1927's Thunderous 30th
THE Thunderous Thirtieth has come and gone, but it will live long in the minds of the 270 members of the Class of 1927 and their families who were there. We broke all records for attendance at a thirtieth reunion, both for number of classmates and total number of people, and it seemed to be the unanimous opinion of everyone there that it was the finest reunion we have ever had. Commiseration for those unfortunate enough to have missed it was freely expressed.
While the reunion didn't officially start until Monday, there was a good-sized advance guard gathered around the tent by late Sunday afternoon, and Sunday evening was spent in pleasant reminiscing and welcoming those who arrived during the evening. By Monday noon the influx was well under way, and by the time we gathered on the Inn lawn at 5 for cocktails all but a few stragglers were accounted for. At 6:30 we moved into the Inn dining room for our class banquet, at which attendance was limited to members of the class and their wives, and when we were all seated it became immediately apparent that we had a big reunion - as you all remember, the Inn dining room is a big room, and it was full. Following a delicious dinner, we heard excellent talks by Howie Mullin, who spoke to us about his experiences as executive secretary of the Fair- less Committee on their recent trip around the world gathering information for a report to the President on the effectiveness of our foreign aid program, and by Paul Hannah, who mixed just the right amount of levity with seriousness as he carried us through the thirty years since we were in college. We also welcomed John Dickey, who found a few moments in his very busy schedule to pay us a visit and to speak briefly on the significance of reunions.
By 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning, in spite of the late hours of the night before, most everyone was having breakfast in the 1926 tent, where the Inn had set up a buffet service. By shortly after 10 we had all gathered on the lawn in front of Dick's House for our Class Picture. As soon as the picture had been taken, we moved over into the shade, to participate in a beautiful and impressive memorial service for those who are no longer able to gather with us, conducted by the Reverend Nick Carter.
We then adjourned to Carpenter Hall, for the class meeting, which was conducted by our Chairman, Josh Davis, in his inimitable manner. The first business of the meeting was to vote on the adoption of a new con- stitution for the class, which would put into effect the new plan of class organization, wherein the class elects an eleven-man executive committee, which, in turn, elects a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. It also provides that the Chairman shall be the executive head of the class, with full responsibility for all class activities. Copies of the proposed new constitution had already been mailed to all members of the class, and many members had voted in favor of it by mail, with no opposition expressed. The vote at the meeting was unanimous in favor of its adoption, so it is now in effect.
The next business, under the new constitution, was the election of the executive committee, and following a report of the nominating committee, these men were unanimously elected: Ed Batchelder, Dud Bonsai, Frank Coulter, Sykes Hardy, Bo Head, Howie Mullin, Ken Murdoch, Fred Page, Rudy Preuss, Bill St. Amant, and Bob Williamson. Dud Bonsai was appointed chairman protem of the committee, and the committee then elected as officers, Bob Stevens, Chairman, Coggy Broer, Secretary, and Gus Cummings, Treasurer. In appreciation of the tre- mendously effective job that he has done for us over the past five years, Les Battin was given a standing ovation, and presented with a copy of the 1927 Aegis, something which he had been unable to procure and which he wanted badly. Your secretary was presented with a Dartmouth chair, for which he wishes he could thank each one of you individually, but will have to be satisfied with saying "Thank you" in this way. This completed the business part of the meeting, which was concluded with a showing of movies of our undergraduate days and previous reunions. (What has happened to all our ball players?)
When our meeting was over it was time to hie ourselves to the Alumni Luncheon, which was held this year in the newly enlarged Thayer Hall. At a brief meeting after lunch, Shorty Oliver, as Reunion Chairman, accepted, for the Class, the Class of 1930 cup for having the greatest number of classmates in attendance. This is the second time in a row that we have won this cup.
During the afternoon, as the spirit moved us, we drifted away from the tent and out to Keene's, where we had a joint picnic with the Class of 1928. This was a very relaxed affair, and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. As it began to get dark, we came back to Hanover and the tent, where the movies that couldn't be fitted into the time schedule of the morning meeting were shown, as well as some that Bo Head had taken during undergraduate days, and had brought with him from home. When the movies were over, the orchestra swung into action again, and, as had happened the evening before, our tent again became the focal point for the three classes, and the harmonizing (?) went on far into the morning hours. Wednesday morning was spent by most of us in preparing for departure and in making our farewells, then at noon we joined with 1926 and 1928 in a farewell luncheon at the Inn, and the long anticipated Thirtieth was over.
