1957's Delayed Fifth Reunion
For many 1957's, the fifth reunion (delayed one year) was the first visit to Hanover since graduation six long years ago. And if you consider that this September the Class of 1967 will matriculate at Dartmouth, you get a better idea of how quickly time has passed since we were yelling: " '57 Out." The turnout at reunion, June 21-23, was excellent — some 126 members of the class showed up, most of them with wives or dates, bringing the grand total to almost 250 people. (The Classes of 1958 and 1959 also shared in the joint reunion.) Despite overcast skies and chilly weather on Friday and Saturday (which unfortunately caused a number of '57s from the Boston area to cancel their trip to Hanover), everyone seemed to enjoy being back in Hanover.
Those '57s who were able to make it back owe special thanks to Reunion Chairman Bob Holland, who spent 14 months arranging for the weekend. Much credit also goes to Bob's reunion committee of Bob Rex, who organized the weekend activities; Harvey Epstein, who handled pre-reunion publicity and registered most of the class on Friday afternoon in Middle Fayerweather; Frank Bruni, the retiring class treasurer who took our money to finance the reunion; Ed Matthews, retiring class chairman and general overseer of the 1957 reunion; and Dave Orr, "Our man in Hanover," who edited the class newsletter, " '57 Varieties," and helped to drum up interest in the reunion. A round of snaps also for Skip Kerr, the retiring class secretary, who has since graduation kept us all up-to-date on each other's whereabouts. Skip and Hope were not able to make reunion but he did send a display of all his ALUMNI MAGAZINE columns to Hanover where it was posted for all to see.
The weekend started with registration and room assignments in the Fayerweathers and Richardson. A few wives were somewhat shocked to learn that they had to flit through the halls and down a flight of stairs to take a shower.
Friday afternoon was spent touring Campion's and the Dartmouth Coop, and downtown merchants did a landslide business in tiny Dartmouth 19?? tee shirts and stuffed animals for the kids. Most '57s saw Hopkins Center for the first time and were generally impressed with this huge, rambling $ - million complex. The only question most of us, however, wonder how the floor-to-ceiling glass windows (and the walls, for that matter) in the Hopkins Center mail-room could possibly withstand the onslaught of undergraduates during mid-morning break.
The first organized event on the weekend social calendar was an alumni reception for all reuning classes at the new Nathaniel Leverone Field House which fronts on Memorial Field, opposite the concrete football stands. A sauterne and brandy punch served as a buffer against the cold night air. A cold chicken buffet dinner followed. The enormous interior of the new field house seemed to swallow up the 1750 people at the banquet, with plenty of room to spare.
At 10 p.m. on Friday night, there was an Alumni Dance in Hopkins Center, but the majority of '57s returned to the class tent behind Dartmouth Row to sample Tanzi's good keg beer, and catch up on each other's activities since graduation. A few '57s panicked momentarily when the keg ran out - probably remembering that Tanzi closes at 10 p.m. - but Bob Rex quickly produced another keg (and mixed up a vat of screw-drivers as well), which lasted well into the wee hours. House-hopping, a popular campus sport practiced by most of us six years ago, was modified slightly to tent-hopping. The Class of 1938, celebrating their 25th reunion, had the hottest bands. About midnight, a large group of '57s drifted over to do some lively dancing. At one point, a '38 weaved into his tent and after peering through glazed eyes at all the 1957 name tags, shook his head and started to weave out again. Ned and Marlene Bixby convinced him that he was in the right place — though possibly with the wrong people.
Saturday morning got off to a booming start - with bufferin and B-1 pills. Over breakfast at Lou's and the Beefeater (formerly the Indian Bowl), there were mutterings about getting too old for this late partying. However, attendance didn't fall off noticeably at the rest of the 1957 weekend events. A few hardy '57s ventured out to the golf course to compete in an alumni tournament. Ed Waldron made it to the fourth hole before his golf bag finally sprung a leak. John Blades never got off the first tee, returning instead to the shower in South Fayerweather. John insisted he had seen his first Hanover sunrise earlier that morning. It might have been his first this year.
The skies were still overcast when we drove out to Storrs Pond for a class picnic on Saturday afternoon, but the only interruption during the afternoon's festivities was a 10-minute cloudburst. Bob Rex again did a fine job clearing the way for Tanzi's beer trucks and providing box lunches and four dozen uncooked, runny New Hampshire eggs, most of which eventually on clean blouses and madras shorts. The object of this fascinating egg game was simply to throw the egg, as gently as possible, to a partner and then back up and throw it again until the egg broke. Ed Matthews and his fiancee Michelle McQueeny, although suspected of using a hard-boiled egg, won the competition with Bill Springer and Margie Phillips a close second. The bachelor egg-throwing contest ended in a tie between Dick Canton, Bill Kramer, GaryGilson, and Steve Lampl.
