1929

Received a nice long missive from HalHirsch out in Oregon. "In February I attended the 10 th Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. Actually I stayed 30 kms. up in the mountains at the village of Chamrousse where the various Alpine events were being held, although the other ski and winter events were spread in other directions such as the ski jumping and crosscountry in Autrans and St. Nizier, the luge in Villard de Lans, and the bobsledding in Alpe d'Huez. Also saw some of the figure skating at the Stad de Glace in the center of Grenoble as well as the ice hockey, including the game where the Russians trounced the U.S.A. 10 to 2, and the American team had to fight so hard that they incurred considerable penalties to the displeasure of the mixed crowd, which didn't exactly help the U.S. image internationally.

"I'm beginning to wonder how long the U.S.A. can afford the idealism of sending our amateurs to compete with the best athletes in Europe where there is very little, if any, difference in Europe between the amateur and the professional. Indeed, most European athletes are subsidized either by a government bureau, their armed forces, their industry, or a subtle combination thereof. It's sometimes like watching the 'slaughter of the innocents.'

"Either we ought to stick to our amateur standards and insist that all other nations in the Winter Olympics adhere to the same criteria, or agree to compete only with those nations who do. I found that most of the Europeans, and even many of the European press people, had no conception of the difference between the amateur and professional status which we require of ourselves. Most Europeans actually believed that the teams which we sent over invariably contained our very best athletes.

"This differential may not be as acute between amateurs and pros at the Summer Olympics, but it certainly is obvious at the Winter Olympics. I wonder about the impression we made on the average European TV audience. And when I explained to European, and particularly, Russian, individuals that, in order to send our teams and individual athletes to the Olympics, or in order to afford them any prior training at all, we literally had to pass the hat around for voluntary contributions from our citizens instead of from our government, they thought I was exaggerating." Hal is now chairman of the board of White Stag Mfg. Co. He is heading the Third Century Fund in Oregon, and also the Pacific Northwest Dartmouth Alumni Seminar, which is a regional extension of Hanover's Alumni College....

Joe D'Esopo writes "I started to make a check for ten dollars (dues), then I read your letter (from Jack Hubbard). I think the $25.00 figure would have worked. But perhaps, leaving the choice to the classmates might bring in more. I didn't want to void the check with the ten dollars on it, and to change it to twenty-five would be awkward. It was easy to change the number from one to four, so here's the check for forty bucks."

Ossian Brainerd writes from Tucson "I'm a long way down here, but there are others, and we have a Dartmouth Club meeting either here or in Phoenix, usually in Phoenix. Still a little warm down town, temp. 96 to 101 degrees. My family grows - 9 grandchildren (married), great-grandchildren 17 to date. Happy Days." Note: Am I really reading these figures right?

Jeff Stearns is looking forward to the Reunion in Hanover for the Princeton game. He says "The only hitch is the possibility of Parents Weekend at Northwood School in Lake Placid falling on the same weekend and this is our son's senior year - keeping our fingers crossed!" Hope you and Gena can make it, Jeff.

Ray Talbott informs us that George Kennedy has moved to Sarasota, Fla., and that he and Kathy will drop in and say hello when they take to the Sunshine State in late December.... Dick Burke writes that he was one who voted against increasing the class dues, not so much to keep the contributions to the College at a low level, but because he felt that money is more easily collected for specific causes than for a general cause such as class dues.

Chris Born writes that he has seen Larryand Mary Lougee (and some of their children) and Nat and Billie Barrows "up here at Moosehead Lake this summer. Sorry, won't be able to make the fall reunion but hope to see you in the Yale Bowl."

This from Earl Fyler: "While reading Page Smith's biography of John Adams I have just come upon the wherefore of the hospitality and independent thinking of our esteemed classmate, known to some as 'the poor man's Al Foley' who lives over to Quechee, page 8 of volume one." At York, Me., we stayed at the Inn of Paul Woodridge who had on his tavern signboard, beneath a portrait of William Pitt, the words, "enter-tainment for the Sons of Liberty."

Secretary, 320 Main St.' Manchester, Conn. 06040

Treasurer, 60 East 42nd St., New York, N. Y. 10017

Bequest Chairman,