1955

June may not be the month normally associated with skiing, with the grass having to be cut, swimming now possible out of doors, and those long, lazy, hazy days of summer close upon us, but it does make good conversation to recount the exploits of the past season. So it is with skiing, for our abilities are a trifle enhanced by not having to prove our prowess as we sit around the backyard in our Bermuda shorts.

This is obviously not a problem with RalphMiller, living in Lexington, Ky., as a doctor and practicing medicine there. Ralph's wife, Pam, is vice-mayor of the city and is running for reelection to her at-large seat on the urban county council. The Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper recounted one of their big snowstorms on a Friday, late in January, and said that about the only event in Lexington that wasn't canceled that evening was a $50-a-person reception on the 15th floor of the First Security Bank Building, for Pam. With many constituents who had already mailed in their checks, in spite of the horrible weather 75 people appeared at the reception. Apparently most of her supporters showed up, and she explained the ones that didn't had good excuses, like being in Tahiti or having broken a hip skiing. The reporter added: "Nobody worried about the candidate's husband, Dr. Ralph Miller, getting there - he used to be a member of the Olympic ski team. But Miller didn't come to the reception on skis. Believe it or not, he rode on his motorcycle." All of us who remember Ralph jumping during the Winter Carnival out at the golf course are well aware of his ability and talent, and those of us firmly planted in a snowbank, of his courage. Ralph obviously hasn't lost any of that if he can still ride a motorcycle through the big snow.

From the other side of the country, JohnBaldwin, also a medical doctor in Salinas, Calif., writes of their good "winter," with superb skiing in the Sierras. (Undoubtedly, Jean and John did not have to trudge through a snowstorm to get to those mountains. It seems in California the sun comes where the sun is supposed to, and the snow falls exactly where everyone expects it to.) John has now also become a national ski patrolman, "a feat which was impossible in 1955 due to poor ability and, by today's standards, lousy equipment." (Does that mean that Ralph had it all backwards, becoming a great skier first and then a doctor?)

You don't have to be a California doctor to go skiing; however, John Dinan, who practices general and peripheral vascular surgery in Portland, Maine, headed for Mount Washington in February. He said there wasn't enough snow to ski Tuckerman's Ravine at the time, but it was great on the John Sherburne Trail. John has also been appointed commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Reserve Hospital Bethesda 101, a unit which drills regularly at the Naval Reserve Center in Portland. John was out of the reserves for seven years, and as he says, after seeing "The Winds of War," if Robert Mitchum can do it, why not he? (Our class doctors are a multitalented lot.)

Still in New England, Joe Kagle, who is with the Brockton Art Museum, took a vacation at home recently, which happily inspired him to write. At least he thought that staying home at the same time when his 14- year-old daughter and 12-year-old son were off from school and his wife, Ann, was working at the hospital was supposed to be called a vacation. Mostly, Joe says, he was a doorman and bus driver and - Mr. Mom: "ANYONE who says that house manager is not a full, over-time job is crazy." (Is this why Dartmouth went coed?) During the week, Joe read 18 grants for the institute and graded each one of them. He certainly hopes that the stresses of being alone with maturing young people for five days, did not lower our national museums' ratings. He sounds delighted to be back at work dealing with the simple things, such as raising money for endowment, overseeing a new building for the museum, and staff problems. ("All that easy stuff.")

Which brings us to Topeka, Kans. (through the magic of these little green cards) , and Peter Packard. Pete writes that the recent years have found him and his wife enjoying the benefits through their volunteer work with American Field Service High School Foreign Student Exchange Program. This has given them the opportunity to travel to Brazil on a couple of occasions to visit the young people who have stayed with them in Topeka. A Brazilian carnival reminded Pete of a Dartmouth beer bust plus samba. (Which brings us back around to the town green in Hanover, which if truth be known, is at least partially viewed over the cup of a draft beer. But only one, for we're older now.)

1800 Valley Road Newtown Square, PA 19073