1909
"Enjoy Yourself "It's Later Than You Think" The boys would hear the concert, But lacked the wherewithal.
They solved this knotty problem Through resourcefulness and gall.
Publicity about the eccentricities of Louisiana's governor, Earl Long, included a shot of him sitting on a platform with a young lad peering out from under his chair. This reminded Tubby Bird of an episode during his undergraduate days..
The occasion was a concert given by Madame Schumann-Heink, the Bohemian contralto. Tubby and two of his friends, Vic Place and Bob Eaton, wanted to hear the good Madame, but they didn't have any dough. Yankee ingenuity, or whatever, came to their rescue. Webster Hall, where the concert was to be held, was in the last stages of construction, but far enough along to permit usage.
Out back, the boys located an opening where they could drop into the basement. They found a way to get up into the back wings of the stage where they crawled under a grand piano which had been moved to make room for the Madame's personal piano. There, in a prone position, they heard the entire concert.
"At the conclusion of the musical evening," Tubby recalls, "Madame SchumannHeink was greeted with enthusiastic applause. She bowed graciously to her audience, then turned and bowed to the three of us under the piano off stage."
Madame Schumann-Heink's voice was stilled in 1936 at the age of 75. Her rich contralto and her charming manner endeared her to thousands of Americans. Walter Golde, who started out with our class, but who is affiliated with 1910, for a number of years was the Madame's accompanist. He made a name for himself in college as a guy who knew his way around on the ivories and as a composer of the musical score of the "King of Ukan," the show that was put on for Junior Prom and for Commencement our senior year. Rollie Reynolds '10 wrote the lyrics and collaborated with his classmate, Charlie Libbey, on the book.
Well do I remember the dramatic presentation made by Rollie before our senior executive committee. With Walter at the piano, he gave an outline of the plot and sang all the principal numbers. It was this finished performance that put over the deal for Reynolds et al.
In the opening chorus of the third act, Golde wrote the music for a Dartmouth song that has retained its popularity through the years, titled "Dear Old Dartmouth," the inspired words written by Reynolds.
One of the specialty numbers, "Tony the Pop-Corn Man," was a hit of the show. It was sung by our own Freddie Morawski who featured a dance with the number. Reynolds played the lead in the production. Others in the cast were Freddie Carroll, Spuddy Pishon, Bill Carlisle, Skinny Rogers, A. P. Donovan, Austin Keough, J. E. Warren, Jack Childs, Bob Smith, F. W. Grant, Big Boy Clark Tobin, A. H. Gale, Sticky Pendleton, and G. W. Geiser Jr.
The production was staged under the personal direction of George V. C. Lord (remember him?) who handled a number of Hanover shows. Of the three collaborators, Rollie died last year, Walter has retired to Chapel Hill, N. C„ and Charlie Libbey is located in Chattanooga, Tenn.
During our college days, as well as before and after, Tony the Pop-Corn Man was a fixture at the corner of Main and Wheelock Streets, directly in front of the C & G house. He was a brother of Major Pelton, beloved custodian of Crosby Hall which, in those days, was a dormitory, and an uncle of Henry Pelton who, for many years, worked for the Rand furniture store.
Tony, as may be seen in the photo, wore his hat at a jaunty angle, and he dyed his mustache a jet black. At times, when Tony got a little careless with the dye, his mustache was streaked with white, but a few deft touches restored it to its ebony shade. His ever-present companion was his dog Cy who, on command, promptly sat up on his haunches. Where Tony went, Cy went and we, in our day, never thought of one without thinking of the other.
Bobby Gould was the young lad who helped Tony in the distribution of his wares. He was an alert youngster who later became a success in the hotel operating field. One of his hotels was located in Newport, N. H., the town made famous by Billy B. Van, the old-time comedian. Sid Rollins '04 is one of its prominent citizens, as is John Fairbanks '46, the young lawyer who is married to Wilbur Bull's daughter, Miriam.
And here's another backward look At pages in our memory book.
Tubby (Call me Stanley) Besse '05 is one of the guys who usually hits Hanover in June. He recalls the time, when Dartmouth was dedicating the gym, he drove his classmate, Jake Smith (the one and only) to Hanover. They arrived about dinner time. The town was full, and to take care of the overflow, 100 cots had been set up in the gym. Tubby and Jake, however, applied for a room at the Inn and, to their surprise, one was available. Up they went, and then down for dinner.
After dinner, they ran into Jimmy Vaughn, also '05, who was serving on the Alumni Council and had a room in a dorm. They spent time with him until after midnight, sipping drinks to the point where they thought it a good idea to visit the gym and see how the boys in the cots were faring. Tubby relates:
On the way, we met a Hanover dog who decided he was our kind and went to the gym with us. We looked over the snorers and came up with the bright idea to get friend dog to jump from cot to cot. This move did not appeal to the sleepers, and we decided it would be wise to get out of there before any reprisals. Back we went to Jim's room where a few convivial souls joined us, and we stayed there until sunrise. I often think of this trip. We had the last room in the Inn and never did sleep in it. Those were the days!
Jake Smith was all that Tubby said he was - the one and only. He landed in Chicago before I moved to Ohio. In the fall of 1925, when Dartmouth played Chicago, the year of Jess Hawley's great team, Jake nearly put the after-game banquet on the bum by insisting on frequent Wah-hoo-wahs. It was a time when Jake stole the thunder of Ev Marsh 'OB.
Next month, dear kind and tolerant readers, you'll be given the lowdown on 'og's new slogan.
Pictured on the Oyster Harbors, L. I., tennis courts during the annual invitational tennistournament is Erastus (Tat) Badger 'OB and the two finalists in the singles, Dick Hoehn '59(left) and Tom Raleigh of Princeton, the winner.
Class Notes Editor, 141 Pioneer Trail, Aurora, Ohio
Secretary and Treasurer, Sandwich, Mass.
