1939
It's that time of year again. Spring is here. The baseball season will have started when you read this. And the Alumni Fund will be in full swing.
One way to look at it is that the best way for the finest college in the world to raise the money needed for its expenses is from the guys who benefited most from that college. That is apparent.
Another way to look at it is more difficult to explain. You might say that the very fact that you don't HAVE to give anything is good. Just as it would be wrong for a bureaucratic government to tax you for the Red Cross and other charities and your church, so too would you rebel against any system in which a stated number of dollars would be taken from your bank account by your college. Then it would no longer be a contribution. The very fact that you can, under our system, decide upon your contributions to the Red Cross and your church and your college is a great benefit both to the recipient and, more especially, to the giver.
And of course there is always the point that you should make life simpler for yourself and your fellow man. Why not make your decision and send your contribution just as soon as possible? Then you'd have one less item in your personal tickler file, and you'd save Joe Batchelder and his assistants a lot of extra work. In the very lowest sense, their commissions for their efforts are not so hot. They spend more time on a campaign than some of you might guess. And unless you are the kind of guy who thinks reminders in your mailbox are peachy, you should strike a blow for Dartmouth right away.
Incidentally, Joe has asked us to announce that for the first time our class is going to have a Century Club. Any classmate who contributes $100 or more qualifies for this exclusive club. We already have 70 classmates who qualified at the opening gun of the campaign as a result of their contributions toward the 1965 Fund.
Tom Brooks reports that he checked up on Hank Merrill recently and found him still in Greensboro, Vt., operating his dairy farm and maple syrup business, along with a considerable amount of contracting work. We think it's wonderful the number of classmates who have left the metropolitan rat race and are trying to prove Emerson was right in his essay on self-reliance. Read it again some day!
Alex Lansberg has moved across town to 10 Ryder's Lane in Wilton, Conn., as has George Neiley to 1100 26th Ave., in Moline, Ill. Les Terry is now living at 11 Nicholas Drive, Colonie, N. Y., and Angus Littlejohn may be reached at 1155 Park Ave., N. Y. 28, N. Y. Don Cheney now hangs up his hat at 1565 Main Street, Stratford, Conn. Capt. Larry Vulte has now flown west to Mark Twain Apts., 650 North San Antonio Drive, Los Altos, Calif.
Our distinguished classmate, David Shiverick Smith, has been made a partner in Baker, McKenzie, and Hightower. Bill collectors and others may find him in Suite 2320 at 270 Park Ave. in New York.
We were shocked to read in the New York Times of the death on February 10 of Bill Risley's wife Mary, and the sympathy of the Class goes to Bill and their three children. Bill's address is Windmill Hill, Prospect St., Litchfield, Conn.
I recommend the recording of Herb West's final lecture, and I believe the records may still be obtained by writing directly to him. It's great stuff. I think there should always be a place for . rebels to think. I know that Herb influenced my life and my reading. I should hope that generations of Dartmouth men have tried to get a glimpse of truth because of professors like Herb. Think it over.
Van Lee writes that Chuck Grant's widow, Kitty, will be moving to New York "and leaving Middlebury this spring. Van says, "Our two girls are aged 14 and 6. We get some skiing in New Hampshire and Vermont. We still live and work and school in Cos Cob, Conn. I do chemical process engineering for and with Dorr-Oliver, Inc., in Stamford, which means an occasional jaunt almost anywhere to start up or troubleshoot a plant."
We should always remember that a guy named Grant and a guy named Lee, both of whom were directly related to the generals, roomed with each other at Dartmouth College. Even though Chuck has passed away, Van keeps in close touch with the Grant family.
We read our copy of the folder we all got about the Executive Decision Making course in Hanover this summer, and we found a number of words like steady-state and synectics and morphology that are not in our vocabulary. After sitting around the breakfast table with our dictionary, we made our decision.
We've been able to pass along another inquiry to Brooks Brownfield, who have done so well with the fabric and the wallpaper that they plan to go on to another college. If they let Brooksie travel at company expense till he finds another college, he might very well end up at the University of Istanbul with some Turkish delights to sketch! Dick has now become a virtuoso of the Umpaa, a new one-man band of percussion instruments.
They've finally been able to run BobField's old ship, the "U.S.S. North Carolina," aground in Wilmington, N. C., after many probable escapes from disaster way back when.
We understand that Tommy Burrell may be seen most any weekday afternoon tooling along Route 128 in his Thunderbird on his way with a new advertising agency somewhere in the Bay State.
From the center of everything in Delaware comes word that our Dr. James O.Corner will soon move back from the South to become research director of du Pont's Dacron Technical Division in Wilmington. We note in the Reunion Book that Jim wrote, "The children miss their native Delaware and yearn for our quick return. We have kept our property there, but there's no telling how long we'll stay here." We wonder if Jim was smart and held on to the house or if he outsmarted himself and sold it. Please advise.
Hot off the chow line at Szabo Food Service in Lyons, Ill., comes word that Thomas G. Vent is their new vice president for administration. He also is secretary and general counsel of the firm, as well as a member of the Chicago, Illinois, and American Bar Associations and is a legal eagle in the Air Force Reserve. We congratulate him on all his successes!
A note from Ken Hugo comments that he's still commuting daily between Yardley, Pa., and Long Island City, struggling hard to save a few bucks to send his two sons to college. He sees his old roomie RalphSperry once in a while.
George Walker is running things at Pelletier's department store in downtown Topeka. He writes, "Am married and with four grandchildren and an extra 20 pounds." Maybe he meant he had four grand children. Which is it, Doc?
Bill Green writes that "Freshman Fathers' Weekend was unforgettable and it is difficult to decide which was the more interesting group, the fathers or the sons." Do they have more real characters up there now than we used to know, Bill?
We heard Bob Blackman this winter, and we liked everything about him. By all means, pass up the PTA meeting and travel anywhere to hear the Coach speak whenever you have the opportunity.
And now it's time to head for the hills to earn our living. We've had a good vacation in Florida. We recommend good, long vacations for all hands. We have a theory that we should all practice retirement, so we won't dry up when the time comes. We've practiced a lot of fishing and swimming and gardening and cutting the grass in Delray Beach this winter, and we hope it has recharged our batteries. We've been able to see many of the baseball teams in spring training. For our two bits, we thought the White Sox and the Orioles looked the best in the American League and the Phillies and the Braves in the National. Now watch the Mets and Kansas City battle it out!
We hope your spring cleaning included the cobwebs in your own brains, so that you can put first things first and not forget your college. Let's hear from you!
Gordon McCoun '39 of Lima, Peru, South American sales manager for Panagra, putsthe finishing touches on a large canvas as his wife Tita watches. Only a part-timepainter, he is a primitivist of the Grandma Moses school and is acquiring a growingreputation for his colorful, painstakingly detailed work. For Christmas 1963 hispainting of the Three Wise Men was used as a UNICEF card. He has done Panagratravel posters, and recently did a large oil for a new ocean liner.
Secretary, Box 38, Cashiers, North Carolina
Class Agent, O'Ryan & Batchelder, Inc. 502 E. War Memorial Dr., Peoria, Ill. 61614
