1929
Wen Barney has very kindly sent us a clipping from one of the' Washington (D. C.) papers which relates the fascination and excitement involved in climbing to the crest of Spruce Knob, the highest point in the West Virginia mountains, by a group which included Hal Leich. As a quick reference to Hal's autobiography in the Twenty-Five Year Book will reveal, he still loves to climb, ski, and canoe through white water, and this story bears this out in detail. Hal, who is chief of the Standards Division of the Civil Service Commission, went along to find out if the bench mark that was placed on the summit in 1904 was still there — he found it under the trembling though weighted and tied-down fire look-out tower. Why the tower was trembling is described in the following: "The wind ripped inside our earmuffs, tore at our clothing. Facing it, we were unable to breathe. Leich estimated its speed at 75 mph. Smoot insisted it was almost as powerful as a 110 mph wind he once faced on Mt. Washington. Suddenly a gust caught us off balance, pushed us hair-raisingly close to the precipice. Providentially, there loomed before us a huge slab of Pottsville Conglomerate. Pottsville Conglomerate, Davidson explained as soon as we had regained our composure, consists of flattened white pebbles of quartz cemented into massive ledges. By whatever name, it was a welcome anchor."
We have had a very pleasant, newsy letter from Joe Losey who resides at 2 Montpelier Square, London, S. W. 7, and expects to remain there indefinitely. He was married in June 1956 to Dorothy Bromiley from Manchester, England, an actress who was in Hollywood for two years and whom he subsequently met in a play he was directing in London. They now have a son, Joshua, who was born in July, 1957. Joe's son Gavrik, by a previous marriage, who is now 19, is studying to pass his English University Entrance Examination. Since leaving Hollywood in 1950, Joe has directed five feature pictures, one in Italy with Paul Muni, and four in England with actors such as Dick Basehart, Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde, Ann Todd, and the Greek actress Melina Mercouri. His last picture, for the Rank Organization, is a colour epic of the Regency period in England, has been nearly a year in the making, and is appearing in England about now. Joe also wrote that he expected to have lunch with Charlie Goldsmith - the first '29er he has seen in many years.
We were pleased to learn at the Dartmouth Club of New York, recently, that John S. McNamara and L. A. Sykes had been accepted into membership. We shall look forward to seeing them there soon and often.
We hear that Walt Gutterson, as director 0f guidance in the Weymouth (Mass.) schools, recently gave a talk on the guidance program for high school students at a PTA meeting. Also, that Mai Mather was named to the advisory board of the Bloomfield office of the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company of Hartford.
John and Chris Dickey have announced the engagement of Christina Louise to Stewart Persons Stearns Jr. '54. She is a senior at Smith and he is doing graduate work at Boston University School of Education. Stewart graduated from Nott Terrace High School in Schenectady, N. Y., and, after graduating from Dartmouth, served for three years in the Army. His home is now Belmont, Mass.
Annual year-end visitors at the Hanover Inn were Dick Barrett and Trunkie Brittan and their whole families. This year they were joined by Maurie Mandelbaum and his family to whom it must seem strange to come back and visit in Hanover.
John Brown Cook is a member of the board of the new College of Advanced Science in Canaan, N. H. This school hopes to help overcome the lag between undergraduate engineering education and the advances of the sciences. Ed How, who has been with General Electric since graduation, has been appointed sales manager of standard lines, conduit products department of GE.
We have had a nice note from Bob Leigh who is now with Lee Flying Service, Inc., Municipal Airport, Deland, Fla., the home of Stetson College. Bob is exceedingly pleased to be back in flying again - many of you will recall that he was one of several in the class who became a Flying Cadet in the old "Air Corps." His daughter Pat graduates from Centenary College in Shreveport this June as a psychology-sociology major which will eminently qualify her for social welfare work.
The Dinner for "Hoppy" was a wonderful occasion and many '29ers were there - even from so far as Davenport, Iowa, and Calgary, Alberta. The stags present were:
Jack Ackley, Tal Babcock, Harry Baehr, Jack Blair, Chris Born, Bob Collins, Al Cooley, George Fowler, Webster Goodwin, Russ Goudey, Sherm Little, Bill Morgan, Dud Orr, Carl Siegesmund, Stan Simmons, Dolson Smith, Shep Stone, Gus Wiedenmayer and Jack Yellin, and those accompanied by their wives were Bill Andres, Herb Ball, Dick Barrett, Trunkie Brittan, Ed Chinlund, Ed Coddington, John Cornehlsen, Joe D'Esopo, Harry Enders, Pinkie Flannery, Bud Foulks, Jack Gunther, Moe Heath, Ray Hedger, Jack Hubbard, Lyt Johnston, Jimmie Loveland, Bill Magenau, Mai Mather, Phil Mayher, Frank Middleton, Harold Montamat, Squeek Redding, Mike Sherman, Herb Simpson, Brett Sine, Carter Strickland, Gerry Swope, Nick Vincent, Ed Walsh, Ken Wilson, Walter Wilson and Paul Woodbridge,
We regret to report that we have just heard of the death of J. Fairbanks Bowler in Keene, N. H. Further details will be furnished in next month's issue.
Secretary, Center Rd., Woodbridge, Conn.
Treasurer, 1728 Beechwood Blvd., Pittsburgh 17, Pa
Bequest Chairman,
