1952

"I wore the beanie as long as they let me wear the name tag on it," remembers Don Myers about freshman year. He is speaking from his dental office overlooking the Charlotte Amalie Harbor on St. Thomas Island. The freshman items, the handbook, the songs on demand, the furniture moving"invest one year, get paid back in three"—were trappings of simply the best place we had ever seen. They were not only tolerated, but welcome implements of emancipation. The College was full of people who were genuinely interested in student athletes like Don: Andrew Scarlett, John Dickey '29, and John Dickerson '30. Patient and understanding. The time went by very quickly, particularly for someone who played three sports, worked two hours in the dining hall, and spent the rest of the time studying. Then we were sophomores.

These 45-year-old memories are still bright. We jealously guard them. Our freshman moments are the standard: deviation is suspect. Has someone let them slip? Could President Freedman be doing something we don't know about? These are the things that Don and many think about. Some of us are drawn back, some even to live, and we are largely reassured by the Dartmouth of now. Many more are anxious to know why things have changed. "Tell us," we say. The abolition of the Indian symbol: tell us that there are people not unlike us who are personally offended just as we might be if the image were Shylock or Seamus or a Pict with blue paint on his body.

It is not easy for Don and Jan Myers to return to Hanover. They rarely even visit Arlington, Mass., their former home. They make family and fall-foliage trips to break island fever.

As soon as he got out of dental school, Don started to take dental boards. "I wanted to do it while still young and smart enough." They escaped the Northeast, looking for a place more sympathetic to Don's asthma. He felt great in Puerto Rico, where they stayed for five years. They moved to St. Thomas in 1967 because the Island needed an oral surgeon. They now consider themselves islanders. Sons Rick and Jamie were born in Boston, but daughter Lynda, now a law student at St. Thomas Law School, is a native islander. Jamie is marrying Allene Martin, a Bostonian and daughter of Bert Martin '45.

Living in St. Thomas is not unlike living in Hanover. The Island is politically and socially interesting. One knows everyone. With only 50,000 people, one individual can effect significant changes. Don is on the cutting edge of Hillary Clinton's medical care changes as chairman of the hospital's health committee.

While living expenses are much higher than in Massachusetts, Don has one passion which he can exercise in the Caribbean at a moment's notice: sailing. He has been actively racing since he was in his late twenties. He sailed on Iwo Jima as an air force dentist. His present boat is Eleazer's Tavern, a Soverel 26 which he races avidly in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It has the same Indian head on the bow we had on our freshman handbook. The 1993 Rolex Cup attracted 106 boats and every rock-star sailor on the East Coast to St. Thomas. Don placed third in fleet and second in class. Not bad for a ten-year-old boat with an amateur crew and a 63-year-old skipper.

Don lives his life with enthusiasm and panache. Ever the freshman.

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