1956

This is the last column before our grand 40th Reunion, and may be my last column as well. I am running for re-election as class secretary but am faced with many obstacles; a plethora of able candidates running against me, my record of creating chaos at class meetings, and the paucity of fresh news in my column. Then there is the matter of my military record, including going to Vietnam three times, which seems to follow me wherever I go. So if this is indeed my last column, allow me to reflect on the situation of the class and our College.

Both have never been healthier. The groundswell of support and response to the 40th Reunion has been amazing to me, especially when it is considered that most of us are now at least semi-retired, have

lives and personalities pretty well set in concrete, and have lots of other things to do that will be a helluva lot easier than get up to Hanover for a weekday meeting with a bunch of guys that we hardly ever see or hear about except through this sparse column or through Flint Ranney's scandalous print-anything rag. Yet all indications are that our class will break the record for attendance at this Reunion. A typical response was from Bill Ehrenfield a surgeon and teacher at the University of California at San Francisco, who called me last week with the news that he would be attending his first class Reunion. He would not be able to make it until Tuesday morning because of an engagement in Chicago on Monday (he is being honored by former students and associates after 31 years of teaching), but would show up on Tuesday if I deemed it worthwhile. I assured him that he would still be in time for three-quarters of the events and to be sure and come. He said that he would, and would try to bring with him his compatriot and old friend Neil Raskin—who also has never attended one of our reunions.

Why, at this late date, does anyone make such an effort? The answer is in the nature of the Dartmouth fellowship. The association with the College is in our flesh and our bones, whether we want to admit it or not. It is part of our basic character, a defining element of our thinking, and although we may try to suppress it and in many cases have done so for years, it will emerge in some form sooner or later. Being a Dartmouth man has singular meaning for each and every one of us, and as the years go by it becomes increasingly important that we allow that subverted characteristic to be expressed. A class Reunion is the best way to rekindle that spark deep within us. I guarantee that that spark will become an open flame for good feeling and fellowship renewed as a result of your attending the Fabulous Fortieth!

As for the College, come see for yourself. It is as attractive and vibrant as ever, but its real beauty lies in the students and faculty which populate it. Ever the center of learning, it is poised to enter the twenty-first century as one of the best colleges in the world, and its inhabitants have never been more keenly aware of its traditions, its character and its uniqueness. But don't take my word for it—I've loved the place since I was ten years old! Come see for yourself! If you haven't signed up yet, call me and we'll get you in somehow. I'll give up my room if I have to, just to get one more classmate to Reunion.

P.O. Box 1031, Burlington, NC 27216-01031, (910) 226-7216

56 56 out for our 40th (But don't inhale.)June 10-13,1996