1953

"Men of Dartmouth, set a watch, Lest the old traditions fail. Stand as brother stands by brother. Dare a deed for the old Mother." That third verse is seldom sung, but how poignant it is to those of us who cherish the legacy of Dartmouth and the class of 1953. Corny? A bit. Sophomoric? A touch. Gratifying? In the absolute.

The news of each other's lives received monthly from Don Goss's award-winning newsletter brings our friends, as Dick Blum once said, right into our living rooms.

This bond we feel to the College, and to each other, has ridden on Don's words for most of our history. We are so fortunate.

Now is the time, though, to dare that deed. We have in our grasp the opportunity to visit each other's lives in real time and through a mutually consenting environment called the Internet. One can send a message to one, or 100, or even all 600plus of us, simultaneously, with words of joy, of need, of levity, and, yes, even words of sorrow as we relay the reality of our mortality. The main thing is that we can reach out and touch all of us as Don implored us to do in his remarkable newsletter of December.

How to do this? If you have a 486 PC or MAC, and a modem of reasonable bandwidth (communication capacity of at least 14.4 or 28.8 bauds per second) and a free piece of America Online, CompuServe, or Prodigy software (we can get for you if you do not have it) as your gate to the Internet (called the Gateways), that is all that is required. Load your software, follow the instructions to register, click on "Mail" in the overhead toolbar, and e-mail messages to your classmates. Their addresses can be found on the Dartmouth 1953 homepage developed by Dave Replogle with the assistance of Andy Williams, son of our late classmate Dr. Jack Williams. To get to the Dartmouth homepage, simply click on World Wide Web after you have clicked the Internet connection, and when the address slot appears, type in and you are there. Scroll down to "Alumni Information" and you will be presented the menu of about ten classes that are using this wondrous technology to reach out and touch each other.

Your class president, Bob Malin, is a nut on the Internet. My menu runneth over from messages from Bob. Why not expand that to include all of us who care about Dartmouth and this legacy class of 1953? What a way to get ourselves prepared for the 45th Reunion coming up in just two years and guided by the experienced and able hand of Dick Fleming. So, to respond to the quest of our great spiritual leader and class guru, Don Goss, to reach out and touch, let's get on the Internet. "Greet the world, from the hills, with a hail. For the sons (and daughters) of old Dartmouth, the loyal ones of Dartmouth, Around the world they keep for her, Their old chivalric faith." Let's sing this verse at the 45th!

Dave Halloran, Icon Associates Ltd., 700 Spring Valley Road, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714;