YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

readers react

Snowpocalypse

I enjoyed reading the article by Jim Collins ’84 about the Winter Carnival snow sculpture [“End of an Era?,” March/April]. I was a four-year veteran of center-of-the-Green snow sculpting (1980-83). One year was particularly noteworthy. In 1980 there was no snow, so a bunch of us on the Carnival Council managed to have snow blown on to the Green. As memory serves, the key hurdles were getting the town of Hanover to donate a few million gallons of water and getting Killington to loan us three snowblowers and an operator. The Hanover Inn gave the operator a place to stay, and a fire truck with a pump large enough to blow snow was driven up from New Orleans. Yes, my grades suffered from spending so much time building snow sculptures. On the other hand, I fondly remember my fellow Carnival Council friends and cherish those memories. They are an amazing group of people, and I consider myself lucky to have been a part of that. I’d do it all over again.

NEIL DONNENFELD ’83 Warner, New Hampshire

In 1962 the Winter Carnival Council selected Igluk (our newly created god of fun) as its center-of-campus statue design. I was the council member tasked with getting it built, but really a number of us were responsible. The job taught me a lot about responsibilities. We did not have a lot of snow in the winter of 1962, so it was trucked in from the Skiway. Students were hard to corral for construction duty. Fraternities and dormitories were solicited and assigned nights. Some came up with volunteers, while others did not. Packing slush onto an ever-growing mound is not fun at night in the cold.

With time, I came to respect one Winter Carnival member, Bruce Nickerson ’64, a reliable, enthusiastic leader who could be counted on to recruit and guide student workers. Night after night I could rely on his help, smile, and hard work. We got our god built in time, and our student lives carried on.

I graduated and spent a fifth year on campus finishing my engineering degree. Bruce graduated and entered the Navy, ultimately becoming a navigator on a jet. His plane was shot down coming back from a mission over Hanoi. I do not believe it has ever been found. Of all the friends and acquaintances I knew who were killed during the Vietnam War, he was the one whose name I sought out at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Seeing his name carved into the monument choked me up. I realized I had never told him how much his help and friendship meant to me. I wish I had.

STEVE BRENNER ’63, TH’64 Portlayid, Oregon

I wish to add one more Carnival tradition that has disappeared. My father, Emil Rueb, owner of the former Camera Shop of Hanover, used to photograph all the snow statues. He then printed postcards to sell in the store. The Camera Shop was open on Sundays, unusual in those days, so that people could buy postcards of the statues. As a Hanover “townie” growing up in the 1950s, I recall those days fondly. The statues, especially the ones on the Green, were amazing. I admired the crown for the Carnival queen, displayed in the window of Ward Amidon’s, the jewelry store down the street from the Camera Shop, and once, as a young skater, I participated in the outdoor evening held on the golf course. Perhaps some of my father’s postcards still exist in the memorabilia of alumni.

DENA RUEB ROMERO Hanover

Polarized

After reading your story on Lis Smith ’05 [“Trailblazer,” January/February], am I supposed to be impressed? Her profanity and her choice of relationship partners remind me of another political figure, Donald J. Trump.

NICHOLAS HUNT ’75

Atlayitic, Iowa

Your cover and article should lay to rest any remaining doubt that admitting women was the best decision the College has made since admitting me. Nicely done. DAM has truly become a great magazine.

ART LAFRANCE ’60 Green Valley, Arizona Please spare us the stilettos—this kind of cover has little use on an alumni magazine.

RODGER EWY ’53

Boulder, Colorado

Whoever made the decision to pose Lis Smith on the cover of DAM should be looking for new employment as soon as possible. I like Mayor Pete and his stand on the issues. He seems honest and forthright, two traits not shared by the article. How possibly could DAM promote her as a role model? This appears to be either a serious error in judgment, a deliberate fraud, or part of a political agenda with the result being the same: You (DAM) are not to be taken seriously. You have demeaned not only yourselves but also the College and all the alumnae and alumni who love her. Your actions are disgraceful.

RALPH WOODMAN ’69

Rye, New York

The Bare Truth

Kudos to Sharon Lee Cowan ’78 for her thoughtful piece [“Full Disclosure,” March/ April] on her decision to pose for Playboy. I would suggest she stay with her original thinking and avoid falling into the objectification trap, from which there is no logical exit. We (all of us) objectify things throughout our lives as a cognitive means of dealing with a chaotic world. This includes food, movies, classes, books, cars, and, most emphatically, members of our preferred sex. Other things are not us, and every choice we make is based on some form of objectification. A beautiful sunset and babbling brook, snowy woods on a quiet eveningobjects, objects, objects. Beauty and youth help make the world go ’round. Being confident enough to share yours with the world is something to celebrate, not denigrate.

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