A rousing Softball game followed the egg throwing and frisbie units, many of them taped relics of the past, were brought out. One intrepid group of '57s, led by Mike King and Mort Scharman, tried to cut loose a floating dock on Storrs Pond, but their attempts were thwarted by a steel cable and two "guards" in an outboard boat who had to chase down a group of '58s already floating on a raft equipped with a keg of beer in the middle of the pond.
Following the picnic, there was a class cocktail party and a roast beef dinner (only slightly reminiscent of Thayer Bar and Grill fare) in College Hall. We were fortunate indeed to have Dean Thad Seymour as our guest speaker. Thad related some of the humorous events "that make life interesting in the Dean s office." There were no specific 1957 incidents mentioned, which was probably just as well. Those of us who not long ago were surprised to learn that girls would be included in the new Dartmouth summer school program, were even more shocked to hear Thad explain some of the problems that the college had to face in preparing for women at Dartmouth. Among them: installation of hair dryers, ironing boards, and new plumbing facilities in the dormitories.
On a more serious note, Dean Seymour spoke about the many new developments on the campus, and said he was most impressed with the progress the college had made since he first arrived on the Hanover Plain. He was particularly pleased to see more undergraduates actively participating in college government and extracurricular activities than ever before.
Ed Matthews, the retiring class chairman, called a quick business meeting to explain the results of a class constitution mail ballot taken earlier this month.
Ed then introduced the new class officers who will serve until 1967: Tom Schwarz, Class Chairman; Jim Dalton, Secretary; Frank Bruni, Treasurer; Dave Orr, Newsletter Editor; and Joe Stevenson, Head Class Agent. The new Executive Committee includes those five officers, and the following men: Jim Dawson, Tom Herlihy, Bob Holland, Dick Leavitt, Chuck Schroeder, Bob Shirley and Bob Rex.
The banquet emcee, Ed Waldron, did a fine job. We were disappointed, however, that Ed forgot to bring those color slides of his honeymoon. At the end of the banquet, Ed awarded door prizes. Ted and MargeEverett won a set of cocktail glasses for coming to reunion from the most distant point: Palo Alto, Calif., 3180 miles away. Running a close second were Bob and PatMcCollom, who made it all the way from Seattle, Wash., and Bill and Nancy Myers, who came from Pasadena, Calif. Dean Seymour drew numbers from a hat for four more door prizes. The winners: Bob Loverud, a handsome deck chair; Dick Canton, a Dartmouth mirror; John Citron, a mirror and a set of glasses; and Larry Lawrence, an ash tray.
There were also two special prizes awarded." Steve Hibbs got back his license plate after losing it at the picnic, and Ed Matthews received a pith helmet. (It seems that Ed had suggested pith helmets as weekend headwear for the entire class, but was outvoted.) All '57s wore white beanies reminiscent of September, 1953, and name badges. Ed Waldron signaled the end of the banquet by announcing that Bob Rex had signed up a band for the tent: Wendy and his Three Guitars, a splendid musical trio that, according to Ed, "featured three electric guitars and a McCulloch chain saw, their last engagement was in the elevator shaft of the Hotel Coolidge." At times Wendy and his boys did sound like a chain saw, but that didn't stop '57s from enjoying an evening of dancing around a keg in the tent.
To make the evening complete, an automatic fire alarm mysteriously went off about 2 a.m. in Middle Fayerweather, and two fire engines from Hanover roared up behind Dartmouth Row amid great cheering from the '57s present.
On Sunday, the classes of 1957, '58, and '59 had a joint memorial service in Spaulding Auditorium in honor of the deceased members of the class: The Rev. Douglas R.Trottier officiated for the Class of 1957. Following the service there was a fareweli brunch in the class tent.
We'd like to add that two brave '57s finished out their honeymoons at reunion - Pete and Sue Vitella and J. C. and Margaret Parks. Congratulations to both couples.
See you all at our tenth reunion!
Reunion chairman Dick Blum (l) andClass President Howie Clery with Classof 1930 attendance cup won by 1953.
All was not beer and laughter at the '57 tent, but both were in good supply.
