1916

The Class extends to Mrs. Mary R. Bell, and the members of her family, its sincerest sympathy in the death of her husband, our devoted classmate and friend, Louis Bell, whose death on April 26 was briefly reported in this column in June, and more fully in In Memoriam.

The Class is also saddened at the death of Horace Macartney of Port Washington, N. Y., whose unexpected death occurred on March 21 and it expresses its deep regret to Mrs. Macartney and her family. Mac was a most likeable fellow and was, in many ways, an extraordinary Dartmouth man. He was with us only about a year before transferring to Cornell from whence he graduated. But he never lost his love for the Hanover Plain, and he sent his sons to Dartmouth, Horace '46 and lan '48. He also had an abiding regard for his '16 classmates and regularly attended the monthly get-togethers in New York. One of the things I looked forward to most when I went over to those occasions was the renewing of my friendship with Mac. The College and the Class have sustained a grievous loss in the passing of these two fine Dartmouth men.

In July the nomination of William H.Brett of Ohio - you know who I mean for a new five-year term as Director of the Mint was approved by the Senate Finance Committee. I take it that such nomination is tantamount — or something—to election.

Joe Newmark tells me that Frank Bobst, president of the Rotary Club of Boston, conducts the weekly meetings with finesse and aplomb. Joe relates that the Boston Rotarians recently entertained a sizable delegation from Toronto and that the visitors presented the Boston club with a beautiful gift, which came as a surprise. But Frank was equal to the occasion and responded in a manner which would have made his classmates proud to hear.

Ed Riley has recently retired as general manager of General Motors Overseas. The company manufactures, assembles and distributes products in 149 countries and territories, employs 107,000 people and contributes about 16 per cent of General Motors' earnings every year. Ed has been general, manager since 1941 and, Heaven knows, is entitled to a rest from such arduous duties. I hope that you will not settle down abroad, Ed, and that your classmates will see you more often now that you are a man of leisure or are you?

How many of the brethren know how our famous Class came by the sobriquet "Balmacaan Athletic Club?" The question was posed by Dutch Doenecke at a '16 dinner some months ago. I researched the local Swarthmore College library but could find nothing on the subject. I was about to go to the specialized libraries in Philadelphia, and perhaps the Library of Congress, when Leigh Rogers graciously came to the rescue with his recollection of the event. His letter will appear here in an early column, and will be quoted nearly verbatim, because the Class thought that the record of this historical happening should be recorded in a permanent place, and thus preserved to posterity, while the Class still had wit enough left to discuss the matter and get at the "true facts," - as Stirling Wilson would put it. So be on the watch for this most interesting story. It will not appear in any other magazine (I can assure you), though I don't rule out the possibility of it appearing in book form.

I can't refrain from telling you of another experience which Gran Fuller had some time ago - that boy's full of 'em. It seems that Gran's Federal Housing Administration had guaranteed a home improvement loan to an old gal somewhere in the back country, who was to put a siding on her house - or so Gran thought. When an agent came to inspect the work he found that "it had not been started. Upon inquiring of the old gal as to the reason for the delinquency, she replied, "Oh, I didn't intend to put a siding on the house. I used that money to get a divorce from the old man. You'd call that a home improvement, wouldn't you?"

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

Secretary, 4808 Broad Brook Drive, Bethesda 14, Md.

Treasurer, 15 Ravenna Rd., Boston 31, Mass.