1944

“Possibly the nicest guy in the world with the most fantastic assortment of friends,” is the way a friend of ours from Geneva lamented when the Fritz Hiers departed for greener fields. Fritz was appointed to the USIA in June as director of the German American Institute (a new form of Amerika Haus) in Tuebingen, Germany, bringing to an end three-and-a-half years as European pean Director of the International Rescue Committee in Geneva. During this time, Fritz was also a radio correspondent for several U.S. networks, most recently Mutual, covering such events as Disarmament, Nuclear and Laos Conferences and the 1958 Foreign Ministers Summit Meeting. The only lump is that the move postpones for a year the home leave Fritz, Joan, and the kids had planned for this past summer.

I suppose you wonder how many promo- tions of Ben Jones has to get before they shove him upstairs to chairman. At least he got another last June and isn’t president yet. A vice president and director of the company, Ben will now head up sales and agency development in the 36-state area making up the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, southeastern, north central and midwestern regions.

Congratulations are well earned by PhiJPenberthy and his hard working crew for 1944’s best and record-breaking perform- ance in this year’s alumni fund drive. It’s a shame that the editors have decreed no pictures of children unless accompanied by Daddy. Phil sent me Oscar Goedecke’s last- minute appeal, a photo of his two-year-old son, comfortably relaxed “on the best seat in the house,” reading the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. The caption: “Portrait of a young man who knows what he is do- ing and where he is going. Have you made your alumni contribution yet?” You’d kick in just in appreciation for the laugh. Oscar did a 100% quota with the help of fellow Texans Rock Davidson, George Troxell,Monte DuVal, Dick Rondeau, at al.

The big news with New Britain’s North and Judd Manufacturing Company is the election of Phil Brown as executive vice pres- ident. Phil went with the Connecticut firm in 1946 as a sales trainee and has been on the move up ever since with steps as salesman in the New York office; resident manager of the At- lanta, Ga., office; di- visional sales manager; general sales man- ager and, until the recent appointment, vice president and general sales manager.

Your friendly stalwart of the opposition party, Clark MacGregor, is tasting the bit- ter-sweet fruits of recognition. He was guest speaker at the banquet of the New Jersey Federation of Republican Women in At- lantic City. You see, it’s not all water-ski- ing and pool dunking. Elsewhere, our State Department called upon Yale basketball coach, Joe Yancisin, to travel to Sudan as a part of its Cultural Exchange Program. During his 90-day visit, Joe conducted clinics and worked with Sudan’s Olympic basketball team. He lived in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, located at the base of the white and blue Nile River.

I didn’t do much good getting any news when I was in England in June. The only ’44 I knew was over there is Cy Thompson, of whom we’ve had great reports of his work with Xerox Haloid, but when I got there he was either unknown by the tele- phone authorities or had neglected to pay his bills. We can report, internationally, that huckster Henry Montgomery is in Paris with the Foote, Cone and Belding agency with offices on the Champs filysees, and is making his home within Paris. And hosteler George Cummings is at the El Conquistador Hotel in Las Croabas, Puerto Rico.

Willis Partridge has gone from Connecti- cut to Massachusetts with a great leap up- ward without crossing the border! Sound like a riddle? Not at all. Willis has been ap- pointed vice president and treasurer of the newly formed Massa- chusetts General Life Insurance Company. He was formerly ex- ecutive assistant man- ager of the Connecti- cut General Life Insurance Company. His home is still in Hanover, Mass., where he is very active in civic, fraternal, and profes- sional organizations.

Claude Shuchter, senior vice president, Trust Department of the Manufacturers & Traders Trust Cos. in Buffalo, has been elected to the board of directors of the Up- son Company, a wallboard manufacturing firm in Lockport, N. Y. As reported last spring, Claude has been extremely active in and is an officer of a wide assortment of charitable, banking, and insurance associa- tions. John Megee, after four years’ invest- ment work with Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith in Indianapolis and then operating his own securities business, has been appointed assistant investment officer with the Trust Dept., First Bank and Trust Company in South Bend.

A friend of ours in Cincinnati recently returned from a Michigan vacation and told of his pleasure in meeting Jack Stephenson and his family who were in the neighboring cottage. In Cleveland, attorney Bob Wil-liamson has been named sixth president of the West Shore Concerts. As you perhaps know, Bob studied music at Juilliard and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He’s a member of the Musical Arts Association and a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Jim White has joined the Department of Biochemistry of the Medical School at the University of North Carolina as assistant professor. For the past three years Jim has been a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Secretary, 1105 Center St., Milford, O. Treasurer. River Road, Cos Cob, Conn.