1919

This year our nation.will have a Bicentennial celebration July 4, 1976, 200 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This has inspired me to remember anniversaries which may not have international implications but were important to the members of our Class who were personally involved. I am thinking of wedding anniversaries and start this romantic story with Walter and Louise (Agar) Cooper who were married in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 1918. "Coop", at that time was 23 years old, having been born in Chicago August 9, 1895. If my arithmetic is correct he was 80 years old last August. The last time I saw him (twenty odd years ago) he was a fine looking young man. Coop writes: "We celebrated our 50th anniversary (1968) by taking a flying trip around the world from September 12 to October 25 to Hawaii; Japan; Taiwan; Hong Kong; Bangkok, Chiengmai, Thailand; New Delhi, Jaipur, Azra, India; Beirut, Lebanon; Vienna, Austria; Istanbul, Turkey; and home.

"It was a wonderful trip with lots of motoring in the various countries visited, and not tiring.

"For the other anniversaries we travelled also to South America, Greece, Rhodes, Crete, Jugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslavia, Vienna, London, and Ireland. Then a safari to South and East Africa. The flying was quick and good and we saw many interesting places."

Next on my list is Roger A. Clark who supplied me with this wonderful report: "Your letter regarding our 50th wedding anniversary has been received. As you state, we were married on October 23, 1920, and our son and daughter invited us to celebrate the occasion with a small party at the latter's house in Washington, D.C. No one was invited except our children and grandchildren and sisters of Helen and me. In the two or three months prior to the party our two children prepared a list of long time friends and relatives and sent out a letter to each one asking them to write a note or send a card congratulating us on the occasion, - but no presents. The response was overwhelming. Almost everybody on the list replied and their cards and letters were pasted in two scrapbooks which were presented to us at the party. Our son also dug up some pictures of our family in the early years and had them blown up and tacked up around the house. A catering firm brought in an elegant dinner and afterwards a Washington photographer took pictures of the family group. It was a great event and we enjoyed it very much.

"On October 2, 1975, we celebrated our 55th anniversary. This time we stayed at home but went out to dinner at a local restaurant. Our daughter and her family drove up over the following weekend and other members of the family called us on the phone."

The third name on my anniversary list is William S. Dick-Peddie, who lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Here is his response to my early December letter: "Your information is correct. Elizabeth and I were married December 15, 1920 in the Church of the Transfiguration 'the little church around the corner,' New York City. Though our Navy son was in Vietnam, the two sons had a reception for us at the home of the elder, here in Las Cruces. It was a surprise to us. How they kept it a secret I don't know, as we had friends and relatives here from New York to California and points between. One of our gifts was a trip to Scotland where we visited the last Dick-Peddie in Scotland. This of course was our 50th, December 15, 1970. Our 55th would have been this year but Elizabeth was taken by a heart attack and died in a San Mateo, California, hospital April 1, 1975. We were visiting the younger son in nearby Foster City."

I had intended to send you reports on other anniversary celebrations but don't be surprised if my plans are altered. Already I have been made aware that some anniversaries have been reported previously in the Smoke Signal. Fortunately I have a copy of every S.S. I wrote, starting with the first issue dated April 1962, and the last one dated August 1974. If your memory is as uncertain as mine you may not recognize that some of these dramatic events were covered previously. By the time you read these notes you may be eating your first asparagus of the 1976 season. In any event, I wish you and your youthful thinking friends a happy George Washington's Birthday celebration.

Secretary, Box 393 Salisbury, Conn. 06068

Treasurer, Dibble Hill Road West Cornwall, Conn. 06796