1932

I had lost touch with Stuie Thatford, my old nextdoor neighbor in Wheeler. I knew he was legally blind; can he read the Alumni Magazine? He sold his house in Prescott, Ariz., and moved... where? The College had a Phoenix address but no telephone number. No Thatford number was listed in either Prescott or Phoenix. How could I get in touch?

Johnny Richardson, another old Wheelerite, came to the rescue. He and Rita were to travel in the Southwest with a stop in Phoenix. On a rainy day, he later wrote me, they found with a detailed map the address I had given them. For what seemed ages Johnny stood in the rain, knocking at the door with no response but a barking dog. Then he noticed that the name on the mailbox wasn't Thatford. The box contained, however, letters to Stu. Johnny later phoned the owner of the house and learned that Stu had lately moved to Crestview, a rest home. His quest ended in a phone conversation with our classmate, and he forwarded the number to me.

Thus after several years' lapse I was able to talk with Stu again. At first our conversation was halting, as though he had to think over my questions before replying. He admitted he was not in top form physically. Knowing he had had more than one heart attack, I asked, "Is it the old ticker?" "No, it isn't the ticker." "Is it emphysema?" (I remembered he couldn't break his cigarette habit.) He never did summon up the noun to explain his ailment, but as our conversation continued, Stu began to sound like his old feisty self. "What shall I tell our classmates about you?" Without a moment's hesitation: "Tell 'em I'm fighting my own fight." That was the old Stu I knewthe swimmer, the Phi Bete. "Will I see you at reunion next year?" "I'll come if I can," he answered, and on that note I let him go.

He is not the only one hoping to attend our "Go Like Sixty!" reunion. Joe and Ruth Roberts have June 15-17 already circled on next year's calendar. "Hal and Carnell Chinlund expect to go too," writes Joe. Thanks, guys, for letting us know your intentions early.

Box 286, Grantham, NH 03753