1939
It is with regret that we record the passing of another classmate. Ralph Parker Folsom Jr. died suddenly on March 14 in Sepulveda, Calif. Ralph will be remembered by many as one of our leading tunesmiths, having made music with the Barbary Coast back in the halcyon days of yore. Music, we understand, was an interest which he never relinquished. We have sent the class condolences to his family.
Robb DeGraff has our Alumni Fund effort off and running as of the first reporting period (3/27/72). $18,630.16 has been pledged from 59 men. Although this leaves us some five classmates under last year in terms of givers, our dollar total rests $1,121.40 to the good. A fine base on which to build.
By the time this is read, a couple of official meetings will have been held, and passed into history. President Bert MacMannis called an Executive Committee meeting in New York on April 13th. We'll have a report of this in our next, unless Walt Darby lays it out for you in a "Thirty-Nine Out." Also, the annual Class Officers meetings in Hanover are scheduled May 5 and 6, and at this writing it's expected we'll have a good '39 turnout.
One of the problems that continually haunts us, as official class scribe, and columnist for the Alumni Mag, is the matter of deadline. We have a deadline that more often than not means we write stuff better than a month before it gets into your hands. From your end, this may mean that some of our news appears "old-hat," and seasonally historical. From our end, it tests our powers of prose, because the mood of the moment has more than likely gone by with a lapse of 30 days. F'rinstance, as we toil at the old portable at this moment, it is Easter Sunday. We are just back from church, and it is snowing like hell, that big flake kind of stuff that carpets the land with a heavy blanket of white moisture. It will probably be substantially gone by tomorrow. And yet we know, that by the time these notes are published, snow will be but a memory (even in Pittsfield, Mass.) and those of you with green thumbs will be puttering about the garden, and reveling in the colorful results. Well, we shall not let the weather interfere with our monthly report, so on with some class doings.
Bob Achorn has just been promoted to manager of agricultural marketing by Morton Salt Company. His new job is one of those that also carried with it a continuation of his old responsibilities, that of being national sales manager for the agricultural division. Bob joined Morton in 1945, directly following his stint with the Navy, from whence he emerged as a lieutenant commander.
The new chairman of the board of New Hampshire College is none other than BillGreen of Manchester, properly billed in a release we read as a prominent New Hampshire and Manchester legal figure, and a partner in the firm of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green. In 1949-50, Bill served on the state level as assistant attorney general and in 1950 was selected to take the newly created position of deputy attorney general. He is on the board of the Elliot Hospital, having served as its president; he was top man in the Manchester Community Chest campaign for two terms, and president of the New England Council of Community Chests. He has been a director of the N.H. Business Development Corp, director of Edgecomb Steel of New England, and a trustee of the Merchants Savings Bank in Manchester since 1956. In 1960, Bill was honored by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce as Citizen of the Year. He is the current chairman of the New Hampshire State Board of Education.
We had a dandy letter from GeorgeMcIlray in which he recounts being conned by his son into taking in the ski weekend for alumni in Hanover. George had not been on skis since 1939. He started off well, renewing acquaintances with Howie Chivers, before taking to the hills which he described as sheer ice covered by a thin inch of powder. He struggled, and came out whole, and further reports seeing Toby Wing handling the slopes like a pro. George suspects that Toby has been practicing since '39. Further George says, "A year ago I sold my lawn and garden power equipment business which I have been in since 1952. While I was one of Long Island's largest Toro dealers, I don't think it will cause Dave Lilly or BobGibson to cut down on their standard of living. I am now dabbling in real estate and love it, so if any of you guys are thinking of moving into Huntington, L. I, area give me a call." Further, with the pressure off, George has volunteered to join Robb DeGraff's Alumni Fund raisers and about this he says, "Without trying to sound corny, I think we all, as individuals, should give back to this world as much, if not more than what we take out. In some small measure, I hope that this activity will help me to tip the scales the other way for a change." (Ed note: Thanks, George.)
If you were to look in our "Twenty-Five Year Book" under the name Charles E. Osgood you would see quoted an article submitted by his wife which tells an intriguing tale of Charlie's work at the University of Illinois in communications research. Even then it was oriented to the international cultures. In the February 27 Sunday Supplement, Parade, there is an article on Charlie that shows he is very much engaged with the same occupation. It starts, "Thanks to American influence around the world, a lot of girls are being introduced for the first time to such hitherto taboo practices as dating, dancing and kissing. That's the report that comes from a University of Illinois psychologist, named Dr. Charles E. Osgood who has been studying the changing patterns of human conduct around the globe in recent years. According to Osgood, who heads the Center for Comparative Linguistics, people of different cultures are acting more and more alike as the result of modern technology. Most of them, he finds, are becoming increasingly Americanized." Charlie also notes that this does not necessarily mean they love America, but rather they feel the power of our cultural dominance. But in conclusion, Charlie laments the increasing loss of identity of culture, believing that we should tolerate and enjoy cultural differences between peoples.
Here are some address changes: Dr. Bob Clymer is to be addressed at Doctor's Bldg., 301 S. 7th Ave., West Reading, Pa. 19602; Mike Davis, 144 W. Newell St., Syracuse N.Y. 13205; Bud Finck, 2926 E. Osborn Road., Apt 324, Phoenix, Ariz. 85016; Don Rehor, 4879 Endicott St. Rd„ Batavia N. Y. 14020; Joe Shaw, 1340 Motor Circle, Dallas Tex. 75207; Lt Col. Myles Weston, 11 Lyrie Court, Towson, Md. 21204; John Wood, 3 Brierpatch Lane, Mattapoisett Mass. 02739.
Secretary,777 West St. Pittsfield, Mass. 01201
Class Agent, 2508 Nemours Bldg. Wilmington, Del. 19898
