1947
We have a follow-up to last month's brief item about the Bob Dorion family in Guatemala and the tragic earthquake of February. A firsthand report on the family's situation by Bob hints at some of the terror experienced during the quake and the days immediately following.
The family escaped serious injury, but Bob's wife Ana Maria suffered a pinched disc brought on by tension and increased activity such as lifting heavy cans of water during the emergency. She underwent disc surgery at the end of February. Son Patrick spent six of the first nights after the quake in the area of greatest devastation. He headed a group of four in a makeshift ambulance and was kept busy injecting, setting bones, performing rustic plastic surgery, and distributing food and medicines.
Daughter Michelle served as a nurse's aide, made bandages and watched a victim's spleen operation. "She liked it!" Bob reports. She also took care of her mother and brothers. Nicholas and Kristel did their bit, too, helping families of the neighboring country folk who were reconstructing their homes and living on the Dorion property.
Bob cracked three molars due to nervousness and had some lengthy stays in the dentist chair as a result.
The Dorion house suffered damage in the original quake and then additional smaller damage from shocks that followed, but Bob says what fell then would have been ripped out anyway so it made the repair job slightly easier.
Bob's offices had minor damage to ceilings and walls. "Because we are six floors up, every tremor needs to be met with a logical quick action to help morale. None of us is above fear. But our panic threshold has been raised considerably."
To sum up, Bob feels most grateful that his family, friends and relatives escaped without serious injury and damage to properties was minimal. The Dorions are counting their blessings.
Happy Bicentennial wishes come from the Don Armitsteads out in Seattle. Don is with the Boeing Company, and wife Rusty works for Mrs. W. E. Boeing, widow of the founder. The two Armitstead children, Janis and Paul, are at the University of Washington, with Janis graduating this month after majoring in microbiology. Don is moderator of the Magnolia Congregational Church.
Add to the list of '47 travelers Doug and EltonBurch, who played hookey for a week in the Caribbean, a gift from their children and Doug's office staff for their 27th wedding anniversary. Son Jeff (UConn '75) is selling advertising space for MacFadden publications in New York. Daughter Wendy is on the dean's list at Briarcliff College. Doug's firm, Creative Media Services, Inc., moved into newly constructed office space earlier in the year, before the work was completed. Everyone soon learned how to dodge carpenters and painters.
John Campbell is Chicago district manager for Teledyne Rooney Metals, a strip rolling mill in New Bedford, Mass., specializing in stainless steels and other special metals. He is also a trustee of the village of River Forest, Ill.
This is being written shortly after Ann and I have returned from another great Class Officers' Weekend in Hanover. It is a pleasure to report that Frank and Ursula Weber, Norm andHelen Fink, Alan and Sally Epstein, and Hamand Dottie Chase all seem to be happy, healthy and younger looking than ever. The same may be said for Hugh Chapin, bequest chairman, who had to leave Hanover early in the weekend because of another commitment.
(Wait a minute - one of the class officers was ailing slightly. Ham Chase, our 30th Reunion chairman, had suffered a separated shoulder from being checked into the boards during a hockey game a month or two earlier. I tried to talk Ham into giving up hockey, but I think he's determined to outlast Gordie Howe.)
Much of the interest that weekend centered around the future course of the College in regard to setting a new ratio for male-female enrollments, a decision that will be made only after months of discussion with alumni and the study of various proposals.
It was also a perfect occasion to toast Ham and Dottie on their anniversary, 25 years after they were married in the White Church in Hanover. Daughter Sue has been accepted for the Class of 'BO at Dartmouth, another reason to celebrate.
Grant Tinker, president of MTM productions, and wife Mary Tyler Moore had been warmly greeted in Hanover the previous week. An overflow crowd, alerted to their appearance by posters displayed only a few hours before the couple arrived at the Top of the Hop, asked for and got advice on careers in TV and acting. The Tinkers also answered questions the next morning in a film class conducted by Professor Maurice Rapf '35. "We love you, Mary," was the students' enthusiastic evaluation.
And now just let me remind those who haven't yet contributed to the Alumni Fund to do so quickly. Time is running out. And a gift to the Alumni Fund is guaranteed to help you have a more relaxing, enjoyable, and satisfying summer. Which is my wish for all '47s and their families.
Secretary, 64 Sylvan Place Longmeadow, Mass. 01106
Class Agent,Sunnyridge Road, Harrison, N.Y. 10528
