1931
No innuendos or sly rumors this month, men. All facts, straight from the shoulder or the hip as the case may be.
Vic King sends a long clipping about George Hetfield's election as mayor of Plainfield, N. J. The article describes George's stand for a change in the city charter to provide a more efficient form of city government. This is a real fighting proposition, as anyone knows who's been in the fray of politics at the "local level." I got my first gray hairs on some zoning bylaws in my former hometown, once upon a time. Changes are needed everywhere to modernize and strengthen our old-fashioned civic structures. I hope George keeps us informed.
Swede Nelson, the all-weather golfer, tells of the trophy he garnered by winning the Colorado State Medical Society Annual Tournament last year. "I almost blew it when lightning struck as I was putting on the eighteenth. No damage, but I bought myself a triple martini once under cover."
Thirty-oners around Boston are planning to assemble their slides and/or movies of '31 and Dartmouth and show them at future get-togethers. Swede Nelson says they did this in Colorado this year. Bob Chapman has a movie of the Fifth Reunion. Look through your own files and let me know what you find. We'll start a catalogue.
Regarding our cliff-dwelling element, Jim Swift, who lives on the 28th floor in downtown Chicago, says that milk, dairy products, delicatessen, smokes, and booze are for sale somewhere in his building, but the nearest supermarket is about one-half mile away after Annette gets down to street level. John Boermeester confides that the new 100-story John Hancock Building in Chicago will have a shopping center on the 50th floor. All space above is for apartments; all space below, for offices. My, my.
Parker Soule, our base man in Hanover, says that Bill Grant's daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. Smith, now live in Union Village, Vt., just across the river. Peter is a member of the History Department at the College.
There were a few of us at the annual dinner of the Dartmouth Club of Greater Boston, including Bunce and Eleanor Clarkson, John and Marion Beermeester, DaveKelly, Al Rikkola, as well as Trudy and myself. Bunce says his lumberyard is now rebuilt after the disastrous fire last year. Dave is preoccupied with financing weekend ski activities for his seven schussers. Wish we could have sat next to Al, for the general noise level made it impossible to converse across the table.
I quote from George Nickum's letter: "I am delighted to have had several letters from classmates during the year letting me know that Dartmouth has been made a beneficiary in a will, or a contingent beneficiary on a life insurance policy. As I said last year, I was amazed in looking at my own will to find out how many years it has been since I updated it. I think my question is still pertinent - 'Have you looked at your will lately?'"
Jack Garrity is hereby absolved from being a hockey official in Weymouth, Mass. On Bill Swift's suggestion, I checked source material forwarded from Alumni Records office and found there had been an error. Jack, we apologize. Please acknowledge by bringing us up-to-date on your real activities.
Charlie Nims continues as chairman of the 1967 Heart Fund Campaign for New Hampshire. Bill and Betty Steck announce the engagement of their daughter Suzanne to Byron Tanner Foster of Lakewood, Ohio. Wedding is in May. We will not mention Joe Choate and the Boat Show until we hear from him again.
Hank McCarthy has renewed our class reservations at the Lake Morey Inn for a football weekend, noon Friday, October 13 to noon Sunday, October 15. More later about this terrific event. Get on it if you can, for space is limited.
I sent a few old records to Dick Holbrook, who is a nut on jazz, Volstead style. Dick recalls how Art O'Brien, Don Stoddard, and himself were the nighthawks of the Phi Kap house because they always stayed up to hear the Nighthawks from Chicago via radio. I used to do the same thing myself, listing all the tunes played, and in many cases copying them down or memorizing them. Those were the days when a guitar was a background instrument, not an ear-splitting cacophonous weapon. No wonder the younger generation can't listen to their elders. Their ear drums have crumbled. But cheer up, the new era is at hand. Mark my words, a new wave of musical insipidity is at hand which will bring back many old tunes we used to know, probably played and sung no worse than they were 35 years ago. Even the 140-watt guitar amplifier may become obsolete. Check me on this one year from now.
Ernie and Angie Moore missed the Boston dinner because they had to be in Connecticut. They saw Dick and Nancy Hamilton in January shortly after Dick had purchased that furniture store in Greenfield. Dick says he sees Charlie Nims and EdStudwell frequently, and ran into Bill Shuldenfrei recently after 36 years at the Bigelow Carpet Exhibit in New York City.
George Miller writes enclosing the booklet of The Dartmouth Educational Association and complains that '31 trails '30 and '32 in membership. For $10 per year, or $250 forever, we can each help to improve our class record in this respect. Write to Wilbur W. Bullen '22, 38 Newbury Street,. Boston.
Spence Miller, president of the Maine Central Railroad, says that the automobile will put railroads back in the passenger business, that automobile and truck traffic will become so heavy as to invoke legal limits.
Regarding Ed Hutchinson and his damn Worcester County Cheese, he sent the sample to Shep Wolff instead of to me. Not only that, but I ordered a pound and offered to pay for it. I suggest that you all write to Hutchinson's Store, Petersham, Mass., for a pound, and let me know how the service is.
Secretary, 23 Coughlin Rd. North Easton, Mass. 02356
Treasurer, c/o Boston Gas Co., 2900 Prudential Tower Boston, Mass. 02116
Bequest Chairman,
