob Smith can vouch for the fact that those Texans are mighty hard to handle once they stray from the range.
Nancy and Dave Biggs seem to be keeping busy raising a family. However, Dave does find time to race his 2.7 Ferrari quite successfully and to take an active part in the Sports Car Club of America. We can't tell you exactly when Mary and Jonathan Mendes were married, but the big event has taken place. In early December they even made a stop at the Hanover Inn. Honeymoon? Could be.
The big event in '55 for Barb and CarlHolekamp was the arrival of their first son. Grandpa Mott Brown '17 was pretty proud, too! Carl Peter checked in on November 26 just the day before his big sister's birthday (4).
"Virginia and Huntly Allison welcomed their third child and second daughter last tall. They report that Bob and Mary Kirk with their brood of three are now fellow residents of the metropolis of Longmeadow, Mass.
In Mt. Lebanon, Pa., Bill and Nancy Hart are building a new home for themselves and their three girls. Bill now heads up an account group working on advertising for the United States Steel Homes account in the Pittsburgh office of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn. This is a fast growing subsidiary of U. S. Steel, building prefabricated homes. We trust your new place is a U. S. Steel number, of course, Bill. The Harts had become pretty well settled after ten years in Buffalo where Bill was working for BBDO advertising washers, building materials and room air conditioners. But we must keep on the move. Progress, you know.
A couple of non-movers are Dave Allen and Dick Clarke. Jane and Dick are still holding forth in Northfield, outside of Chicago with their three children and one cat. Dave and Edith are still in Livingston, N. J., with their two children. The New Jersey Bell Telephone Company still boasts David as their district traffic manager in the Newark-Mont clair area.
The Boston beat turned up some items with a note from Charlie Brown. He reports that Dick Godfrey has been promoted to the Regional Ford office in New Jersey; that Ralph Morrison is an enterprising home builder on Massachusetts' North Shore; that Art Henderson is purchasing agent of a large Boston electronics firm and that JohnValkevitch is a Liberty Mutual Insurance executive and very active in local Dartmouth alumni affairs.
The executive officer of the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Command detachment at the University of New Hampshire was recently promoted. Now it's Major JimFroude of the United States Air Force.
When you stop to think about it, the fall of 1938 was quite awhile back. Dr. FrankGarran pointed that out when he disclosed that he has now settled down at long last to practice general surgery in Barnstable, Mass.
All of which reminds me that it won't be long until the Class of 1942 has its one and only opportunity to celebrate its FifteenthReunion. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so don't miss it! Start making your plans now and let's hear how you're doing.
In a new post, Robert N. Searles '42 will serveas educational specialist in General Electric'sEducational Relations Services Department.He was assistant director of admissions atthe University of Vermont.
Secretary, 3548 Roland Drive Birmingham, Mich.
Treasurer, 385 Puritan Rd. Birmingham, Mich.
