1910
"Guess there are more Tenners in Florida than in New England," writes Charlie Fay on a postal reporting the names of Tenners who responded to the appeal sent out by Charlie and Bones Jones in an attempt to get out a larger representation of the Class at the annual dinner of the Boston Dartmouth Alumni. And a check of the list of known Tenner vacationers, and those suspected in the same category, indicates that Charlie is correct. However, there were seven "old reliables" at the dinner: Maurice Blake, Charlie Fay, Al Ferguson, "Bones" Jones, Art Lord, Win Nay and Julius Warren.
Mentioning Florida as we did in last month's MAGAZINE, we have many more names to add to the list. The Mike Elliotts were scheduled to spend the winter there and then sail for Greece in early March. Rolin Woodworth, "Shorty" Worcester, Jack Bates, Kay Dyer, Don Bryant and Hal Benjamin are others who are there, will be there, or have rumors circulating which strongly hint at the possibility. Then, of course, there are the permanent residents which the Class has provided: Cheever Comey, Ray Gorton, Frank Meleney, Obbie Shenstone and Ernie Unangst. As for your present correspondent, I "have the still North" in my bones and would rather spend two weeks in Hanover than in Florida. Not that I know what it would be like to live in Florida - I have never been that far south.
Hal Benjamin has passed along a newspaper clipping telling of great events happening in honor of Mike Elliott, retired former head of the Psychology Department at the University of Minnesota. One of these events was a ceremony for the unveiling of a portrait of Mike in the psychology building. The artist was Mrs. Frances Greenman who was quoted as saying, "The regretful thing about doing his portrait was that I had to busy myself while he was in my studio. His comments are so very charming." How popular Mike was is indicated by the fact that "one year the enrollment in beginning psychology rose to 5,500. Only 670 students could be seated in Burton Hall, largest building on campus, except Northrup Auditorium. We had to repeat the lectures over and over." Our thanks to alert Hal who remembered that we hold our job on the strength of getting all the news. But we might add that if some Tenners were not quite so modest, we would get a lot of news from the principals.
A pleasant surprise arrived in the mail recently. It was a letter from Doc Foster and brought with it a copy of the first issue of "Tenner Topics" dated March 1917. That was only forty years ago, but what a lot of changes have taken place in the years and what a lot of Tenners who were mentioned in the first "Tenner Topics" have been taken from our ranks. A couple of notes which Spuddy Pishon put together in that "trial" issue dealt with the sports scene at Hanover: "Larry Bankart's wonderfully successful season last fall with the Colgate University football team," states the item, "only served to drive home to all lovers of sport, the fact that Larry is one of the best football coaches in the country. We who have known him best have always had confidence in his ability and we have only been waiting for time to affirm our convictions.... While at Colgate, Larry was idolized by the student body and could just about own the town if he wanted to." Another paragraph states: "Horace Chadbourne is this year's baseball coach at Hanover. If Larry finally decides to go back to take charge of football, 'OL' 1910 will sure be represented in Hanover, and Dartmouth major sports will boom as they used to 'when we were in College'." Doc marked two items which referred to his two roommates. One was "Chad" and the other was Jim Lowell whose marriage to Helen Shapleigh was recorded in this "first edition." Gay Gleason was one of the ushers at Jim's wedding. Another item we found in this sheet, not marked in any way by Doc: "The only Tenner we have heard of as being actively engaged in the struggle across the water is Tom Foster, who is lieutenant in the British Army Medical Corps." (Ed. Note: The date of the "Tenner Topics" is March and we did not get into the war until the next month.) Other timely topics were Ben Ames Williams' resignation from newspaper work to devote all his time to fiction writing: Rev. Harold Robinson's entry into the mission field in China; and Jim MacPherson's election to the Massachusetts State Senate. Doc wrote that he felt that the Class should have this issue for the archives and we appreciate his considering this manner of disposition. Doc had loaned this copy of "Tenner Topics" to a Colgate friend who played "under Larry's inspired direction" and "held Larry in almost reverent esteem." This loaned copy had recently come back to Doc.
Had luncheon with Art Lord recently. He was in town to promote the use of textbooks published by his concern and our meeting was in between visits to Russell Sage College and Rensselaer Polytechnic. We compared notes about our wives who have been hospitalized recently. Both are improving slowly but, we feel confident, surely. Gladys M. spent five weeks in the hospital. Bertha L. went in in November and was there when Art visited me in late February. We are all looking forward hopefully to getting back to Hanover for the informal reunion, June 10-14.
