1940

In 1935 during Easter break of my senior year in high school I visited a friend who was attending Dartmouth and who roomed in Hitchcock Hall. On April 25 at about 2 a.m. we were awakened by a commotion outside. Students were running toward the quadrangle and yelling "Fire!" We hurriedly slipped into trousers and joined the throng. They were grouped around Dartmouth Hall, where flames were coming from the roof. Everyone watched in fascination until finally the bell tower and roof fell into the building. Dartmouth Hall was completely gutted.

Although I had been accepted with the class of '39,I had to work for a year and came in with the class of'40. By this time, a year and a half later Dartmouth Hall had been completely rebuilt and my Math 101 class was held on the first floor.

John Peacock recalls some ingenious work from his early years at Dartmouth: "Freshman year in North Fayer weather brought forth a neat invention designed to enter a locked dorm room which might be sequestering and hoarding beer stored in cans. Beezie Smallwood and Buzz Spring '39 used a heavily taped hockey stick inserted through the letter slot of a door to turn the knob from the inside. I think all we ever found was an old bottle of Orange Crush." (My own experience at Hitchcock Hall was that dorm doors were opened at will with a bent coat hanger.)

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