1941

Scratching in the bottom of a nearly empty mailbag, I'm cheered by the thought that Christmas is coming. I'm sure (?) to be deluged with many newsy notes from '41s who wish to share their holiday joy, views on the human comedy, or updated health reports. And as the old man in the wine cooler commercial says, I thank you for your support.

The mail pouch did provide a few very welcome letters. Ed Stone wrote from Wakefield, Mass., that he was looking forward to the October mini-reunion but would miss our Tri-Kap brother Clayt Gray, whom we had seen at the '91 mini. Clayt's sudden passing two months later was a shock to all of us.

Dick Engelbert reports from far-away Foster City, Calif., where he lives on the water with his wife of three years. Dick retired nine years ago from Todd Shipyards Corp. as a marketing rep. His pleasurable life now includes salmon fishing and golf, and the last classmate he saw was Harry Towle, his freshman roommate in Topliff 114. Harry was last seen in Boise, Idaho, some years ago. (Still there, Harry?)

Information reaches me that MortMcGinley and his wife, Jacque, are building a house somewhere on the west coast of Florida. How about some details on the project, Mort?

I must admit that I got a perverse chuckle out of Dr. Tim Takaro's recent class notes in Dartmouth Medicine, wherein he gamely-but unsuccessfully—tried to decipher some notes sent to him by Dick "Doc" Spillane. All these years I've thought that doctors shared a common form of secret writing, only to discover now that their handwriting is unintelligible to each other. I hope that Tim, Dick, and other '41 medics like Bob Rainie and Chip Deming were able to communicate better verbally as they congregated at the October mini in Hanover. Maybe Tim should have asked his favorite pharmacist to unscramble Dick's notes.

A letter from Lloyd Fishman in Manchester, N.H., typed and very legible, brings a lot of news. Lloyd operated an industrial laundry for many years in those parts and chose to retire in 1973. He and his wife, Esther, spent 18 years on the island of St. Lucia until he had a severe stroke in January 1991. Now they divide their time between Manchester and a condo in Sarasota, plus visits to two married daughters in Chicago and Lafayette, Ind. And, of course, they see one of their grandsons, a junior at that "small school" in Hanover.

Finally, word comes from Hanover via BillHotaling, our new class VP, that the class scholarship recipient, Kyle Betit, has dropped out of school. Kyle was a super-achiever while at Dartmouth, both academically and in extracurricular activities., but now he must leave Hanover "for personal, financial, and academic reasons."

Bob Flouton, our scholarship chairman, is working with the College and the class to select a new recipient of financial aid to replace Kyle.

Best wishes to all for the Holiday Season.

5975 Camelot Drive North, Sarasota, FL' 34233