1953

"They are mighty men of old, That she nurtured side by side." Sort of grabs one a bit, n'est pas? When we ask ourselves, why do we keep coming back, and back, and back, and why do we keep setting all kinds of records that none of us are bothering to boast about anymore, and why are these "mighty men of old" leading the list of class e-mail home pages so we can talk at each other, or planning a "maxi-mixi" at "Moose on the Loose" in Aspen, or building the 1953 Fund for the 50th, why, why, why? Well, I think the answer is best found in the lyrics of the second verse of "Men of Dartmouth" quoted above: "That she nurtured side by side." Many of us were never weaned!!!

Though your scribe has graduated from two other fine universities, he shall always remain the eternal sophomore from Dartmouth. Can you believe that he still gets the rush of heartbeat when the spire of Baker appears above the treetops coming up from West Lebanon, or upon seeing the great white trio centered by Dartmouth Hall when it comes into view, or the whiff of stale beer in the Theta Delt house? Sort of corny, he knows, but the feelings persist because many of us were "nurtured, side by side." That is why we keep coming back, and back, and back.

And, the "coming back season" is just beginning again. With a huge reunion planned for the Yale weekend (we had about 80 last year), surrounded by PutBlodgett's mini-reunion football weekends kicking off at his mountaintop home after the Penn game, and followed by the Spiegel, Gabinelli, Buchanan, at al, extravaganza in Aspen commencing February 26, we have an All-American reunion season coming upon us again. Splendid. And lest we forget, we are on solid track for the 45th, just 20 months from this publication. Our 45th CEO, Dick Fleming, advises all that everything is in perfect shape.

You recently received Chuck Reilley's letter announcing the incredible class performance for the Alumni Fund $262,000 raised against a $235,000 goal. We have been blessed by many creative leaders in the fund business, but no one has been able to get the results that Chuck has by his straightforward CFO approach of "Just Do It—Give Me Your Money," and we did!!! Chuck, you are five star, mi amigo, five star.

It is always good to get the Dartmouth Medicine, the magazine of the Medical School alumni, not a jar of pills. Dr. AlHathcock does such a caring interview with his Med School classmates that ones feels as though one is sitting in the living room listening. Dr. Lee Dennis of San Antonio and Al talked recently and Lee said that he has no plans for retirement, is still in private practice as a plastic surgeon, and is supporting some five hospitals in their emergency rooms. Lee left the air force in 1981 and set up private practice in San Antonio, only to find it to be one of the more competitive markets for his speciality.

This has kept him moving to sustain his niche and one of the efficiency tools he has adopted is the daily use of e-mail. Lee is one of our pioneers on the 1953 home page site and looks forward to hearing from any of you at .

"Till like Vikings they went forth, From the lone and silent North, And they strove, and they wrought, and they died." Thank goodness many of us are still "stroving and wroughting." Let's save the later case till after the 100th.

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