1917

The hand of fate reached into the ranks of 1917, this spring, to remove three of our mightiest stalwarts, two of whom were born on the same day. William Sewall and Sumner Emerson were both born on January 3, 1895. The third, Mosher S. Hutchins was born on January 24, 1896. As the classes whose notes precede ours in this MAGAZINE know well, and as we now have become aware, there is most applicable significance in Kipling's words: "The tumult and the shouting dies; the Captains and the Kings depart."

The memories we cherish of our departed comrades would fill volumes; yet even if these men were still here, our thoughts of them would still be - memories.

We have for many months shared the suffering of our former Class Editor MoseHutchins, and for some time we have felt that all was not well with our original class editor Bill Sewall's health; but no one had the slightest intimation that Sum Emerson was in imminent danger. We have reached the age when tomorrow is anybody's guess.

A letter from Gil Swett will be of interest to all who knew Sumner: "9 Apr., 69. Dear Sherm, The past week has been a sad one. Sumner has been my closest and best loved friend down here. His untimely taking is hard for me to adjust to. Yet, if Sum had been given a choice of how he wanted to spend the last day of his life, it might well have been just the kind of day it turned out to be.

"It was a beautiful spring day and Sum appeared in robust health. His son Dick and family had arrived the night before to spend the Easter holiday. In the afternoon Sum played two sets of tennis with good friends. Then he went home and showered and they all went to dinner together. Sum went to bed early.

"About 11:00 Charlotte heard his cry for help. She called Dick (a doctor incidentally). Dick's diagnosis was quick and accurate - a severe coronary. But it had developed so suddenly there was no time for hospitalization. By 11:15 Sum had gone irrevocably. 'But what a grand guy! And what a happy life!' "

Gene Towler writes that not only did the class lose three great 'Seventeeners this spring, but when these three, Bill Sewall,Sum Emerson, and Mose Hutchins, died the Alumni Fund Team lost three wonderful workers over the years. Wes Thompson responded immediately to the call to take over Sum's list of generous contributors. This gives us an assistant class agent in the "Old South" - in North Carolina - for the first time since Hen Sturgis passed away in Atlanta. Mose Hutchins was serving from a wheel chair last year but finally had to give up and Perc Streeter took over from St. John, New Brunswick, our farthest north Alumni Fund leader. After many years of service, Bill Sewall had to sign off for health reasons after our Fiftieth Reunion. FredGates of Massillon, Ohio, took over Bill's Ohio and Kentucky group. When DerryTrenholm was in bad shape last year, our law professor Pa Holt got into the saddle.

So, while the 1917 Alumni Fund "train crew" lost four valuable members, the train is still on the track and making good speed.

Secretary, Quanset Village, Box 235 South Orleans, Mass. 02662

Class Agent, Cricket Lane, Darien, Conn. 06820