1953

As I write this the snow is falling heavily and, unbelievably, the temperature is supposed to go up to 50 degrees today. Our honored and esteemed classmate Peter Bridges wiled away his time during a similar snow event in Virginia by writing a brief memoir of his first two years in the U.S. Foreign Service, which were spent on the old Soviet desk in the U.S. State Department. It is a fascinating article in which he recounts some of the inner workings and machinations of our Department of State. I would heartily recommend it to you. You can find it in the new issue of the journal American Diplomacy.

Harlan Fair writes, “I spent two weeks in Cuba with my companion, officially to visit my grandson, Jimmy Fair ’18, who was studying under a Dartmouth program with the University of Havana. We traveled from Canada as individuals. There are almost no Americans traveling outside of tourist groups. This gave us complete flexibility. We stayed in Casa Particulares, a type of B&B, for $30 a day. The Cubans are friendly, happy and industrious. We spent a lot of time in Old Havana and learned as much as possible about the culture. The country is quite safe to walk around as compared to many of our cities, due to no guns and harsh penalties for violations. There are no motorized boats in Havana: Cuban nationals are not permitted to board motorized boats. We went on a field trip with Jimmy’s class, and the two Cuban professors had to receive a last-minute approval to board a boat with the class. The country is particularly colorful and attractive. Infrastructure problems abound. The original colonial buildings are slowly being brought back to their original charm. Great music. Love the 1950s cars.”

Look for more information regarding our sensational max-mini scheduled for October 3-6 in New York City. For complete up to the minute information please contact Charles Buchanan at charlesbuchanan53@gmail.com.

We conclude sadly with our profound condolences to the families of our beloved classmates Richard R. Kuhn, John D. Camp, Lawrence E. Harrison, Paul R. Bousquet, Charles R. Noll and Harold W. Presson.

4 Schuyler Drive, Jericho, NY 11753; (516) 938-3616; dartmark@gmail.com