1970

Well, Dartmouth and the rest of New Hampshire have weathered another Presidential primary. As usual the primary was not without its comic moments. Joan Hier who edits the class notes so capably each month usually sends the secretaries a cheery note commenting on the Hanover scene when acknowledging receipt of the column. I pass along the following story she noticed in the Claremont Eagle Times. It seems that Birch Bayh was in Morris Udall's head-quarters when the phone rang. No one else was around so he answered the phone saying, "Udall headquarters - Birch Bayh speaking." That didn't faze the caller but it sure made good publicity. The Udall people were also being neighborly and were waiting to welcome Bayh at his own headquarters. Speaking of primaries, I would welcome letters from any of you recounting your efforts in the 1968 New Hampshire primaries and how your thinking has evolved since then. It would also be of interest to find out if any of you are taking an active part in this year's elections as candidates, advisors, or campaign workers.

I had to stop complaining that I was overworked after talking with Drs. SteveAbramson and Hoyt Allen. Steve and wife Susan are in New York City where Steve is serving as a second year resident in medicine at Bellevue Hospital after having graduated from Harvard Med. His typical week calls for about 110 hours on the job. Steve seems to have taken it all in his stride and expects to stay on in New York serving as a chief resident next year. This involves further responsibilities for medical service and an opportunity to do some teaching. I had thought that the California doctors had been able to reform the whole system a bit, but Hoyt assured me that a residency is a residency and that means about 110 hours per week. Hoyt and wife Sandi have been in the San Diego area for the last year. Sandi is a nurse in an area hospital and Hoyt, a lieutenant in the Navy, is in his first year residency in general surgery at Balboa Naval Hospital. I guess those Navy men can't wait to get to sea - Hoyt is busy at work on a steam powered ship model of an ocean-going tug measuring some three and one half feet in length.

Also putting in what must amount to about a 110 hour week is Brent Coffin. Brent was ordained a Presbyterian minister on January 11. He is currently serving as the minister of the Greenwood Avenue Methodist Church in Trenton, N.J. When I called at 10:30 p.m. one evening Brent and his wife Poppy were just sitting down to dinner. The church is in an urban area and many of its programs are designed to help develop ties between the predominantly white congregation and the predominantly black community in which the church is situated. One of the objectives is to become the focal point of community life. In addition to supervising the youth programs after school which range from dramatics to tutoring, Brent helps with the action groups, church committees, etc., in addition to his responsibilities for conducting worship and preaching. Poppy, in addition to lending a hand with all of the above, continues to plan and direct the imaginative programs at the Princeton YWCA.

Finally, I spoke with Tom and Jan Evans who are to be found in Easthampton, Mass., when not enjoying their house on Cape Cod which they are in the process of restoring. Tom is now in the midst of reading up on how to rewire the place. Jan is teaching kindergarten and hoping to begin a part-time antiques business. Tom has become the director of admissions at Williston Academy in Easthampton, having taught French there for two years. When not conducting panels and workshops for guidance counselors and admissions directors and turning down job offers outside New England, Tom dons his uniform as an Easthampton "Raider." When I called, the "Raiders" were second in what Tom says is a "brutal" town basketball league. Anyone who is about to begin restoring an old home might give Tom and Jan a ring to get some good advice on how to avoid some of the common errors people make as well as a sense of the thrill involved in such a project.

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