1948

In further pursuit of classmates who missed the 50th yearbook, we had a great visit with Dr. Lou Clarke, who is now halfway around the world in his goal of circumnavigating it in his 37-foot, 8-ton Valiant sailboat. The boat was being worked on near Brisbane, Australia, in preparation for the next leg of his journey. Lou, who just started sailing ten years ago, took off from South Carolina in 1997 and figures he has two more years of sailing to return to home port. He was back in this country for three months while the SE Asia typhoon season was in full blast and missed the killer weather that knocked out the big boats between Sydney and Hobart. A July '44 civilian class member, Lou served as a pharmacist's mate in the navy and returned to Hanover to complete his pre-med degree. He joined Phi Sigma Kappa and was a member of the ski patrol. Obtaining his medical degree from the University of Rochester in 1952, he specialized in obstetrics and gynecology in his hometown, Springfield, Mass. He says he's delivered 10,000 babies in his years of practice and added one more to that number in Tonga recently when word went out for help and he was anchored there. Lou has four children of his own. He rates in order of difficulty (1) finding and keeping good crew; (2) dealing with customs people and port captains; (3) keeping the boat in good shape, particularly its electrical components. The 3,500-mile run from Costa Rica to the Marquesas was the longest leg so far and took 45 days. The doldrums will drive you nuts, he says. He will be headed for the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Western Australia next. The problems in Indonesia and pirates in those waters may cause him to headed due west to either Cape Horn or the Red Sea. His Panama Canal passage cost $500. Lou promises to keep in touch via e-mail and we will run his progress reports in this column or the newsletter.

John Proctor Wood was a Hanover High classmate of Sonny Drury and short-time '48 before being drafted into the army in the summer of '44. On release from the service he obtained his degree from the University of Colorado and joined the Treasury Department as an anti-drug agent. He subsequently moved into the paper business and worked there until retirement to Florida, where he now hangs out in Venice. His wife, Martia, died last year.

El and Ken Young have moved north to Lady Lake, Fla., in the middle of that state. The dryer climate helps Ken's failing eyesight and there's still plenty of golf to enjoy in that area. Ken's work last year was a significant part of our record-breaking reunion gift to the College.

Howie Hilton is still writing novels which, he advises, can be located on the Internet either through Istbooks or Amazon. They are also available on tape for those whose sight is on the wane.

We are saddened by the news that George Barr '45 has succumbed to all his ailments. He put together the annual Alumni Glee Club concert, which got started at our 45th Reunion. An alumnus of the Fred Waring organization, he was the major domo and director for the Upper Valley Men's Chorus, which sang at our 50th. He believed that the grand old Dartmouth songs of our undergraduate years still deserved to be sung by a live men's chorus. Many alumni agree.

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