1954

After long research I have at last learned the true meaning of the College's motto - Vox Clamantis in Deserto. Most of you must be under the impression that "the voice that cries in the wilderness" actually has some mystic, soul-stirring, educational significance. Well, I hate to disappoint you. It's nothing at all like that. Really, it goes back to ancient Rome, to a school called Collegii Pizza, a bakers' school to be exact. Now, the first class to graduate from this great institution of higher calories decided that they would exchange recipes as they went through life and thus enable each other to expand his repertoire of culinary delights while still maintaining the close contact developed through four years of slaving collectively over hot ovens and cold marble slabs. To better coordinate this effort they selected one among them who demonstrated a facility with writing legibly on papyrus using a pointed macaroni. He was to have a wide correspondence with his fellow classmates and report their progress in sauces, soups, and such by circulating the information obtained to all the class members. He was given the title of "Secretarius" and thus became the first of a long line of honorees who dutifully disseminated the triumphs and progress of their fellows. His name can still be found in the pages of obscure texts of the period - Siquenis Scribbelum. The story goes that Siquenis received few recipes or messages of news from his brother pizza-pounders, and though the original honor was the high point in his life, he began badly to fade when the reality dawned on him that he could not adequately perform his task as - He mately expired of deep frustration and unanswered papyri, and in the quaint medical phrases of the day the cause of death was listed as evaporation or, to use the actual' words, "vexed, like a clam in the desert." There is a moral here, brethren. See to it that the fate of Siquenis Scribbelum is not visited upon your dutiful servant.

Providence Hospital in Holyoke, Mass., boasts three members of one family on its medical stall. The doctors are Edward J. McHugh, a general surgeon and on the staff 35 years and sons, Edward D. McHugh, also a general surgeon, and John, an internist. Edward D. took his medical degree at Georgetown Medical School and served his internship and residency at St. Vincent's Hospital, Bridgeport, Conn. He spent a year at St. Clare's Hospital in New York and two years in the Air Force. A member of the American College of Surgeons, he is also certified by the American Board of Surgery and has been practicing in Holyoke since 1966.

While waiting for a luncheon date at Toots Shor's the other day, whom should I bump into but Barry Nova. In a brief question and answer conversation prior to joining our respective lunch guests I learned that Barry has reentered the political scene as a promoter of image and is going to handle the campaigns of John Glenn (the fellow who slipped in his bathtub the last time out) and possibly Senator Yarborough from down LBJ way. As if this weren't excitement enough, Barry also recently entered the ranks of the homeowners, purchasing his own special monument to high interest rates in Greenwich, Conn. No doubt we'll hear more of Mr. Nova when the campaign season arrives.

A story in the "Newark News" this fall covered some interesting aspects in the career of John Cunningham, then starring in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of "Cabaret." If law school examinations had not been so boring, John might have ended up behind the bar, instead of in front of the lights. His acting began in earnest after his successes with The Dartmouth Players. As a member of the 7th Army Repertory Company he spent 14 months touring Europe and then returned home to study further at Yale School of Drama. Married, and the father of three children, John lists among his other credits "My Fair Lady," various roles with the American Shakespeare Festival, "Zorba," "The Fantastics," plus varied roles on television soap operas. He will soon appear in a new musical called "Company" in which we wish him great success.

Just before Christmas came a good breeze from Chicago carrying tidings of Albert E.Grinton III, "Skip," as he once was known, now carries the title of vice-president of the First National Bank of Chicago. At about the same time, in Corning, N.Y., A. Kenneth Patterson was named sales manager-ophthalmic of the Technical Products Division of Corning Glass Works. He joined the company in 1958 and served in accounting positions at several of the company's plants before becoming controller of the Lighting Products Division, and then sales manager of that division. Ken holds an M.B.A. from University of Michigan.

Robert H. McGrath announced last fall the opening of his own insurance agency in Laconia. N. H. Bob had formerly been sociated with the firm of Munsey & Brazil. He will specialize in general property insurance, as well as auto and life. He is the president of Laconia Rotary Club and vice president of the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation. Laconia has been the lifelong home for Bob and his wife, Donna, and may very well be for their three children.

Remember Siquenis Scribbelum!

Secretary, James Talcott, Inc. 1290 Ave. of Americas New York, N.Y. 10019

Class Agent, Reader's Digest Assoc., Inc. 200 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017