1945

I don't think that any of us in this neck of the woods will ever forget the Great Blizzard of 1978 that on February 6-7 dumped its load of 30 inches of snow on the level and created rooftop drifts by the hurricane-force winds that accompanied it. The storm started that Monday afternoon and I invited two colleagues to ride home with me (an alleged magnanimous gesture, but my real purpose was to have two good men to push my car in case it got stuck!). We went by Pat's office, picked her up, and managed to get to Reading, garage, and home without incident. Our governor closed the banks for three days in a row, so I stayed home and shoveled and shoveled and shoveled. What else can one do when one is snowbound (except to write to classmates asking for news to put in this column)?

I know that all of us received Prexy FrankHutchins' letter of January 6 announcing three new assignments for fellow classmates: GeoffMaclay, our class coordinator for the $160-million Campaign for Dartmouth; MooseRowan, class newsletter editor; and Vic Smith, bequest chairman. I know that all of us received Moose's superb maiden newsletter (which he wrote by limbering up his talented two fingers to activate the Smith-Corona; since mine is also a Smith-Corona, maybe we should trade them in for Smith-Rowans), but has everyone responded to his request to use the card that was enclosed in the newsletter to "jot down the latest happenings or opinions, any and all, afix stamp thereto, and let the P.O. try to do the rest"?

Bill Portman has been named to the board of trustees of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Bill is president of Portman Equipment Company, a fork-lift truck dealership. He replaces Nicholas M. Evans on the board who resigned citing time pressures. Bill has also been involved in other community affairs. In 1975 he was a very active chairman of Cincinnati's United Appeal campaign that undoubtedly included such stalwarts as Vic Smith and RenfrewPoindexter III (see my class notes for the March 1976 issue of the magazine).

I received a nice note from Win Ewell who wrote that a transfer by Alcoa has moved him from Philadelphia to an "easier climate" in Richmond (no blizzards I hope!). He is still in general sales which will prove to be an interesting assignment, for Richmond is Reynolds' headquarters (talk of being in the lion's den — and a Yankee to boot!). He talked with Rod Walser recently and reports that all is well at Du Pont de Nemours & Co. and at home in Hagerstown, Md. Win's Dartmouth son-in-law, Bruce Alexander '73, gets out of the Navy in June and plans to go to law school. Win and Ginny were pretty "dug in" in Philadelphia for 19 years, so Win is playing just a little golf now, but mainly doing lots of yard and house work getting settled (13930 Elmstead Road, Midlothian, Va. 23113, for any classmates in the area). They're planning to come to our 35th reunion in 1980 — how about the rest of you guys and gals?

483 Franklin St. Reading, Mass. 01867