1944

There may be a snowflake or two by the time this hits the newsstands, but there was sunshine enough in Hanover October 15-17 when the troops and their troopesses gathered for our annual fall mini-reunion And, mind you, there was nothing mini about that assembly: A record-breaking 130-plus were on hand, including a coterie from California: Joe and Ann McDevitt,Lem and Ellie Arnold, Jim McClin tock, and Dick and Carol Ranger. Ja and MartyDensmore flew in from Colorado, and JohnBillington motored east from nearby Arizona.

In addition to a dandy 39-27 win over Yale, a bonfire, class meeting, and other goodies, weekend highlights included the Stan Barr lobster bash Thursday and the Bob and AnnMcLaughry tailgate spread before the game.

Then six WW II Red Baron aces-McLaughry, Eric Barradale, Russ Isner, McDevitt, BillMcElnea, and Jack Riley—all members of the first Dartmouth Navy Air Corps Indian Squadron, channeled into Hanover along with four members of the class of 1942 for a 50th Reunion luncheon at the DOC House. Whitey Fuller '37, the navy recruiter who started the whole thing, also parachuted in for the occasion.

In that group, Russ Isner still calls Elkins, W.V, home. He is retired from the bakery business, and this was his first trip north to Hanover in a century or two. Jack Riley, who nurtures a nine golf handicap, had various audiences in stitches with anecdotes about undergraduate days, navy life, and his many years as hockey coach at West Point. Trim and fit, Joe and Ann McDevitt weren't exactly pleased to have their new golf clubs stolen from the trunk of their rented car in Woodstock, Vt. And Bill and Barbara McElnea made Hanover (and Cornish Flat) their logical stop between a three-week sojourn on the Left Bank in Paris and return to home and horses in Carbondale (near Aspen), Colo.

The next order of business involves two widowers: Ham Bates, who brought his new wife, Irene, to Hanover, and BUI Barrett, who introduced his fiancee, Bernice Woodsum. Ham and Irene met in Connecticut, where they lived in neighboring towns. They honeymooned on a cruise up the coast of Alaska, and they log a lot of time on their 43-foot powerboat on Long Island Sound.

Bill Barrett, with real estate in Boothbay, Maine, and New Smyrna, Fla., met Irene in New Smyrna. They will wed soon and move under one roof in two places—a six-monther in Boothbay and a half year in New Smyrna.

How can one keep up with Ben Jones, our head class agent, past class president and Alumni Council member, and man for all seasons? While the rest of us have been oiling up our La-Z-Boys, Ben has been riding ambulances as a paramedic and emergency medical technician (KMT). Two weeks after hurricane Andrew, he was activated as a paramedic member of the Massachusetts Disaster Medical Assistance Team and sent to Homestead, Fla. Their unit set up an emergency receiving hospital, treating over 200 patients per day.

Snook Hughes also deserves kudos. He, along with Bill Riley '46, was inducted into the Medford (Mass.) High School Sports Hall of Fame November 22. He also received the John Mariucci Hockey Award for excellence in the sport, contributions to sportsmanship, etc. Snook taught at Medford for 43 years and coached hockey for 35, with over 600 career wins against 210 losses.

That's it. Blessings.

P.O. Box 24, Lovejoy Hill, Cornish Flat, NH 03746