1951

By the time you read this column you should be packing your bags in preparation for our gala 30th reunion. Amy and I are looking forward to it and hope to see most of you at the festivities. A vote of thanks goes to Herm Christensen, reunion chairman, and the many classmates who have aided and assisted him. A lot of time and hard work go into reunion preparation and the only reward that you get is the knowledge of a job well done.

As we approach this 30th anniversary of our graduation, it is a time for both reflection and a bit of nostalgia. In an article on Dartmouth many, many years ago, Budd Schulberg '36 talked about the Dartmouth man and his college. "Ask a Dartmouth man to pinpoint the source of his attachment and you're almost sure to bring a dreamy look to his eye. Chances are he won't tell you about a particular course or a stimulating professor. It is much more likely to be an identification with place. I think of the white Georgian serenity of Dartmouth Row and the elms around the Common in May, and skiing and camping out in the White Mountains on weekends. I think of good talks in the white clapboard houses of friends on the faculty, or driving back some Sunday night from Bennington or Smith and suddenly catching sight of the lighted tower of Baker Library ..."

During my tour as class secretary I have had a chance to talk with many classmates, several of whom I had neither seen nor conversed with since graduation. If I had to generalize, I would state that the further along we get in years the more nostalgic we get about Dartmouth. It probably has to do with an ability to put bad times, or unhappy experiences, into the deep crevices of the mind; to allow the good times and happy experiences to come to the forefront. Whatever it is, it was and is a wonderful and unforgettable experience to be a part of the Dartmouth family.

Shortly after we graduated from college, Pete Martin co-authored an article with his father for the Saturday Evening Post. The title of the piece was "Why We Picked Dartmouth." Without Pete's permission I'd like to quote from the final paragraph of the article. It is taken from the last paragraph of his June 1951 column for the "Undergraduate Chair" for the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. "This is my swan song. As such it is right that I take time and space to give thanks. The most important thing that I have to be thankful for is that Dartmouth College is the kind of college it is. When things are as tense as they are today, a liberal arts college that is really liberal is a rarity, and Dartmouth is that kind of college. A newspaper is allowed to print what it wants and feels and I am allowed to blow off steam about undergraduate things here without any checkrein, so I want to thank the following: Dartmouth for being what it is and Mr. and Mrs. Pete Martin for sending me here."

Thirty years later I think these thoughts are still very valid; and I, for one, would want to offer the same type of thanks, and I'll wager there are many of you out there who would want to do the same thing.

See you at reunion.

2 Peter Cooper Road New York, N.Y. 10010

THESPIRITOF'51IS COMING BACK.