Hanover Inn
One of the serious challenges to the College's well-being occurred when Jim McFate retired as manager of the Hanover Inn after long years of loyal service. The retirement happened to occur at a time when changed economic circumstances were causing problems for hotels all over the nation. The Hanover Inn, which had been operating on a balanced budget for many years, >vas running at an intolerable deficit by 1972. Clearly, the selection of a new manager was one of the more important personnel decisions to be made.
An intensive search was conducted by Richard Treadway '36, c airman of the overseers of the Inn, and Rodney Morgan, vice president for administration. They were fortunate enough to atmanager tract Bob Merrow, who at a young age had proven himself as of the Woodstock Inn.
The challenge facing Bob Merrow was to maintain the high quality and friendly atmosphere for which the Hanover Inn was famous under Jim McFate's management and yet to turn around the financial position. Bob would earn a special vote of thanks from the Dartmouth Trustees when in just a year and a half he improved the net financial position of the Inn by $130,000. To achieve this result Bob had to make a number of very tough management decisions. The Hanover Inn Motor Lodge was closed during the slack season. Labor and food costs were tightly controlled. A new bookkeeping system was set up for the Inn to improve billing procedures and to give timely cost figures so that the manager could step in in case of a problem. Much credit goes to Bob Merrow and his associates for achieving such a spec- tacular result without compromising the special atmosphere of the Hanover Inn.
An important development during these two years was the lowering of the drinking age in New Hampshire to 18. I welcomed this change. For some years our 18- to 21-year-old students were allowed to drink in Vermont but not in New Hampshire. This meant that they had to drive in order to drink a very dangerous combination. The Hanover Inn took advantage of the new drinking law by converting the Tavern to a student beer hall. Since that time several other places have opened up in and near Hanover where students and faculty can go for a glass of beer and a snack. In the view of many, the only thing Hanover had lacked to be the perfect college town was such student gathering places. But as long as the majority of our students were under the legal drinking age, there was no way of achieving this objective. I predict that the Tavern and one or more local establishments will become favorite student hangouts and play an important role in the social life of the College.
Of the various boards of overseers, the Hanover Inn board has always been one of the most active and influential. During this period of change, the overseers played a crucial role. In addition to helping in the selection of the new manager, they provided invaluable help and guidance to Bob Merrow in his initial efforts. They also planned a major renovation of the old wing of the Hanover Inn, a project that is now nearly complete. The entire project has been carefully planned and is being financed by the College on a strictly businesslike basis. Given the track record of Bob Merrow, I am confident that the guests of the College will be able to enjoy an improved Hanover Inn at no additional cost to the College.