When we gave the new address for Thayer Smith in November (he moved from New Jersey to Woodbury, Conn.) we failed to note that he is another Tenner who has joined the ranks of the retired. His friends in Short Hills, N. J., presented their retiring physician with a greenhouse and had its foundations laid with the materials ready for installation at the new Connecticut home. Thayer and Dorothy, before moving, made a fast trip to California for a visit with the offspring who have located on the Coast.
Receiving the Ledyard Bridge Greeting card stirred memories in Rollie Reynolds:
I recall well that early morning march to which the clipping refers, but most of all, I recall vividly the time when President Tucker left the College and the whole student body assembled on the porch and lawn of The Commons, as his horse-drawn cab stopped and the Grand Old Gentleman waved his "goodbye" to us. And so you see, your greeting card brought back many, many pleasant memories to me and I thank you for them.
Art Allen did everything but kidnap NatEmerson trying to get him to join the reunion group in Hanover last June. But we did not see Nat. Now along comes a letter from Ned Loveland with a couple of pages from Northern Farms News in which we find two snapshots of Nat. Under one of the cuts is this caption: "We caught Nat Emerson in a jovial mood prior to the annual get-together of the members of the Twin-State local. Nat was formerly a Director and Treasurer of National Farms." He is now secretary of the Twin-State local. We sure are pleased to learn of Nat's activity and the glimpse of his smile makes us hope that his home village of Etna will not seem so far from Hanover next June. Let's figure on seeing you then, Nat.
Ned Loveland continues running Skiland Farm at Stowe, Vt„ and does some organization work with various farm and country groups. He writes,
My present interest is in property taxes in the country. We are working on legislation which will make it easier for local listers to do a better job in assessing local real and personal property in our towns. At present farmers seem to be getting a little the worst of it as their property is much easier to assess than that of business or even houses.
Ned and his wife spent a month in Toronto visiting their daughter and the four grandchildren over Christmas.
When the Dartmouth football coach returns to the scenes of his former triumphs, Denver, the sports writers find plenty to write about him, his past successes and his future prospects at Hanover. Ralph Van Zant, our Denver reporter, sends in all the clippings. A new lot arrived recently after the coach had been there on his annual visit for Dartmouth Alumni dinners and visits to preparatory schools. These clippings give interesting sidelights on these trips and we are glad Van thinks of us when he reads them.
Pineo Jackson spotted an item in one of the New York papers, which reported that one of our erstwhile Tenners, Dr. Henry Larson and wife had started on a trip to Australia for a visit with son John who lives in Sydney. They will tour the South Pacific islands stopping at New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Fiji. Henry spent only one year with our Class, transferring to Columbia where he studied for his M.D.
Pineo Jackson wrote that he was waiting a little before starting for Florida so that warmer water would provide better fishing. He reports, "We had Wing-tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Culture at Dartmouth, at our Unitarian Church a while ago to give a discourse on Confucianism. He was most interesting. He was a classmate of one of Harold Washburn's sons."
"Is this the son of our Ed?" asks Ray Seymour in a line written in the margin of a page from the L. R. B. & M. Journal. His hunch is right. The "Ed" referred to is EdHigbee, Jr. and the "son" is Ed Higbee, III '36, who like his brother Richard '38 received the degree of M.C.S. from Tuck School the next year. Ed III has recently been made a partner in the firm of Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery, Certified Public Accountants. He is located in the Boston office. Ray Seymour's alertness is appreciated.
Herb Wolff and wife Daisy spent their winter vacation in Cuba in February. They had an apartment just outside of Havana and, in the delightful Cuban weather with plenty of sunshine, enjoyed bathing and golf.
Last fall Whit Eastman was honored with a citation "for a distinguished career, community service and service to the Shattuck School." This award was given by the Alumni Association of Shattuck where Whit is a member of the Board of Trustees.
Word reaches us that Charlie Bardwell and wife were among this winter's guests registered at Hanover Inn. Herb and VirginiaWoods, also, were among those present for a taste of the winter weather when it really was cold, and Thayer and Dorothy Smith were in Hanover for the Winter Carnival.
We are sorry to have to report another break in the ranks. "Abbie" Abercrombie passed away suddenly, January 19, while visiting his daughter in Dearborn, Mich. He is written up in "In Memoriam" in this issue.
Secretary, 501 Cannon PL, Troy, N. Y.
Class Agent 8 N. Balch St., Hanover, N. H.
