1925

Those returning in June for reunions might want to visit the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to see a statue of hands, called Hope and Confidence, honoring the work of Dr. Radnor Tanzer. The sculpture and a bronze plaque are outside the Tanzer Plastic and Oral Surgery Suite (with the dates of his practice there, 1939-1970). This modest and great man was a pioneer in plastic surgery, being the first, in 1957, to build an ear for an infant born without one.That procedure is still used today. When Rad reported on this new procedure at the annual meeting of the National Society of Plastic Surgeons in 1958 he received the first standing ovation in its history. Rad graduated from high school at the age of 14 and in 1921 entered Dartmouth at 15. After being graduated from Dartmouth, and Harvard Medical School in 1929, he spent his years of residence and post-residence in New York City, London and Brigham City, Utah, while in the Army. There he met an army nurse, Velma Maul.They were married on Christmas Eve 1943 and a week later she was posted to Europe for 14 months. By then, Rad was doing work in hand surgery and saving many a mangled finger. Our Dr Tanzer has been responsible for bringing many excellent surgeons to Mary Hitchcock and lectured extensively on his procedure. His work indeed shaped the discipline of plastic surgery. Now, retired, he and his second wife, Sheila Harvey, were married in June of 1995, just days before his 70th reunion, which they both attended. They spend winters in Sanibel, Florida, and the rest of the year in Hanover.

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