Reunions Draw Big Turnouts

VARIETY was the spice of the 1965 reunions — in weather, headgear, and in the blending of fun and fellowship with serious attention to the work of the College.

Audiences numbering upwards of 200 attended each of the three "Dartmouth Today" discussions concerned with facets of higher education, and some 450-plus were on hand for the Class of 1940-sponsored session on "The Challenge of 'Bigness': Blessing or Curse?"

The Class of 1930 sponsored the first of the "Dartmouth Today" programs, a frank discussion of problems facing Dartmouth and all other colleges and universities titled "Three Views of Today's Faculty" as the first of two offerings on Tuesday, June 15. Participating in this program were Wayne G. Broehl, Professor of Business Administration; John G. Kemeny, Professor of Mathematics; and John W. Masland, Provost of the College.

The second session that morning, sponsored by the Class of 1925, gave equal attention to "Today's Undergraduates." The panel included Thaddeus Seymour, Dean of the College; Franklin Small-wood '51, Associate Professor of Government; and Myron Tribus, Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering. On Saturday the three classes celebrating late, early, and on-time fifteenth reunions sponsored a similar session on developments in Dartmouth academic programs in the period since their graduation years. Participants in the 1949-1950-1951 "Dartmouth Today" were Leonard M. Rieser '44, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Wing-tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Culture and Philosophy; Louis Morton, Professor of History; and Professor Kemeny.

The Class of 1940's special Friday morning program was chaired by Professor Smallwood and featured panelists drawn from the Class: Herbert S. Landsman, Executive Vice President for Development Services, Federated Department Stores, Inc.; Theodore R. Gates, Representative for Trade Negotiations, Executive Office of the President of the United States; C. Page Smith, Provost of Cowell College, University of California at Santa Cruz; and Richard F. Babcock, Partner in the Chicago law firm of Ross, Hardies, O'Keefe, Babcock, McDugald, & Parsons.

Although the 1940 session drew in some early arrivals from the weekend reuning classes, the bulk of the crowd was from the Class and that in itself insured a good audience because 1940 recorded the second largest reunion attendance in Dartmouth history. This year's 25th reunion class total of 695 was only seven short of the record set by 1938 several years back. The 1940 figure included some 288 children, most of whom in one way or another contributed to filling the air above Tuck Drive with frisbies, softballs, and volleyballs by day and with the sounds of their enthusiasm for frug, monkey, hitchhiker, watusi, and other assorted gyrations by night.

The weather by and large was kind to the 1965 reunioners with plans for group picnics at Storrs Pond, Lake Morey, and other local sites although some rain did fall upon the parched Hanover Plain throughout the week. The Dartmouth Players delighted alumni audiences at six performances of Wonderful Town, and class banquet gatherings were treated to the wit and wisdom of Professor of History Emeritus Allen R. Foley '20, President Dickey, Dean Seymour, Coach "Whitey" Burnham, Professor of English Henry L. Terrie Jr., Dean Emeritus Joseph L. McDonald, Victor E. Rockhill '31, and many others.

More than 200 alumni and their wives turned out for the annual Tuck School luncheon to hear Dean Karl A. Hill '38. The Thayer School, represented by Prof. Robert C. Dean Jr., and Medical School, with Dean Gilbert H. Mudge presiding, also had well-attended luncheon meetings at the same time.

The Class of 1894 Cup awarded to that class which returns with the highest percentage of living graduates went to the Class of 1915 while the Class of 1930 Cup award to the class with the greatest number of men back was won by 1940. In the preliminaries, 1915, 1925, and 1940 were top contenders in both Cup races in the early, middle, and late week reunions respectively.

Reunion Attendance

GrandClass % of Grads Men Total 1900 46% 6 30 1905 34% 16 35 1910 35% 39 68 1915 59% 88 248* 1925 35% 120 231 1929 18% 78 160 1930 25% 100 213 † 1931 20% 84 181 1940 45% 209 695 1949 25% 124 297 1950 25% 145 356‡ 1951 16% 92 202 1955 26% 162 318

* New record for 50th Reunion. Old record of 210 set by Class of 1914.

† New record for 35th Reunion. Old record of 203 set by Class of 1923. Also first 35th Reunion class to return with 100 men.

‡ New record for a 15th Reunion. Old record of 260 set by Class of 1944.

One of the happy reunion events was 1950's class picnic at Lake Morey