1939

Sometimes it seems as though the entire class sets out for Florida with the onset of winter weather. This year the Jacksons were no exceptions, opting for Longboat Key, just a Ringling Causeway away from Sarasota, during a good part of January and February. We broke some bread with Bert and Sally MacMannis and managed to get in a bit of tennis together. They spent part of the fall and again late January through March 15th in their superior digs at Bayport condos halfway up the Key.

Jack and Billee Coulson also had a week with Doug and Grace Farrington on Longboat Key, sort of a busman's holiday from the east coast, where the Coulsons now reside year-round. This lucky foursome were quartered in a friend's condo facing the gulf. Jack recounts frequent meetings with '39s back in Delray Beach. Doc and ChipTower were down for three weeks. Cornieand Janet Miller were on hand. Jack also spoke of a luncheon to swap lies with Johnand Marylyn Finocan, Herm and MarjorieFunke, and the Farringtons. Both Finocans and Funkes also have places in Delray Beach. The Finocans had stopped off in Atlantis, Fla., to visit Robb and Pat DeGraff a week earlier.

A bit farther north, Colin Churchill writes that he enjoys the living on Hilton Head Island, Ga., "where it is warm with considerable seasonal change and fewer problems than Florida. I guess its greatest attraction, after some eight years in residence, is that people like to visit us on their way north. And all are welcome." Colin has a daughter who finished Middlebury College last year and a son who is in law school and will be married in Boston this August.

Talking of marital matters, Jane Hoover, Joe Hoover's youngest, has announced her engagement to Warren Delano of Kittery, Maine. She is an account executive for the advertising department of the FinancialTimes of London. The wedding is scheduled for May.

Here is Buzz Walter's rundown on the Brazilian trip taken this winter with Boband Cocky Davidson. "We flew from Miami to Belem, near the mouth of the Amazon. Spent a few days sightseeing, then took a huge catamaran up the Amazon to the old rubber capital of Manaus. Spent a few days there, and then flew south to the Bulge of Brazil, where we divided our time between the lovely beaches of João Pessoa, and Recife. Davey's linguistic abilities amazed us all. His understanding and pronunciation of Portuguese (a rather difficult tongue) defies description! Haas Warrener would have been amazed. Great trip; lots of belly laughs as always when Davey is around."

On my return I had a short stay in the Hartford Hospital for some minor surgery. While there, I was pleasantly surprised that Joe Pyrtek dropped in to see me on a daily basis. He is one of our leading surgeons. He works long hours daily, and says he has no plans to retire. He looks in great shape, and is the same weight as he was at College. Slightly greying, he looks 20 years younger than he is. (Ed. note: We heard somewhere on good authority that a wing of that hospital is being built and will carry Joe's name, which gives a fair estimation of in how high a regard Joe is held in his hometown.

As a result of Dave Lilly's presentation at the mini in Baltimore it was proposed that Jack Cumming present the following recommendation to the Alumni Council in June: "The Class of 1939 proposes that the Alumni Council activate a Committee on Academic Affairs with equal representation of faculty and Alumni Council members. The purpose of this committee will be to provide a mechanism for continuous exchange of points of view between faculty and the alumni. In this manner we believe a closer relationship will be developed between the two groups with greater understanding of the problems of each. We are confident that recommendations from this committee will provide important guidance and be of invaluable assistance to the Administration of Dartmouth College."

MacMannis called for a vote from the Executive Committee. The proposal passed with 22 in favor, three opposed, and ten abstaining. We understand that Bert had a luncheon meeting in January with Mike Choukas, Director of Alumni Affairs of the College, in which he apprised Choukas of the above and received a favorable response. Choukas was going to discuss the matter with Mark Harty, president of the Council (and the son of our late classmate Bill Harty).

Kudos to Bob Davidson for arranging the updating of class addresses in his February '39 Out. I'll be back next month.

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