1923

Howard W. Alcorn became the 28th Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court on April 18, 1970. He was sworn in at a brief ceremony at his home by retired Chief Justice and former Governor, Raymond E. Baldwin.

Howard came to Dartmouth from Suffield Academy. After his graduation he completed his education at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School and practiced law for several years as a member of the firm of Alcorn, Bakewell, and Smith. In 1927 he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives and became its speaker in 1931 - the youngest speaker in the history of the State Legislature. In 1933 he moved to the State Senate and in 1943 was appointed to the Superior Court. In 1961 he became an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

All Dartmouth men, and particularly your 1923 classmates, congratulate you, Howard, on this latest and signal honor.

Early in March Jerry Riley announced that he had purchased the North Attleboro, Mass., Chronicle and the Franklin Sentinel, the former a daily and the latter a weekly newspaper. The two papers were part of the estate of the late Congressman Joseph W. Martin.

Jerry has been connected in an executive capacity with many businesses - president of the Attleboro and Plainville Coal Co., treasurer and director of the Webster Co., trustee of the Attleboro Savings Bank and director of Radio Station WARA.

On their recent swing through Florida Clarence and Priscilla Goss had dinner with Irish and Alice, spent two nights with Sherm and Bert Clough in their new Sarasota home and visited with Roger and RuthBillings. Clarence also reports that OscarHockenson has bought an apartment in Heritage Village about ten miles from the Goss' Connecticut locale.

Also from Clarence comes the following word of Ralph Noble, former president of Vermont College: "There have been many Hanover changes since our son graduated in '51. I retired here in Montpelier in '66 after 17 years. Prexy Hopkins was very helpful to me in the early years, a significant fact for which I shall always be grateful. Prexy was truly a great man."

And from Paul Hutchins: "After selling my business a couple of years ago, with a winter in Vegas, inactivity got me. May and I got a chance from the Florida East Coast Hotel Company for a couple of easy jobs so we came down here and worked. None the worse for it, only a little tired. Son John is on the way to a captaincy, serving in the Pacific - got his degree from Colby College in 1968 along with his commission and has been in the Air Force ever since."

As I write these notes I have just returned from the annual Class Officers' meeting at Hanover. 1923 was represented this year by Pete Jones, Babe Miner, Irish Flanigan,Truman Metzel, Chet Bixby, and your secretary. This year's session included a presentation by the committee studying the education of women at Dartmouth, the presentation of awards, and workshop conferences of class presidents, treasurers, etc. By far the most important feature of the program however was President Kemeny's address in which he outlined his evaluation of the present-day Dartmouth student and restated the goals of his administration in this changing academic world. I understand that Dr. Kemeny's speech was taped. Certainly it was recorded. Every alumnus should hear it or read it. It puts a lot of issues in their right perspectives.

During the course of the class officers conference the alumni award winner was announced, Richard W. Lippman '42. No one from 1923 was tapped for the honor this year but I am reminded that over the years we have had six winners - PudgeNiedlinger, Jim Landauer, Lou Wilcox, IrishFlanigan, Truman Metzel, and Charlie Zimmerman.

At the close of the formal session your class officers were joined by Reunion Chairmen Eke Phillips, Ruel Smith, Bob McMillan, and Jim Broe to attempt a consensus re the issue of a 50th anniversary book. Over a period of several months Ruel and Bob have researched the subject very thoroughly and in particular have attempted to evaluate the cost factors versus the probable class interest in this kind of a book.

It was the unanimous decision of the ten men present at our meeting that we should not attempt the production of a formal Aegis-type book. It is much too costly and there is grave doubt of its value to the class as a whole. It was decided however that an appropriate questionnaire should be sent to each man in the class on which could be recorded basic information concerning family, civic interests and activities and business or professional career. You will all receive this questionnaire in the very near future. Do help the men who are giving so much of their time and energies to this project by filling it in and returning it promptly.

Once the essential data from the question-naire is assembled and collated it will be reproduced and sent to you in sections and, at intervals, in a format which will be relatively inexpensive, one that your committee believes will meet our objective of a permanent record and one that will be entirely acceptable to the class.

During the summer months when the ALUMNI MAGAZINE suspends publication, Irish with the help of several guest editors plans to keep you up-to-date with more details concerning the foregoing. He will also fill you in on our plans for a class get-together during the weekend of the Princeton game - October 10. Again, Ted Barstow will help you with room reservations. He's at Hanover, N. H. 03755.

By the time you receive this issue you should also have received your copy of the interim class directory. This is being issued in a form that will make it appropriate for use as an insert and addendum to the more complete green covered issue of Sept. 1967.

We are saddened by news of the deaths of Herb Veit's widow, Ethel Howell Veit, and of John T. Griffin's wife, Rose Johnson Griffin.

Two more "In Memoriams" for 1923 classmates appear in the necrology section of this or a subsequent issue. I am greatly indebted to Howard Sammis for preparing that of Roy Brown and to several of you who so kindly sent me news clippings and other data on both Roy and Bill Blake.

With this issue I have completed three years as your class secretary. They have been rewarding years in many ways. I am deeply grateful to all of you for your help and I look forward to the years ahead with the sure knowledge that in many ways we are drawing closer together.

Secretary, Box 2, Francestown, N. H. 03043

Class Agent, Dogford Rd., Etna, N. H. 03750