1942

Dex Richards takes the cake when it comes to courage. Listen to this: "In anticipation of an extended visit to France, touring the back roads and villages by rented car, I decided to brush up on my French, last studied some 43 years ago. Through the courtesy of John Rassias, the famous, flamboyant, and exceedingly kind chairman of the Dartmouth French Department, I enrolled in an intensive French I class.

"At 8:00 a.m. we had drill. This was conducted by a senior, fluent in the language, quizzing us in French on the chapter we were studying. Our class was broken up into three rooms, each with its own 'drill master' for these sessions. This was followed by one hour of selfconducted lab work, listening to tapes, speaking into the recorder, and working on pronunciation. This was followed by 50 minutes of class itself. Almost no English was spoken. No specific homework was assigned, but we covered a great deal each week, and it required one and one-half to two hours each night of homework to keep up. The students that I talked with considered it a tough course.

"I had a real opportunity to be a part of the student body as far as class work was concerned. I was very, very impressed with the caliber of the students, not only in their mental ability, but in their general appearance and attitude. They were all very friendly and accepted me as just another student. There were, I think, about 40 students in the class, about equally divided between boys and girls. Every one of them was well dressed, no torn jeans or way-out clothes. This course required a lot of work, and with their other studies, I don't see how they had time for football, track, and other activities."

I hope Dex gives us a report on what it's like to tour the French hinterlands, knowing the language.

Received another note from our resident '42 in Switzerland. Haze Hinman admonished thusly: "Please don't count Jane out of Alpine cycling if she's the least bit interested! (Girls do have relatively higher lower-body strength, you know.) A granny gear 36 front, 34 rear is possible on a ten-speed, or a 28-28 front-to-rear on a 15-speed will get any gal up the hill unless she's a complete noodle. If there's any flicker of interest on Jane's part, I'd be glad to dissertate on how to become a successful hill-climber. I sure don't know it all, but have learned a few good gimmicks in the past eight years here that render mountain-biking less damaging and more gratifying than banging the skull against a rock (although that prospect is imminent on the down-hills)." No male chauvinist our boy Hazen!

Bob Strasenburgh sent the following note and promise: "While Betty and I didn't make the mini-reunion last fall, I am hoping that we will be able to get to Hanover for whatever occasion takes place next October. Going back to Dartmouth always does good things for me, and I think this is a feeling we all share and one of the very real reasons why we have such a successful Alumni Fund effort."

Class President Dick Rugen sent word that while the rest of us suffered the wretched weather spasms of the Northeast, California, and the vast Midwest, he, Wally Farr, Joe Nason, and spouses were sliding through winter safely under the southern sun. All these three guys need is a '42 fourth for tennis doubles. One logical candidate is Al Britton, but he and Bobbie are over on the East Coast at Boca West. Any volunteers? Dick says that "this place is so popular that aspiring residents are often driven to ambulance chasing."

Ran into newspaper publisher Bob Schuette the other day and asked for news. All he could say was that his Wayland-Weston Town Crier, a suburban weekly for west-of-Boston suburbs, was booming and keeping him from Florida. The only '42 he has seen at all recently was Mike DeSherbinin. Mike apparently sold his weekly and went into refugee work and now, according to Bob, is leaning toward a re-entry to the fourth estate. That's all we have this goround. How's about each of you borrowing a pen and putting your trials, tribulations, and triumphs on paper for the edification of the rest of us.

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