1945

Not so long ago, here in New London, I spied a car with Florida plates and a Dartmouth decal. Just had to find out whose. Turned out to belong to Sally and Ed Hubbard, long retired to Stuart from Cape Cod and the school business, but spending summer time in Ontariowith Jane and Dan Carpenter, up from their Bermuda residence. Dan, one of our class expatriates (his term), had just sent me an account of life on that lovely isle. He had recently taken a local adult education course. To his surprise, in the same classroom was Bob Zildjian, normally of Marshfield, Mass. Coincidental classmate encounters are special treats; no doubt we've all experienced them.

Now to return to Dan's living portrait of Bermuda. It's a place where gardens yield multiple crops annually, and Jane's earn awards; where volunteer work is a priority for expats, to help organizations like the National Art Gallery (fane), the Maritime Museum and the Yacht Club management of the Newport-Bermuda race (Dan).

Dan acknowledges that the island is not free of the world's problems of welfare, old-age care, public housing, and education. Increasingly it has to deal with pressures of population, tourism and traffic. Offshore tax-exempt companies are the most powerful economic force on the island. Dan points out how co-operative and generous these firms have been to local endeavors. They are changing the face of Hamilton. What will be their long-term influence? It's still a happy, productive, harmonious "place for which my enthusiasm never alters. I stand ready to give anybody a tour of this island to prove my point."

One lyrical paragraph of Dan's says it so well:

"Living here, even the small things add so much. An example might be a sandwich and a thermos of coffee, a short walk or drive to a park, where a quick picnic is enjoyed by the sea. Perhaps an ocean liner is going by or a barque leaving under full sail. A fisherman might be trying his luck with a hand line, and soon a flock of birds arrive for scraps from the catch. Even a walk through a quaint village, such as Somerset, offers much to view. Whiteroofed homes, quiet lanes festooned with beautiful oleander, the azure-blue waters a background almost everywhere you look." Then Dan relates this scene to what President Hopkins talked about as he met with the freshman class. Aside from what Dartmouth had to offer, he suggested walks into the mountains and views from the top; he felt it might give an insight as to what Dartmouth is all about.

It's time to think about coming back, all of you out there. Our 1999 mini-reunion is September 24-26, with a Colgate game and with lovely early-fall weather promised by Pres. Moe Frye. Read carefully and respond to the details in Bob Pease's MailCall.

P.O. Box 1317, New London, NH 03257; (603) 526-6749 (h); (603) 526-4292 (fax);

Gathering to memorialize—with aweather post on the corner of theHanover Inn—the more than twodozen classmates who gave theirlives in the nation's military service.