1974

More real-life adventures of the class of '74. Strange as it may seem, our tenth reunion is just a bit more than one year away. Chris Gates informs me that the chairman of this incomparable decennial celebration will be none other than Doug Lind. Doug has long been known for his abilities at keeping the Big Green spirit alive in such distant locales as San Francisco. Given the opportunity to perform his wonders on location in Hanover, Doug should help the class to have the best tenth ever held at Dartmouth. Details of this extravaganza will follow over the coming months in this column.

Since the last column went to press, a note from Lex McCusker arrived with news of a couple of new arrivals. Lex and his wife Susan are parents to a daughter, Claire Virginia, born on April 19, 1982. Lex is working as a member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories in "scenic" (Lex's word) Piscataway, N.J. He also reports that Joe Younger is another new father, with the arrival on October 18 of Samuel Orendt Younger. Lex comments, "Both Sam and Claire were able to get down to Princeton to see the Big Green whup the Tigers in football. Their first date!" The class sends its heartiest Congrats to both sets of new parents.

A clipping arrived from the alumni office showing my freshman-year roommate, Larry Litscher, garbed in attire quite different from the modified Peter Pan outfit he wore while driving the Sig Ep chariot senior year. It seems that Larry has seen fit to marry Karen Constance Haeberle, who (if I remember correctly) many of us had the good fortune to meet at the fifth reunion. She is a graduate of McGill University, received her M.A. from Case Western Reserve, and is completing a doctorate in clinical psychology while interning at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Larry took his medical degree at McGill and has completed a residency in ophthalmology at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, N.Y. He is a fellow at Shand's Teaching Hospital in Gainesville. Best of luck to both of you!

An old note has just emerged from the recesses of my desk: I talked to Marty Mehlberth during the course of the Alumni Fund drive last spring. He reported that he and Sue were expecting their first child in the fall and that they enjoy life in Centerville, Ohio.

The " '74 ROAR" for this month goes to James Herbert "Eubie" Blake, who reached his 100 th birthday on February 7. As you will remember, Eubie was awarded an honorary doctorate at our commencement. He is a truly amazing gentleman the last of the original ragtime composers (he composed his first ragtime composition, "Charleston Rag," in 1899), who, with Noble Sissle, wrote the songs for Shuffle Along in 1921, a show which ran for over a year in New York. His credits include several Broadway shows and more than 2,000 songs, with "I'm Just Wild About Harry" the best known. While his performances are now very infrequent, he still is one of the most spirited musicians I have ever seen (he claims that the applause keeps him going!), while doubling as a marvelous story-teller. The class of '74 is lucky to have received its degrees on the same platform with this very special man.

That's all for this month keep those cards and letters coming!

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