1916

Thanks to Tony Garcia's wife, Gertrude, who admits that she doesn't have the innate modesty of her husband, I am able to report, a little belatedly, the marriage of their daughter, Nan to H. Melville Hicks Jr. of Ward Hill, Staten Island, N.Y., which took place July 13 at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, White Plains. Tony gave his daughter in marriage and the wife of the Mexican ambassador to the United Nations was the matron of honor. Nan was educated in the schools of White Plains and later toured 28 countries in South America, North Africa, the Mideast and Europe with the Air Force Symphony as a contralto soloist. She also wrote travel features for the New York Herald Tribune and other publications. After two years of what might be termed "before the masthead" she went into radio work and now has her own radio interview program, "The Nan Garcia Show," which those in the New York area may hear on WOR, 710 on your dial, any Sunday evening at 6.15. Many famous persons have appeared on her show. When Gertrude wrote me about this program I highly resolved to listen the following Sunday, but along came the Big Snow ushering in the glad Springtime and knocking all our facilities (I almost said "faculties") galleywest. So now I must wait for the repair men. Mr. Hicks was graduated from the Pingry School, Washington and Lee University and New York University Law School, and is entering legal practice in New York. A captain in the Marine Corps, he served in Korea. He is a member of Phi Gamma Delta, and that must have been his "message to Garcia," because Tony, a brother Phi Gam, gave his parental blessing without further ado. The happy couple took a wedding trip to Europe, and I hope that it is not too late to convey to them the best wishes of the Class. Incidentally Gertrude says that because of Tony's rather poor health these past years their social life has been greatly curtailed. Even though he cannot accept invitations, Tony adores having friends come to his home, - the more the merrier and as often as possible. That is surely a cordial invitation and I hope that some of the class will find their way out to White Plains ere long.

At the national convention of the Young Women's Christian Association of the United States held recently in St. Louis, Mrs. Earl Cranston, wife of "our perfessor," was elected the vice president-at-large.

-V nice letter from Page Browne (whom some of you will remember as Gus) informed me that he and his wife were off to Europe in April, for what sounded like the Grand Tour. Page was joining up with some of his family over there, and expected to return home toward the end of June. More of this travelogue anon (I hope).

Saga of the Doyle Family: At the cocktail party preceding the recent Hopkins dinner in New York I sat with Larry and Mrs. Doyle, i Larry is also known to some of the class as Tommy, and, I suppose, to his constituency in Sea Girt as E. Thompson, or simply as Mayor.) From them I had a first hand account of their thrilling (and chilling) experience when their home in Sea Girt burned one bleak night just before Christmas. I was also much interested in learning of their three sons. Kevin '40 played baseball and tennis (just like his dad). After graduation he went with Crown-Cork Seal Co. and has been with them ever since, except for four years' service in World War II as a captain in the Air Force, and two years in Korea in the same service. Kevin is in charge of a wide territory, with headquarters in Boston, and makes his home in West Medford. He is married and has two daughters. The next son, William, graduated from Lawrenceville and Princeton. At both he played football, baseball and basketball. He then taught mathematics at Lawrenceville for a year and then entered the Army during the Korean War. Upon his discharge he went to Columbia, got his master's degree and is at present a master at Montclair Academy, while studying for his doctor's degree. William is married and lives in Montclair. The youngest son, who, I believe, is "Larry" junior, graduated from Lawrenceville and Princeton cum laude -and then from the University of Pennsylvania Medical College. He is now a resident doctor and a specialist in internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital, New York City. He is married and has one daughter. If that isn't a family to be proud of just blow me down. Larry observes that they have a divided family at Dartmouth-Princeton football games, two very much for the Big Green and two for Princeton. My observation would be that they must plan to produce a few boys between them, - lest the old tradition fail at Dartmouth, - and at Princeton.

Ros Magill has been appointed by Gov. Ribicoff of Connecticut to a tri-state committee to study inequities of the New York State income tax law against non-residents. I suppose the third state involved is New Jersey.

And while you are at it, Ros, the suburbanites who work in Philadelphia, and also the Navy Yard workers would like to be relieved of the Philadelphia City Wage Tax.

I saw our Ivy League basketball champions perform only once and that was the Penn game at the Palestra in Philadelphia. Unfortunately they were off their game that night (or the fired up Penns were on) and the Green suffered its worst league defeat. However, all's well that ends well, and they went on to win the championship, and performed very creditably in the NCAA tournament.

I am indebted to George Dock for the following: Our Ex-President Bill McKenzie gave a fascinating outline of supplying non-tire rubber products to the automotive industry at a dinner at the Dartmouth Club of New York on March 6, attended by Bill and Bill Jr. '45, Dutch Doenecke, John Ames, John Pelletier, Irving Wolff, Art Conley and George Dock. Pointing out that the average car carries over 150 pounds of rubber items in addition to cases and tubes, Bill cited the complications involved in keeping up with the technological advances made in the motor business, as exemplified by the new "air-springs," to say nothing of the frequent changes in specifications for rubber hose, insulation and countless other rubber parts over a wide range of car models, makes and sizes. This was one of the most informative talks given so far at the series of 1916 monthly dinners Dutch Doenecke has so thoughtfully provided.

1916 History Lesson: Although I am a Pennsylvanian by adoption (and grace), I am a State of Mainer by birth. So I was particularly interested in the recent best seller, "Twentieth Maine." I called it to Stirling Wilson's attention while he was in the hospital, and that called forth the following comment from him:

When I went over the battlefield of Gettysburg I saw some references to the Twentieth Maine, and saw the hill they defended. [The hill was Little Round Top on which one of the miracles of the war was performed, which saved the left flank of the Union line on the second day of the battle,] They fought so many men in close order in those days that it is difficult to picture a big battle in the Peach Orchard and the Wheat Field. The regiment started out with Adelbert Ames as colonel (any relation to our Colonel John?) but he was made a general and Joshua L. Chamberlain took his command, and made a terrific record for himself. I think he had lost a leg earlier in the war, but came back to join his regiment afterward. [He won the Congressional Medal of Honor, and later was governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin College.] New Hampshire also had a regiment which did some fine scrapping, but the book mentions the Iron Brigade from Wisconsin more than any other, and on the Confed's side, Hood's Texans.

That is all for today. Stirling and Ed Kirkland will remain to brush up on their homework. The rest of the class is dismissed.

Class Notes Editor, 7 Swarthmore PL, Swarthmore, Pa.

Secretary, Box 1998, Ormond Beach, Fla.

Class Agent, Box 151, Sagamore, Mass.