1972

Hail, fellow classmates well met!

Few days remain to Christmas as your humble scribe in Hanover prepares this collection of news flashes and diverse thoughts. Actually,your communications have been a bit sparse so you may be stuck (struck?) with my thoughts. Yikes!

Thomas "TK" Kendall checked in from Auburn, Maine. TK was a member of our ski team with Eric Evans of our last columns fame. TK served as chief of timing at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. He was posted in Soldier Hollow, where the XC, Nordic combined and biathlon events competed. With his daughter, Lara '99, and father, Richard '45, Dartmouth was very well represented among TK's crew of more than 150 volunteers. He will be back in Hanover this year timing and scoring the NCAA ski events hosted by Dartmouth.

Those who attended our 30th were lucky enough to be entertained by the cameo appearance of our esteemed classmate and performing artist Paul Hodes. Paul and his wife, Peggo Horstmann (New England Conservatory of Music and Colby College, Maine), are two-time winners of Parents Choice awards.They have released a wonderful holiday CD titled Winter's Light that is entertaining me as I write to you. Paul also dons the hats of producer and recording engineer in their ventures under their Big Round Records label (bigroundrecords.com for those who want to take a peek at their Web site). Paul and Peggo are part of an exciting new generation of recording artists with professional studio capabilities in the comfort of their own home in southern New Hampshire. Ah, modern technology! And such talent!

To College business. Several of you weighed in against the elimination of the swim teams. R. Henry Moore and Jon Einsidler sent particularly eloquent missals directly to President Wright as, I am told,have manyother caring alumni.The students impacted are as impassioned as any of us were on the myriad issues we faced as undergraduates. I must commend them on their restraint; the considerable discourse I heard on the subject was measured and respectful.I was deeply moved to learn last night that the unison voices of students, parents and alumni "crying out in the wilderness" gave cause to our administration to rethink their decision and that this proud sport will continue for the forseeable future!

Now, gents, there are well over 700 hundred of you I've not heard from yet! Those living in the colder climes might consider sitting down with a cup of hot coffee, tea or whatever spirit moves you and letting us know what's doing in your life. Those basking in warmer places will simply have to come in from the golf course for a few minutes. I may otherwise be forced to fill this column with a dissertation on the relative merits of various deicing chemicals and traction enhancing agents in the context of personal safety and environmental responsibility! Fair warning!

Be well!

P.O.Box 580, Hanover,NH03755-0580;lauren.cummings@dartMouth.edu