1948

It's early July as these notes are written, 42 years, almost to the day, after a large group of civilians matriculated for their freshman year at Dartmouth July 1944 and joined the 35 or so who had entered the previous March, as well as the many V12/V5 navymen and marines who together formed the core of the class of 1948. Hope those of you who read this agree that the foregoing just does not seem like 42 years ago! Maybe more like yesterday?

Which leads to a little ancient history. You will recall that, 1944 being wartime, virtually all the civilians at Dartmouth that summer roomed in the old Crosby, Richardson, and Wheeler. Servicemen lived in all the other dorms. Women appeared on campus, but not as Eleazar's students. Spirits ran pretty high in the student body as a whole; Hanover was a good place to be. Among the military, many were awaiting assignment to active service, while for most civilians, it was a matter of time before Uncle Sam's pointing finger would be activated in one's face by his friendly draft board via congratulations from General Hershey.

Consequently, and in order to have fun while possible, the self-discipline exhibited in those three dorms was not precisely that of a girls' finishing school. The group spirit that developed and the humorous events that occurred made for marvelous stories. Every reunion since has brought forth unbelievable recitations of spontaneous incidents, such as interfloor struggles, where no small amounts of liquid were exchanged via the long tubes in the hallways (struggles which became hockey games on ice the following winter). Also symptomatic of the time was the quiet gumshoe tracking of one Nelson K. Wormwood (may his soul RIP), paean to patience if one ever existed. Wheeler was probably the principal locus of these activities. One hopes that the belly laughter provoked by the Walt Cairnses, the Jim Garrisons and the Jere Pooles, at a1., will somehow not be lost in the sands of time. As Bud Thorne might point out, the Wheeler ground floor corner room he shared with The Honorable Judge Barlow gave them ringside seats to laughter-filled events unheard of in peacetime.

One feature of campus life in Hanover in 1944-45 was the transport difficulty posed by gasoline rationing, which limited use of autos. Airline access to Hanover was limited. Thus, the railroad into Whitetown from Boston, New York, Montreal, and Vermont was a heavily used means of transport. Likewise, the buslines in most directions. Shank's mare and the motorcycle were, of course, widely used. A favorite means of moving into and out of Hanover, though, was the old-fashioned thumb. On any day the number of fellows with a small bag waiting beside the road on the various routes out of town was phenomenal. In those days, fortunately, and unlike today, the hitchhiker was persona grata, as people with cars and gasoline readily helped the serviceman and others not so lucky.

One of the popular activities available to '48s that first summer and autumn of 1944 was the weekend climbing or canoe trip to the mountains and lakes of northern New Hampshire, as sponsored by the DOC. The factor that made possible these magnificent trips to the great outdoors was the transport to the distant locales provided by the big stake truck supplied by the navy in Hanover. It was always driven by Dave Kendall '45. The navy truck moved us everywhere and made possible some great weekend hikes over the Presidentials, etc., often led by our own "Gus" Gustafson. Many took part in these outdoor treks, the weather cooperating magnificently over that summer and fall. And who can forget those late Sunday afternoon plunges off the chasm walls into the rushing white waters of the Baker River near the old Moosilauke Inn above Warren, where Dave always stopped the truck on the way back to Hanover? Listing just a few of the participants on those trips will remind us of the others who were along: Lan Brisbin,Charlie Kaufman, Ernie Marshall, PeteOwen, Foxy Parker, Murphy Robins, TedThornton, Bob Tracy.

And who will forget the oft-cited long drop from Garfield to the Franconia Notch road of Bill Malone and DickRepko when they carried their own plus 14 other packs, loads piled so high that Malone today remembers that only one at a time could sit down to rest so the other could help him get up.

The 1985-86 edition of the Alumni Fund terminated on July 11. The class of '48 did not achieve its $60,000 goal, though we were surprisingly close. We must respect the conscience and honesty of head agent Bud Munson, who reluctantly found he could not exhort others to contribute in the face of his own fundamental objections to some of the news out of Hanover this past academic year. Among '48s Bud was clearly not alone in this. At the same time we have to congratulate Earl Chambers and his appointed acting head agent Bud Elliott for their fast work and the work of their agents in achieving what must be considered pretty fair success under the circumstances. Maybe some kids will enter Dartmouth in the future who otherwise could not have met the financial burden, a fact which will please Barney Hoisington who is in charge of student aid at the College.

By the time you read this, Joe Yukica's charges may have already seen action on the gridiron in this, his final season at Dartmouth. Joe writes that he definitely will leave, but that he always will look on Hanover as a place to which he hopes to return after his coaching days are over. I suggest that all '48s who have known Joe wish him and Betty all the best down the road.

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