1930

Our sincere congratulations to Alex McFarland, who, at the end of August, made his first visit to Hanover in almost nine years, a trip made possible by daughter Carol Seidler and Alex's devoted household couple, and made particularly successful with the help of Charlie and Lari Widmayer and Dick and Gwen Bowlen. They toured all the old haunts and new, including the NAR Center and the 1930 Room. Could this have been a trial run, perhaps in anticipation of an upcoming reunion?

Congratulations also to Stanton Walker Davis. Not to be outdone by Dr. Fred C. Scribner, D. D. (see the August "Thirty-teer"), Pete has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration by the trustees of Bridgewater State College, as a man of vision, an outstanding executive, civic leader, and inspirer of youth, exemplifying the highest ideals of service and quality in the world of business. Further, Dr. Davis has been in the forefront of long-range planning for youth and for health care and has improved the quality of life in southeastern Massachusetts as president of the YMCA, president of Brockton Hospital, and director of a regional banking institution, and in undertaking other major civic and college-related responsibilities. And more.

Walker S. (Red) Draper, who doesn't check in very often, makes up for lost time with this happy report: "I am still working for the old family textile firm, which has been weaving and knitting fabrics since 1856. I use the term 'working' with a smirk for, being semiretired, I have been stripped of any important title, a comfortable office, and most of a comfortable salary. I have been with the company 50-odd years and will probably die in the saddle if the new generation of Drapers, the fifth to run the company, will let me.

"Seven years ago I married a young, beautiful great-grandmother, my third such venture. While we haven't produced any children of our own, we collectively share seven, plus one stepchild, 20 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

"As I advance in age, my agility retreats, as does my hair, pep, and memory, not to mention my bowling scores, while my golf scores keep rising. However, I can still mix a mean martini, in case any of my classmates wander into my territory, which is Canton, Mass., or Pocasset on Cape Cod. The former is my domicile and the latter my folly." Red should bring that young, beautiful great-grandmother to a reunion.

Class secretaries will all agree that the worst feature of their job is receiving notification of the passing of another classmate. So who needs a false alarm in addition? A while back the mail brought me a letter from the American Medical Association which said: "Thank you for informing us of the death of Donald A. Shaskan, M.D. Since the Journal tries to publish a brief obituary on each deceased physician, please advise us of the date, place, and cause of his death."

I was shocked because Don and I had very recently corresponded about the death of another 1930 M. D., and Don had asked the AMA to send me their biodata on the deceased classmate. I certainly hadn't reported Don's death to the AMA, but did they know something I didn't know? With considerable apprehension I phoned the Shaskan home, wondering how stupid I might sound to a possible new widow. Fortunately I didn't have to find out, as Don himself answered, alive, well, and living in San Francisco. We can only guess that the AMA computer had really computerized Don's inquiry, with surprising results. I'm glad we weren't asking for a critical diagnosis.

Finally, as the commentators say, this message from our sponsor: "Stay alive for 55 in '85,'

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