1950
April ended with a visit to Hanover, our annual trek to participate in a hectic schedule of activities and meetings for class officers. It is a chance to revel in the outdoors, to watch myriad athletic events, to meet old friends, to visit with undergraduates, and to partake of the life and moods of today's Dartmouth.
Spring still comes late in the North Country. Snow, some still quite deep, stood fast behind each sheltering stand of pines, hugged the sunstarved shores of the Connecticut, and glistened along the ski trails of Mt. Ascutney, twenty-five miles away. Daffodils bloomed, turning in sheltered nooks to face the warming sun as chill winds whistled about. Saturday had been warm and bright, but overnight temperatures dropped to the low 20's. Typical April; reluctant May.
At one session several seniors spoke to us. In this season they stand at the threshold of the future while still cherishing their last few lingering days as undergraduates. Their thoughts were provocative, touching, moving. Some capsules; Scott Brown: "It's hard for you (the alumni) to see Dartmouth the way I see it. But the Dartmouth I see is stimulating, challenging, exciting, changing. The change is essential to its growth, to the fulfillment of its purpose."
Anne Bagamery: "There is no way here to get tracked into only one field or one program . . . and that is what a liberal arts education is all about."
Charles Allison: "It's a tough place, and sometimes you are not too happy; but when you leave, you will leave with a sense of accomplishment."
Sally Eastman: "As coeds (entering when the role of women at the College was still being charted) we were faced with challenges and difficulties ... and with ultimate joy. Now we feel the same surging emotions as you do, thrilling at the thought or the name of Dartmouth." Spending time with these students, talking with them, listening to them is a wonderful experience.
Filled as the weekend was, there was still time for reflection at a service of thanksgiving for the life of "Pudge" Neidlinger, who had passed away earlier in the week. In this day of multiple deanships it is difficult to convey the fact that for us Pudge was the Dean, stirring mingled emotions as the stern, yet com- passionate, patriarch. He touched us in various ways, but he touched us and is part of our memories.
Reynold (Bud) Marvin was recently promoted to director, commercial insurance department, in the casualty and surety division of Aetna Life & Casulaty. Bud joined the company in 1951 as a marine underwriting trainee. He was named marine state agent in Newark in 1956 and chief underwriter in 1957. In 1963 he left the company to work in a private insurance agency. Bud returned to Aetna in 1966 and was named superintendent at the head office. Since 1968 he has served as assistant secretary. He is a member of the executive committee of the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas insurance advisory associations, and he serves on the finance committee of the Louisiana association. At last count Bud and Rita had four daughters; they live in Windsor, Conn.
It is a little late to catch his talk now, but back in January Per-Jan Ranhoff, assistant headmaster of the Pomfret School, was the feature speaker at a meeting for families interested in cross-country skiing. Per-Jan's experience as an educator, racer, coach, and family skier, not necessarily in that order, served as background for his remarks. After racing on the Ski team as an undergraduate, he was for several years a member of the ESA cross-country ski team and participated in numerous races throughout New England long before the sport became popular. Per-Jan and Anne have three boys, four girls; they note, "All seven of our children have skied with us as part of our family recreation. They enjoy it."
Tidbits here and there: top-seeded Bill Dann won an easy victory in the finals of the fifth annual senior squash tournament in Buffalo. An article in the American Mineralogist on the low-temperature heat capacities and entropies of feldspar glasses was co-authored by DickRobie. The chairman and chief executive officer of the Provident National Bank of Philadelphia, Roger Hillas, has also assumed the president's responsibilities. For Bob Foster a family business means a separate business for each member of the family; they now number three in real estate and insurance in Lexington.
If the tourist trail takes you to the Berkshires this summer, stop in to see Ed and PeggeSawyer for antiques at the Deacon Cook House in Richmond, or The Stone House in West Stockbridge. And for pack trips out of Jackson Hole see Bob McConaughy, who travelled east in April to visit his two daughters at the College. Jim Myers is the new financial vice president for F. C. Russell, Inc., manufacturers of replacement and storm windows made of rigid vinyl. Jim needs storm doors in Palm Beach.
A note on the Alumni Fund and the Campaign for Dartmouth: the Fund is one' of the essential and major components of the Campaign. All gifts to the College are included cumulatively. You are asked: first, to continue your gifts to the fund; and second, if at all possible, to increase your gift significantly over the next five years.
A few of us have forgotten lately. Now is the time to reconsider and to remember. One of this year's seniors talked about "... the mingled emotions of having completed four years at Dartmouth and of realizing that the time has come to leave." Remember your four years with a sustaining gift.
Set your sights for mini-reunion weekend on 13-15 October. The invader is Yale. Pre-game festivities and lunch at the Outing Club. Housing and dinner at the Woodstock Inn. Please come.
Another year has passed, all too quickly. The earth quickens into greening. Summer is upon us, warming and relaxing. So long until October. And cheers.
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