1938

As I sit down to write this, the tall ships have just sailed up New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty has been refurbished, rededicated, and reopened. It has been a memorable Fourth of July weekend. But by the time you read this it will be well after Labor Day, late September going on October indeed. The time lag is inevitable as the Alumni Magazine requires two months lead time for class notes copy. And it makes for curious anomalies, such as wishing you a Merry Christmas long before Halloween has even arrived. More important, in effect it virtually precludes the possibility of any fresh news in this column. It's a pity, but it's a fact of life.

The first to check in early this summer was Red Boutilier. A freelance writer and photographer, Red lives on the Maine coast (Medomac) where he continues to pursue the project he has been working at for the better part of 25 years: a nautical history of his area. "If I can survive a few more years," Red writes, "I may be able to leave some contribution ... in the form of pictures and records covering mid-coastal Maine nautical activities since about 1961 or 1962. The old woodshed is full of boxes containing negatives, pictures, carbon copies of articles, and general information."

The subject of state-wide attention and of several recent newspaper features, Red is no man to take short views. He hopes soon to begin putting his voluminous collection of documents and photographs into book form, he says. A shipbuilder colleague summed up Red's contribution: "To my mind," he wrote, Red has "done more in the publicity field for Maine ship- building than anyone I've had the pleasure of knowing in the last 40 years or so."

Red reports seeing his fellow Mainers Jim Briggs and Lew Parker now and again "in the fair weather months," as he says. Last month Mary and I also dropped in on Lew and his wife Fran for a short visit. Alas, we discovered, they will miss the mini-reunion this year. The reason: they'll be on a cruise up the Amazon River. Now there's a tough choice! But no excuses from the rest of you, please. Unless you too are at least as far away as the Amazon, don't miss the mini! With a little luck, when you read this you'll still have time to sign up and show up. Remember: September 26-28, Hanover.

No doubt you've seen in the "Pace Setter" that 1938's able tour director was singularly honored by the College at Class Officers Weekend in May by being chosen "Mini-Reunion Chair of the Year" for 1985-86. The citation surely had it right: "There is a certain flair that identifies the successful mini-reunion coordinator. . . . Dick Francis, affectionately known to the 38 family as the 'Tour Director/ is most certainly a man with that flair. . . . Certainly the class of '38 knows a good thing, as Dick has been appointed to run the golden 50th Reunion in two years." A well-deserved accolade for Dick, to which his classmates add their congratulations.

Jim Cotter writes from Falmouth, Mass., that he is "finally home from the beautiful, but HOT, state of Arizona after a lovely winter." You heat-seeking Arizona snowbirds might want to ponder Jim's following comment: "Cape Cod sure looks good to me!" Jim has recently heard from Jim Sutcliffe, he says, who reports that he and his wife have just built a new house and are faring well; and from Marsh Land, who says, "All is well in Rome, N.Y.," and that he's looking forward to the Big Fiftieth. We all are. But don't rush it, Marsh! Don't rush it!

A more somber note. According to his wish, a memorial service for Gus Hennessey was held at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Swampscott, Mass., on April 18. This was Gus's home church in, of course, his hometown. Dick Francis spoke of Gus's relation with the College at a short graveside ceremony. Classmates attending were Jim Chandler, Bud Lynch,Bob Ross, Gil Tanis, and Ev Wood.

THE WAY-IT-WAS-DEPARTMENT From The Dartmouth, September 15, 1936, p. 1: "Green Eleven Holds Practice;Blaik Voices Satisfaction With Team's Progress. Yesterday's half-hour scrimmage saw the usual sporadic brilliance, which the Big Green has shown all practice, as play after play was stopped by Ed White, Tom McGrath, Gus Zitrides, Jack Schrag, and Lou Frick. Occasional individual brilliance by Fred Hollingworth, Phil Conti, and Dartmouth's fastest back, Warren King, brought the only scores. . . ." Byline: John Emerson.

Or try this one on for memory. Same source, September 18, 1936: "Frosh DefeatHapless Sophs; Nugget Rush Forestalled byPalaeopitus. Palaeopitus stopped the class of '40 yesterday afternoon, which is more than '39 was able to do. With a decisive triumph over the hapless sophs in their pelts, more than 600 bloodthirsty sophs swirled down upon the Nugget with war cries on their lips, only to be persuaded by 13 Palaeopitus stalwarts, lined abreast on the steps of the theatre, that the laurels of single victory are sufficient." Byline: Hal Berman.

Was all that 50 years ago this month?

Photographer Everett L. "Red" Boutilier '3B wascaught on the other side of the camera whilephotographing the launching of a fishing vesselfrom Wollwich, Maine, on a frigid morning inJanuary 1986.

P.O. Box 42 Waterford, ME 04088