1949

THIRTIETH REUNION

It was the greatest 30th Reunion the Class of 1949 has ever had. The weather was not 100 per cent cooperative, but it did not seem to dampen any spirits. About 60 members of the Class turned out with their wives and some children.

It all started on Monday afternoon (June 12) with a cocktail party in our tent outside of Middle Mass. Everyone had a great time renewing old friendships and getting caught up on what's happened to so-and-so during the past five to 30 years. That evening the reunion classes had a dinner at Thompson Arena. The President's garden reception followed along with a glee club concert and a production by the Dartmouth Players. Unless you ate quickly, it was darned hard to make more than one of those events. I attended the glee club concert and found them as wonderful as ever. This is Paul Zeller's last year on the faculty, although he will be back to direct the glee club for one more year. That night there was a party in the tent with music supplied by Barbary Coast alumni who had organized a band for the reunions. They really sounded like the old Barbary Coast band and brought back many memories. The '49 tent was the social center of the reunion activities for most classes that evening and into the morning.

The next morning President Kemeny gave a very interesting account of what's going on at Dartmouth today and the issues that may affect its future. Our class meeting was held about 11:00 a.m. and a few members of the Class managed to locate the theater in Fairbanks Hall. New officers and executive committee members were elected. The officers included Al Wagner, president; Paul Erwin, treasurer; and Vail Haak, secretary. Skip Ungar will be our class news editor. Ed Leede, reunion giving chairman, announced that he had received gifts exceeding $200,000. Final results received later showed us surpassing our $250,000 goal by raising $270,000. We achieved 61 per cent participation and broke the previous reuniongiving record of $193,000.

The picnic at Occum Pond was moved to Thompson Arena because of the threatening weather which eventually turned into a fairly steady rain. That evening the class banquet was held at Hopkins Center preceded by a cocktail party in Alumni Hall. Ray Rasenberger received the Gold Pick Axe Award for his outstanding work on the alumni council and other Dartmouth committees. Mike McGean was our distinguished speaker that evening and gave an interesting account of his attempts to duplicate his figure skating skill at the Claremont rollerskating rink. Al Wagner praised GordonThomas for his tireless efforts as president. Punchy deserves these accolades very much for he worked very hard in keeping the Class active and involved in many different activities. The evening concluded with a party in the 1948 tent with two bands and large quantities of spirits.

The reunion ended the next day with a memorial service for all of our classmates who have died and with a luncheon at the Outing Club. All in all it was a pleasant two days in Hanover. It included a nice group of 1949 couples - many whom we haven't seen for years, also plenty of good beer and other spirits, and the Dartmouth scene which is different in some respects, but in many ways hasn't changed in 30 years. Those of you who couldn't make the reunion missed a memorable event, but don't despair, you'll have another chance in five years, and in the meantime can keep in touch during our annual mini-reunions in the fall. I hope to see you all at the Yale game early in October.

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