1909

Who Is This Guy Joe Geiss?

Up until a few years ago, a correspondent who always signed himself Joe Geiss had me guessing as to his identity. He was, evidently, on the mailing list of the Diddings, '09's class news letter, for he made reference to some of its items. He must have been a classmate, for he was familiar with happenings during our undergraduate days. I couldn't, pinpoint him as to any specific location; his letters were mailed from points in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, even Florida.

Finally, however, Joe Geiss revealed himself as Albert Whitford Place, who was known in college as "Vic." As an undergrad, and during the years that have followed, Vic is recognized as a rugged individualist. He speaks his mind without fear of man or the devil. I learned later that he picked up the name, Joe Geiss, from one of the men on his staff when Vic was a quartermaster sergeant in the Army. This guy always referred to himself in the third person: "Joe Geiss would do it this way; Joe Geiss wouldn't do that."

Vic was fortunate in his choice of a mate. His wife had a good financial head on her shoulders. Between them they accumulated assets which they converted into cash just prior to the big crash of 1929. Then, biding their time, they acquired blue chip securities at the bottom of the depression.

Small wonder it is that Vic and the wife are able to live on an estate at East Kingston, N. H., he in the fashion of a true country squire. He calls his place a Tree Farm. The house is a commodious twelveroomer with three baths. The Places have three TV sets and three cars (three must be their magic number).

Not far from Vic, in Exeter, lives his classmate Pee Wee Wight, who, Vic says, mixes the best cocktail he ever tasted. The two have been good friends, but friendship can go just so far with Vic. Remember, he's a rugged individualist. One day, Pee Wee wandered over to Vic's while Vic was engaged in some kind of project. Pee Wee asked, innocent-like, "What you doing, Vic?"

"None of your damned business," Vic replied, "and if I didn't know you as well as I do, I wouldn't tell you that much."

In the snapshot which accompanies this report, Vic looks as if he might be the Last of the Mohicans as he stands erect gazing off into space. I'm assuming the cute little girl with Vic and the Mrs. is their granddaughter.

Read About a Man Than Whom -

there is no whomer. I'm referring to Jack English '16 whom I met for the first time at his 45th reunion last June. He's a great little guy who exudes a happy personality. I'll bet he never fights with his wife. The English family, whose stamping ground is Stoneham, Mass. (the old home base of B. Matthew Scully), consists of two married daughters who live in Stoneham, and a son, Jack Jr. '49 who lives in Hollywood.

During his reunion. Jack and his wife were recurrent visitors to our tent at Russell Sage where the '09 Magic Melody Makers held forth. I can picture him now with a happy smile on his face, arm linked through his wife's, singing and swaying to the rhythm of the music. (Apologies to Sammy Kaye.)

Now that the English offspring have flown the coop, Papa and Mama have remodeled a barn that is on their place as a spot to live in blissful retirement. This, they have christened "Barn Yesterday." Clever, eh?

Since those days in June I have learned something of the background of our hero. Jack was an orphan, the product of an orphanage. Not caring for that life, he ran away and wandered throughout Canada and the United States. He was ambitious to get an education, but he had to labor to live. He worked as a "news butcher" on railroad trains. He'd work a year and go to school for a year. In 1910 he came north and selected Springfield, Mass., for his last year in high school. One stumbling block was that the city officials ruled that he had to pay $120 tuition, since he was not a citizen of Springfield.

lack wrote a letter to the superintendent of schools which somehow got into the newspapers. In the letter he said, "If you compel me to pay my tuition you will blight my hopes for a higher education - I'm going to Dartmouth."

Within 24 hours he heard from EmmettHay Naylor, then city manager of Spring field, who offered to pay his tuition, along with a dozen other Dartmouth men. lack refused to take their money, but a local attorney, another good Dartmouth man, sug- gested that the school principal and lack's session room teacher become his guardians. This was accomplished with the aid of Emmett. Jack says, "I didn't pay and I did go to Dartmouth, thanks to Emmett Hay Naylor."

Another memorable Dartmouth contact, this one not quite so propitious, took place in 1905 when Jack was working on the New Haven Railroad from New York to Spring field. He caught the Dartmouth football special the Sunday night after the Princeton game parade. The students raised hell with him, robbed him blind, tossed him a blanket and gave him a ride.

Faced with a substantial financial loss (for him) Jack went to the Pullman car where the players were riding and told his story to a corpulent young man who happened to be a senior. He put on Jack's cap, Jack picked up his basket, and was told to follow this guy. In each coach Fat gave a talk; the students threw money of all denominations into Jack's basket and he ended up with $5.17 more than he should have, had he sold all his merchandise.

Again, in 1913, Jack had just finished his freshman year and was working on the B & M from Bellows Falls to Springfield. Here, he saw Fat again returning from a visit to Hanover and told him how he and other Dartmouth men were responsible for his going to Dartmouth.

Turn the clock ahead to 1916, Jack's graduation year. He thought he would go into the Diplomatic Service as a vice consul at 1,200 bucks a year. Again this same Fat stepped forward, put in a big plug for him and Jack went selling for the Alexander Hamilton Institute.

"The Fat I refer to," Jack explains, "is Elon Graham Pratt '06, a man who has a heart as big as his body. Do you wonder, when I read about him and others you mention in Diddings, my mind goes back over the years and recalls incidents about many of them?"

Jack has the stuff that true Dartmouth men are made of. May their numbers never lessen.

Albert "Vic" Place 'O9 is shown with hiswife and granddaughter outside of PlaceManor in East Kingston, N. H.

Class Notes Editor, 141 Pioneer Trail, Aurora, Ohio

Secretary and Treasurer,: Sandwich, Mass.