Class Notes

1927

May 1979 ERWIN B. PADDOCK
Class Notes
1927
May 1979 ERWIN B. PADDOCK

As we routinely opened our refrig at 7:45 this morning in late March, we were greeted with the familiar sight of a few orange balls of citrus bearing the brown stamp "Florida." This reminded us that Florida is where the action is, at least at this time of year, and that we should be deluged with news from that quarter. Our latest count indicated that 38 '27ers have a permanent address there, and this number must be doubled during the first three months of the year. So consider this to be a gentle hint that we'd love to hear from more of you - not limited to Florida, of course.

This was a good month for clippings. Another one from the Daily News of the city of Newburyport, Mass., carried a large picture of that handsome man, Brad Fuller. It seems that Brad has just completed 40 years on the school committee in his home city. He's running again this spring, too, at the spry age of 74 but expects no problem as he has always placed either first or second in the balloting.

"Speakeasy" editor Tom Gillespie wrote from Dunnedin that he and Dot were enjoying their usual winter vacation there. They have already contacted several classmates, including Frank Strong, Art Keleher, and Larry Scammon, and attended a dinner put on by the local Dartmouth Club.

Larry Scammon, after having successfully weathered a hernia operation last fall, escaped from New London, N.H., to St. Petersburg, where he continues to be involved up to his ears in selecting, training, and checking up on solicitors for the Campaign for Dartmouth.

It was good to hear from Dick Stowe. He sent a long letter from Spring Hill, Fla., which included, "I am still recalling the pleasant memories of the 50th reunion, which was the best ever. 1 retired in 1965 at the early age of 60 after 38 years with Westinghouse Electric, which included 22 years as manager of its Dayton, Ohio, office. In 1975, Katharyne and I got the urge to move to Florida, and we bought a house with some additional land in what was then a brand new community about 50 miles north of Tampa on the Gulf coast. It has now grown to a population of about 8,000 and is still growing rapidly, even though it's in a more or less rural part of the state. I built a small barn, without help, and have a workshop where I putter around with electronic and mechanical gadgetry. I don't have much opportunity to see any of our classmates but would be happy to have any of the brethren drop in on us if they are passing along the west coast."

Another permanent Floridian, WoodyBurgert, wrote that the winter in Sarasota was even more active than usual this year, as many came south to escape the brutal weather. He mentioned that Chuck and Marie Baker spent February and March near him in Siesta Key and that, together, they had a delightful series of reunions. In Woody's words, "reminiscing over the past 50 years provided grist for many a conversational mill."

We had a long epistle from Bill Laighton in nearby Westfield, Mass., which brought us up to date with regard to his past. Bill retired in 1975 as advertising manager for Columbia Manufacturing Company (Columbia bicycles, mopeds, etc.) but still continues to do freelance advertising for that company and others. His wife Mae has had a number of physical complications in recent years which have kept them reluctantly away from reunions, but Bill does enjoy doing outside work on house improvements and in his garden. When he wrote in December, he was still enjoying fresh lettuce, chard, and spinach.

From San Francisco, we are indebted to Howie Mullin for sending on a note which he had received from Frank Coulter's wife Sonia. We were not previously aware that before entering Dartmouth and during World War I, Frank had enlisted as an ambulance driver and served first with the Canadian Army and later in the U.S. Infantry in France. Always "a colorful guy, and formerly a financial vice president of the Wabash Railway Company, Duke is now suffering from the effects of being gassed in the late 20's. Howie added, "I know that he would enjoy hearing from any who knew him and that a note would give his morale a welcome boost." The address is 969 Hilgard Ave., Apt. 1208, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024.

Dow and Alice Mills were out in Scottsdale, Ariz., for a spell. Their oldest daughter lives nearby in Tampa, and they scamper out there each winter to visit their three grandsons and to escape the "great white cold" of Minnesota, where they live the rest of the year. In January, the Millses attended the monthly meeting of the Dartmouth Club of Phoenix, where coach Joe Yukica showed films of the successful 1978 football season.

Bob Williamson, our head class agent, recently attended in Hanover a meeting of all head class agents relative to the 1979 Alumni Fund drive. He phoned in his report this morning, to wit: (1) Another New England college, almost Ivy League, set a new record for participation last year, surpassing Dartmouth's record by several percentage points. (2) Accordingly, the emphasis in the 1979 campaign will be on participation. (3) Don't be surprised if one of these days you receive a call from your friendly class agent.

And now, just to keep you up to date, we think you should know that: The new Collis Center in the old College Hall was officially opened for business on January 11 with music by the Barbary Coast. The Math Department has created a new major in computer science. The Board of Trustees has approved the addition of a conference room for the Hanover Inn, to be built above James Campion's. The trustees also voted recently not to reconsider at this time their ratio decision of 1977, which permitted an increase up to 15 women a year with an approximate number of 330 to be enrolled in the class of 1983. This came after stepped up student agitation for a change and was followed by a formal student petition to the trustees for an administration policy of equal access to men and women.

And lastly, Amtrac has revived an old tradition by instituting a train called the 'Spirit of Dartmouth,' which carried several hundred students home from Norwich to Washington, D.C., and way stations at the close of the winter term. Unlike the puff-puff of the 1923-27 era, however, it served free beer and snacks en route.

Thus time marches on, and we're not only out of time but also of space. How about writing?

11 Rolling Lane Wayland, Mass. 01778