1950
There was a time in the long ago and distant past when you could toll the weeks of autumn by the Big Green football schedule. Foliage came with Penn or Princeton, goblins with Yale, and snow with Cornell. The new schedule wrecks havoc on this finely tuned timer. No game was played in Hanover on the second weekend in October, and by the date of the Harvard game the best of the foliage had waned. The yellows and bright oranges were gone, but it was still a beautiful, if subdued, display of crimsons, russets, and reds marching through the north country hills.
Dartmouth night and the weekend were successful as a growing contingent of classmates poured into town to enjoy mini-reunion/'76. Festivities started, after a preview of AAA and frosh football, with the torchlight parade that wended through town and around campus to the cheers and acclaim of old grads, underclassmen, and throngs from the neighboring countryside. The class was thinly represented that evening as we walked with Leu and Sue Matless and Jimand Peggy Vail behind the banner proclaiming "... a touch of class." Bill Carpenter and Frank Dickinson were somewhere in the surging crowd that flowed from Dartmouth Row to the middle of campus - how different from a scant four years ago. Next year we need more volunteers to swell the ranks of '50, to hear the chants of "eighty-one," to listen to the pre-game rally, and to watch the bonfire. (This year two fires blazed within four days. The mystery of the culprit remains unsolved: sophomore speedster or Harvard prankster. The story even hit the front pages in San Francisco!)
Early on Saturday morning Jack Hamed called the 23 members of the Exec Committee, the largest representation yet, to order. Ed Tuck reported that the Class remains solvent with a miniscule operating surplus and resources of about $2000. However, the costs of operating are increasing sufficiently to threaten insolvency, so the committee confirmed last year's decision to raise annual class dues to $15.
In a gentler vein Nev Chamberlain discussed the bequest program, which is slowly gathering momentum in our post-25th years. Nev read the letter he proposed soon to send to each of us. The letter reflected the time and thought he had given in writing about this sensitive but meaningful subject. You can judge for yourself when his letter arrives and you read it.
The report on fund activities by head agent Joe! Leavitt triggered a discussion that dominated the meeting. Yes, the dollar total compared to the base year of 1974 had slipped - and slipped significantly. But this slip was not the issue. The real cause for alarm was the 15 Per cent drop in participation. The net loss of over 60 contributors is serious. Were you there last year when the College needed you?
The final piece of business was a report presented by Bob McIlwain, chairman of the subcommittee on an alternative or new class project. His subcommittee included Dave Taylor, who came from San Francisco and won the long distance prize, Jim Birney, Newc Eldredge, and Ed Tuck. Three categories were considered: capital items, scholarships and financial aid, and budget relief - the last pertaining to ongoing expenses of the College that must be met annually in some way or another. In evaluating these alternatives the subcommitee had to contend with the limited resources of the Class. It was clear that one project exists that fulfills a need, has a purpose, relieves the budget, attracts the students, enhances the beauty of the campus, and stands as something that we can see and point to with pride: the tree program. Its value increases each year. For these reasons the subcommittee recommended that the program be continued. The recommendation was accepted and approved, and a contribution of $1000 was voted for this academic year. Newc Eldredge reported that 65 of the Class's trees are now planted at various locations on the campus; each is marked with a plaque.
The meeting adjourned in time for us to join the gathering clan to enjoy tailgate lunches, drinks, and tales before the game. Bill Cross looked hardly the worse for wear after his soaking at Yale. After twenty or more years of wandering, Gordie Nye renewed acquaintances. Ben Shaver arrived at the last moment with another horrendous travel saga to regale GordiePinkham. Harry Hall appeared. Bud Veghte dropped down from Piermont, N.H., and BuzzBurrill eased in from his vacation roost in East Barnard, Vt. Ted Remsen joined the group by the river with Dick Dave Pittenger, andKim Swezey. The bus to the game was packed to overflowing.
A block of more than 180 seats (half for wives and other friends) had been reserved for the Class in the stadium - in the end zone! Neither Bob Kilmarx nor Sandy McCulloeh could exert a salving pressure. The fact that the seats were on the south side was incidental. There was no sun. Nor rain. Temperatures were endurable. New faces appeared in the crowd: Bruce Parker,Dick Griffith, and Dolph Cramer. And old ones: Alex Hoffman, Stretch Pendleton, and DaveReier. Walt Lindenthal was there, and DonAyres. On the sidelines Ed Gulick tangled his wheelchair with a Harvard defensive back; the result was a stand-off. Frank Harrington had his usual seat next to me, Bill Sullivan behind me. In the distance someone looked like DaveHepworth. If you were missed, it was the crowd.
The end zone seats,put us right on top of the four critical plays that ended the game. Oberg's dive from the one-foot line became a casualty to a submarining guard and a linebacker who finished the action. Then came a fumble, a penalty, and a final desperation pass-run option that carried from the twelve to a scant yard from paydirt. The team outclassed Harvard in the last half, but the yeoman effort came too late and fell short.
Emotionally exhausted, a large contingent headed for the cocktail party and dinner at the Woodstock Country Club. Fizz Nichols, WarrenFranz, and Ken Edelson added to the turnout, which increases each year. A surprise was Pietervon Herrman. While not exactly the toast-master, Clift Whiteman managed to tell one story that brought down the house. When music was needed, Tom Ruggles strummed his banjo; and Bill Embree, with subtle assists from PaulZeller, tried to coax harmony from ChuckCarpenter, Paul Canada, Dick Echikson, and sundry rasping baritones. The tempo improved after Gerry Sarno arrived, late. After closing down another party, Dick McSorley drifted in to sustain everyone through the wee hours of the night.
It was a great party, a great weekend, despite the results on the gridiron. There is no real need to extol the beauties of an autumn interlude in the north country. Next year we shall gather for mini-reunion/'77 over Cornell weekend on 22 October. Mark the date now.
Tidbits here and there: Bill Turino commutes from Bronxville to analyze securities for Fahnestock & Co; in lower Manhattan he occasionally sees Eric Miller of Oppenheimer, RayDevoe of Spencer Trask, and Ted Remsen of the NYSE. At the Dept. of State Dave Hitchcock is a new class one foreign service information officer. Bill Wallace of Calvin Bullock has been elected a trustee of the Browning School for Boys, a small and old (established, 1888) private school in NYC. Don O. Brown sends greetings from Highland Park, Ill. Wedding bells rang for Meredith Lenihan and Doug Smith; they are living in Providence. Bill Sickel moved from Fort Worth to one of the unique cities in the US of A, San Antonio.
Where, oh where, are: Dick Best, last heard from while practicing medicine in the wilds of Montana. That old-time stellar defensive back and more recent medic in Minnesota, LarryPerry. Or the engineer who drifted from Worcester to Maryland, Sev Stega.
The year has run its course. Again, and how quickly. As the snow flies, my greetings for the season. May your new year be full and bountiful. Pax tibi.
Secretary, 510 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood, N.J. 07450
Treasurer, 19Claybar Drive West Hartford, Conn. 06117
