1953

15 Huckleberry Lane Greenwich, CT 06830

During spring break 30-odd years ago, two Dartmouth friends and classmates took a camping vacation on Cape Hatteras, N.C. The two, Dave Folger and Tom Croft, have since demonstrated they have more in common than their interest in the out-of-doors. Both have doctorate degrees and while in dissimilar disciplines, both are now in unique careers.

Dave Folger, Falmouth, Mass., works for the U.S. Geological Survey at Woods Hole—in geological and oceanographic studies. Following Dartmouth and a navy stint as a bombardier/navigator on carrierbased bombers, he studied at Columbia University to earn a master's degree in 1958. He then spent five years working at Chevron before returning to Columbia for doctoral studies in marine geology. This was a dauntless task, as he and his wife, Joan, had three children plus a reserve commitment to the navy. He first joined the Oceanographic Institution at Woods Hole as a postdoctoral investigator in 1968. A year later, he joined Middlebury College to start their oceanography program. As a result of his studies on the environmental effects of industry on Lake Champlain, he became an authority on the subject and testified in litigation between Vermont and paper companies. He returned to Woods Hole in 1975 to direct a series of projects for the U.S Department of Interior's geological survey. Among his work he studied the effects of oil and mineral exploration, recreational development, and erosion on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. In 1982 he was responsible for a project that evaluated the effects of the 8.9 megaton hydrogen bomb dropped on the Enewepak Atoll. His latest project, off the western coast of Africa, was charting gravity fields and in doing so negotiated with 17 African countries to explore their waters. A sad note—spouse Joan died of cancer in 1980, the same year their oldest daughter, Susan, graduated from Mount Holyoke. Susan, while working in Moscow as a translator, met and married a Russian. Son Peter is Dartmouth '82 and a trained graduate geologist. Youngest son John is a landscaper in their area. Dave's home is on the water, facilitating his interest in small boats. He also takes canoe trips and is a long distance swimmer (four miles).

Tom Croft, Atherton, Calif., also entered navy flight training after a distinguished Dartmouth experience (Phi Beta Kappa, Ru- fus Choate Scholar). He spent his military tour flying the newest navy planes and fam- iliarizing other pilots. At the conclusion of his tour he joined Convair as an engineer. Convinced that he needed a graduate de- gree, he went to Stanford University in 1969. After earning his doctorate in electrical engineering he joined the Stanford faculty, remaining there until 1977 when he joined the Stanford Research Institute. In 1982 he joined a communications company as director of research, but returned to SRI three years later. His discipline is variously described as radio science or radio astronomy. In either event, Tom is one of a handful of authorities on radio waves in the ionosphere, an area of vital importance to our defense program. He and spouse Rachel live near Stanford, an idyllic situation by any standard. Their offspring are all in school—Steven and Rachel at Stanford and Andrew at UCLA. Tom's avocations are fishing, skiing, and water sports, Rachel is a fine tennis player. While most of us would acknowledge owning more than one car and TV set, few of us have five personal computers found necessary by the Crofts.

These two classmates, sharing their spring break over 30 years ago, have followed strikingly similar paths—navy, doctorates, outdoor interests—and have become authorities in their respective fields.