1935
This column has been delayed by a number of circumstances, the most recent being the descent upon our normally hectic household of six Vassar alumnae of Mary McCarthy vintage, complete with husbands who are otherwise quite normal. If you think that Dartmouth has any kind of patent on the old-school glue which bonds alumni together a score of years and ten from the scenes of their childhood, you should be exposed to The Group for a little enlightenment and re-dedication. I tell you it's an Invisible Force. Wherever I go it seems inevitable that the people we meet "just happened to go to Vassar."
These girls are chronically dissatisfied with the meager support they get from the old man's threadbare exchequer for their Alumnae Fund. They organize to sell nuts, maple syrup and, around here as well as other places, have become just about the largest mass movers of second-hand books in the country. The Westchester Vassar Circus Tent Book Fair collects and sells over 40,000 volumes for its sale every May and this is not the largest operation by a long shot.
Well, Al Ritchie was one of the husbands, and he was supposed to write the column or at least supply the news. But he didn't have much except that he had seen Bill Hands, who was talking about coming east. Al and Jean (Vassar '37) are on the point of going east themselves, to Geneva, Switzerland, where Al will represent the Bell System and AT&T at an international conference on telecommunications. Having now gotten this country all fouled up with seven figure numbers and six figure codes, the idea is to confuse the foreigners before they do us with a system of their own. Otherwise how will you be able to dial Paris?
Actually, it's a fascinating example of practical international cooperation forced upon us by the electronic age. The machines have got to have instructions machines will understand. The hell with the people. Their minds work so slowly that the blank spaces between words in a telephone conversation are already used by the machine to convey seven other conversations in such rapid switching order that none of the people involved have any idea of the crowd on their line, all happily jabbering away in electronic privacy.
Another kind of privacy is the special concern of Jack Egan, who writes a welcome letter from Chicago on the letterhead of the Milwaukee Ferrometal Stamping Corp., manufacturers of office partitions and toilet compartments. Son John received a Congressional Appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where, says Jack, "His pride in The Academy, despite its rigorous discipline and difficult curriculum, could only be equaled by the most ardent Dartmouth undergraduate. Their leadership development program and 'Esprit de Corps' atmosphere is very effective and most refreshing." Incidentally, some of you who may have suffered with the trade school boys in the late unpleasantness may be interested to hear West Point and Annapolis referred to as "Hudson High" and "Canoe U" respectively.
This enthusiasm for the Air Force has converted Jack into a Goldwater fan, with his apologies to Rocky '30. It won't go over too big with Bill Clark, though. His son, David, has just been named as a principal appointment to Hudson Hi ... oops! the Military Academy at West Point, N. Y., upon his graduation from Exeter this June.
Incidentally, the Air Force Academy can't be too far from Bill Eisendrath's cattle ranch in Elizabeth, Colo. When you're next down there stop in, Jack, at my invitation.
Jack also had news of Harry Ferries. They both live in Barrington, Ill., but Harry has been promoted by Liberty Mutual and after spending a month in Florida with his family is moving to Toronto. This is getting to be a popular place. Eddie Hinman has been elected a member of the board of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. Who's your insurance agent, Bobb and Eddie?
Johnny Magel stopped in to see Jack recently while on a trip to Chicago connected with his art reproduction business. Jack's wife and daughter are still talking about some of the beautiful art work he had with him. Normally, John is at home in LaGrange, where he is with the Frank Magel & Sons company, which produces gift merchandise and greeting cards.
From Mount Morris, Ill., comes a welcome news release on Grant Herman's election to the presidency of Kable Printing Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Publishing Co. of Racine, Wis. Grant, who has been executive vice president since 1962, joined Kable in 1952 as a staff engineer. Before that he was manager of an operating department at R. R. Donnelley and Sons of Chicago. In 1954 he was made assistant to the manufacturing vice president, in 1959 plant manager, in 1960 vice president. The new prexy, father of five, is active in Mount Morris civic affairs.
Don Waggaman has arrived in New York from San Francisco to join the head office of his firm, the Commercial Union Insurance Group. Appropriately enough he began with the company as an office boy in New York, moving to the West Coast in 1951 where in time he became manager of the Pacific department and president of the California Insurance Co. He is a past president of the Pacific Fire Rating Bureau and vice-chairman of the Pacific Coast advisory committee of the Underwriters Salvage Co.
The Class has approved the sponsorship of a Hopkins Center lecture by Tyrone Guthrie on May 15 as our Memorial project for this year. This continues our new policy of underwriting significant public events in Hanover, which was inaugurated last spring by sponsorship of the Players' production of "J.B." You will get fuller news of this subject in the Tear Bag.
That reminds me to clear up the matter of "recidivist," which is exercising Uncle Reg, before it exercises Uncle Ted as threatened. The word means "repeater" as used in the vernacular, with the idea of relapsing, or falling back into old habits. That usually the habits are bad is strongly connoted since the word has most common usage in criminology and penology. After all if Ted didn't relapse into crime to send that second boy to Dartmouth, how did he raise the tuition?
On hand in St. Louis for "Dartmouth's InTown Again" from the Glee Club in person were (l to r) Cordelia Fette, Jukie andHarry Deckert '35, and Russ Fette '39.
Secretary, Room 703, 521 Fifth Ave. New York, N. Y. 10017
Class Agent, 5 Locust Lane, Wallingford, Pa.
