1948

Ted Thornton truly caused the old memory box of nostalgia to clatter and shake the other day when he told me that one of the great characters of the North Country in our day recently passed away. I refer to colorful Bunny Bertram '31 whom many of you will recall as the proprietor of Gilberts and Suicide 6 at Woodstock, one of the early, if not the earliest, rope-tow ski areas in the world. I can well recall Bunny in his fur-lined heavy jacket plus earmuffed hat and big gloves standing in the whirling snow on the coldest possible day at the foot of Suicide as he watched and did what he could to help his hapless clients try to ride to the top of the steepest rope it was the pleasure of your correspondent to ride or try to ride. The stories about Bunny were legion, and I suppose that in the '3os through the 'sos he must have been known to every adherent of the sport who put on skis in the Northeast. His annual hellbender of a wide-open downhill time race on the face of Suicide, where the only requirements were to go through the starting gates at the far top and the finishing gates at the bottom, with the skier to elect his own fastest route to suicide on the long wild vertical drop in between, was the greatest fee-earner for Mary Hitchcock orthopedic surgeons that ever came along. The sporting of a "6," whether gold (only for those who broke the hill record), silver, or bronze, was a sign that the wearer was lucky, crazy, and also a heck of a skier. Bunny at one time also had a rope tow on the flat where the idea was to break the speed record in going between two flags placed about fifty yards apart. I don't know the accuracy of my source, but I've been told that measured speeds exceeding 130 m.p.h. were attained. Any other stories you '48s may have would be interesting about this man whose passing represents the end of an era.

Don Hansen has spent much of his working life in optics research and development. He, wife Marian, and family have lived in Needham, Mass., for many years, their elder son Mike having graduated with the class of' 73 and a second son thinking in the same direction. Don and two associates recently formed their own company in optics in Boston, a courageous step which Don terms "a struggle" over which he is optimistic. Don arrived in Hanover with the Y-12 in 1943, left for sea duty, came back in '47, and graduated in June '48. He asked to be remembered to his old buddies in Middle Mass.

Milt Kurtz lives in Roslyn, N.Y., and often sees Jim McLaughlin of nearby Port Washington and old friend Eric Swanson of Lloyd Harbor, L.I. Milt has been an interviewer of prospective Dartmouth students for over 20 years and his daughter Dana, a junior in Hanover, is photography editor of the Aegis. His company manufactures shirts in Georgia, a far cry from the action he saw aboard a destroyer in the Pacific in W.W. 11. He first saw Hanover as a V-12, then returned from sea duty in September 1946 to complete his degree with Eleazar.

I had not talked to businessman Ev Wilson in many years. Ev got his degree in Hanover in '49 and in 1955 formed his own building materials supply firm in Chicago, Wilson Wholesale Supply Company. He and "M. A." have two sons, and both Ev Jr. and Bill are now in the business. Things have of course been slow during the current slump. Ev says he sees KenSaunders of nearby Northbrook fairly often. Ken is with Combined Insurance, the life and casualty company of well known Clement Stone.

Some concept of the magnitude of the Mount St. Helens eruptions in the state of Washington is provided by Dr. Dave Miller of Portland. When the mountain went berserk the first time last year, according to Dave, the heavy snowstorm of dust that was experienced where the Miller family lives in Portland, 40 miles away, went right on through to the coast, 50 miles beyond, where Dave was boating and fishing at the time. "The stuff covered everything," said Dave, who spends much time going after steelheads and salmon which run up to 45 pounds on the rivers of Washington and Oregon. From the standpoint of outdoor sport, Dave and Ellen and their three ski-instructor daughters have found the Northwest a great place to live, which may be one of the reasons Ken Schaefer has decided to move to Washington after he retires a few years from now.

In closing, a couple of other '48 business entrepreneurs who have gone out on their own should be noted by classmates. Pete Owen of Fort Wayne, Ind., and a friend have formed an executive headhunting organization called Executive Resources, Inc. Recruiting in behalf of client companies and individuals is their watchword. Pete sounded subdued when we last talked as his son had just lost an eye and suffered a broken jaw in an accident. Ray Richard, after looking around for some time, last September purchased a firm in Worcester, Mass., called the Worcester Brush Cos. They make plumbing and heating brushes of many varieites, including chimney brushes which Ray says are a big thing in today's energy-saving world. The company has 130 employees. Ray is hoping to meet other '48s in the Worcester area including Cal Brown.

As a final item, I was marvellously pleased to receive a photo from Chris Carstensen '72 picturing his father-in-law, Dr. Bob Hoekelman, plus Chris plus Bob's first grandson, Karl Eric Carstensen, aspiring candidate for the class of 2001, at a Dartmouth party honoring young Karl Eric's birth. All three men, sitting in the fireplace alcove, were outfitted in Dartmouth sweaters or shirts and two of them were equipped with beer cans which they were showing to the young newcomer for probably the first and certainly not the last time. Clearly pleased, grandfather Bob is presently chairman of the department of pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He and Ann, the parents of four girls, live in Canandaigua, N.Y., where Bob had been a leader in community civic responsibility for many years.

Best wishes for the summer to all '48s and families. Don't forget the Alumni Fund and to see beautiful Hanover if you have time.

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