1953

These past 11 days which I have spent in Hanover have been part of the shortest month of my life, or so it seems. The energy which swirls around this place is easily transferred to anybody directly involved in its doings, or just tangentially scurrying around its perimeter. From the Leadership Weekend on one end of the timeline to the dedication of magnificent Moore Psychology Building on the other end, and with Convocation, seminars, and many sports events in between, one couldn't help but become a part of its vitality.

Leadership Weekend attracted a host of '53s, and well it should have as the class won the 1999 Class of the Year Award (25-years-and-older category.) Those who attended were: Skip Adams, Betsy and BillChamberlin, Nancy and Allen Collins,Dick Fleming, Connie and Dick Giesser, Lillian and Donald Goss, John Kennedy, Liliane and Ron Lazar,Bobby and Mark Smoller and Jane and John Springer. For Allen Collins, the trip from Hartford to Hanover must seem like almost a daily commute as he serves as a member of the committee on the student life initiative. Allen tells me that everyone is getting a fair hearing, and the dialogue is ongoing as the committee collects input from a variety of sources. He predicts a positive resolution.

Donald Goss is an avid collector of standard-gauge model trains. As usual Donald has not left it at just collecting; he has fashioned ways to create effective layouts in small spaces, producing a dynamic museum rather than just reproducing a scaled railroad. And what's more, he's written about it, and the article is being published in ClassicToy Trains, a magazine published by the Kalmbach Publishing Group for standardgauge model train collectors.

At the dinner for the dedication of the Moore building, I was approached by none other than Dartmouth's present Montgomery scholar, Dr. Endel Tulving. He enthusiastically related to me that he was one hour away from being a member of our wonderful class. After the war, he "escaped" from Estonia. He had applied to a large number of schools in the United States and Canada. One hour after he left Europe on his way to Canada and the University of Toronto, his acceptance from Dartmouth arrived, complete with a total financial aid package. Unfortunately for us, it was too late, as he, unaware of this news, continued on to the University of Toronto, and to a most distinguished career as an internationally renowned scholar, scientist, and teacher specializing in research on human memory at that university. He asked me if I ever thought about what might have been had I traveled a different path, and that he always had wondered what would have been if he had attended Dartmouth. In addition, he told me how thrilled he was to be at Dartmouth and to finally meet a person who would have been a member of his class. He continued by saying that, in effect, this was the completion of a huge circle for him.

That's my news for now. Cheers, and please keep in touch.

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