1934

Our 55 th was a wonderful gathering. With over 90 of our classmates attending, plus wives and widows doubling that number, there was a constant stream of warm greetings and revived memories. Our '34 caps identified us to the '53s, '54s, '55s, and '29s who shared Hanover during reunions and our name tags made greetings easy. Bill Wilson and wife Irja did a great job organizing_our reunion.

Bill Knibbs, Dave Easton, Dick Barret, and their wives coming from California took the distance honors, along with MargaretWildman now from Vancouver. Our new Colorado resident, Bob Kolbe, came back to tell us they were happy with the move. Lots of the Florida folks were there, many shifting to their summer homes.

Then from mid-America we had HenryAllen, Wisconsin, Bill Rench, Missouri, and Ralph Brabbee, Mississippi. Six of the Illinois crew Joe Lehman, Oscar Cohn,Ray Vickland, Harry Espenscheid,George Cogswell, and Bob Engelmanmade it. Bob whispered a correction to my earlier report on grandchildren he now has 17. Our raconteur, Phil Glazer, came just from Nashville, but his unique story "bridged" quite a distance between what people say and what is sometimes heard!

Stan Smoyer was honored for his many contributions to class and College, especially all the records he triggered as our leadership gifts chairman. The late BobThompson was remembered for his long vital role as our head agent, and Moe Frankel for his leadership as our president. Hafey Arthur's name will now appear on a special plaque in Thompson Arena honoring him, along with Ed Jeremiah '30, for coaching the hockey team through a fouryear unbeaten streak.

With President Jack Tobin presiding, all present officers were arm-twisted to serve again. Dick Houck, who had earlier been named our new vice president, had to cancel Reunion plans when his knee went askew. Tom Hicks, a leader in promoting Reunion, also had to cancel plans at last minute.

The 75 classmates we had lost since our 50th were deeply in our thoughts as each was named at the '34 memorial services conducted by Dana Redington at Rollins Chapel.

That leads to the final word. How are we really doing in our vital statistics? Based on my tabulation of our birth dates, we averaged 22.1 years old at time of graduation. Actuarial tables for males show that 37.5 percent should still be around today. We have 52.4 percent and that's 40 percent better than average. The actuary I consulted said that didn't surprise him since, after all, we're talking about Dartmouth men!

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