1909
Enjoy yourself within the Dartmouth Fold; Enjoy yourself and keep from growing old. The years slip by more quickly than it's told; Enjoy yourself, and Dartmouth friendships hold.
The Man Known as "Fat"
When I was a freshman and we looked on the dignified seniors as being almost unapproachable, it was my privilege to come in contact with one of them - Elon GrahamPratt, appropriately known as Fat. He was a big guy, over six feet and weighing over 200 pounds. He looked something like Jack Benny's special announcer, Don Wilson, only he didn't have bags under his eyes, nor flabby jowls. His flesh was firm and smooth; his complexion was ruddy.
In our days, freshmen were bid by fraternities in the fall and initiated before the Christmas vacation. At home, during the holidays, proudly we wore our badges and made a pledge that never would they leave our person. Some of the lads even put their pins in their mouths while taking a bath or a shower. That dedication to the cause has long since been lost, but the thought of those days when we were wide-eyed freshmen still has an emotional impact akin to homesickness.
We members of the freshman delegation of Psi U pledges reported to Fat Pratt during the pre-initiation period. We had to keep diaries of our activities; learn the chapter roll and the fraternity songs; comply with the wishes of the sophs and upperclassmen, as well as put together a vaudeville show for the entertainment of those exalted individuals. Fat was our father confessor who treated us lowly freshmen with tolerance and consideration. The year I knew him in college is unforgettable.
All that is 55 years ago. I haven't seen Fat since he stepped out into the cold and cruel world, and only during the last few years have I had contact with him through the mails. I don't recall just how the reactivating of our friendship came about - perhaps it started when he sent me a photo of old Dud in his top hat sitting on the elevated seat of Hamp Howe's stagecoach, and I used it in connection with the '09 class notes. At that time I started sending him copies of the '09 Dartmouth Diddings, our class newsletter. As in the days when he was our "father confessor," Fat has come through with constructive suggestions for special features why not promote writing to classmates who are sick or having a tough time? - slip in inspirational poems - look for worthwhile quotations - report on '09 sons who've made good.
Often did I wonder about Fat's business career. I knew he did a lot of traveling, for cards from him came from all parts of the country. Then I got the answer. Since 1926 he's been with the Smokador Mfg. Co. of Bloomfield, N. J., as manager of the Customer Service Division. They make and distribute specialties that are sold in stationery and office supply outlets. Sales are made through direct mail advertising and through commission salesmen who also handle other lines. Fat travels about 40,000 miles a year, calling on established customers. The president of the company is over 90; a "girl," 41 years of age, is in charge of running the company. Fat chose the title, Customer Service Manager, rather than that of Sales Manager, because they "service customers, rather than sell them."
Fat is no longer fat, but down to a slim 174 pounds. He doesn't have to battle the bulge, as do many of our senior citizens. But to me, he'll always be "Fat," and I'll look on him with affection as I did when I was a pea-green freshman.
Another Freshman Reports
Time marches on. The class of '09 enters its senior year and a new crop of freshmen, 1912, takes on the mantle of Dartmouth. The shots of the oldtime autos that appeared in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE freshens the memory of one of them, Heinie Urion. "X remember the one that Fat Bell had, most vividly. As freshmen, how we looked up to you old, sophisticated seniors."
After graduating from Dartmouth and law school, Heinie settled in Chicago where he became active in the alumni association, eventually becoming president. He wrote: "I recall the two 'hoaxes' you detailed in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, the pseudo 'beatnik' undergraduate, most vividly, because I was at the head table that night, presiding over the dinner, as I recall. Henry Hilton '90 gave us a bad time, he was so upset. Only a few of us were in on the 'act' in advance, and Hilton was the last man of our alumni we would wish to insult or hurt.
"In those days we had an alumni club in Chicago that set the pattern for the country. The first Pow-Wow we held, I think, has never been beaten. At our Monday lunches we had as speakers leading figures of all kinds."
During political campaigns, Heinie remembers the time we had Crowe, who was running for state's attorney, as a speaker. His opposition was a guy named Swanson. "Crowe said Swanson was a dumb Swede," Heinie recalls, "and asked, 'What is so dumb as a dumb Swede?' From the back of the room a voice piped up, 'A bright Norwegian.' That brought down the house."
Heinie, who is semi-retired to his home in Harrison, N. Y„ is presently writing a book on the "King Will Case," the famous forged will case he worked on for a couple of years when he started out as a law clerk in Chi.
In the June issue of the MAGAZINE, I had a quotation by Walter Page which was furnished by Pineo Jackson 'l0. I queried if it was the same Page who was an Episcopal Bishop and known to my wife. Otis Jackson '24, who is Dean of St. Mathew's Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming, assures me that the Page I referred to was Herman. Otis later served under him in Michigan.
We're off on another fiscal year for the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. Any news items from you birds out yonder will be gratefully received. They'll see the light of day either in this column, or in the '09 Diddings.
E. G. Pratt '06
Class Notes Editor, 141 Pioneer Trail, Aurora, Ohio
Secretary and Treasurer, Sandwich, Mass.
