1913

In a letter written last November, the late Cap Avery recalled another story about biology professor George Lyman: Bug, as he was popularly known, had a large family. One winter morning they were all down with colds and Bug had much to do before leaving for his ten o'clock lecture. The class waited for him and at 10:30 decided to disband, just as Bug himself appeared. He gave an account of the state of affairs at home and concluded with a gem of an observation: "I'm amazed at the delight shown by students when a class is canceled. I can only say that college is the only place where you pay for the ticket and then hope there won't be any show."

During a quiet moment in a Cornell football game in Hanover about ten years ago, the attention of the crowd was diverted from the field of play by the honking of a flight of Canadian geese unconcernedly flopping their way south low over the stadium. Corey Ford remarked later, "Probably Coach Blackman looked up at the flying wedge and thought to himself, 'Smart geese — they use the V formation, too.' "

And once Bill Morton '32, quarterbacking a good varsity team in an exciting game (perhaps also with Cornell), called for time out. With the crowd quiet the two teams dropped to the ground to rest, and one of the players asked, "What's the time out for?" Bill replied, "I want to watch those geese flying south. Look!" The Dartmouth team looked up; the whole crowd looked up. The geese sailed serenely overhead. "Honk — honk. Honk — honk."

We wonder if this could happen anywhere else, over very many other playing fields and stadia. We like the warm-hearted, outdoor spirit of Dartmouth football players and crowds watching migrations of wildfowl, admiring their beauty, their symmetrical flight behind the leader at the apex of their lovely V, and the instinct of nature that pilots them south at this time every year.

— from the December 1963 Class of 1913 newsletter, edited by Fairy Fairbanks

Newsletter Editor R.F.D. #3 Newfoundland, N.J. 07435

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