1937

We seem to be beleagured with sad news of late; the bad press on Dartmouth's problems on campus may well have been accentuated in the New England area, but we hear about it from all across the country. As the students whom we heard speak last year said, "The pendulum swings every so often on all campuses."

On a more personal level, we lost yet another loyal classmate on top of the overwhelming loss of Mutt Ray in February. On March 10 Al Mayer died of cancer. He had not been well of late, and by the time it was diagnosed, there was nothing that could be done. Only two weeks later he was gone. His obituary should appear in this or a subsequent issue. Al was one of our close college friends, and he will be sorely missed. His son, Chris, tried to help him complete his 50th reunion questionnaire while in the hospital, but he was too weak to say much; however, he did say, "Tell the kids in college to cultivate good relationships with fellow students; they will be the best friends they'll ever have." The other mes- sage was "make the most of your lives by serving your community and helping oth- ers." We say amen to both.

Among his many friends he was always in touch with was Jim Grey. We called Jim to make sure he had been told and picked up a bit of news on this very busy guy. He still runs Georgia's The AlbanyHerald and four TV stations Albany, WALB; Panama City, Fla., WKHG; Monroe, La., KTVE; and Little Rock, Ark., WTOP. He was recently reelected mayor of Albany for the seventh term. He owns four warehouses, and an airplane business of 12 planes for charter (as well as repairing), including one jet; he says they are all flying most of the time. Due to business needs in the South, he flies his own to visit the TV stations and warehouses. Jim was in Al's wedding party when Al married Terry, his former wife.

We think we saw it in the "Mint Bag," but Les Nichols '40 is an aficionado of Gen. George Patton, so we contacted Les. At the time of Patton's death in an auto accident involving his big staff car, painted O.D. with a white star on the side, we were in Mannheim administering a D.P. camp. Word got around quickly, so we grabbed a jeep to go see the car. We thought it to be a Cadillac, but Les says it was a Buick. We took some pictures which I have in our war album. Les was delighted to see them as he does a lot of Patton programs and added my photos to the set of pictures he shows. The car was brought to the States after the war and is on display at the Patton museum in Fort Knox, Ky.

Our venerable surgeon general and deputy assistant secretary for health, U.S. Public Health Service, Chick Coop, delivered the commencement address at Eastern Michigan University's winter ceremonies last December where he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Chick has received many honors, awards, and degrees including the Denis Brown Gold Medal from the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons, the William Ladd Gold Medal from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the order of Duarte Sanchez and Mella, the highest award of the Dominican Republic for his achievement in separating the cojoined Dominican twins. In 1980, he was inducted into the Royal College of Surgeons in England in 1982.

Dick Hefler represented Dartmouth at the inauguration of Frank Horton as president of the University of Oklahoma last October, and Win Taft did the same at the inauguration of Carol Desconteaux as president of Notre Dame College in Manchester, N.H.

Jacky and Park Johnston have moved into the new home they built on part of their old property - 1953 East Valley Road, Santa Barbara, Calif. Their phone number remains the same. Park calls it "Neo-Greek/Italian Classical Pillared Expensive Mausoleum, three bedrooms for visitors (one-week limit), no pool, but an ocean view that is tremendous."

The fund-raising is winding down, and our plea is for our class to rise above the criticisms of "what's going on in Hanover?" and maintain our support so we will have a college in good shape for our 50th reunion next year! These problems will pass as they always do, so practice patience until we all get together in the town we love because one of the most important things we share is each other. Let's preserve that. At this writing the Fund is running behind. We can't REALLY have that now, can we?

Here is a nice bright note on which to end. Marie Whitehill was married to a University of Maine (Orono) professor, John Maierhuber, on May 11. We all wish her and John the very best!

A. Benedict Doran '37 was named Class President of the Year. He has served his class as vice president, class agent, and reunion chairman. He has led a class with a model widows program, an undergraduate scholarship project, Alumni Fund records, and strong class communications. His ability to delegate and willingness to assist have resulted in a "smooth-functioning team of officers and executive committe members."

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