1916

Jim and Ruth Coffin's dinner in late August at the beautiful Wilmington Country Club with the Evanses as Sally Gammons' guests proved to be a preliminary to celebration of their 50th wedding anniver- sary on September 2 with their son Kelly '43 and his family at Atlanta, Ga. For their full odyssey see your October BALMACAAN.

Ken and Mary Ross' Golden Anniversary was celebrated on August 16 when their son Gordon '44 of Canton, Ohio, and their daughter Ann Fairbanks of Troy, N. Y., could be with them. Actually, their anniversary fell on September 1 but by then Ken and Mary were off to Italy for two months. Grandson Christopher Ross is a senior at Dartmouth this year.

Arthur and Marion Marsden enter- tained the eastern Massachusetts delegation at their home in Lawrence on September 26. Also present at the four-hour picnic were the Coffins, Coltons, Gowards, Shanahans,Marjory Craver, Edna Marble and Parker Hayden. Dick and Kay Parkhurst, normally regulars, this time were visiting in the North Country through the Princeton game.

Friendly Ed Craver in his late years was a co-founder not only of this picnic series but also of the Webster Sailing Club. This flourishing community activity now has over a hundred members, some 75 boats from skiffs to sloops and in open months the big lake in the countryside south of Worcester is alive with contests and regattas. The Cravers' four sons and now several of their grandsons have participated, and some of them have become really expert sailors. There now has been established by a number of Ed's friends and admirers in that area an Edgar Craver Memorial Race and accompanying trophy, winner to hold for one year. Nice.

The sympathy of the Class goes out to DeWitt Stillman whose wife Dorothy passed away at Santa Barbara on June 26; also to Larry Doyle, whose brother Admiral Austin Doyle died in mid-July in Florida. In World War II Admiral Doyle served as commander of the "Saratoga," "Nassau" and ' Hornet;" then was head of the United States Taiwan Defense Command until he retired in 1958.

Thoughtful Polly Shedd is looking to a long autumn visit from her blind 23-year-old grandson from Milwaukee. Surely that will be memorable for both of them, after sixteen years... A postcard from Canada reports Dave Shumway "having a vacation from retirement."

1915 as well as 1916 friends of Max Saben will be interested to know that this doughty gymnast-become commander U.S.N, (retired since 1953) now is docked quietly with his wife Frances in a Washing- ton apartment. From there he looks back on the amusing side of his long and colorful career: e.g., he made landings on 21 islands (not including a visit to Coney). During the Occupation he spent four years in Haiti as a Lieutenant in our Navy with the added rank of major in the Garde d'Haiti. In one of his two retirement interludes, he was married to Frances in 1936 at The Little Church around the Corner in New York as he went to Monrovia to serve for four years as administrative adviser to the president of Liberia. During China's time of troubles in 1926-27 (without our knowing it two blocks away), Max lived in Shanghai's posh Palace Hotel while the "U.S.S. Tutila" was being completed at the Kainang Dock Yard, then until 1929 ran the Yangtsze as her executive officer. At Chungking his pony-riding companion from Standard Oil proves to have been George Bell '2B who also lives now in Washington. In closing, Max quotes from Hugh Walpole's "Fortitude" two lines that many other Sixteeners must live by: "Tisn't life that matters. 'Tis the courage you bring to it."

Reunion dope from Hanover-Norwich has apparently gone into your Balmacaan, so see that and let us merely remind you that our friendly 55th comes next June 11-13, at Hanover!

Secretary, Box E, Swarthmore, Pa. 19081

Treasurer, Singjetary Ave., Sutton, Mass. 01527