1932

With financial troubles continuing to plague so many of our Eastern railroads it is heartening to hear of one which is not only making a barrelful of money but is looking around for new fields to conquer. This is Bill Kendall's Louisville and Nashville which recently made an agreement to purchase 90,000 common shares of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad at $13 a share and announced that it would file promptly with the Interstate Commerce Commission for authority to exercise con- trol over this carrier.

Bill's company has been a consistent money maker and cleared $4 million in the first half of this year. Its 5700 miles of track extend through thirteen states serving Cincinnati in the North and New Orleans and Pensacola in the South. The 862-mile C. & E. I. operates in Illinois, Indiana and into Missouri. Its profit record has been spotty and it has been looking for a merger partner for several years.

In announcing the purchase arrangements his road has made for the C. & E. I. stock, Bill noted that the agreement followed a six-month merger study his company had conducted of the C. & E. I. properties to the end of effecting economies and obtain- ing more efficient service. The two lines have an important interchange at Evansville, lnd„ and the L. & N. gains its entry into Chicago by routing its trains over the C. & E. I. tracks from Evansville.

Speaking of mergers, on June 24 in the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College Dick and Helen Olmsted's son, Richard Jr., was married to Miss Phoebe Lee Collins, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Wilber G. Collins Hanover. Miss Judith Olmsted, sister of the groom, was maid of honor. The young couple will make their home in Staten Island, N. Y. Dick is a graduate of Norwich University and is employed as an engineer with the New York Telephone Co.

From Wenham, Mass., comes sad news of the death of Bob Woodman on September 26. Bob had been an insurance broker in nearby Salem for 25 years. The Class extends deepest sympathy to Bob's widow Josephine and their daughter Joan. A few words about him will appear in the In Memoriam section of this or a later issue.

Bill Peck, who has climbed up the executive ladder with American Optical Co. during the past 27 years, has been elected President of American Optical Co. Canada Ltd. For the past year he has been vice president and general manager of the Canadian subsidiary.

Bill joined AO in 1934 in the visual science bureau in Southbridge, Mass., where the corporate headquarters are located. He later went to the instrument division in Buffalo, N. Y., filled various posts there, and then went back to Southbridge in 1955 as general manager of the Motion Picture Products Division (Todd-AO). Before going to Canada last November he was director of engineering, assistant general manager of the Southbridge Group, and assistant to the president. Bill and Ellen Peck now have their home at RRI, Carrying Place, Prince Edward City, Ontario, Canada.

From New York Chuck Maxwell writes that their daughter Liza (officially named Elizabeth Lyon) graduated from the Brearley School last June and has entered Mount Holyoke as a freshman. She applied for and was accepted by two other women's colleges but after a soul-searching study of their respective curricula decided that Mount Holyoke was for her. Their son John has started tenth grade at Collegiate School in New York, where he has been a student ever since he entered kindergarten at age four. Chuck adds that, unlike himself, John is no mean skier and may, if all goes well, be applying in due course for admission to the Dartmouth Class of '6B.

Back in 1932 when Paul Muni was cast- ing the Broadway production of "Counselor at Law" Jack Looker, who was studying to be a lawyer, visited New York with his stagestruck roommate who hoped to land a part in the show. The tryouts were at the famous Paramount Theatre and Jack took a seat in one of the back rows to watch his friend and others read for the part. Muni noticed him, asked him to read, and the next thing he knew the part was his.

The play ran on Broadway for two years and Jack never returned to Dartmouth. He did complete his education years later at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, O. After "Counselor" closed Jack had parts in several less successful shows and eventually at Muni's suggestion took up directing stage productions. He first worked as a director on the staff of the Playhouse in Cleveland and later as director of the Community Theatre in Canton. He also spent four years as a bomber pilot in World War 11.

Since 1950 Jack has been a field super- visor for the John B. Rogers Co., profes- sional centennial staging company. The job keeps him moving throughout the country, lining up clients during the winter months and staging centennial celebrations during the summer. During the past ten years he has helped stage 26 centennials. It was during one of these productions, at Brookville, Ind., in 1958, that Jack met and married his wife Annabel, who now travels with him and helps him in his work.

Secretary, 341 West End Rd. S. Orange, N. J.

Treasurer, Valley Bank and Trust Co., 1351 Main St.

Springfield 3, Mass.