1956

Homecoming has come and gone. Our classmates on the Hanover Plain that weekend in October experienced yet another good mini-reunion with a few new twists. Friday evenings cocktails, dinner and after Dartmouth Night gathering were in the Brace Commons, across the street from the gym. Some of you may remember staying in those dorms for reunions, and the lounge made a great spot for Friday night's-events. Saturdays class meeting was in Wilder Hall, a change from our accustomed crowded room on the second floor of the Inn. We returned to the Drake Room, downstairs in the Inn for our after-die-game dinner.

For those of you who've not visited China in May there's still a chance to join with Doug Kear, his wife, Ginger, and their daughter Bridget; Buddy Schattman and Lenore; Elliott Weinstein and Alice; and those who've signed on since this went to press. You can choose between two pretrip explorations of Hong Kong or Hanoie and Halong Bay or join the group in Kunming, from where it will proceed to Shanghai via Lijiang, Gyalthang, Deqin, Dali, Chengdu, Dazu and Zhangjiajie. This is not a trip for the sedentary but it certainly rewards the ardent traveler with a spectacular experience.

Bill Grigsby sent the sad news from Colorado that Dick DeVoto died on August 21. "One trip to our mountains listening to him explain their formation and natural events that provide what we see today let you know that he was a special kind of intellectual who would happily share his knowledge with great enthusiasm, but I also know he would unabashedly beat the tar out of one of his classmates during a handball game!" Dick and Judy had spent some special time earlier in the summer with Bill King and Betsy, who were celebrating their 50th anniversary in the Rockies, and Jim Groebe and Martha at their retreat in Estes Park, Colorado. An obituary will appear in the next issue of DAM.

Larry Morse, who's a regular on the listserv, waxed eloquently about The Three Bears, his round-sided dory made at Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1977 at the wooden boat school there. It has just come through his restoration efforts. Its flat bottom allows him to go into the shallows and its round sides make it very hard to sink. With it he's been able to haul in inshore cod, haddock and some nice halibut. Just as passionately Larry shared the experience of his son Canaan, who was home briefly during the summer from China, where he's been teaching at Qing Hua University, a part of the inter-university program based in Berkeley, California. The account was a good reminder of the distance China has to travel before the free flow of ideas becomes a reality.

Don David off reported that 262 of us made gifts to the College this past fiscal year in the amount of $131,548. That's 60.8 percent participation but just short of the goal our class had hoped to reach. It won't be long before we each receive another invitation to support this institution that has meant so much to us.

P.O. Box 968, Quechee, VT05059; (802) 295-8912; stewwood@aol.com