1927
Hello, howdy, hi, and words to that effect. (Incidentally, you might be interested to know that hello didn't become a common greeting until the mid- 1860's, only a few years after William Jewett Tucker graduated from Dartmouth in 1861. It comes from holla!, meaning stop! [French ho plus la. there], used to attract attention, hail a coach, ferry, etc. Hi is just a variant of Hey. It also had been used as a shout to attract attention for over 500 years before we began to use it as a greeting in the 1880's.)
Replies to birthday cards are certainly a joy, especially when they come from a classmate whom we haven't seen or heard from in many moons.
Dime Benson, or Ben as we knew him when, was not lucky enough to escape all of the past winter's snow in Polaski, N.Y. In fact, says he, "I had to shovel a slot from the door to the street in order to get to the P.O. to pick up my birthday card. Rhoda and I get our exercise by walking a quarter of a mile each morning instead of having the mail delivered. The pile of firewood is getting a bit low so we plan to go south for a short while. I did see Al Pulsifer when we stopped off in Johnstown, N.Y., on the way home from last summer's reunion to deliver his bottle of Eleazer's Elixir."
Among those who did escape the recent horrendous winter in the Northeast was CugDaley who, when he wrote in February, had just returned from a six-week's trip to Portugal, Morocco, France, and Spain. One of the best trips that he had ever taken. A highlight was a visit with a family he knew in Bordeaux.
We seem to be late in reporting a couple of other travel items. John and Dorothy Rintels spent two weeks in London over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. After the 50th reunion, Ted and Dot Selig drove to Montreal and then around the Gaspe Peninsula. In October, they spent a two-week additional vacation in Madrid, Spain.
Bill St. Amant seems to be happy in Hillsboro Beach, Fla. He wrote that he was amazed when his card arrived on the exact day of his recent birthday, saying, "If you are aware of Florida's P.O. situation, you'll understand that this deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Nothing else has hit the mark within days and sometimes within weeks."
Woody Burgert reported that for years he has hardly touched the trumpet which he played for four years alongside your secretary in the college band and the Barbary Coast, and he recalled, with a show of nostalgia, the 1926 commencement when we both tooted "Onward Christian Soliders" 124 times in front of Webster Hall.
We had a letter from Jay Willing in which he exulted over the delightful trip that he and Marion took to England last fall. Jay was recovering from a cataract operation when he wrote. From him and others we have received bits of information concerning Rog and MarionBury's trip across the Pacific this past winter. Apparently, they ran into terrible weather. Rog sustained cuts and a back fracture but is okay now and ready to fight the wars again.
Natch Corregan is wrapped up in Common Cause activities in Seminole, Fla., and is frequently in print in the local papers.
Elmer Zimmerman finally gave up his residence in Williamsville, N.Y., and transferred his belongings as well as his allegiance to Winter Park, Fla., where his address is Apt. 236, 151 North Orlando Ave. Glenn Hannaford has moved to a different section of Denver, where he and Thelma can live a little easier. Their new address is 6335 East 12th Ave. Glenn wrote that he is fine except for a gimpy leg and the usual effects of old age.
Another birthday card acknowledgement came some time ago from Charlie Huntley. He described a camping trip which he and Josephine took way back last summer from their home in Austin, Texas, to Alpine, Texas, to attend the wedding of their daughter. On their way home they visited Kroggie and Gertrude Krogstad at their home in Tyler, Texas.
We had thought that Paul Hannah was tapering off from his Boston law practice, but in addition to being a member of the House of Deputies of the ABA, he is chairing its standing committee on professional utilization and career development.
Early returns for the 1978 Alumni Fund are very encouraging, according to a chat which I had recently with Bob Williamson. This year the main concern of Bob and also of LarryScammon is one of participation, and they both hope that all of those who participated in last year's super performance will do so again this year.
Aware that there are many book collectors in the Class, we have previously mentioned some of the important donations by 1927 men to the Baker Library. The benefactions of our late Victor Reynolds covered a period of at least 25 years prior to his death in 1973 and number in the hundreds. For years Vic sent copies from the Cornell University Press, of which he was director. He contributed Sarah Orne Jewett, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, and Willa Cather collections, from which examples are on display. He also gave many first editions of British and especially of American authors. Perhaps his most significant gift, not long before his death, was the rare first American edition of Several Poems (Boston 1678) by Anne Bradstreet, the first woman poet of Englishspeaking America. The library had recently added, as its millionth volume, the London 1650 edition, known as The Tenth Muse, and Vic's gift, coming as it did, was a surprise and a delight to rare book people.
We are indebted to Bo Head for advising us of the death of Edward Wyckoff on March 7 in Houston, Texas. We have also just heard of the death of Edward Ruth on March 1 in Belmont, Calif.
Since, as indicated above, we look forward to receiving communications, we once again sign off with our entreaty to please take a few minutes to write.
ll Rolling Lane Wayland, Mass. 01778
