1940
April means spring just about anywhere in this wide land and my mind goes back more than thirty years ago to springtime on the Hanover Plain. With a stroke of luck—and help from the sun—the duck boards on the campus should have been removed; all outer jackets should have been dispensed with 'till next fall; sun worshippers were beginning to lie on the grass around the dorms and thoughts of final exams and term papers about six weeks away were crossing our minds. As you read this I hope that this most enjoyable season of the year has come your way, but your scribe is about to forsake some of these pleasures for the pleasure of a trip through Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the rest of England. I do hope springtime doesn't come too late in Scotland this year!
Regrettably I must report the passing of Paul Wessells. On the night of Feb. 19 he was having trouble getting to sleep and had a sudden, unexpected and fatal heart attack during the night. An obituary appears in the back of this or a subsequent issue.
Not nearly so regrettable, but still sad for this "columnist," is the fact that if it weren't for a few truly newsy letters there would be very little to report this month. How about it, guys, take pen in hand!
Bill Harriman writes such interesting letters that I trust you'll forgive my quoting at length from his latest epistle from Jamaica in the British West Indies which was in response to one from me—twice returned! "I am now general manager for Weaver Jamaica Exploration Company. Weaver acquired a concession covering the northern of Jamaica plus the offshore areas and is now completing the preliminary geological studies. A well will probably be drilled in the first half of next year. This is wild wildcat territory, as there was no success in the mid-50's. If there are any big-rich swingers in the Class of '40 who would like to try their hand at exploring near Port Antonio, Montego Bay, I'll put in a good word for them with our Establishment. (Secretary's note: How about it, Jack Little?) I quit Sinclair irt the fall of 1969 and joined a would-be new Occidental called Texas International Petro- leum. My job was vice-president in charge of foreign exploration, and I ranged personally through Alberta, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, and Italy. I quit that venture and joined P. O. M. I have to have a position where I can combine useful technical work with an environment fit for human beings. Hopefully the world will make drastic changes in its trend toward larger and larger variants of megalopolis in the next generation or two. Anyone who leaves the rat-race long enough to drop in to Jamaica on vacation will receive a warm welcome if they call home 'phone 42939 in Kingston. I live in the farthest north suburban valley, with a pool and great backdrop of jungly mountains on three sides. Please change my address to Weaver Jamaica Exploration Company, 22 (G) Old Hope Road, Kingston 5, Jamaica, W. I."
The nationally syndicated column by Tom Braden and Mankiewicz released on Jan. 23 was datelined Hanover, N. H., and my guess is that Tom wrote this during the course of a trustees' weekend. It's all about deficit financing that lies ahead for America's private colleges with particular reference to Dartmouth. He writes of the drop in participation in annual alumni giving by younger classes (of which we are not one!). Which leads me to a plea from our head agent Art Ostrander to give NOW to the 1971 Alumni Fund which is under way. Art has over seventy assistants working to contact each and everyone of you—so why wait 'till closing weeks of June to get in your gift. The needs of the College are serious.
Iver Olson, the chief economist and marketing director of the American Footwear Manufacturers Association, has been elected to the post of senior vice-president of the organization. We started this column talking about springtime and so we'll end with news about our class weatherman. We've just learned that Air Force Colonel Joe Bird has assumed command of the 6th Weather Wing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Joe, before coming to Andrews AFB, was vice commander of the Ist Weather Wing at Hickam Field in Hawaii. Joe, try and assure us this will be a good spring for us all!
Secretary, 200 5th Ave. New York, N. Y. 10010
Class Agent, 268 Briscoe Rd., New Canaan, Conn. 06840
