1911
The next important dates for 1911 have already been indicated as from June 26 to July 1. Some of the class will be at the Mountain View during all those days helping the Dodges celebrate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of their dynasty. As a curtain raiser they have just published a very attractive folder entitled "100 Years of Gracious Hospitality. The story of the Dodge Family of Mountain View House." Here are a few quotes from this interesting history.
"Life was simple in the early days, light was from oil lamps, baths were taken in tin tubs brought into the room, wood stoves and fireplaces supplied the heat. William Dodge ran the farm which supplied the milk, cream, chickens, eggs, pork, fresh fruit, and vegetables for the table. He also took the 'boarders' for rides in the mountain wagon, and to church on Sundays. Mary Jane took charge of the kitchen - and what a wonderful cook she was. ... Over the years the Mountain View House has continued to grow and in this Centennial Year, the new Century Hall, that will seat 450 people has been built. ... It was under the direction of William and Mary Jane's son, Herbert Van and his wife Alice, that the hotel grew from an inn to a small hotel. Mrs. Dodge supervised the operation of the hotel. ... Their son, Frank Schuyler Dodge, followed the fine example set by both his parents. He met his wife, Mary Bowden while she was a guest at the hotel. It was under Frank Sr.'s guidance that the swimming pool, golf course, and other recreational facilities were built. ... Following Mr. Dodge's untimely death his wife successfully managed the hotel for five years, until their two sons, John B. and Frank Schuyler Jr. became of age and became co-owners of the hotel and Mrs. Silk - Mary to us — is Chairman of the Board."
If you have not yet written for reservations, please do so at once.
Troy Parker is back in his beloved Hill City, So. Dak., for the summer. Bendy Griswold and Ken Knapp have left the Florida Clime for Maine and New York State respectively. They knew enough to wait for spring in the north. The Burleighs arrived home the day before Easter, just two hours ahead of a five-inch snowfall.
Red McLaughlin (Frederick Armour Aloysius to you) has a new location, namely, Hotel Morgan, Morgantown, West Va. He does not say whether he is working or loafing.
Bill Gooding, at home from the hospital, does not want to see it again, but says that he did have two fine surgeons, both trained in the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital by Jack Bowler '15. His grandson, George, will be in Thayer School next fall; one granddaughter is a freshman at Smith and another, a junior at Mt. Holyoke. His son, John '45 has been made sales manager for construction glass for the Pittsburgh area of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company.
A good letter from Helen Harris pays tribute to our indefatigable News Letter editor, Wee Kimball, as follows: "I am really getting to feel that I know the 1911ers by the very newsy newsletters. What time must go into getting them ready for publication! I wonder if any other class does as well. I regret that I will not be able to make the June reunion at Whitefield, but at that time am so busy getting my cottage at the lake ready to rent just as the first families will be arriving. ... As a member of the Town Recreation Board I am involved in trying to raise money for our new T Bar Ski Lift for our park. We are within $8,000 of the $35,000 that we need."
A card from La Jolla, Calif., reports that Mert Wilson is visiting in Calfornia with his children and will be in Alaska with another of his children at the time of the Mountain View reunion.
Along with a Fund check from Betty (Curtis) Smith came the sad news that she was just out of the hospital with a broken hip. She and Russ were visiting at Ormond Beach and she got up from a chair without realizing that her foot was asleep and fell headlong. The parts have now been screwed together and she is getting about with a walker and wheelchair. They are going to leave Sky Harbour and move to a new apartment on the waterfront in up-town St. Petersburg. The address will be 1100 North Shore Drive, North East.
Don and Fanny Cheney had a quiet Golden Wedding anniversary. Fanny had been in the hospital and their daughter, Virginia, chose this time to have a third child, Andrew Cheney White, and could not have joined in the celebration. However they received lots of cards and congratulations from their many friends. They both have been life-time citizens of Orlando, very active in many organizations and highly regarded by all. Don's latest civic activity is as president and chairman of the executive committee of the Central-Florida Chapter of the Florida Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Their wedding trip will be in May when they go to Miami to attend the National Convention of the Boy Scouts of America, an activity to which Don has devoted most of his life. His special message is: "Already we are talking about Hanover in 1966, and the way time marches on, it's only a year off."
We shall also look for Helen Russell in Whitefield in June, all the way from Abilene, Texas, where she has been visiting her daughter, Roberta and her family. Meanwhile she will wend her way from windy Texas back to Holyoke via her daughter Margaret's.
It is good to be back in Hanover, where in spite of retirement there are not many spare moments. We hope any and all class- mates who pass this way will surely call in on us. Meanwhile good health and a very pleasant summer to you all.
Secretary, Box 171, Hanover, N. H. 03755
Class Agent, 30 Federal St., Boston, Mass. 02110
