1948
As this is written, it is early September and Dartmouth's 211 th academic year is about to begin. The ninth-oldest college in the nation is once again seeing the ancient traditions of both autumn's and the student body's return to its campus. The Baker bells are again tolling the change of classes, Dartmouth Hall once again looks out over the mass of hurrying students, and the air under the bright sky has a liveliness about it a sense of expectation about the new year -—as on the 210 years past.
Changes have surely appeared on the Plain since '4B was in residence (College Street no longer goes across Wheelock and down to Lebanon Street, traffic runs only counterclockwise around the campus, Hopkins Center replaces the old Bissell, old Crosby is now the larger Blunt Alumni Center). Nevertheless, the nostalgic returning alumnus of our day has to note with approval the fact that so much of the physical beauty of the Dartmouth and Hanover of our day remains. "Place" remains as compelling a factor about the College on the Hill in 1981 as it was to those preceding this autumn's freshman class of 1985.
This autumn in Hanover will also bring with it the opportunity to sit in the west stands of Memorial Field. There, spectators can still look eastward over Chase Field to the colors and grandeur of Velvet Rocks, while watching Joe Yukica's team on the field below playing out Dartmouth's 101 st gridiron season. The fall foliage ought to be at its height at either the Holy Cross or William and Mary game.
The recent fund drive gave me a chance to talk to classmates whose names have seldom appeared in these notes. Len Sullivan, now of San Mateo, Calif., sounded enthusiastic about life in general. He has retired from Uncle Sam's Postal Service after many years, before which he worked with small firms in the computer field. He's had two families and wanted to be remembered to his '4B buddies. He and SamWilkinson, now in far-off Maine, grew up together in Brookline, Mass., and were together in high school, in the Navy, and at Dartmouth. Len is waiting for word from Sam about that trip to Alaska. Jack Mahoney, now of Fort Lauderdale, was Len's roommate and Len says he's ready for that Bahamas excursion, Jack. Len mourns the passing of Phil Johnson, whom he described as "the quiet, competent link between the four friends a great guy."
Not many Dartmouth alums can boast of their Dartmouth antecedents to the extent that our own Pete Smith can. Pete is one of five brothers who spent their college years in Hanover. His great-grandfather, Asa Dodge Smith, was the seventh president of the College from 1863 to 1877. His grandfather, who somehow went to Princeton so the family could know of contrasts firsthand, was dean of the Dartmouth Med School and performed the hospital's first operation in Mary Hitchcock. His father was in the class of 1910, and one of Pete's five children is a '73- Pete remembers with pleasure his undergraduate days in Hanover and mentioned such stalwarts as his Richardson roommate, Ken Saunders, as well as DickDonahue, Jim Shaefer, Colin Stewart, and Ev Wilson —to all of whom he'd like.to be remembered. Pete, a retired TV administrator and a resident of Sudbury, Mass., of Wayside Inn fame, recalled with some embarrassment the well-known German shepherd, "Wolf," that he had in Hanover. One Sunday morning in 1948, he received an urgent call from Chief Ferguson. He was told in no uncertain terms to come quickly and get his dog off the steps of the Catholic Church on Lebanon Street, so the parishioners could open the door to go in for the service. Pete said he moved fast. (The reader may be interested to know that Hanover residents of today report that descendants of the dog pack of our day still roam Main Street, the football field, and the campus itself, and that frustrated pedestrians still occasionally "cut their foot" on the deposits.)
Hope you'll get back to Hanover for one or more of the games this fall. Be sure to watch for Ken Young, your class Alumni Fund agent, who watches over Dartmouth's gridiron forces. He has established an annual football team award for "that member of the junior or sophomore class who, by a vote of the coaching staff, has made the most significant contribution to the success of the team." Winners of the watch to date have been Dave Shula 'Bl, Jerry Pierce 'Bl, arid Scott Hacker 'B2.
And don't forget the '4B mini-reunion in Hanover the Cornell-game weekend of October 24. Barney Hqisington has provided details in his latest newsletter. Lloyd Krumm and the other '4B officers ask all '4Bs who possibly can do so to attend for what will be a good time, with plenty of old-time friendship and laughter. Go and have some fun!
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