1917

Greetings to all '17s as this very infrequent column digests the news from a faithful few. A letter came from MarionO'Leary (February 1986) praising the hardy New Englanders who live through our long, cold, icy winter months. She salutes the Wardwells, the Sariborns, and me for surviving and being able to pay the fuel bills. She promises a pitcher of firewater to anyone stopping in, Box 721, Damariscotta, Maine.

Eleanor Reycroft from Fairfield, Conn., wrote an enthusiastic report of an eightday trip to London sponsored by the Dartmouth Club of Eastern Massachusetts in April. She gave the trip 100 percent for arrangements that took them to cathedrals, castles, and museums. Eleanor still enjoys her golf.

Lucile Towler has moved to Sarasota from Sun City and loves it. "Music galore of every kind and lots of theatre. It's just a question of how long you can keep up the pace." Lucile no longer has room for two pianos so is playing duets. In April she went on a cruise through the Panama Canal and in September will have two weeks on the Royal Viking, making eight , stops from New York to Montreal. Lucile covers a lot of territory in her travels the easy way. Gets on a ship and does what she feels up to.

A long letter from Virginia Bradley, Vic Smith's daughter, whose life also is filled with music. She plays regularly with the Vermont Philharmonic and shares her cello with a local group in Northfield, Vt. She is planning a trip through the Canadian Rockies in September that will take in Expo 86. Going one way by train will bring her some of the most breathtaking views in the country, as I well remember when Don and I tools; that trip in 1963.

Mary McCulloch, my "roomie" through two Dartmouth Alumni College sessions, will not be part of the Hanover campus this summer. We were almost the eldest students enrolled in 1985, and while the rewards are many, there are still stairs to climb, aging ears that strain to catch each word, and a formidable bidliography to be absorbed before the 11-day session. It's a wonderful experience in adult education, and we shall miss the discussions, the friendly "breaks, ' and the spirited lectures in Spaulding. Everyone should sign up at least once. Mary also gave me advance notice that her son, Sandy, class of 1950, had been elected head of the Board of Trustees of the College. How proud Normie would have been of his son's years of contribution to Dartmouth. Dartmouth is fortunate indeed to have the leadership of such dedicated alumni.

Seventeeners who remember Bill sewall may not know that he is buried in the old graveyard in Norwich, Vt., where his grandfather was minister to the Congregational Church. In June 1985, Sally Sewall died, and her family brought her east to be buried in the same cemetery. John Sewall '42, asked me to join them, and on a lovely Vermont June day, I found my way up a dirt path to a spot where Sally and Bill's family and a few friends gathered to pay our respects. Great-grandchildren played among the old gravestones and then joined their parents as Sally's pastor son-in-law read a brief interment service. We all dropped flowers in the open grave and then, one by one, began reminiscing about events and visits with Bill and Sally. Those of you who knew Sally will never forget her unique personality, her delicious sense of humor, nor her almost childlike directness. Each story brought back memories of warm hospitality, hilarity, and the loyalty for 1917 that made the Sewalls among the most beloved of our classmates. It was a lovely way to say goodbye to old friends.

My son, Bill Brooks '51, had his 35th reunion this year, and I was invited over for a picnic lunch and lecture. Differences between his and our 35th: of the more than 300 people gathered for lunch I only saw three people smoking. Bob Boynton's son, Bill, was there with a video camera that took a picture of me and then turned it back, and I saw myself as I look to others (most unsatisfactory). Everyone seemed tanned, fit, and relaxed. If they had white hair, it was surely premature, but they were a credit to Dartmouth and their generation. So the torch is passed

My one communication from the class of 1917 was from Walt Walters, who graciously declined to take on the secretary's job. The college would welcome news of you, so please send something to me or to Karen Endicott at the magazine. Remember that in 1987 the class celebrates its 7Oth. It would be great to have 100- percent participation in a column by and for living members.

RD 1, Box 84 Woodstock, VT 05091