1950
Our subdued expectations were rewarded. The North Country was a blaze of color for our early October visit. Only the natives could say that the peak foliage had passed.
On campus it was Dartmouth Night, revived after an hiatus of several years. How is it possible to convey to you the electric feeling of excitement in the air. The crowd swarmed from Dartmouth Hall to the center of campus, a larger gathering than 1 had ever seen before. The band played, the students sang, and everyone cheered the faint prospect of victory against Penn. The band threaded its way to the largest bonfire ever with at least 77 tiers towering to tree-top levels. And then they backed off - you remember - as the fire climbed and the heat mounted. The frosh braved the heat and snake danced en masse within the circle. If you have wondered about today's students, there was the answer. The magic of the late forties was back, and only one old grad had changed.
Then to the game on another beautiful fall afternoon. Siobán and I had already seen Edand Marlene Tuck and Bob and Mary Kilmarx on campus. In the stands we first saw another early arrival, Jim and Serene Farmer, who had come in from Ohio for their first visit in several years. Four out of five of their children are committed to other colleges, but their youngest remains a prospect. We both wondered where old friend Bob Wilson now hangs his shingle.
The game started with an unexpected twist, a touchdown on the first Dartmouth play from scrimmage. On the next series of downs the Big Green scored again. Dick McSorley led the cheers with help from Frank Dickinson and Stretch Pendleton. During the half we shared our incredulity with Eric Miller and BobMcllwain. Then the worst came, slowly, almost inevitably, despite the heroics of a stalwart defense. Several seats over Alex Hoffman, EdGulick, and Bud Veghte urged the team to hold. To no avail. Penn prevailed. Ed Zebrowski and Doug Smith now had to explain the team's defeat to their progeny.
Leaving the stands we tried to assess the rest of the season with Frank and Sally Harrington and Don and Betsy Ayers. A progression of long dismal Saturday afternoons seemed to be inevitable. These thoughts were echoed later with Newc and Sally Eldredge. Several other "50-ites were in Hanover but not in sight. Len Matless had left the Hillwinds Shop early to get to the game. Chuck Solberg evidently shared seats with Bill Carpenter and Bud Gleason, who watched the game slip away with parental concern.
On to Providence and Brown where the Bruins were primed and expectantly scenting their first victory over Dartmouth in years. For a quarter Sandy and Dottie McCulloch shared my anguish. Then the tide turned. At the half Bob Kilmarx and Doug Smith separately voiced cautious optimism. On the opposite side of the field. Fizz Nichols joined the cheers as Tom Fleming, the exciting sophomore end and kick return specialist, broke an arcing sweep of 70- odd yards for the insurance touchdown. The losing streak was ended at three.
After the game I caught up to Bud Gleason chatting with his sons on the field. Bud commutes to every game, a trek that ranges up to 450 miles. The incentive is clear. Son Jim '74 anchors the right offensive line beside end Bill Carpenter. Son John '76 is a back-up guard. And in the wings is son Joe '77, who now plays with the frosh.
The visit to Brown completed a tour of Ivy League stadia. My conclusion is that, after Memorial Field, the next best stadium for watching a game is Harvard's Soldiers Field (except from seats behind the colonnade). Then come Princeton and Yale.
The morning before the Harvard game TomRuggles and I tested the mettle of a Cantabrigian pair on the tennis courts. Our hopes for the team, however, were dim, since the Crimson boasted a vaunted defense to counter the D's inept offense.
But my observations about stadia were to be tested. After chatting briefly with Fizz Nichols before he headed for midgrid seats, I sought mine. Bill Sullivan was the first clue; we both sat at the open end of the field but beyond the end zone line. Not another '50-ite was in sight, so we turned our attention to the field. Within two minutes Harvard had three points. Then Dartmouth scored not once but four times, including a field goal, before intermission. Speculation at halftime could only raise the specter of the Penn game.
The concern was valid. In the second half the offense died. The defense saved the day. Inside the twenty they were tough; inside the five, devastating. The Harvard tide was simply turn- ed. The New England football writers chose the entire defensive team for the weekly Gold Helmet Award for the outstanding player. And the squad were dubbed the Misfits - too light, too small, too slow to play defensive football; too young to be outstanding.
And the stadium? Even from our seats we could feel and smell and hear the game. The stands reverberated with cries of GO and HOLD. After years of frustration Harvard's fans held their white handkerchiefs ready and primed. They were stilled. In the end the white banners waved massively from our side as the air filled with the strains of "Men of Dartmouth."
So the Yale game approaches with new expectations.
One couple not expected in Hanover for the Yale mini-reunion is Dan and Molly Schausten. The trip from Portland (Oregon, not Maine) is ex-budget after footing college bills for Dan's two children. He is now the assistant to the administrator for public affairs with the Bonneville Power Administration, the second largest power marketing organization in the free world with 12,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines throughout the Northwest. Dan had been active in GOP affairs before entering federal service with the BPA. Now he concentrates on improving his mediocre golf game (probably a big hustle) and holding the forest at bay around his three-acre beach house on the Oregon coast. In town, he lives in a condominium and forsakes the law mower with no regrets. Dan reports seeing George and Katie Carpenter every couple of years and ex-roommate Dick Ribble upon occasion in San Francisco. Recently he visited Skipand E Fauver in their new digs in Perrysburg, Ohio. Dan regrets that none of them has retained his old ability to quaff.
A squib in the Los Angeles Times quoted one of Frank Gilroy's theories: "The less money, the more art." The theory flicks a rapier's edge at multi-million dollar movie extravaganzas. Frank recently completed a low budget cameo, "Desperate Characters," with Shirley MacLaine. He was planning to direct an adaptation of his new novel "From Noon Till Three," which was published by Doubleday in October. Frank enjoys directing films of his own works. He can call a conference with the writer . . in my head at a moment's notice and get concessions either way."
Tidbits here and there: catching a credit for Steve Kandel has been difficult, but he wrote the screen play for the 1973 premiere of "Cannon." The representative lost his cool while Dave Luce remained calm in presenting his brief for abolishing the House Committee on Internal Security. Dave is battling against repressive legislation. Whitefield (N.H.) High School cited Rod Stinehour as its alumni of the year. The backlog includes notes on Larry Batty, JackWilliams, and Issy Stahl, but reports on the mini-reunion and the Yale game may intervene. Bill Dey has been elected to the board of directors of the Family and Children's Services, Inc., in Monmouth County, N.J.
One quick Vermont story: when asked if he had lived in the village all his life, the old man pondered a bit, looked up, and said, "Not yet!"
Again the disparity of publication. For you the holiday season is nigh. May the new year continue'your health and prosperity. May you be with good will and peace.
Secretary, 510 Hillcrest Rd. Ridgewood, N. J. 07450
Treasurer, Oppenheimer & Co. One New York Plaza New York, N.Y. 10004
