1909

Dartmouth Guys I Have Known

When I read about the death, early this year, of Eddie Hart, former All-American tackle at Princeton during the fall seasons of '10, '11, and '12, it called to mind a set-to he had with Dartmouth's Ed Healey '18. Ed, at the time, was playing with the Chicago Bears and making headlines for outstanding performances in his roll as tackle. Hart, as I recall, was a protege of "Snake" Ames, big shot in the Booth Fisheries and a former Princeton footballer, himself. Eddie held an executive position- in the company.

Big Ed Healey was, and still is, a king-size man, a tower of strength, and solid as a rock. He could handle himself in any sort of trouble, but he wasn't the temperament to go looking for it. At the time of his mix-up with Hart, an ox-like specimen, they were in a Chicago hotel room having, as Big Ed thougt, a couple of friendly snorts.

Suddenly,. Hart, probably motivated by one too many, decided he wanted to wrestle with Healey. Ed tried to sidestep the contact, but Hart went for him, and before Ed realized it they, were going to it in a grim struggle that meant survival of the fittest. They were all over the room, on the floor, on the bed, in a knock-down, drag-out fight as you might see in a Western, but this one was for keeps. Healey knew he'd have to win it, for he was fighting with a man who seemed to be temporarily crazed. Big and strong as Hart was, Healey took him. He left the room with his shirt in shreds, and Hart in a state of collapse.

When the United States got involved in World War I, Ed was among the first Dartmouth students to enlist. He joined an outfit that had the reputation of being tough and rough. Ed found this out when he was in line to get his gear. The top tough guy of the outfit started to shove him around, and that's something nobody can do with Ed. Then and there they got into a fracas and Ed gave Mr. Tough a proper trimming. After that, Ed got along fine with the outfit, made many fast friends, including the bird he licked. He earned his spurs before he was even sworn in.

Healey was a good football player at Dartmouth, but he reached his peak playing with the Bears. On the team was George Trafton, the mammoth center, a rough and tumble street fighter who hailed from Notre Dame. Trafton never could figure out why Ed went to Dartmouth where athletes received no special compensations, when he could have lived the "life of Riley" at other colleges that subsidized football players.

Ed told him, simply, "Something about Dartmouth gets under a fellow's skin. It builds up a loyalty to the college and its traditions, and a spirit of comradeship that money can't buy. I wouldn't trade it for anything you got at Notre Dame."

Back in the 20's, the period that Ed played with the Bears, professional football was just coming into its own. Salaries then were moderate, but Ed saved his dough. When he'd accumulated $10,000, he shed the cleated shoes and went into business with a building supply firm in Indiana. He also took unto himself a wife, a charming girl who appreciated Ed's fine qualities and has stuck with him through the ensuing years.

I always liked and admired Big Ed Healey. After a lapse of 20 years, in 1953 I saw him and his little woman at his 35th reunion. He hadn't changed much - still possessed of the rugged physique, and emanating a sense of dormant power, soft-spoken and unassuming as I knew him in Chicago. Ed is the type of guy Dartmouth is proud to claim as a son.!

Keep '09's 50th Fresh In Mind

Although '09's 50th reunion is over a year and a half away, energetic Al Newton, reunion chairman, is on top of the deal with "operations goose," determined to arouse any slumbering classmates. Al is the guy who can do it, too. He reminded that "time slips away pretty fast," thus revealing a hitherto undiscovered truth. He announced that plans would be discussed at the get-together before the Harvard game (now a thing of the past when this appears in print). Al also urges all and sundry to turn in their 50 reunion slogans to him at 154 Atlantic Ave., Boston, Mass.

Questionnaires mailed to the brothers have been coming in, although the stream has been getting thinner. It's estimated that about half of the living brothers have responded. A few of the widows have also returned the forms, telling about their departed mates. The word is: Mail back the questionnaires now and you won't be harassed later.

Looks like Craig Thorn has the distinction of being the first '09 great-grandfather. Craig Jr., '31, who was the class baby, has a married daughter, Barbara Heineman, who gave birth to a son on August 23. Why, bless my soul, that's just a day after my birth date and the same as that of Mortie Grover 'll. Dutch says he's getting to look like a greatgrandfather since he's had all his teeth out.

A lot of classmates will remember Larry Gardner who, with Ced Wellsted, hit Hanover from Cleveland. They were a sensation with the impromptu shows they put on in the Commons freshman year. Remember? Singing and playing the piano. Larry was with us for two years, then he fell in love with a gal named Percita West and left college to get married. As he puts it, "Still married to her- God bless her." Now it's revealed that his little woman was a Cleveland gal who, as a child, spent her summers at Geauga Lake which is only three miles from Aurora, the Garden Spot of America.

The Gardners have lived in the East since 1914. Larry, now retired, was in the chemical business for 20 years, his last job being executive vice president and general manager of the Highside Chemical Co. He's living at 9 Birdseye Glen, Verona, N. J.

Larry recalls the last thing he did, just before he took the bus for the train when he left Hanover, was to pose with Helen Marden on the campus for a snapshot which Porter Smith '08, took. Little did Helen presage that in a little over a year she would be shot to death on the Smith campus by Porter who then shot and killed himself. What a tragedy that was, and what country-wide publicity it was given.

Other reports of classmates will appear in later issues of this MAGAZINE. If any of you have news, or any kicks, squawks, or complaints, let's have 'em. A happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Class Notes Editor, 141 Pioneer Trail, Aurora, Ohio

Secretary and Treasurer, Sandwich, Mass.

Bequest Chairman,