1933

This is a historic time, as of this writing, in the middle of the most severe winter ever for the midwestern and eastern states. We are favored here in southwest Florida in spite of a state of emergency being declared by President Carter in Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania because of citrus and vegetable crop losses in excess of 350 million dollars. It is hoped that by the time these notes are published the "New Ice Age" will have subsided and the droughts of Colorado and California will have been overcome. People will be talking for the next fifty years, I am sure, about the "Winter of 1977."

In less than two weeks the 1977 Alumni Fund campaign will be launched, and we have until June 30 to improve our individual and class levels of giving and participation in this all-important annual support of the College. This is only the beginning, and you will be receiving a variety of reminders from Mannie Sprague and his agents, plus the Alumni Fund staff, but when it comes to making a decision on your pledge or gift for 1977, perhaps you can add another 10% or more to help the College in its efforts to resolve its financial crises.

As Jud Pierson, 1933 bequest chairman, stated so well in his letter of January 3, there is no time better than the present to consider a further provision for Dartmouth, either by a bequest under your will or a life-income gift during your lifetime. Since the recent liberalization of the estate tax provisions affects each of us, this is an opportunity to consider advantageous changes in your will.

Paine Knickerbocker, who retired in 1974 after a long association with The San FranciscoChronicle as drama editor, has provided a recent up-date on their retirement activities and the San Francisco Film Festival: "My wife and I lead a quiet life but every once in a while I am invited to do something unusual. (My regular life is interesting enough anyway - with a lot of reading, occasional trips to films and the theatre, and visiting art museums and exhibitions, as well as unloading the dishwasher.)

His activities as drama editor "entailed considerable and very pleasant traveling when many American films were being shot in Europe and other parts of the world." Also, he has been closely associated with the Annual San Francisco International Film Festival, now in its 20th year, and "as the only critic to have covered the Festival since its inception, he picked 11 films emblematic of this year's Festival's greatest moments." This free series provided 10,000 people with an opportunity to see some of the finest international films made in the last two decades.

A note from Bill Lang states, "Retirement good but busy so far." He and his wife Lida were at their condominium in Belleair, Fla. until about December 1, when they returned to Short Hills, N.J., and then went back for a brief stay on January 6. They are planning to make a longer stay in Belleair after February 1. We hope to see them.

I had the pleasure of playing golf recently with Tom Mann, who is spending a month on Sanibel Island, Fla., with his wife Toni and another couple who are close friends of theirs. Jean and I have also enjoyed their recent hospitality and look forward to seeing more of them and their friends during their stay.

We are also looking forward to seeing Hank and Ginnie McKee, who, we understand, are planning to spend February and March on Sanibel Island after being in California for the Rose Bowl parade and game.

Secretary Box 160, Captiva, Fla. 33924

Treasurer, 850 Mangrove Point Road, Siesta Key Sarasota, Fla. 33581