1948

Your secretary had the good fortune to spend a few days in Hanover in June when the early, soft days of summer were stealing their way through the gorgeous green hills around the town above the still, beautiful blue ribbon of the Connecticut. Dartmouth still means Place, today just as much as it ever did in the past. The town, a little larger than in the days of '48, is still principally Main Street. The citizenry, townsman and student, still appear and act much as they did in our time, and there are still many on hand from town and gown that you knew in our short years on campus. Some changes, sure, but essentially, in my opinion, one feels as much at home in Hanover today as 40 years ago. Some new College buildings, of course, but the people who have run the old institution since our day have continued and are continuing to preserve the general appearance that those of us lucky enough to have been there then remember so well. Here's hoping that you '48s out there who haven't been back in years and who wish to do so will get to Hanover soon.

Which leads right to the point that '48 president, Earl Chambers, hopes you'll be in Hanover for an executive committee meeting on Saturday,' September 29, to which all '48s are invited, as well as to the '4B cocktail party at the Inn after the UNH game. He also is planning a mini-reunion the weekend of the Harvard game, October 20; you'll probably receive a more formal notice in the mail from newsletter editor Barney Hoisington, who always does much work in handling arrangements, making it easy for the rest of us. BudGedney is also volunteering his time and effort in promoting the affairs. Large numbers are wanted for these two events, so turn out if you possibly can.

On the way to Hanover last June, I ran into Dick Greene at Logan Airport in Boston. Dick was waiting for a plane to Newark en route to home in Pittsburgh while the Drurys were looking for our baggage on a later flight from Newark. Dick looked fine, and we had plenty of time to catch up on recent past history as well as to reminisce, to the company of some good laughter. Dick has been in the investment field since Dartmouth and runs Allegheny Corporation's program, not without his share of headaches. He and Lynn and kids enjoy Sewickley, but miss Beantown.

Talk about surprises! While I was sitting in the barber's chair in the little two-man shop on Nugget Alley, just in back of the old bookstore location where Hap and Hal's used to be, a few yards from C & G, a young man entered the shop and came up to say hello. Turned out to be Charles James Schaefer IV '84, the son of our own Charles James Schaefer III '48. I had met young Jim with his Dad at our 35th reunion the year before. He was just about to receive his degree from Eleazar and had come into the shop for a last haircut before Class Day, Baccalaureate, and graduation. Needless to say, yours truly was truly flattered to be remembered by the son of my old friend, one of the finer 48's to come down the pike and one who has served his college well. A fine father-son team among men of Dartmouth.

Received a marvelous letter from The Old Sarge, George MacGillivray, which gave a fine account of some of the Marine Corps history from our days on campus in Hanover. Plan to draw on the letter in later issues of these notes because so much good data is provided. George was one of about 90 marines who arrived at Dartmouth in November 1944, expecting to have four semesters at the College on the Hill before being commissioned and sent back to active duty. Many were veterans of Pacific fighting, and George was one of at least 12 in the group who had served in the First Marine Division through bloody Guadalcanal. (He volunteered nine months before Pearl Harbor and was already in the Pacific when Corregidor fell.) The men were put in Russell Sage, four to a room, and many great friendships developed that still exist today. The academic schedule (23 class hours per week plus two hours of preparation per class) plus nine and a half hours of physical training was tougher than that faced by us civilians, but there was still some time for fun.

George recalls the boxing in the gym he was taught by his old buddy, the now departed Jack "Cossie" Costello, who had also been in the First on 'Canal and he particularly remembers the famous VE Day matches in May 1945 between the marines and the sailors. The big match was between a couple of giant heavyweights, big John Bennett of the USMC and big Fritz Alexander of the Navy. George didn't see the result as the day represented his demise in boxing when he ruptured his spleen. (It was Fritz who first realized something was seriously wrong with the Sarge and got help to him.) The incident cost George four months in the hospital, lost him a whole semester, and led to his working in the Boston Navy Yard until his return to Hanover in March 1947. We'll return to George's nostalgic letter later.

Talked with Ray Richard in Hanover, but we couldn't get together. He and Gloria live in Thetford. Drove past Bud Munson's house in Hanover Center, but Bud and Barbara weren't around. Also gave Barney a call, but believe he was on vacation.

During Alumni Council, John Hatheway showed us his class gift idea: small plaques on green benches outside the old Crosby, Richardson, and Wheeler to mark that summer semester of 1944 when so many '48s got together for the first time, a semester that few who were there will ever forget, a semester which most expected their draft boards to terminate at any moment. (Do you recall the "Uncle Sam wants YOU!" poster which pointed directly at you as you climbed the steps and entered the post office on South Main?) John's idea would immortalize that semester with the small plaques, a thought which the College is considering and which those who were there are believed to support. Any thoughts? (Jim Garrison remembers one or two events next time from that summer when he and Jere Poole who became Colonel Poole shared a room in Wheeler.)

All for now, but do join Earl Chambers in Hanover this fall if you can. And also give Coach Joe Yukica's charges your support on the gridiron as the Big Green tries to fight its way back to the top.

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