1940

Everyone must have been swamped by the rigors of the recent holidays, or else everyone has writer's cramp from signing all those checks to pay for all those presents. In any event, the mailman hasn't been overburdened bringing mail to my door. Thanks to everyone for the many Christmas cards - especially those which included notes and news. Jack Fitzgerald wrote that Larry Herman was combining a honeymoon and the holidays into a trip southward. Congratulations, Red, it's great to have a bridegroom in our midst! Best wishes to you both. Powell and Dorothy Holbein's card was a drawing of their handsome new home on Marvell Road, Fayetteville, N. Y., from whence he commutes to his industrial real estate business in Syracuse.

I also read in the cards that Herb and Mil Foster will be going to Brazil in March to see the oldest of their four sons, and that number two boy brought a wife into their stag circle during the past year. The graduate school son of Eb and Mevie. Cockley took himself a bride this year also. It must have been quite a busy summer in Cleveland churches for Karl and GinnyBruch's oldest son made them in-laws about the same time. Carol and Dave Davenport spent the holidays entertaining family at their farm and hoping for some skiing snow. Beautiful snow arrived here on Christmas Eve to make Hanover a living example of the most stupendous White Christmas. Our prexy, Scotty, who travels coast to coast on a schedule that never runs down, is looking forward to more distant shores - Japan and Australia in March, England and Europe in May - all in the name of Parker-Hannifin business, too. We all are expecting much foreign fodder for The President's Corner in future issues.

A nice Christmas present came to Bill Mercer from Mother Bell when he was tapped for the post of vice president personnel of American Telephone and Telegraph Company. This puts Bill high up that corporate ladder onto a rung well earned, for he has followed a steady path upward since he started with Western Electric in 1948. After ten years with them he transferred to the New England Telephone where he became vice president" personnel within two years. In 1962 he became vice president-operations of the Indiana Bell Telephone, and a year later moved to the main headquarters of AT&T. Congratulations, Bill, upon attaining such a responsible job with one of the giants of the industrial world.

Tom Braden, who came east from his desk as publisher of the Oceanside (California) Blade Tribune, to attend that nowfamous party of Truman Capote, was recently elected a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Another classmate with a new title is Larry Gate who has been elected treasurer of Rice Barton Corporation where he is also a vice president and a director. Larry has been putting his education at Tuck School to the test in a practical way.

Fred Pillsbury has taken on another important civic assignment in Springfield, Mass., where the mayor has appointed him head of a citizens' committee to work with the architects on a multi-million-dollar downtown civic center-sports arena. In other days Fred was chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners, a city councilman, and president of the county bar association, so he should have a strong background of what makes his hometown tick.

A long newsy letter from Sid Phillips rounds out the month's supply of fodder. After teaching business courses here and in India, Sid has settled down at Merrimack College, North Andover, Mass., where he says:

"As was mentioned before, we very much like our new (since 1965) 'down-East' location. We already are firm believers in the neighborhood of Andover, and the brotherhood of man ... more or less in that order. The we, in this case, includes three children (Scott, Patty, and Carl) and one wife. (After two years in Pakistan ('62-'54) where Mohammed and the Islamic world permit full respectability with up to three wives, I find I have to be specific about fairly obvious matters.) You might say we are all going to different schools together. The siblings attend Andover schools, Jane goes to Girl Scouts, Den-Mothers' School, and I try to learn a few things from some of my freshmen at Merrimack College. One way or another we are all attempting ye old 'Gradus Ad Parnasum.'

"Believe it or not, teaching in a small, relatively unknown college does have some definite advantages. Compared to either Syracuse or Northwestern it seems somewhat easier to get students 'involved' in a subject; if this is the era of the uninvolved, super-pragmatic, and often frustrated student, Merrimack College is either ahead or behind the times, and either way teaching is more fun. Also assignments are more frequently read, and this helps a lot. In addition there is a lot less routine on the treadmill of committee work, and more time for writing. At present my basic management text with Appleton, Century, Croft is approximately one-half done."

That's it for another meeting with you. Hope to see you at the same place next month. If any of you ski up in this area drop around to the address at the top of the column - we'd love to see you.

Secretary, 5 North Balch St. Hanover, N. H. 03755

Treasurer, 64 North Main St., Concord, N. H. 03301

Bequest Chairman,