1940

The fact that more than two months elapse between the deadline date to which I must adhere and the date the Magazine is placed in your mailbox, plus word limitations that are assigned, may cause some of the news contained in the column to be a bit stale. Surely you will agree that news of our classmates, whenever received, is always of interest.

For instance, Moreau Brown '39, onetime member of San Francisco Bay Area chapter, American Society of Appraisers, sent via Hanover (1) the announcement for a chapter meeting at which Mel Wax, public affairs director of the Port of Oakland, was to be featured, speaking on the subject, "An Inside View of the Bay Area"; and (2) the meeting report that followed that quoted Mel, introduced as "the Bill Moyers of the West," as follows: "Instead of reminiscing about the Bay Area, I'm going to talk about Russia, just to catch you off base a little bit." The gist of the talk revealed the importance of our free press in helping to develop favorable relations between our country and Russia. Mel kept his audience enthralled with behindthe-scenes descriptions of past exchange encounters between American journalists and their Russian counterparts.

New or not-so-new, our mailbox contained an "opportunity" to win free vacations by completing a travel card application from Encore "America's Leading Travel Savings Service." Travel doesn't happen to be our long suit, but I happened to glance down the page and Creight Holden's name popped out big as life, and his signature appeared over the title of president. The company is American Leisure Industries, headquartered in Lanham, Md., and, according to the data sheet, has over 350,000 Encore cardholders. How about some details, Creight?

Received a thorough-as-usual report from Stet Whitcher a few days after notes for the last issue had been mailed to Hanover. He had recently returned from the College and the 149th meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council. "I am on the Committee on Alumni Continuing Education; John Manley, on the Committee on Enrollment and Admissions; and Bob MacMillen, on the Alumni Awards Committee. I can speak only from my side of the goings-on, and that is to reiterate that Dartmouth is fully committed to the idea of continuing education, whether it be in the form of the Dartmouth Institute, Alumni College, club seminars, overseas tours, or what have you. I may add that each one of us never stops learning as long as the mind is active, and we should take advantage of these opportunities when they are available. The Alumni College has been my forte, and I recommend it strongly to any and all of you. It's a great setting for a vacation amidst a great bunch of people with interesting lectures, seminars, discussions, and other diversions. You can really have an enjoyable 12 days."

Thanks to jack McDonald, your scribe received a review by Detroit Free Press writer Bob McKelvey of Page Smith's latest historical work, The Rise of Industrial America: A People's History of the Post-Reconstruction Era. As the reviewer states, "The only thing dull about author Smith's narrative history of the period from 1876 to 1901 is the title of his book, which conceals how turbulent this stretch of history really was. It was a time of intellectual and social churning, and Smith treats it with a passion and flair seldom found in historical works." The 986-page book, published by McGraw-Hill, chronicles what Page calls "the war between capital and labor" in the late 19th century. It was a time so unstable that intelligent men and women talked seriously about the possibility of a revolution in which the poor would rise up against the rich.

McKelvey concludes: "He presents one of the most refreshing accounts of the period ever written. By concentrating on the social and intellectual activity of the time, while playing down politics, diplomacy, and foreign policy, Smith probably comes closer to giving an accurate picture of America in the Gilded Age than authors who use more traditional methods. For its novel approach alone, this book belongs in the library of any serious student of American history." Congratulations, Page, for a work well done.

With the 1985 Alumni Fund goal set at $l2 million, the College is counting on our class for its usual strong support. Send your gift or pledge in early, including a substantial increase. I did. Incidentally, it will make TedMiller's and Lloyd Blanchard's jobs so much easier.

Less than 90 days remain until reunion. Are your plans all set so that you can share the event, together with roommates, classmates, and friends?

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