1959

Congratulations to BarrySmith and his committee for putting on a fine 30th Reunion! If the reunion had a theme, it was the inevitability of change and how to deal with it. When outgoing class President Peter Jaffe expressed his views that (1) the Dartmouth of today is not the one he knew and (2) today's reaction to "Dartmouth's in Town Again" is often "So, what?", he spoke for many of us. Some may be encouraged to learn that the Alumni Council has created a College relations group as part of its executive committee. The group's function will be to elicit and communicate the views of all alumni(ae) to the administration and to the Board of Trustees, as well as to report the responses of the president and of the Board back to the alumni body. For such an apparatus to be effective, it will be essential that we as alumni make our views known to the "powers that be," whether through this group or by some other means. Hopefully, the group will take its function seriously and attempt to foster a genuine dialogue with all alumni. Its effectiveness, it would seem, would be no greater or no less than the degree of credence placed in it by the alumni, the administration, and the Board.

For his part, class President-elect JohnFerries hopes to effect a deeper and broader participation of '59s in class activities, and is currently exploring the possibility of a regionalized class structure toward that end. John's supporting cast will be as follows: vice president, Randy Malin; secretary, Harry Shaw; treasurer, Andy DuBoff; newsletter editor, Bill Long; co-head agents, Chris Cundy and Charlie Pinkerton; and class representative on the Alumni Council, Barry Smith.

Now, on to some of what we did at the 30th. A great group of "oldies and goodies" including Wally Berry performed a number of traditional glee club favorities. Later, the Glee Club delighted its listeners with renditions from an operetta and with an Ivy League football medley. The menus were excellent, with special mention for the Maine lobster, chicken, and corn-on-the-cob at the picnic at Storrs Pond. Music for the various events included country and western, calypso, and rock. We even heard some good jazz at the class tent generated "off the cuff' by Donn Chickering (piano), Harry Washburn (bass sax), Sam Swanson (trombone), and Dick McSorley '50 (bass).

As this is my last column, I want you to know that serving as your class secretary for the last six years has been a particularly meaningful and personally rewarding experience for me. The list of '59s who have been helpful to me in the performance of my duties would be too long to print here, but it would have to include Jack Nason,Sam Swanson, and Doug Wise. And many thanks to my wife, Juliana, without whose assistance these columns would not have been nearly as readable; she appreciates having gotten to know some of you and your families better through the news you took the time to send in.

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