Washington

Secretary, 6 W. Rosemont Ave. Alexandria, Va. 22301

The 1969-1970 year got under way with a luncheon both honoring the Class of 1973 and giving the members of the Class the opportunity to meet one another. The annual Dartmouth Night festivities took place this year under the chairmanship of John O. Harper '57, our faithful amenuensis and John of all trades, entertainment was provided by the "Docs of Dixieland" obtained through the efforts of Ort Hicks'49, who sat in with the group. Bob Munson'48 chose the Army-Navy Club as the site for the Charter Night ceremonies, which was quite a change from the rustic confines of the Washington Canoe Club, and a delightful evening was had by all. At the time of this writing we are looking forward to the undergraduate luncheon and a luncheon honoring Bob Blackman, besides the coming Glee Club Concert and alumni seminar sponsored by our Wilmington neighbors. No report from Washington would be complete without mention of the Dartmouth-Cardozo project led by Sheldon London '59 and Harvey Galper '59 which has caused the involvement of several members of our Club and their wives with the problems and aspirations of 48 youngsters in the Inner City. We hope that this may serve as a pilot program for other clubs. Finally, set out in its entirety is the report of EdNeff '35 concerning the expedition to Princeton:

It all began with a blonde. A beginning which was overcome only by a series of heroics, none of them in the least probable. The blonde slithered up to a bus loaded with alumni and wives about to shove off. She alleged to have been told that if there was space, she could ride with us to Princeton where she had a date. There was no space, but Joe Wilkes '41, our faithful tour director, gallantly gave her his seat.

At Princeton, the blonde vanished, leaving behind a long shadow. Immediately, the driver discovered he had no reverse. Parking then became a maneuver only slightly less demanding than docking the "Queen Mary" without benefit of tugboats. Next came the disaster in Palmer Stadium, not wholly lightened by the news that the Dartmouth soccer team had won 3-2.

The trip back proceeded without event until complaints were heard in the rear of the bus that no ice remained to chill the tea. Joe Wilkes, once again the gentleman, told the driver to pull into Maryland House, an inn of sorts, somewhere in the trackless wilds north of Baltimore. With the ice replenished, further problems arose. The battery failed and first, second, and third gears quit.

Three downs and the ball still on the line of scrimmage. Fourth gear remained - not, of course, a starting gear. Fortified by fresh draughts of newly iced tea, the men of Dartmouth met the challenge. Piling out of their crippled monster, they braced granite muscles and shoved. Miraculously, the monster moved. Alas, in vain. A startled driver had headed it toward New York.

The efforts that followed were not without their parallels in nature, history, and Greek mythology. Picture a dozen ants moving a lump of coal, or a band of Egyptian slaves dragging the stones of the Pyramids across the Egyptian desert, or the myth of Sysiphus. Nor was this gallant band of men, this thin green line, without distinction. Among them were Congressmen Dave Martin '29, Herman Schneebeli '30, and by no means least, Bob Lyon '07. Altogether, they gained more yardage with that bus than the Dartmouth eleven against Princeton, and the bus was once again headed toward Washington.