1948

Autumn has once again invaded the Hanover Plain and the hills around the town as this is being written in late September. The hardwood leaves are turning, and I would guess that by the weekend of the William and Mary game on October 8 the flaming reds and every lesser shade of that and every other color will be at their breathtaking best. It will make the magnificent colorama of Velvet Rocks available for the west-side Memorial Field spectators who lift their eyes to the hills beyond. Yours truly would enjoy hearing about it from any '48 on hand for the event who finds that, indeed, the hills of Hanover still carry their magic, not with standing that you will read this long after.

Thoughts of last summer's '48 35th reunion remind me of the following. We were sitting around the tent one evening when Hank Mueller called me over to where he was talking and laughing about old times along with Mouse Taylor and Jim Woods. "Where," Hank wanted to know, "is Shorty Johnson? He was supposed to be here!" Hank and Mouse and Jim asked me to find out about their old comrade from undergrad days and to tell him they want to see him here at the 40th! They went on to send their best to Paul and Rita, well remembering how they all used to get together at the old Phi Gam house. They particularly remembered when Shorty met Rita, a nurse from the WRJ Veterans Hospital, their first time at Phi Gam.

Well, Paul "Shorty" Johnson is judge of the Boone County Superior Court in downtown Indianapolis. It is a state trial court, having concurrent civil and criminal jurisdiction, and on July 1 Shorty celebrated his 18th anniversary as a judge in that court. He and Rita went to Indiana after he received his A.B. in the Bema in 1950. He worked a year, then worked his way through Indiana University Law School to a J.D. in 1955. During the same period the couple had five kids, supplemented by two more later. Shorty has been busy with his legal and other extracurricular work ever since he left Hanover. Both he and Rita remember their days and friends in Hanover with much nostalgic pleasure. They had planned on being at the 35th but couldn't when it became necessary to make other trips east during the summer, one of which was for the wedding of one of their six sons. Shorty says they really hit the jackpot in 1973 when their visit to Hanover covered both the graduation of their Dartmouth son and the '48 25th. Shorty remarked on the pleasure of seeing Jim Woods in Indianapolis about a year ago, sends his best to Mouse and Hank, and would like to see them as well as other old buddies at the 40th! He'd also like to hear from other '48s in Indiana, such as Bob Flanders, Tom Gallant, and Pete Owen, whether or not they know each other.

Regrets and best wishes for the future go out to Dave Anthony in Tulsa. Dave retired on June 1 after 33 years with Cities Service, during which time he specialized in the field of human resources. He is continuing to be consulted on a part-time basis in connection with the amalgamation of the exploration departments of Cities and Cities' new owner, Occidental Petroleum, but this is not expected to last long. If anyone needs a good man with extensive professional experience in the field of human relations and administration,

give Dave a call in Tulsa. Congratulations to Al Becker for his non-profit efforts in leading a civic group trying to preserve the Old Masonic Building in the Performing Arts Center in San Francisco.

Congratulations, too, to Bill Hartwig, another of the large corps of successful '48 attorney auditors, who recently changed his profession to that of entrepreneur. Bill had been keeping his eyes open in Milwaukee for a business that he might buy and run. When the owners of a small, highly-specialized plastics firm wanted to move on, Bill put some capital together and bought the firm. He's now owner, chairman, president, CEO, COO, treasurer, etc. and says he's enjoying himself. He and Ray Richard each took over firms at about the same time, and both sound enthusiastic about their decisions.

At the Ravine Lodge at Mt. Moosilauke during reunion, quite a few of the gang sat out on the porches and enjoyed the fun of listening to long forgotten examples of Vermonthumor of the type that Professor Al Foley made so famous when he was a part of our lives on campus 40 years ago. Probably the best spinner of the old yarns was Al Battison, who delightfully recited the one about the sermon to the reluctant one-member congregation and the "caow's gittin' the hulload." And many others were repeated or listened to with glee by men such as Don Drescher, Bud Gedney, Lloyd Krumm, Norm Laird, and probably Bob Tracy and Phil Viereck. Even the infamous old Moosi lauke ghost may have gotten a malicious laugh from this resurrection of an old and dying art of the rural North Country. Certainly Al Foley would have tilted his head with delight that certain results of his creative genius survive.

All his friends will want to know that lan Macartney, having returned from England a couple of months ago worn down and thin from the loss of weight caused by the reawakening of the Hodgkins disease he first picked up in the fifties, is doing well in spite of the toll caused by his bouts with chemotherapy. Mac is just too good a man to keep down for long. And he's back in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming that he calls home.

This correspondent would love to hear their thoughts and impressions from any classmates who visit Hanover. Any changes? Still the same? A postcard costs 13. Drop a line. Cheers.

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