1932's 45th

Having arrived in Hanover a few days before reunion Addie and I attended the 206th Commencement, at which three of our classmates participated in a big way. The grand marshal of the procession, looking very rotund and cherubic, was none other than retiring professor of geology Dick Stoiber. Also receiving a special award was retiring director of planning Dick Olmsted, and the third member of our class — looking great — was Bill Morton, marching as a Trustee. This was the proper introduction to our great and glorious 45th reunion which now belongs to history.

As incoming classmates were still checking in at the dorms the Class began to unfold its program. First a symposium, to a packed audience in the basement of Dartmouth Hall, chaired by president emeritus of the University of Washington Chuck Odegaard, with five-minute talks on "The Many Worlds of '32" from such captains of industry and intellectual giants as Ping Ferry, Ed Marks, HowieSargeant, Bo Wentworth, and travel-worn WhipWalser. It was an interesting event which will no doubt be continued at future reunions.

Quoting from the article that appeared in the Rutland Herald the next day this symposium was "a potpourri of pleasance, and more than a pinch of nostalgia that greeted the class of 1932 as it descended upon the Dartmouth campus for its 45th reunion - a reunion which for many '32ers coincided with retirement age."

Our class picnic the next day held by the Connecticut River was blessed with beautiful weather. Bob Ackerberg MC rose to the occasion for this well planned party which was aided by the excellent cold beer and German food ordered by Ade Nitschelm of the reunion committee. A three-piece oldtime German "compa" band somehow discovered by reunion chairman Ben Drew helped in the merriment. President Kemeny attended our picnic and was given a coffee-maker as a special gift from the class while Rhoda Clark won an award of a bag of foreign stamps for continuous reunion attendance (it turned out she was a philatelist also!). Reuel Denney of Honolulu won the prize for the classmate returning from the farthest distance, although it should be known that Bo Wentworth had flown in the day before from Barcelona, Spain, especially to attend the reunion. PeteSawyer won the award (a birth control pill!) for having the greatest number of grandchildren (21 in all).

That evening we all met at Hopkins Center for a good cocktail party which was followed by the class banquet at the Hanover Inn. JayWhitehair was in top form as MC and was ably aided by Butch Modarelli and Casey Warner, and by songs from the Dartmouth Distractions. The rendition of Dartmouth songs by the women's choral ensemble was aptly described by Whitehair as "the nearest thing to a prayer."

At the banquet Dick Olmsted received a Trustee Award, and Tom Curtis and Bob Fendrich were presented with Alumni Awards. Later we were shown slides and given a beautiful description by Pete Knight of his recent epic Atlantic crossing in a 30-foot sailboat in which he was accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law. Pete certainly is one of the rugged individualists of our class - which has been blessed with a good share of these hearty souls.

Our final day of reunion began with a memorial service in the attractive Aquinas House with Dobbie Allen at the organ. She played her original composition especially composed for this event, and a beautiful service was conducted by the Reverend Boyle. We were all saddened to learn of the number of classmates deceased since our last reunion.

After the service a class meeting was held in Carpenter Hall, at which time the new officers nominated by the executive committee were duly elected by the class. They are John O.Zimmerman president, Whip Walser secretary, Howdie Pierpont treasurer, Art Allen bequest chairman, and Mark Short newsletter editor, the last two reelected. Our new class agent will be named shortly, and the names of executive committee members will be given in our class newsletter. With this able team of officers we can look forward with confidence to the future of the Class.

Our new president and reunion giving chairman Zimmerman has now reported the following fantastic figures on the results of his work, in cooperation with Bob Ackerberg and many able agents:

1) The final figures would indicate a 1932 class contribution of some $234,000, which the college considers a magnificent performance.

2) This 1932 class gift is more than double the previous 45th reunion record. (The class of 1928 had the previous record at $106,322.

3) The gift not only set a new record for a 45th reunion - it was four times what the Class gave last year.

We can all take justifiable pride in our class and appreciation for the splendid work of John and his group which made this campaign a complete success.

After the class meeting many of us stayed on for additional picnics and parties held by AlGerould for former Ledyard Canoe Club members, and by classmates with Hanover residences such as the Burches, Aliens, Drews and Nitschelms. It was a delightful surprise to see for the first time since graduation some of our old classmates, such as Dave Kirby and Hank Greenleaf, and to see some others who had not attended reunions for some time like Cal Geary, Reuel Denney and Joe Robinson.

By the last count we had a total of 193 in attendance: 101 classmates, 84 wives, four widows, and the rest children and grandchildren.

It was with reluctance that most of us left Hanover the next morning. We are all pointing to the mini-reunion at the Harvard game in Hanover October 16th. Howdie Pierpont is again organizing same.

In retrospect and to summarize our thoughts on our 45th reunion I think that Irv Kramer hit it right when he wrote recently, "Ruth and I had a ball at reunion. There was such a feeling of nostalgia, ambience, and general relaxation (it must be our age). We're looking forward to the 50th." And finally Mark Short writes, "My impression of the reunion is that it was well planned, well organized and well run. I think Ben Drew and his cohorts deserve praise and thanks from the class" - to which we heartily agree.

Your obedient servant,

CLASS SECRETARY