1949
A fresh batch of copy paper and mailing envelopes arrived at my home a few days ago, and this is akin to sending paper dragons and fireworks to your favorite Chinese laundryman. I am sure our minds would react about the same. After his spontaneous burst of excitement about the New Year, he would pause and reflect a bit as to what kind of a year it had been and what kind of a new one it promised to be. With no help from fortune cookies I have a very good feeling about Dartmouth and her class of '49 in the coming scholastic year. I see no reason why the college we love shouldn't continue to flourish at an accelerated pace and our class cohesion become even more binding. I base this on a few encouraging observations.
The Alumni Fund continues to run like a well oiled machine with a record $1,938,000 in the till this year. Forty niners contributed $19,200 for an increase over the S18,000 given in 1965 but were almost a thousand dollars short of their goal with the average gift climbing to a figure slightly under fifty dollars on a 72.9% participation. Participation is our big problem and ranks us 60th of the 73 classes extant. A handful of you non participants reading this could change everything, of course, and propel the class onto the next plateau.
It would mean a great deal to the entire class and especially to Class Agent ElliotBaritz who did an outstanding job in this past drive and certainly deserves better for his efforts than sixth place out of seven classes in the Green Derby competition simply because of the perennial problem of a mediocre participation index.
Baritz, Alden, and I attended Class Officers weekend in Hanover last May 13 and 14 and were so impressed by the relentless effort on the part of the college in stretching out towards all of her alumni both organizationally and separately. The very magazine you are now reading covers 91.3% of our living alumni and ranks in the top ten of all alumni magazines throughout the country. Yet its editorial policy will not tolerate sidestepping of these class notes in deference to the big story as so many magazines have done. We strive to offer both and if anything to increase our emphasis on personalizing. 440 class officers and wives attended the weekend and left with a better understanding of the college role as a helpful partner in class activities. Pres. Dickey made it clear that he was doing nothing about students with long hair and bad manners as this was not within his sphere as head of a liberal arts school, but he felt strongly that this too would pass into history along with the raccoon coat and gold- fish swallowing. And if you really want some shattering news forget all you ever learned about Dartmouth being a college. It is technically a university and not a college as a college is a single purpose liberal arts institution and our graduate schools and programs naturally make this an anachronism.
Highlight for the weekend for me was not my election as an officer of the Class Secretaries Association for which I am naturally most grateful but rather an unobtrusive personal discovery which more than anything said heretofore proved to me that the average Dartmouth undergraduate is on the right track. Before leaving Dartmouth on Sunday we enjoyed breakfast at Thayer Hall, compliments of the Dartmouth Dining Association. As we walked through the foyer prior to entering the tray line, my eye happened to catch one particular poster of the many plastered all over the place. It read, "Peace March in Washington, D. C., this Sunday. If you need or can supply transportation please contact Mrs. Jones at 649-1580." Scribbled in pencil at the bottom was the following: "I have a Ford Tri-motor plane that usually carries six passengers and seven hours of fuel, but for this purpose I'll carry 70 passengers and 5 minutes of fuel (furnish your own pilot) signed, Andy." Now I suppose that I may be treading on a few toes because with a class of over 600 we must have a handful of peace marchers, but I am not going to equivocate on this score. Very few of us are pleased with the way the war effort is going in Viet Nam, but I am confident that an overwhelming majority echo the sentiments of this unknown critic who realizes all too well he may be called on to serve in the near future.
Now to the mail bag - a fairly sizable assortment of news has drifted in over the summer months which I'll try to tackle in order of receipt.
Charlie Schuetz of Lake Forest, Ill., was recently appointed senior project director and vice president for Elrick and Lavidge Inc., a Chicago based market research agency. We note that he also is director of Vail City, a real estate development corporation in Vail, Colo.
Fancy footwork on the part of Doug Thomson. When U.S. Rubber started up a new footwear plant in Thomson, Ga., they sent down a wealth of talent to run the show and picked our classmate as factory manager. He and Betty love their happy home in the Georgia pines and would welcome news from their friends.
Luke Soule has been named manager, agency and casualty-property department, at The Travelers Insurance Company's Albany office.' Luke joined the company as a special agent in 1949 and subsequently served as field supervisor in Milwaukee and as assistant manager in the fire and marine lines in the Syracuse and Albany branches. Luke and Marty and their three children live in Guilderland, New York.
Cal Titus phoned in recently to let me know that he, Denise, and their four children are living up the sun and surf bit in Middletown, N. J., near the Jersey shore. He recently spent a week at Miami Beach at the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of America convention as eastern advertising representative for the Chicago Tribune. Sounds like a mighty pleasant way to spend a week. Cal gets a Christmas card from Doug Mott who is in the textbook field out of Naperville, Ill., but would like to hear from him as we also would.
I am sure that we'll have more on this later, but I spotted a business story on July 1 in the New York Times which named Dick Hanselman vice president, product planning and development, for RCA Sales Corporation. Sounds like exciting new challenge for Dick as we also read that the company is projecting a one billion dollar sales volume in 1967 which would double their 1965 figure.
Creative Director is Dick Stanwood's new title at the Leo Burnett advertising agency. Dick is also a vice president and has been with the agency since 1963. Previously, he was a copy supervisor with Young & Rubicam in New York where he spent twelve years. He began his advertising career selling space —on the Waltham (Mass.) News Tribune. Dick and Beach and their three children live in Lake Bluff,Ill.
Final call for the Class Fall gathering in Hanover, October 14, 15, 16. Be a good guy instead of a cheap crumb. Show your wife a great Hanover weekend featuring the traditional Dartmouth Night rally, Brown football game, class dinner, Gold Pick Axe Award, lots of socializing, exploration of a very much changed campus, and a shopping spree on Main Street if you can take the bite. Pick up the phone right now and call Gordon Thomas in New Canaan, Conn. He has all the particulars on room reservations.
Secretary, 15 Twin Oak Rd. Short Hills, N. J. 07078
Treasurer 530 East 86th St., New York, N. Y. 10028
