1955

It is never too late or too early to have a reunion - whether it's a few friends of the class or a major event that occurs every five years. Happily there was another interim opportunity which the class of '55, thanks to the organization of MikeGorton, took advantage of. (Somehow that sentence really did have to end with a preposition.) At the first Dartmouth alumni winter weekend held at Hanover over Washington's birthday weekend, the class of '55 came out in greater numbers and undoubtedly collected greater enjoyment than any other. It was suitably cold and suitably white (the snow in Hanover always did seem to be cleaner and crunchier than in most other places from which 'sss come).

The likes of Brooks and Gale Parker,Pete and Betty Buhler, Norm and JoanFine, Bob and Iris Fanger, Bernie and PatSiskind, Ed and Cecelia Willi, Bruce andMary Jane Alexander, Swift and Kit Lawrence, Cyril and Mary Muromcew, MikeGorton, John and Jean Elkas, Larry andPaula Hagar, Bill and Susan Lenderking, and Claudie Brock along with your secretary arrived variously and in great good humor.

Saturday morning, after a semi-communal breakfast at the Hanover Inn where most of the class was staying it was a short walk to 104 Reed Hall to hear Jere Daniell offer us a talk (when, you're paying tuition, it's a lecture) on the state of the College; his subject "An historian looks at Dartmouth today." Jere did indicate that the job of being a college president is exceedingly difficult, three times moreso than in the early fifties. As Jere said, "This is not new, for early on disgruntled students ended up burning down EleazarWheelock's outhouse and later the Trustees kicked out Nathan Lord for supporting slavery during the Civil War." Jere did finish up by saying that Dartmouth is in the position of being the premier undergraduate institution in the country.

If we think all the problems of the world are centered in Hanover, Cy Muromcew quickly disabused his fellow classmates of that notion. Cy updated the group on his experiences serving as the State Department translator for Max Kampelman, chief U.S. negotiator at the arms reduction talks in Geneva with the Russians. It is a situation where no tape recorders are used, relying particularly on the printed page and most particularly Cy's on-sight translation from English into Russian for the benefit of the Russians. It's all very impressive for a fellow who majored in geology and who started out with his pick and shovel in Labrador, Canada. It wasn't until 1964 that he headed for the State Department, bringing his own native talents (and presumably some heritage and help from a Russian grandmother).

Bernie and Pat Siskind get credit for weathering the greatest change in climate, having just returned from a vacation in Jamaica near Montego Bay. Even the cold was not enough to erase the glow of the Caribbean sun. Bernie has his own company involved in the manufacture of maternity clothes and apparel, or as he says in quoting his mother, "He is a rag merchant." While there is apparently real pressure with annual styling, at least Bernie doesn't have to worry about the shape. Their oldest son, Larry, is in the class of '86 and their younger, Peter, is at Middlesex in Concord, Mass. The Siskinds stay in touch with Howie Zelikow, who is the chief financial officer of Progressive Corporation in Cleveland. Howie and his wife are the parents of two Dartmouth graduates.

Swifty Lawrence is a grandfather again thanks to his daughter, Marsha 'BO, who married Scott Sommerville '79 and is now the mother of four. Son Steve was '82 at Middlebury, but Jim, his youngest, came to Dartmouth in the class of '84. Swifty serves as president of the Pawtucket Savings and Trust Company.

Which is all to say that it's amazing what you find out having dinner at the Hanover Inn (a pretty good meal) before hurrying off to basketball games, swimming meets, ice hockey games, plays, and a wonderfully good Glee Club concert complete with orchestra and soloists. Sunday was turned over to cross-country skiing on the golf course where the sun shone brightly and the tracks were nicely cut by the more eager or up to the Dartmouth Skiway where the snow was perfect and the young hotdoggers sufficiently polite not to crash into those taking a more sensible pace. Ending a glorious day was an equally glorious cocktail party held at Bruce and Mary Jane Alexander's home in Eastman, not far from Hanover. When Bruce married Mary Jane, they ended up with two homes at Eastman and six kids, four of whom went to Dartmouth. Nice average. Thanks to the Alexanders, everyone was there, including Larry and Paula Hagar with their young son, Christopher, growing up fast and presumably smarter than can be expected of any kid. There is a certain pleasure in reminiscing, particularly when there is a common link for all assembled.

Reunions at any time and any place with people you like, admire, and enjoy are great. At Hanover, they seem to be better.

E. Ron Campion '55, president of his family's retail business, James Campion, Inc.,was one of two recipients of the Citizen ofthe Year award given by the Hanover,N.H., Chamber of Commerce in March.Emily Briggs Gould, a volunteer for numerous Upper Valley social services, wasthe other recipient. Campion is a participant in the committees and boards of Hanover's major institutions, includingDartmouth's Alumni Council. His late father, James W. Campion '28, and his latebrother, James Campion III, had also beenrecipients of the award.

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