1950
There are two views. One is eastward toward Balch Hill, preferably from Memorial Stadium. The premise stated, no further description of the autumnal scene is needed.
The other view is westward, from the crest of the same hill. It is majestic. Below, the valley sweeps along the river in alternating swatches of field and forest bright New England green, well-watered, kaleidoscopic colors. The glinting river is the only evident highway. Buildings vanish under the camouflage. Nature exerts its spell with impunity and dominates the land. One view comforts; the other challenges. Both stimulate and, simultaneously, reassure.
Gridiron gleanings: One game betrayed the seer; the rest confirmed the worst. Stafford pitched and Teevens caught. The defense, as usual, held. But an immobile q-back who cannot run limits offensive options and primes defensive rushes. The offensive line is not the only culprit. Unfortunately, Stafford has suffered a serious knee injury, so the coach will go to the bullpen. Watch Pulsinello, a smaller, more agile q-back a strong runner with a good arm.
A weekend is not a weekend when it extends over four days, schedules activities from dawn to midnight, moves visitors from Mt. Moosilauke to Morton Farm in the hills of Etna, teaches 15 seminars from "The Spanish Conquistadores" to "Literary Responses to the Holocaust," adds a marathon to the potpourri of athletic events featuring both men and women, and mixes undergraduates, administrators, faculty, and alumni in a dynamic interchange of views and ideas. The convocation of the Campaign for Dartmouth achieved its purpose: recreating the uniqueness of the College with a sense of community, a sense of place.
Familiar faces abounded, including an interloper named Mcllwain of '59. One surprise was seeing Pat and Carol Brewster, who hail from Augusta, where Pat tends the legal issues for Central Maine Power. Jay Buck was scheduled to appear, but diligent seeking failed in finding. The ultimate social pleasure was talking to SkipFauver's daughter Betsy, an enterprising head agent for '77.
At the convocation banquet, poet Richard Eberhart '26 read Stopping a Kaleidoscope and captured for a moment the quicksilver evanescence of Dartmouth: Sameness ever the same, ever changing, Growth and stasis in a hale bemusement, We know what we see, see what we know. Little wonder the poem was adopted for his inaugural theme by President McLaughlin.
Tidbits here and there: Everyone seems to be moving. Distances vary from a mile to cross country in all directions, but the general trend is south. The sun lures. Henderson, N.C., now claims John Carleton, perhaps an editor. MiltDiemer deserted the desert for St. Petersburg's bay. A recruit to the ranks in the North
Tony Kesaris in Hanover. Forsaking Westport, Gene McCabe moved to McLean, Va., land of the C.I.A. Leonard Stein left the smog for the sun in Escondido, near San Diego. After a long stint in Towson, Md., John Wolf surfaced in Big Pine Key, Fla. Jim Wehnes, perhaps still a trading post agent for Sears, turned up again in Seoul, South Korea.
The big news is small.
It's cooler this fall; imagination probably, but so it feels. Early October and the mountains already glisten with snow. Yet the weekend just past only whets anticipation. By mini-reunion time the dominant yellows will have gone, replaced by hues of red. A sudden vista explodes into a whole new reality. The hills are calling, calling.
Few ever see autumn in New England. You may remember. You may think you remember. The reality will startle you. Come back. see for yourself. Come back soon and visit with all of us. Until next month, cheers.
510 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood, N.J. 07450