Trying to pick out the high spots from three days as filled with pleasant activity as these were is almost impossible, but if I were to have to I would say that, for me at least, they might be the talks by Howie Mullin and Paul Hannah at the banquet, the memorial service which Nick Carter so ably conducted, and the kick I got on Mondav night when I looked out from a second-story window in Russell Sage and saw our tent jumping, and those of 1926 and 1928 deserted. Credit for having traveled the longest distance was shared by Bill and Elo Abbott, Duke and Sonia Coulter, and Roily Howes, who all came from San Francisco. However, there were so many others who came from places nearly as far away that it seems a little unfair to single anyone out for special mention. I am sure that we all carried away with us a renewed appreciation of what Dartmouth means to us, and a strengthened sense of the importance in our lives of the associations that we made in our years in Hanover. There were so many who expressed the feeling that we should have the opportunity to get together more often, that the new executive committee met and approved a plan to institute annual gatherings to be held somewhere in the vicinity of Hanover, preferably in the fall, which will give us all a chance to spend a little time together between our regular reunions. Bill Cusack has accepted the chairmanship of a committee to take charge of these gatherings, and he has already tentatively scheduled the first one for the weekend of the Brown game next fall, which is Oct. 11 and 12. You will be informed of the details of the planning as they are worked out, but in the meantime you might put a large red circle around these dates on your calendar. Wives and children are not only welcome but are particularly invited. You'll be hearing more about this soon.
Les Battin has promised that a reunion history, containing pictures of everyone who was there, will be in your hands sometime before the end of the summer, though he is not yet prepared to say just when. We can be sure that it will be well worth waiting for.
No report of this reunion could be considered complete that did not pay tribute to the tremendous job done by our reunion committee, with Shorty Oliver as chairman, and consisting of Bob Williamson, Doane Arnold, Charlie Bartlett, Nibs Dowe, Dinty Gardner, Les Battin, Bob Funkhouser, and John Tanzi, and to the untiring efforts of our musicians, Nat Morey, Roily Howes, Jack Andrews, and Nibs Dowe.
Those in attendance, most of them with offspring of varying ages, were:
Bill and Elo Abbott, Terry Allis, Jack Andrews, Tom and Mary Anglem, Doane and Marie Arnold, Chuck and Marie Baker, Ken and Catherine Ballantyne, Bunny and Dorothy Barde, Charlie and Barbara Bartlett, Les Battin, Ben and Mim Beli, Seth Besse, Roy and Ellie Blanchard, Bob and Carolyn Bliss, Dud and Lois Bonsai, Clint and Vi Bradley, Chuck Brewster, Coggy and Sue Broer, Rog and Marion Bury, Nick and Betty Carter, Fred Carver, Monty Cavis, Alf Chabot, Mike Choukas, Red and Dot Cleaveland, Frank and Kay Cloran, Don Colby, Spence Cook, Duke and Sonia Coulter, Joe and Dorothy Creamer, Gus and Madge Cummings, Bill and Betty Cusack, Cug and Mary Daley, Jock and Betty Davis, Josh and Jill Davis, Thurlow Davis, Nibs Dowe, Jack Draper, Roy and Lillie Dreher, Larry Duncan, Bill Elliott, Stu and Pete Ensinger, Chuck and Jo Field, Charlie and Mary Fleisher, Ed and Fran Fowler, Phil and Madeline Fowler, Brownie and Connie Freeman, Ed and Thelma Fry, Bob and Peg Funkhouser, Dinty and Kaye Gardner, Tom and Dot Gillespie, Lee and Dottie Gore, Lee and Myra Greenebaum, Jack Greener, Bert Gruver, Paul Hannah, Herb and Olive Hansen, Joe and Connie Hardin, Sykes and Helen Hardy, Doc and Vera Harvey, Bo Head, Ding and Lu Heap, Mart and Louise Heifer, Hitch and Mary Hitchcock, Roily Howes, Harv and Lois Jones, Tom and Mildred Kennedy, Don and Ruth Kinney, Fritz and Nora Kortlucke, Kroggie and Trudie Krogstad, A 1 and Ethel Lagacy, Leon and Ethel L©eb, Bob and Franchot Long, Dick Lougee, Lovy Lovegrove, Jim and Ruth Lowell, Jack Machen, Ralph and Dorothea McAnulty, Nat and Joe Morey, Howie and Edna Mullin, Paul O'Connell, Don and Alice O'Hara, Shorty Oliver, Hoot and Gladys Owl, Fred and Charlotte Page, Hawl and Pat Patten, Jim and Kay Picken, Bill and Kay Prescott, Rudy and Fran Preuss, George and Katie Provost, Ed and Doris Ruth, Rog and Midge Salinger, Larry and Ora Scammon, Dick Simpson, Bill and Sue Skinner, Meek and Jeannie Slotnik, Smittie and Ginnie Smith, Brick and Pauline Stone, Dick and Kay Stowe, Norm and Kay Swift, Jim and Vee Van Loon, Carl and Elda Weiss, Bud and Dot Wesselman, Rus and Tommy Weston, Bob and Peg Williamson, Bobo and Cappy Williams, Jay and Marion Willing, George and Amy Woelfel.
1927 followed its old tradition of the class picture at Dick Hall's '27 House.
CLASS SECRETARY
