1952

Georg Sverdrup, who flies often from his Norway home to Hanover, has had a head-lock on the who-has-come-the-farthest reunion trophy since graduation. When Dartmouth, in the person of Professor Oren Young of the Institute of Arctic Studies, flew to Norway, there was quite a crowd of Dartmouth graduates to greet him, including Georg, of course, and several Norwegian polar studies professors. But one person, who lives in Norway and could challenge Georg for the farthest-traveled cup was not present: the semi-vanished Louis P. deRochemont in.

Louis is descended from a Huguenot who made the big voyage 350 years ago. He married a French-Canadian from Montreal and produced three interesting French children: Nina Michelle in Los Angeles aspires to acting and floral design; Jean Francois is the social conscience of the family, living in Montreal; and Louis P. de Rochemont, IV '82 ("Pierre"), a physicist, provided the factual basis for this piece.

The Norway connection needs explanation. Grandfather Louis II was quite a celebrity in the movie business. He began by making his own movie camera, carefully following an article in Popular Mechanics. He saw active duty in the navy during World War I. In the 1950s he found a perfect combination for those two interests in a film which he produced and our Louis directed using a three- screen cinematographic technique called Cinemiracle. The film, which was about the square-rigged ships which populated the oceans 100 and more years ago, was called Windjammer, and was shot partially in Norway. It served as a financial vehicle to save the Norwegian Sail Training School, which taught young Vikings about real sailing. As a result of this film, the school was saved, Louis II was knighted by King Olaf, and our classmate was honored and introduced to Norway. He also met a woman named Turid (silent "d") whom he would marry 20 years later after his first marriage ended.

Since 1979 Louis been a permanent resident of Norway, and he has taken to it with commitment. He and Turid live in a suburb of Oslo. He speaks Norwegian and loves the winters and excels in cross-country skiing, in which he won a racing prize a few years back. His business is as it was: film and TV.

Come back, Louis. Your classmates and your trophy are waiting.

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