The Reunion Week
The first signs of the annual alumni invasion of the Hanover Plain are the tents. Taut and tan they spring from the campus lawns as unnoticed as the mushroom, and with equal mystery they soon gather to them crowds of festive folk in gay attire and spirits to match. The June 1962 invasion was similar to those of previous years in outward appearances, but the reunion programs were as interesting and diverse as the fourteen returning classes that planned them.
There were special features to the Hanover scene itself for the more than 2200 members of the Dartmouth family making up the reunion crowd. Reunion classes in Hanover ranged from 1892 in the person of William F. Geiger of Lyme, N. H., to the record-setting multitude that made up 1952's tenth, and members of all these classes were fascinated participants in tours of the Hopkins Center construction and other new campus facilities now in use. Many joined in the intriguing pastime of watching the concrete roof of the Nervi-designed fieldhouse go on piece by piece.
The North Country provided some of its finest weather for the alumni, wives, and children on hand to renew the Dartmouth fellowship. Two reunions took place in Hanover during the Commencement weekend with the 50-year class, 1912, having one of the largest attendance totals for a 50th reunion. There were 193 alumni, wives, and other members of the class family, a total that included 85 classmates and 66 percent of the living graduates. The Class of 1907 also recorded a fine attendance figure for its very pleasant reunion in town. Three members of the Class of 1897 were on hand to mark the 65th year for the class. The Class of 1902 gathered in Woodstock, Vt., for the 60th and the charm of the North Country as seen on the Vermont side of the river.
As the seniors and their families drove out from Hanover the Classes of 1922, 1926, 1927, and 1928 drove in. 1928 officially opened the mid-week reunions with a picnic in Etna. Monday afternoon also saw the first presentation of the 1962 Hanover Holiday program as Luis Zalamea '42, author and editor from Bogota, Colombia, talked on "Whither Latin America?" Class receptions were followed by the College reception and dinner at the the gym for all alumni. Many went from the gym to President and Mrs. Dickey's informal reception in their lovely garden. Others went over to Dartmouth Hall to hear the second Hanover Holiday speaker, Prof. Herbert F. West '22.
Activities, but not spirits, were somewhat dampened by the weather Tuesday morning causing most of the class pictures to be taken inside Webster Hall, but the class meetings and memorial services were opened on schedule. The Class of 1927 photograph was set for late in the morning at Dick's House just before the memorial service and dedication of the 1927 Memorial Room, and by that hour the rains had diminished.
Two Hanover Holiday programs were available to all on Tuesday. In the morning Prof. Henry W. Ehrmann of the Government Department spoke on "Goals for Frenchman." After lunch historian and teacher Louis Morton dealt with the subject f muzzling the military. Several of the classes also enjoyed outings to Lake Morey before the class banquets scheduled for the early evening hours. Later in the evening the reunion classes filled Webster to view the Dartmouth Players' presentation of the musical, "L'il Abner."
Three class breakfasts were held the next morning prior to the fifth of the Hanover Holiday events, Prof. Walter H. Stockmayer speaking on "The World of Theoretical Chemistry." Soon, however, it was time for the mid-week reunion classes to think abotit the journey home, and it wasn't long before the tents were dark and silent once more. Special mention should be made of the 1922 reunion percentage of 31 which made it the mid-week recipient of the Class of 1894 Cup and 1926's total of 89 classmates which won for that class the Class of 1930 Cup for the mid-week gatherings.
The tents along Tuck Drive didn't stay quiet long, however, for the vanguard of 1937, moving in to celebrate the big 25th reunion, made its presence known early Thursday morning. By mid-day the fashionable 1937 headgear adorning men, women, and children could be seen from the golf links to the tennis courts. 151 members of 1937, close to 30 percent of the class were present for the three-day program. A class reception and dinner preceded '37's contribution to the Hanover Holiday program, a presentation on "Conservatism and Liberalism" by Prof. Walter Johnson '37 of the University of Chicago faculty and CBS-TV executive producer Bill Leonard '37. The next morning more than 100 class members and wives were split into eleven seminar groups to discuss the talks and the book they had all read in advance: Heilbroner's "The Future as History." The class had also distributed an optional reading list. The seminars proved a most stimulating feature of the reunion.
Although the town shopping center, the annual Hanover Artists outdoor exhibit and the varied sports areas were '37-dominated for most of the day, the only scheduled mid-day activities on Friday were the annual luncheons of the Tuck, Thayer, and Medical School alumni. The 25th-year class, however, lost its dominant role in the late afternoon as the Classes of 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1952 began to fill their respective tents. Once again the reuning alumni gathered at the gym for a reception and dinner. The President's garden reception following was cut short by a sudden thunder shower, and for several minutes there was much scurrying for shelter. However, the tents were soon the brightest spots in town and in some cases the twistiest. Class movies, group singing, dancing, and informal visiting went on late into the night.
Meetings were called to order Saturday morning as the past years since last reuning were reviewed and the future planned. The center of campus was an especially busy spot as five classes sat beneath the hot sun for the formal reunion portraits. Many informal portraits were taken also for home showings to classmates who could not make the trip to Hanover.
The afternoon was a time for 1946 to go out to the .Keene's in Etna for a picnic, and 1947 went up river to Lake Morey for its activities. Other reuning alumni and families could be found at Storrs Pond, Lake Mascoma, the Ledges and other Upper Valley swimming spots. It was that kind of a day.
Class banquets were in full swing on Saturday evening. The big 25th year banquet was at Thayer Hall, and 1952 followed its dinner with a dance in College Hall. Many others later took in the week's final performance of "L'il Abner" at Webster. 1946, 1947 and 1948 held a joint Memorial Service in the Bema on Sunday morning with 1937 and 1952 having their own in the Bema and Rollins Chapel, respectively. 1952 put an end to all formal reuning for June 1962 with a picnic lunch at its tent in the Wigwam dormitory area.
Both 1912 and 1952 came out as double winners, taking both the Class of 1894 and Class of 1930 Cups for their respective weekends. In the over-all week-long competition the two leaders split the honors, 1912 earning the 1894 Cup with its 66 percent figure while the lOth-year class garnered the 1930 Cup with its total alumni attendance of 206.
Former members of the Barbary Coast orchestra entertained large groups of reunersin the '27 and '28 tents during the mid-week reunions.
