1950

Weather! With a blizzard howling, the temperature dropping, natural gas and fuel oil disappearing, and thermostats being lowered by edict, the grease in my venerable typewriter (circa 1947) threatens to congeal before this column has been completed. The situation could be worse. Fortunately, however, my home no longer is in Buffalo.

Perhaps you noticed. After a lull last year, 1950 again topped all other classes with 19 sons and daughters in the freshman class. The total for 1980 matches the one for 1978, and in both years five coeds matriculated. For five proud papas it is the second time around.

In case you have not noticed, wedding pic- tures no longer grace these pages. Ironically, the editorial decision was handed down just before the first picture during my tenure arrived. So we missed a good one featuring Chuck Solberg's daughter Peggy and Eric Miller's son Eric '75. The wedding guests included Dave Pittenger's son John and Chuck's son Charlie Jr., both '75s.

Fresh out of Tuck, Hugh Brower joined Harris Trust & Savings Bank in Chicago (the one that just announced its decision to stop recruiting graduates with M.B.A. degrees) amid what some seasoned observers remember as a premature display of Independence Day fireworks. Hugh now presides, the 25-year celebration not withstanding, as administrator (and, presumably, senior v.p.) of the corporate financial services division. There are those who believe that anyone with the name of Hugh B. is ensured of success in an institution that features Hughbie the friendly Harris lion adorning a variety of its publications and news items Hugh, who still exercises on the hockey rink coaching neighborhood teams, lives in Winnetka with Jane and their two children.

Ken Rothchild, chairman and chief executive officer of H. & Val J. Rothschild, Inc., St. Paul mortgage bankers, visited San Francisco recently to accept the gavel for a one-year term as president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. In his acceptance speech Ken proposed "... an independent FHA, an urban land bank, and decent low-cost housing for the elderly through national housing bonds ..." as goals for the U.S. "Cities need help in combating blight and decay," he noted, urging "... an urban land bank enabling cities to warehouse uneconomic property until it becomes productive again." Ken's firm, which has branch offices scattered through lowa and Minnesota, deals in insurance, property development and management, and commercial mortgage lending as well as mortgage banking. He serves on the board of many banking and civic organizations, including the state university system. Ken and Nina reside in Mahtomedi with two daughters and son Ken III '77, a stalwart on the rugby team and the set designer and technical director for my daughter Sioban's production of The Buffalo Show at the Hop last year.

The citation (perhaps more formally) read that Dick Vaughn, president of Northwest Bancorporation in Minneapolis, exemplifies the compatibility of public service and corporate leadership. His example indeed indicates that these attributes can go hand in hand. The occasion: International B'nai B'rith was honoring Dick as its 1976 recipient of the Great American Award, which had previously been awarded in Minnesota to Senator Humphrey.

Tidbits here and there: the Monarch Capital Corp. has elected Frank Harrington to its board of directors. Continuing his affair with the rugged big-sky country, Bob McConaughy, who winters in Salt Lake City, recently surfaced in Moose, Wyo. Bob's daughter Kim 'BO is on the alpine ski team. The Navy moved Captain BillWilliams into the Washington merry-go-round; his new home is Vienna, the one in the Virginia suburbs. Alan Parsons represented Dartmouth at the inauguration of' President Grant (Leonard, not Ulysses) of Elmira College. A proud mother, Margaret Hitchcock, reported that son David Hitchcock had received the Department of State's superior honor award for his work in establishing the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, which will manage a $30 million trust fund for expanded cultural activity with Japan. George Carpenter hangs out in Des Moines as general manager of WHO-TV, an NBC affiliate. The 106-year-old farmhouse that George and Katie have restored among the cornfields is close enough to Miles Mills' place to hear the corks pop.

Where, oh where, are: those last seen in the maelstrom of Washington's whirly-burly - Al Kirvill, John Hetherington, Peter Hill, and DickKirkwood. Although he surfaced briefly in Hanover last winter, Gran Austin has been lost in D.C. again. (You all have to help me convince my editor that you are more than figments of my imagination!)

Prepare for next month: the annual plea for a meaningful gift is upon us. Examine your achievements as well as your checkbook.

The thermometer is sliding below zero and the chill is creeping through the room. Despite these protestations the north country still attracts me. But there are warmer places for the moment. Bed, for example. Stay warm. And take care.

Secretary, 510 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood, N.J., 07450

Treasurer, 19 Clay bar Drive West Hartford, Conn. 06117