1941

The first overnight mini-reunion in Florida is history. Thirty-seven stalwart Dartmouth friends assembled on March 10-12 at Plantation Inn in Crystal River, 20 alumni and their ladies. Not even the unseasonable cold and breezy weather erased the broad smiles that pervaded the hospitable inn. Space does not permit complete coverage here of the activities, so Scoop Herman has generously offered to carry more details in his earlier-published Dope.

Worth mentioning here is the fact that Joanie and Grant Hesser joined the mini from their home in Stuart, Fla. They both played golf on the resort's course and were delighted with the entire class reunion, their first in 60 years!

Another happy face seldom seen at '41 gatherings belonged to Hank Gunst, who arrived with wife Shirley from the Richmond, Va., area. Hank is still active with his commercial real-estate holdings but admits he is slowing down to smell the roses. Long-distance traveler Chet Stothart attended the gathering from Bridgeport, Conn. He was visiting in Tampa and joined the party for dinner on two nights accompanied by his long-time friend Vee Roberts. They are about to get married, and with her three sons and Chet's six children maybe they'll start a baseball team.

Phil Hallam, colonel USAF (ret.), and his wife, Phyllis, came to the mini from Oldsmar, Fla., near Tampa. They reminisced with your secretary about the Dartmouth club gatherings in Tokyo during the late fifties when we (and Evie and ClaytGray) were all stationed in that area. We recalled visits to Mikimoto's pearl farm, sukiyaki restaurants, and a talk by Chick Igaya '57, who was then a a champion skier at Dartmouth. Later an Olympic medalist, Chick was more recently chairman of the Japan Olympic Committee.

A few '41s had to cancel their reservations at the last minute, and they were sorely missed by the more fortunate attendees. Jane and Don Hanks from Ft. Myers, Fla., were required to forego the mini because of illness. Dick Pace, living in Pensacola, Fla., had an emergency appendectomy that sidelined him over the March 10-12 date. He was recovering nicely, however. Dr. JohnReed up in Gainesville, Fla., contracted pneumonia that put him on the shelf, and John Everett in Lake Worth, Fla., was out of action with the flu. Mort McGinley's wife, Jacque, was temporarily hospitalized, so she dispatched her son Whit McGinley to accompany Mort to the festivities. Whit was visiting Florida from Haddonfield, N.J., and he adapted very nicely to the Golden Oldies convention. But maybe that was a reflection of the '4l spirit of camaraderie that surrounded him. Cheers.

5975 Camelot Drive North, Sarasota FL 34233;