1917
A heart attack has caused the death of another '17'er — Porter Perrin who passed away on September 9 at his home at Kirkland, Wash. Porter's entire career was devoted to teaching and he was a recognized authority on modern usage of American English, writing a series of seven books on the subject. Further details of his career are included in the In Memoriam notice published in this or a subsequent issue. A letter of sympathy has been sent to Mrs. Perrin on behalf of all '17'ers.
Russ Willis reports from Sterling, Ill., that for the past 14 years he and his wife, Madonna, have been living a happy life there, and that he is connected with the sales organization of a local steel and wire company. They have two sons, Russell Jr. and John II, both of whom are attending Illinois colleges. Russell is a senior at Southern Illinois University while John is a junior at the University of Illinois.
Walt and Phoebe Walters took another most interesting four-month trip this past summer. After a 14-day North Cape cruise on the Stella Polaris, they flew to Stockholm for three days, to Helsinki for three days, then on to Leningrad for two days, and finally to the International Cancer Congress at Moscow. Walt had opportunities to visit surgical clinics in both Western and Eastern Germany, and for one as interested in surgery as he, that was a fine experience! Walt will be unable to attend our fall outing at Woodstock, but he is looking forward to visiting Hanover during the October meeting of the Dartmouth Medical School Policy Committee. Those of us in the area look forward to seeing him then.
A clipping sent to me tells of an unusual method of raising money to purchase a new fire truck for Gates Mills, Ohio, conceived by its Council president, none other than our own Vin Smith. Instead of resorting to the time-worn method of issuing bonds requiring interest payments, Vin appealed directly to the town's property owners for tax deductible donations, and within two weeks after the first letters to property owners were sent out, more than a third of the $30,000 needed had been contributed.
Doctoring seems to run in the DeeringSmith family as is evidenced by the fact that Deering recently sent to the New England Journal of Medicine a letter written to his great-grandparents by his grandfather, David O. Smith, when he was a student at the Harvard Medical School over 100 years ago.
Spique and Ruby MacIntyre vacationed at Boothbay Harbor for a few days during mid-September, and reported having enjoyed a very fine time.
Reluctant as I am to mention the Brooks name so often in .these notes, I want to report that on our way home after visiting at South West Harbor, Me., we found ourselves passing through Damariscotta. Though it was noontime when we should not have been stopping to see anyone, we did stop for a fine visit with Don andMarion O'Leary at their attractive new home, actually an old home which Don and Marion have almost completely redecorated and modernized. While Marion took us on the fifty-cent tour of the house, Don, just to prove his ability as a chef, did a masterful job of carving a turkey for sandwiches which were devoured before we departed. Marion is as busy as a bird dog with local activities and Don is trailing along behind, happy as a clam, but, I suspect, missing a little bit the excitement of "Madison Avenue."
This past week has seen a number of '17'ers and their wives arriving in both Hanover and Woodstock. During the middle of the week Mott and Fran Brown passed through Woodstock on their way to Burlington and eventually Columbus, but they stopped here long enough to entertain the writer and Helen at luncheon at the White Cupboard. The following day Lenand Sally Shea, who are staying at the Hanover Inn, came to Woodstock to take part in a small party the Brookses were having for local people, and later the Sheas were hosts to the Brookses at dinner at the Cupboard. On the next day Bill and SallySewall blew into Hanover where they met Ralph and Ethel Sanborn to begin a weeklong stay at the Chieftain Motel. The two men plan to play some golf and both couples undoubtedly will tour the countryside to view the autumn foliage which within the past few days has suddenly burst into glorious color.
Yesterday, September 29, all of those just mentioned, except the Browns, met at the home of Bob and Abigail Boynton before the Dartmouth-University of Massachusetts game and were treated to a light luncheon and you know what. Then came the game after which the group enjoyed a cocktail hour with the Sheas at their room at the Inn.
You can see from the above that though '17's fall meeting is still almost a week away, things have really begun to stir in the Hanover-Woodstock area. And the tempo undoubtedly will increase as this coming Friday approaches bringing with it an influx of '17'ers for the weekend.
Ralph Sanborn reported that he had seen and talked with Walt Kipp before yesterday's game, but this writer unfortunately failed to see him.
Other visitors to Woodstock during past weeks included Tommy (Errol) and DotThompson and friends from Brockton, and Ruth Sisson who spent a night here after delivering young Pete at school at Yarmouth, Me.
Secretary, R.F.D. 1, Box 27 Woodstock, Vt.
Treasurer, 315 Oxford Rd., Havertown, Pa.
