1921

When the President of the United States phoned Dr. John Kemeny to chair the Three Mile Island investigation, Dr. Kemeny phoned Dave McLaughlin '54 (who then chaired the College's board of trustees) to ask if he should and could accept a task that would take him away from Dartmouth for six months. The answer Dave is said to have made was this, "When the President of the United States asks one to do something so important, one cannot refuse."

When 1921 President Bob Burroughs phoned this classmate to be class secretary, I hesitated a moment, thought of the Dave McLaughlin reply, and responded, "Of course I'll do it." In our class notes of June 1978, our late class secretary, Charlie Gilson, accepted the same job "because President HarryChamberlaine was very persuasive," and yet Charlie was concerned about filling the shoes of Jack Hurd. Therefore, I hope ail of you appreciate ray own apprehension in acceding to Bob Burroughs's request that I take over the job of class secretary.

Among the items turned over to me was one from Joe Folger's widow Marion about the memorial service held on Nantucket in May: "On the afternoon of Sunday, May 24, beside the Folger plot at the Prospect Hill cemetery on Nantucket Island, a memorial service was held for Joseph Butler Folger Jr. '2l, professor df Spanish emeritus. The service was conducted by the Unitarian minister of the island, Rev. Edward Anderson, and was attended by Joe's widow Marion, other members of his family, and friends. There was bright spring sunlight that day and a stiff ocean breeze. The minister read from two of Joe's favorite authors, Plato and Epictetus."

In so simple yet so dignified a manner did the friends of our beloved classmate Joe Folger pay tribute to his memory.

While Ort Hicks was acting as class secretary, he received an informative letter from Chuck Moreau which carried the hews that his daughter Susan was to have graduated from Moravian College the last weekend in May, then return home for two weeks before leaving for Colorado State University to attend the summer session. That explains why we missed Chuck at our 60th, but he assures us that he will be with us for our 65th and 70th. Yes, Chuck, we will be there with you. The letter went on to relate that Susan enrolled at Moravian because of its strong Music Department, and at Colorado she will continue to specialize in music.

As for Chuck's business enterprises, we learned that four years ago he sold his newspapers (in New Jersey) and was socked with a capital gains tax of over $100,000.

Ort also handed on to me information correcting a grevious omission that was made in preparing the various reports on our great 60th reunion: No mention was made of the person without whose skill at chirography, faces of classmates might have belonged to strangers. It was Evelyn Hurd and Lucy Briggs Jr. who handlettered all the badges. Our belated thanks and apologies, Evelyn and Lucy.

Your class secretary attended the dedication of the new Furber and Mary Haight Women's Locker Room. I can assure our classmates that it is a beautiful facility for both the home and visiting sports teams. HarryChamberlaine told an interesting story about a letter Furb wrote to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE in the October 1969 issue. He implored Dartmouth not to follow the "headlong dash of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton into making Dartmouth a co-ed institution!" Well, don't we all change? I felt the same way at that time, but I now feel just the way Furb and Mary do that Dartmouth has gained, not lost, by making the college coeducational. The exercises closed with short but pithy remarks by Furb.

Now that President Kemeny has left Dartmouth's highest office, I would like to comment on his meeting with the Palm Beach alumni on February 15. It was the first time I had heard Dr. Kemeny speak. I was overwhelmed by the lucidity, depth, and brilliance of his extemporaneous remarks. His words flowed along like music to the ear. Thank you, Dr. Kemeny, for

an outstanding evening. Classmates, I have enjoyed writing this first column. I hope the others to follow will be as pleasant.

3575 S. Ocean Blvd., Apt. 304 South Palm Beach, Fla. 33480