1912
The big news for August was the celebration of the bicentennial of the Dover (N. H.) oldest sanctuary, erected in 1768 where John Greenleaf Whittier's parents and maternal grandparents were married. For this occasion Henry Bailey Stevens wrote an historical play in three scenes titled "Mother Whittier's Meeting," which was acted out by thirty characters in addition to a chorus, attendants, and witnesses at the weddings. Several '12ers were on hand, among them Billand Dorothy Shapleigh, Bill taking one of the parts, Ben and Jo Adams, Elizabeth Park, and Ray and Edith Tobey. Henry's play has been printed as one of the Baker Plays and contains 41 pages of delightful reading.
If you missed reading of the honors accorded two '12ers during Class Officers Weekend, cast your eyes on this. FletcherClark was presented with a framed painting of the Dartmouth campus and was named Class Treasurer of the Year. Eddie Luitwieler received the Dartmouth College Alumni Award, a replica of the silver bowl presented by Provincial Governor John Wentworth to Eleazar Wheelock at the first Dartmouth Commencement in 1771, for "distinguished service to the College and distinction in career."
Our Newsletter Editor, after moving himself, wife and chattels to an apartment, has been toting his wife Dorothy up and down the byways of New England. On one of these trips Bill looked up Bill Poole's widow Delia in South Gardiner, Me. He found her at 80 giving evidence of being a strikingly attractive woman in her younger years. She recounted her visit with the Gold Star Mothers to Bill's grave at St. Mihiel where he fell in World War I. Our Shapleigh has taken on the treasurership at his church's sponsored "Gate," a teenage coffee house located at his back door. This is the month for the railroad buffs so Bill will be a trainman again.
We've had several expressions of regret from those unable to make our 56th reunion for one reason or another. Chesty Brown reports being afflicted with emphysema but for a dividend he adds with a chuckle that he is now the proud great-grandfather of James Augustus Craig Jr. who arrived in St. Augustine. Fla., on June 12, 1968 carrying a weight of 8 lbs., 7 oz. Chesty says he looks like a Craig, not a Brown. Cookie and PansyCooke had hopes of making Hanover but the latter suffered a severe ankle sprain from a fall in June which resulted in wheelchair and crutches for some weeks. Hal and Marian Belcher begged off this year as Marian didn't feel up to it. They report the arrival of another granddaughter, Joan Belcher Simonds, born in England. This makes four Belcher grandchildren and by now probably a fifth. Put Russell passed 79 in June and says the going has become tougher during the past year and compelled him to stick to the home base. Tabe Taber let us in on the fact that his wife Sheila is now running an antique shop in Conway. Mass. We are proud of our reunion chairman who managed to round up a total of 72 in June. To quote Roy: "Just believe me that I had a grand time in helping out to make the occasion a good one for all."
From others: Otto Bresky is still on the job at 79, making several trips to the Seaboard Milling Corporation plants in U.S.A. and South America. Hal and Grace-HoytMosier have moved next door into a new apartment building where Grace-Hoyt has to be the eyes for Hal and do his reading and writing for him. Dick and Gladys Remsen celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary recently. Their younger son Teddy and wife put on a dinner party attended by brother Mart and wife, six other adults and five grandchildren. It's a joy to report that Dick is better. George Geiser writes in answer to "How are you?" "On the way to 100, both feet dragging; scratching gravels but raising no dust; with chin up." And from JohnBooth in Burlington, Vt., comes word that his wife passed away two years ago after 51 years together and that now he feels out in the cold locally because the club there has passed a rule allowing only graduates to vote. Shame on the Burlington alumni! John, you still have a vote in 1912 and hope you show up to exercise it. Elliott White this spring published a volume of poems, reviewed in the June ALUMNI MAGAZINE. DonAugur has been having a bout with his eyes. Boss Geller is still glowing from the good time he had at our 56th. My thanks toDutch Waterbury who remembered the Secretary's birthday with a card. He's still betting on his Packers and letting wife Edith beat him at golf.
We are the recipient of the program of the Colby Community Symphony Orchestra Concert of April 28, 1968 which lists RayTobey's Edith as one of the violinists. Edith, with 400 other students, used to sit on the steps of Boston Symphony Hall waiting for the doors to open so they could climb to the balcony and listen to the Friday afternoon "rehearsals." It cost all of 25 cents, later raised to 50 cents, which Ray says is what he paid for a balcony seat at Copley Theater in Boston in 1920. Syd Clark had a harrowing experience when he was frisked, gagged, bound and robbed in one of London's first-class hotels in June. After 45 minutes he was able to free himself. "And so it goes," he says, "with septuagenarian Rollo on Tour!" Art Kinne had to cut short his visit in California in June when he received word that his youngest daughter had undergone a major surgical operation. Now, back home, he is busy as ever doing a large volume of industrial surgery, still enjoying his 10 to 11 hour days. Cap Allen was in New Orleans in June and while there visited a French warship. He was delighted to run across several dens of black and white Cub Scouts in blue uniforms watching the gunner make the big turret with two guns rotate and the guns go up and down. Mark and Marion Snow relaxed at Lake Chatauqua in New York State in July for a week. Then in August they took a week's trip down the Ohio River from Cincinnati and up into Kentucky Lake.
After a respite of seven months the Grim Reaper caught up with us and took from our midst Bowdoin Plumer on July 31 and Louis Ekstrom on August 13, 1968. Bowdoin was a unique character, known as a loner and at the same time "elder statesman" of Bristol, N. H. He was said to have been the most well known man of that town, yet probably the least understood. In the New Hampshire Legislature where he served for many years he possessed the uncanny faculty of changing a three-hour debate into a three-minute summary of wit and wisdom. Your Secretary will never forget Bowdoin's kindness when, as one of three bedraggled Dartmouth mountain climbers who had lost the trail descending Mt. Lafayette in the summer of 1911, he opened the doors of the Profile House and furnished us overnight rest and sustenance. The loss of Louis Ekstrom is indeed a severe one for Lou was a loyal reunioner and his smile and friendliness added much to everyone's happiness. Think back to those campus days and you can visualize our varsity battery of southpaw hurler Ekstrom and catcher Jim Steen. Lou went suddenly with a coronary, but a month before his 82nd birthday, still strikingly young in appearance. The sympathy of the Class goes out to Alice and the family. From Emma Pettingell and Ray Tobey comes the news that Katharine Lowd passed away on August 6, 1968, and a news clipping telling of the death on June 10, 1968 of Guy Swenson's wife Mildred. We all feel for Guy with his handicaps in this time of sorrow.
James Boak's widow has finally been located as Mrs. George C. C. Stout at 105 South Fredericksburg Ave., Ventnor, N. J. (18406. Bess Garrison has gone west to 2000 Golden Rain Road, Walnut Creek, Calif. 94529; Cy Dodge's widow is now at Rocky Ridge Lane, Farmington, Conn. 06032; and Mrs. Ralph Whitney has moved to 10 Starred Ave., Middleborough, Mass. 02346.
This portrait of Dr. Henry R. Viets '12was unveiled in the Countway Library ofthe Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vietsgraduated from the Harvard MedicalSchool in 1916. A noted neurologist andmedical historian, he is the curator of theBoston Medical Library.
Secretary, 15 Gloucester Lane West Hartford, Conn. 06107
Treasurer, 4 Bank Building, Middleboro, Mass. 20346
