1939
When it comes time to put the class column together for the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, if we had our druthers we would simply field the correspondence that has been received, write it up in suitable form, and pass it along to the Hanover editors. But we don't always get our druthers. For instance, this month about the only news we got in, sadly, was of two deaths in the class —-. Bob Gibson on February 16 and Jim Anderson on March 10. Jim's family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Dartmouth Alumni Fund. Our sympathies to both families; details will be in the back section of an upcoming issue.
And so that wouldn't be the only word from '39 for the month, we got on the horn and scouted up a bit of news before we sent along this report. So far, we would have to say thai 1983 is not the year for news at least in the 1939 fraternity.
We mentioned Fred Upton in connection with Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in our last column, which might have been bad timing. Fred is in the news this month for reelection to this august board, and also as its secretary.
We hadn't heard from or about Tom Hine for some time, so we put in a call to Hartford Conn. We missed Tom but received an excellent fill-in from his wife Joyce, who advises that he recently sold the family business, A. C Hine Pontiac-Honda dealership, of which he had been president. The business is 67 old, and, as one might expect, is the o!dest Pontiac dealership in the nation. So Tom is now officially retired and plans a summer cruise to Alaska. Joyce also advises that she is preparing to introduce him to golf, a bit of frivolity that he has not had the time to pursue in the past. the Hines have two grandchildren living in West Hartford, the children of their son Tom Jr. '68. a sixth-grade teacher at Wolcott Elementary School.
We had a postcard from Herb and Ginny Mattlage, who are doing some house-sitting in Norwich, Vt., until April 10. Herb is auditing a course at the College, and Ginny has thrown the welcome mat out to '39ers passing through the area. They have joined the active '39 society on the Hanover Plain and environs, having dined with the Kaisers, Ed and Barbara Wells, the Baxter Prescotts, and George and Biddy Boswell. George and Biddy are off for Toulouse, France, where George will be running another foreign studies program over the spring term. It is a matter of a six-month tour of duty.
Raloh Holben made one of his more or less regular trips back to Hanover in the latter part of January to check in on his mother, who still resides in Hanover. Ralph is now retired from A.I.D. and with wife Gudrun has settled down permanently in Paris after having plied his government trade in South America, Asia, and Europe over a good number of years.
Bert MacMannis took off with his entire family for an outing on Captiva Island in midFebruary. A bit of a transportation problem at the outset of the trip (too much snow in N.Y.C. airport) negated a dinner party at Larry and Jane Vulte's and a visit with Betsy Wyman. A post card just received indicated however that they were making contact with Wes and Anne Goding to raise a few in Fort Myers during their stay.
Buzz Waters, whose recent travels to Brazil were documented in the February " '39 Out," and your correspondent turned up at the same social function in West Hartford in early February. This meant a considerable amount of reminiscing, to the point where our wives and our hostess were considering taking offense. But in the process we did learn that Buzz and Jane's ten-day trip to Rio was earned through past sales accomplishments despite his semiretired status at the moment. Buzz had spent 29 moriths in Brazil in the early part of World War II and was surprised to find that his longdormant Portuguese tongue came back with alacrity. In the meantime, Buzz and Janie will have been out to their condo in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and back, by the time you read these words.
We learned of a winter weekend gathering of Bob and Mary Dickgiesser, Duke and Julie Lyon, Mac and Jean MacGilpin, Ted and Betty Wolfe, and Bob and Evie Kaiser at the Dickgiessers'.
Bob and Ev took off in late February for their annual trip to Florida, combining business and pleasure. They'll be stopping in on Robb and Pat DeGraff in Atlantis, Dick and Dottie Hobbs in Pompano Beach, Dusty and Happy Rohde in Juniper Hills, and then across alligator alley to Naples with Wells and Betty finally ending up on Casey Key with Betsy Wyman. For the scores of '39ers who have visited the Kaisers, we have some bad news to pass along. Toc, that fine big golden/ Irish setter who submitted to your pats, and exchanged affection, died on February 21 of a stomach disorder after ten happy years on Conant Road.
777 West Street Pittsfield, Mass. 01201
