REUNION WEEK

Although rain was an ever-present problem throughout the week after Commencement, the classes back for reunions last month had a near-record turn- out – the best since 1968 – and the reunion reports in this issue indicate that the weather was not permitted to spoil the pleasures of getting back to Hanover and getting together with old friends. The phrase "best ever" is used in many of the reunion accounts.

The Classes of 1908, 1913, 1918 and 1923, whose reunions coincided with Commencement weekend, had the sunny best of it. They were followed, for the first half of the week, by 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1933. The 25-year Class of 1948 checked in on Thursday, and the next day they were joined by 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1963 for the balance of the week.

The three classes in the 50s came back in huge numbers, and 1953, with 146 men and total attendance of 510, set a new record for a 20-year class. This turnout won for 1953 the Class of 1930 Cup, for the largest number of class members back. The 1894 Cup, for largest percentage of graduates back, went to 1923, which had a remarkable 50%. With 125 men back and 240 family members in all, 1923 set new reunion attendance records in both categories.

For the fourth year, the first half of Reunion Week also brought back on an informal basis some members of the non- reunion classes prior to 1923. All classes from 1909 through 1922, other than those gathered formally at Commencement time, were represented, and the total of 140 men and wives was 60 higher than last year and was the best total to date. For these older classes, a few joint events are scheduled, but the main idea is to have a quiet, pleasant time in Hanover and to reune with Dartmouth contemporaries informally and without program pressures.

President and Mrs. Kemeny were the busiest couple in Hanover throughout the ten-day period of Commencement and reunions. They held three receptions at the President's House and President Kemeny spoke to the alumni at three gatherings in Spaulding Auditorium in Hopkins Center, the first of these, on June 9, constituting the annual meeting of the General Association of Dartmouth Alumni. In addition, the Kemenys dropped in on all nine reunion class banquets held after Commencement and the President spoke briefly at each one.

Three panel discussions and a symposium, sponsored by the classes, were among the top events of Reunion Week. On Monday, June 11, the Classes of 1927, 1928 and 1929 sponsored a panel on "Dartmouth Today," with Paul F. Hannah '27 as moderator and Vice Presidents Ruth Adams and Donald Kreider as the speakers. On Wednesday the Class of 1933 staged a panel on "Directions in the Postwar '70s," with former Congressman John S. Monagan '33 as moderator. Three prominent members of the Class and a '33 wife, Mrs. J. Warren Braley, were the speakers.

On Friday, the 25-year class was responsible for a panel discussion, "The Sons and Daughters of '48 Look at the College of Today," with Prof. Robert E. Huke '48 presiding. Three undergraduates gave their views and answered questions. The final symposium on Saturday, June 16, was sponsored by 1963 and dealt with "Women of Dartmouth." The moderator, Vice President Ruth Adams, was joined by Marilyn Baldwin, Acting Dean of Student Services, and other members of the Dartmouth community. In addition to the class-sponsored seminars, the College itself conducted two, on "Change and the Future," on Thursday and Friday of Reunion Week. Tents, beer kegs, rock bands, picnics, and memorial services had their traditional place in the various class programs, and reunion headgear was absolutely essential for class members, wives, and children. The Class of 1952, 1953, and 1954 brought back 609 kids in all, the greatest display of offspring the College has ever seen during Reunion Week. Other events of the reunion period ranged from bus tours of the campus for the elderly or the weary to a climbing trip to Mt. Moosilauke, conducted by members of the Dartmouth Outing Club. Some 150 persons signed up for the Moosilauke trip, and despite the heavy rain that day, 79 hardy souls made it, including a few who climbed to the top of the mountain. "The granite of New Hampshire ...”

Reunion Attendance % of No. of TotalGrads Men Count 1908 28% 7 13 1913 29% 17 37 1918 37% 53 104 1923 50% 125* 240** 1927 28% 83 171 1928 27% 92 162 1929 28% 103 196 1933 27% 118 224 1948 24% 94 314 1952 19% 119 420 1953 23% 146 510*** 1954 21% 119 450 1963 18% 139 271 1973 Totals 1,215 3,112 1972 Totals 1,048 2,271

* New record for the most men at a 50th Reunion. Old record 118 set by Class of 1918 in 1968.

** New record for total attendance at 50th Reunion. Old record 238 set by Class of 1915 in 1965.

*** New record for total attendance at 20th Reunion. Old record 447 set by Class of 1944 in 1964.