1950

Winter wilts. Heavy rains and soft warming winds dissolve isolated wisps of snow. The trees burgeon, and the willows green. The signs presage an early spring.

A month ago (mid-February) the scene differed. An enigmatic ice sculpture, one of the wild things - a sign of age, since the younger generations immediately related to it - dominated the campus. The shanties were neither evident nor mourned.

The inaugural alumni Winter Fest, emulating our class's annual midwinter weekend, was busy and eventful. Basketball and hockey vied with swimming, gymnastics, and track. The players produced Two Gentlemen from Verona, while the Glee Club offered Mozart. The economics faculty held a seminar - classes on Saturday still prevail for us - on "The U.S. and the World Economy." The Jaffe Gallery displayed quilts in an exhibit of this unique New England art form, while the Hood Museum exhibited "Winter," a fitting, exhilarating subject. Parenthetically, the museum bustles as more than 1,500 visitors a day enjoy its galleries. There was no time to rest.

Winter mini-reunion previewed our 35th in June, except that Dave Taylor and Len Matless promise that everything will be better and bigger. The credits, at least some of them, tell the story: promotion by Newc Eldredge; music by Tom Ruggles with three score songsters, bands, and assorted instrumentalists; food by Joel Leavitt. My words extol, but you participate to rekindle memories. Given a timely publication of this issue, you still have time to come to enjoy yourself.

Dave Steinberg has become the first professional, as contrasted to volunteer, president of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs, an institute honoring U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield. The purpose of the Center is to promote cooperation and understanding among nations in the Pacific Basin through seminars and conferences on political, economic, and cultural topics. The first president is expected to plan and build offices and conference facilities in the Flathead Lake area of Montana.

Dave's credentials for this assignment include an M.A. from Harvard, extensive courses in Oriental and African studies at the University of London and Ling Nan University in Canton, China, and lecturing at other universities. After 16 years abroad he speaks Korean, Burmese, and Chinese proficiently. As a member of the senior foreign service of the Agency for International Development, Department of State, Dave has worked on economic and political issues in Asia for more than three decades. His experiences have been distilled in numerous books and articles. According to the chairman of the Center's board of directors, "Dave's outstanding past record of accomplishment has prepared him well for leadership across the wide range of fields covered by the Center's programs."

Tidbits here and there: at the last moment Bing and Joyce Miller changed plans and hustled to Hanover to be part of Winter Fest. Laura Lindner '86 spoke enthusiastically about her life as a student and her role as the 1950 Collis intern. The sign-off from Tom Ruggles, this year's squash finalist, is "Chords." Wedding bells rang for Ted Remsen; they sang again for Frank Hartington. His temporary abode, a renovated saw mill, may be more interesting than the new hilltop eagle's nest Cul Modisette is building. No word as yet from Izzy Stahl, usually a reunion regular. Jim Harms, a denizen of Quechee, will be there. And, for the first time, at least three widows: Sally Burrill, Mary Jane Devitt, and Betsy Pinkham. If Peter Nottage shifts from "maybe" to "definitely," he will cop the prize for the longest trip, since Hawaii is still several leagues beyond Catalina.

Even if you cannot attend the reunion, you can still remember the class and Dartmouth with an extra special reunion gift. Frank Dickinson, chairman of reunion giving, might plead more elegantly, but the message is the same. A final thought: As we look back from Balch Hill the campus rests serene. No signs of turmoil are evident. From that vantage point the Dartmouth we remember remains; the essence of our Dartmouth prevails, unchanging and unchanged.

The burgeoning of March graces May and early June. Enjoy the vestiges of spring. The time has come to close, to go. To go to watch the spring unfold. The time has come to go. Cheers.

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE a touch of class The 35th Reunion for the Class of 1950

510 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood, NJ 07450