Golden Anniversary of 1899
GONE are the days but life-lasting will be happy memories of our 50th reunion at Hanover, June 10, 11 and 12. Some registered Thursday evening and most of the group came Friday. At 5 o'clock that afternoon there was a "get together" meeting in the Ski Hut when attention was directed to the events scheduled on our class and the official college programs. At 8 o'clock that evening we attended the reception given by President and Mrs. Dickey at their home. The evening was balmy, the scene on the lawn bordered by trees dimly shadowed in the soft
gleam of electric lights was enchanting. The gracious hosts made us feel that they were truly glad to see us.
Following the reception all gathered at the Ski Hut where George Clark exhibited, on a screen from slides, pictures of classmates and events during our college days, and before. There were several pictures of the fellows when they were two or three years old. A test was to guess who they were. A prize for the best guesser was won by P. Winchester and presented to him at the reunion dinner Saturday night.
Saturday forenoon the members of the class held a meeting, listened to reports by the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Class Agent. The following officers were elected: Secretary, Joseph W. Gannon; Treasurer, Ediuard R. Skinner; Class Agent, P. H. Winchester. Executive Committee: Clark, Gannon, Gerould, Hoban and Kendall. Then, at the suggestion of George Clark, we went to Wilson Hall and were photographed in approximately the same positions as in our Freshman class picture taken at the same place in 1895. At noon a buffet luncheon was served by the College on the lawn in front of the Gymnasium where special seats were reserved for our class. Then we attended the meeting of the alumni, members of the senior class and their fathers and members of the faculty. This was in the main hall upstairs in the Gym. The Secretary gave the traditional address for the 50-Year Class.
Saturday afternoon, starting at 4 o'clock, all members of the '99 group wended their way to the home of Mrs. Nelson Brown on Rope Ferry Road for a reception which was delightful in every way. Mrs. Brown graciously welcomed each one as they arrived. At the ends of a long table in the dining room Mrs. Musgrove and Mrs.Storrs poured punch of two varieties. Supervised by Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Tibbetts, delicious sandwiches and cakes were served. On the spacious lawn overlooking Occum Pond a professional photographer and P. Winchester took pictures of class members and also of the entire group.
That evening at 7 o'clock the class family dinner was held in the Hovey Grill in Thayer Hall. This was the high spot of the reunion. The attendance was ninetynine—an interesting coincidence. After enjoying the excellent repast which Mrs. Hayward, Manager of the Dartmouth Dinmg Association, had supervised with her customary culinary skill, Warren Kendall who presided graciously and with tact, directed two stalwarts, Luther Oakes and A. B. Tootell, to take positions just outside the kitchen door where they received on a handbarrow a huge anniversary cake which they toted to the head table. GeorgeClark had it made in Plymouth by a famous cake-maker. On top were 5 golden candles, one for each decade, and below 50 smaller candles. After the Secretary's daughter, Frances, blew out the candles, his daughter Genevieve cut the cake, a piece of which was passed to all present. Warren then called upon the following: the Secretary, who spoke briefly about welcoming the opportunity to be of continued service, reports from absentees, and of his affectionate regard for all connected with '99; Benezet reminisced about our undergraduate life and doings. Gordon Gerould eloquently responded with verses written for the occasion. Mrs. Eva Speare responded for the ladies, graciously and appropriately paying tribute to them as wives and mothers. Tootell spoke interestingly of his many changes of abode and varied occupations in several states of the North-west—school teacher, rancher, grocery chain owner, school superintendent and other jobs. A beautiful silver cup awarded to the one who came the longest distance, and donated by Warren Kendall, was presented to Tootell by the Secretary. Luther Oakes told of his experiences in railroad, dam and tunnel building and early hardships in the swamps and forests of the West, the building of naval craft used in the last war and many interesting instances during his career as head for 25 years, of a great construction company. Tim Lynch in unscheduled impromptu remarks spoke of life and winsome widows at Pinehurst. The final address was by Owen Hoban who spoke with deep emotion of the love for and loyalty of all to Dartmouth and the spirit of the College that evoked it.
The Secretary was delightfully surprised and pleased to receive a gift from the class, a beautiful pair of book ends with the Dartmouth seal, now a treasured permanent fixture on his library desk.
Sunday morning the class marched in the procession through the ranks of the seniors to the Bema and took seats on the platform. The scene in the Bema was very impressive. A thrilling feature to us was the award by the College to Warren Kendall of the honorary degree of Master of Arts. The citation is published in another column. A well deserved tribute to one whom classmates hold in high esteem and affection.
Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock, memorial services were held in the College church. Montie Fuller presided in the pulpit and Kenneth Beal gave the memorial address. As in past reunions, this service was very impressive. Fifty-seven attended. Afterward flowers were placed on the graves of Nelson Brown, Frank Musgrove, HowardTibbetts and Clothespins Richardson. At 5 o'clock all gathered in the Ski Hut for a snack, and some snack it was—cold meats, rolls, ice cream and coffee in abundance. Forty-two were present. Following this, after a short spell of lounging on the Inn lawn, all gathered around the class tree for the closing ceremony as has been our custom in all reunions. Gordon Gerould, holding a lighted candle, made appropriate remarks. '99 illuminated was on a 3-sided green and white plaque high up on the tree. The late Albert Greenwood designed this many years ago. The figures '99 were also illuminated above the entrance to Wheeler Hall and the class flag hung in front of Hanover Inn, our main headquarters, all through the reunion period. The official count for the attendance cup was taken at 10 o'clock Saturday morning. '99 was runner-up with 70%.
A notable feature o£ the reunion, and much acclaimed, was the exhibit on the first floor of Baker Library of pictures and documents showing the life and activities of our classmates during their college days and in some of the subsequent reunion periods. This filled 8 or 9 large alcoves and was really amazing. Miss Joslyn, in charge of the Archives Room of the Library, contributed from that repository and arranged the display with the cooperation and supervision of George Clark who had earlier brought much of it from his store- house of '99 memorabilia at Plymouth. George's master hand in class displays of a similar nature in the past was very much apparent.
The weather was ideal throughout and the events on our program well attended and enjoyed. Several expressed the opinion that this was '99's best reunion but considering the wonderful reunions we have had in the past, it would probably be truer to say that none were better than the 50th.
Following is a list of those who were at the reunion, total 103. All were requested to register in our own class book. The Secretary regrets if names of some who did not register are not included.
Mr. & Mrs. C. E. Adams Mr. & Mrs. A. J. Abbott E. L. Allen Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Allen Mr. & Mrs. K. Beal Mr. & Mrs. L. P. Benezet Mr. and Mrs. Butterfield (Genevieve Benezet) Mrs. Nelson P. Brown Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Chase George Clark Dr. & Mrs. C. E. Cushman Mrs. Edward H. Mason (Cousin of "Cush") Mrs. Frances Eaton (sister of "Cush") Dr. & Mrs. Hale Dearborn Montie J. B. Fuller Melville W. Fuller Joseph W. Gannon Mrs. Frances Gannon Danesi Mrs. Helen Gannon Temple Mr. & Mrs. Winter S. Read (Genevieve Gammon) G. H. Gerould Mrs. A. H. Greenwood Mr. & Mrs. O. A. Hoban Joseph W. Hobbs Mr. & Mrs. A. L. Heywood George L. Huckins Mr. & Mrs. W. L. Hutchinson Mr. & Mrs. A. P. Irving Mrs. Wesley Jordan Mr. & Mrs. Warren Kendall William H. Kendall Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Kendall Mr. & Mrs. L. B. Kendall Mr. & Mrs. R. M. Kennedy (Roberta Kendall) T. A. Lynch Mr. & Mrs. H. A. Miller Miss Eunice Miller Mrs. Gustova Miller Brown (Daughter of the Millers and her children, Petra and Elizabeth) William Orr (Guest of the Millers) Mrs. F. A. Musgrove Mrs. Louise Musgrove Pickering Mr. & Mrs. E. L. Nye Mr. & Mrs. Luther Oakes Dr. & Mrs. David Parker Mrs. James P. Richardson Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Rogers Mr. & Mrs. Robert Rowe Mr. & Mrs. George Rounds Mr. & Mrs. George Rounds, Jr. Miss Helen Rounds Dr. & Mrs. F. R. Sanborn S. A. Seidell Mrs. Ernest Silver Mr. & Mrs. E. R. Skinner S. J. Smith Mrs. Eva Speare Mr. & Mrs. A. D. Storrs Frank M. Surrey Mrs. H. M. Tibbetts A. B. Tootell L. E. Varney Mr. & Mrs. Walter R. Varney James B. Walker Mr. & Mrs. Ned Warren Herbert L. Watson Mr. & Mrs. T. T. Whittier A. D. Wiggin Mr. & Mrs. P. H. Winchester
CLASS SECRETARY
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY CLASS OF 1899 ON THE LAWN OF THE HANOVER HOME OF MRS. NELSON P. BROWN: (Seated, I. to r.) Miller, Gerould, Hutchinson Sanborn, Hobbs, Heywood, Rogers, Watson, Fuller, Lynch, Irving. (Standing) Varney, Beal, Adams, Wiggin, Smith, Whittier, Winchester, Allen, Rowe, Surrey, Benezet, Rounds, Tootell, Parker, Nye, Hoban, Kendall, Storrs, Cushman, Skinner, Gannon, Huckins, Chase, Oakes, Clark.
PROMINENT EVIDENCE THAT 1899 WAS IN TOWN AGAIN
