1942
Nobody is going to convince me that there isn't some kind of massive conspiracy against me at work in the Philadelphia Post Office! Either that, or no one in the Class of '42, is writing me! That's it ... my mail is either in a gray bag in some corner in that big building at 30th & Market Sts ... or, it's still to be written and mailed by my classmates. Here it is almost three months that I've had the job of class secretary and the only mail I've received is from Crosby Hall reminding me to get my copy in on time. OK, it is two days after Christmas, and here is my copy for the February column (watch me stretch very little into 750 words!) ...
As usual I enjoyed myself at the semi-annual meeting of the Alumni Council in Hanover last December 4-6 where the big item on the agenda was a discussion of the male-female ratio of the Dartmouth undergraduate population ... i.e. should it stay at 3:1 male to female, or change immediately or gradually to a 2:1 or even a 1:1 situation. This topic will be adequately covered elsewhere in this Magazine and other pieces of literature coming from Hanover.
My purpose here is only to tell you of other '42s who attended the December meetings: Ira Berman and Charlie Hunt are both members of the Council and were there, and Head Agent Buzz Cassidy was also present because of a simultaneous meeting of all class head agents ... Bumped into Guy Swenson on Main St.... and, of course, spent pleasant moments with 1942's influential college administration faction: Ad Winship, Alex Fanelli, Allan Dingwall, and Jim Farley. After the B.U.-Dartmouth hockey game there were Bob Kirk and Bob Searles at a Thompson Arena cocktail party. Dartmouth lost 5-2, but what a beautiful building to lose in! I'm proud to say that my old roommate, Phil Jackson '43, built it (Jackson Construction Co.) and it is magnificent.
Ira Berman sent me a copy of one of his leather industry trade journals which carried news about Fred Worthen and his company, Farnsworth, Inc., Lowell, Mass. Fred had appointed his son Peter general manager. Fred is president of Farnsworth and its parent company, Worthen Industries, Inc. Other Worthen companies are Stitch-Rite Corp., Nylco Products, Inc., Delco Rubber Corp., Upaco Adhesives Inc., and Worthen Caribe, Inc. Farnsworth is a manufacturer of bias binding for the footwear industry, and Stitch-Rite is a supplier of machines, attachments, parts and accessories for fabric footwear stitching rooms. The article didn't say what Nylco, Delco, Upaco, or Worthen Carbie make.
Speaking of Ira Berman I cannot help but reflect on how he typifies the "Only in America" - Horatio Alger kind of success story. I can remember back in 1938 when as a freshman Ira was delivering newspapers (do you know what it's like to be outside at 5:30 a.m. when it's 30 below zero?), selling hotdogs at football games, selling ice cream at basketball games, waiting on tables in Freshman Commons, plus a few other jobs I've forgotten about during his undergraduate years ... and how he joined his father's modest company in Boston dealing in odd lots of leather ... and, now, how he's built the business into a multi-million dollar operation dealing in all shoe leathers, warehousing, and mail order. Heartwarming. (Any other similar stories in our class? Tell me!)
In less than two months from now we will be embarking on our 34th Alumni Fund campaign. Not the College's 34th ... 42's 34th!. That's right, 34 times the College will have asked for our support, and for the 34th time a handsome majority of us will respond. I think it's time, here and now, to pay homage to those 80 classmates who have never failed to respond for each and every one of the 33 years that they have been alumni. I've never seen their names listed anywhere but in the Crosby Hall files, and I think it's high time we gave them the public notice they deserve. Our deepest gratitude to: Don Amy, Bert Anger, Stew Asimus, Bob Atwood, Dick Baldwin, Kent Barclay, Harry Bartlett, Tom Blankley, Harry Bond, Paul Breck, John Callihan, Bill Clark, Dick Clarke, Jake Davis, Mike de Sherbinin, Bob Dewey, Allan Dingwall, Bill Dorrance, Bud Dutton, Roy Eldredge, Mel Figley, Ed Finn, Duke Frieman, Ernie Friez, Mai Garfink, Bob Giles, Dan Hagge, Howard Halfmann, Rusty Hartranft, Ed Hawkridge, Fritz Heinbokel, Dick Higgins, George Hinkley, Carl Holekamp, Alex Hooker, Allen Hooker, Camp Hopkins, Charlie Hunt, Jack Kelsey, Don Kerr, Charlie Kingsley, Warren Kreter, Dave Langdon, Ted Lapres, Murray Latz, John LeSeur, George McClintock, Phil Moon, Jim Mulligan, Dick Nehring, Gordon Newell, Jim O'Mara, Ben Page, Proc Page, Joe Palamountain, Allan Priddy, Bill Provost, Dex Richards, George Rushton, Bob Schuette, Dunbar Schuetz, John Scolaro, John Sewell, Dick Silver, Jim Skinner, Ed Spiegel, Doug Stowell, Bob Strasenburgh, Guy Swenson, John Taylor, Bob Waldron, Charlie Weinberg, Fred Wells, John Wester, Frank Wheatley, Milt Williams, Bob Williams, Ad Winship, Andy Wood, Stanley Wyatt.
We have another 110 classmates who have given to the Alumni Fund 30, 31, or 32 years since graduation (and, I'm sure many of them would be on the 33-year list if it were not for military service in 1943-44-45 ... for example, my mail from the college didn't catch up to me in the South Pacific until 1945 when I was on Okinawa).
I have one question for Jim O'Mara ... His records show continual giving to the Alumni Fund for 34 years! Jim ... how can you give 34 times in 33 years?
Sec'y, 1001 Livezey Lane Philadelphia, Pa. 19119
Treasurer, 100 Springbrook Drive Silver Spring, Md. 20904
