1900

Approaching spring in this northern clime has led some members of the 1900 family to test out the hospitality of European capitals. Ruth Hodgkins, daughter of Lem Hodgkins, writes me that she and her husband Ted, in late February and March spent seventeen days of enjoyable travel in London, the Canary Islands, Morocco, and Madrid. Ruth speaks of the speed and convenience of modern jet planes. Man's intelligence and ingenuity are making it possible for the traveler to be in remote parts of our world in almost no time at all. In a fairy tale read in childhood there was a remarkable piece of carpet. Anyone stepping upon it and wishing to be in some distant place, presto, would be there at once. By this magic the limitations of space were overcome. Perhaps man will not be able to duplicate this feat. However, the building of faster and faster planes, some now in project flying at 4010 miles an hour, makes space a negligible factor in human calculation and brings the world, its hopes and its fears, right to one's front doorstep.

Alice Rankin, widow of Walter Rankin, tells me that in April her daughter Marjory and her husband Spencer Smith are to spend some weeks vacationing in Spain. Then in May, Dorothea Rankin, Andy's widow, joins a party touring England and English gardens. Dorothea expects to get a good look at the gorgeous coloring of tulips in Holland. Alice is the proud great-grandmother of two recently born great-grandchildren.

During the winter Arthur and JeannetteVirgin attended a performance of "Aida" at the Metropolitan. Before going to the afternoon opera they lunched at a favorite Italian restaurant. The proprietor, an old-time friend of Arthur, is now 72 years of age, a yogi, and something of a character. On this occasion he entertained Arthur and Jeannette with a special performance of his own contrivance. Tony came to their table, had a small mat placed beside it, and kneeling he rested his forehead on the mat, and sang for them, in inimitable Italian style, one of the arias from "Aida." Perhaps his particular rendering did not enhance the beauty of the aria, but it did indicate his appreciation of the Virgins and their friendship.

Roland Eaton, son of "Pa" Eaton, may not be for long a resident of Charlottesville, Va. Some months ago he moved to that city from Troy, N. Y. For a number of years Roland was manager of a hotel in Florida. He has a lingering yen for that state where, in his judgment, the sun shines more brightly, birds trill a bit more merrily, and flowers bloom more resplendently than elsewhere in these United States. Ronald reports son George has leased his business and is now working for his Ph.D. degree at New York University. His daughter Anna and her husband are currently residing in California. His daughter Ethel is a freshman at the Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., and his younger son is a junior at Albemarle High School.

The Class has recently lost another of its loyal members. On March 20 Dr. ArthurWallace passed away at the Veterans Hospital in Manchester, N. H. An unfortunate accident with serious after effects had hospitalized Arthur for more than a year, first in the Nashua Hospital and then in Manchester. Arthur was always present at our class gatherings, and was often seen in Hanover at medical meetings and alongside Ben Prescott at football games. Arthur was an imperturbable optimist and a very gallant gentleman.

Secretary and Class Agent Box 714, Hanover, N. H. 03755