1933

From the '33 mailbag: Florence Spang sends 1933 her family's thanks for our friendship and condolences and expresses their enjoyment at being part of "a wonderful group." As a former professor, she says, Ken would appreciate having a memorial book given to the library in his name.

Sam Cunningham wants to bring baseball back to the nation's capital, even though the team might be, as before, "last in the American League." (Not always, Sam. Remember 1924!)

Helen Manley our expert on Garbo, has written a fascinating letter on the Swedish actress from which unfortunate space limitations prevent adequate quotation. Garbo was nice to Helen, who was the secretary of her lawyer, but, says Helen, she "imprisoned herself in her own legend...was immobilized by indecision and the very Scandinavian quality of spotting the negative aspect in any situation."

Ted Holmes, who taught English at Orono Maine, for 39 years, produced his first novel, at age 84, in January. Two if by Sea is a tale of a Maine fishing community. Critics found his style deftly executed.

Jack Huntress, our genial host in Arizona last December, chides us for referring in our column to the community which he helped to found, and over which he presided as mayor, as "Sunset Valley," when its name is "Paradise Valley." Mea maxima culpa, Jack. There being no property tax in that enclave, the heavenly adjective is clearly appropriate.

Unlike the famous swallows, Pete Mankowski has left San Juan Capistrano for the cooler environs of Princeton (ugh!), Minn., and is searching out '33ers with whom to do push-ups and lift barbells.

Laura Allen, the "Sweet Singer of the Sugar River Valley," can produce a poem as easily as Mark Twain's Emmeline Grangerford produced an obituary. While we can't reprint the product of '33's poetess laureate in toto we must admit that Verse III seems most appropriate for a bunch of octogenarians: The "golden years" are with us I can't give them much praise It's difficult to get around As we did in bygone days.

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