1929
FIFTH ANNUAL FATHER-SON ISSUE: This year there are 31 sons of the Class of 1929 in college, five less than last year, the same number as two years ago, six more than three years ago and eleven more than when BillAndres started this series back in 1951. We now have eight seniors, six juniors, nine sophomores and eight freshmen who have this to say for themselves and their Class of 1958, plus what their fathers have to say at this long-to-be-remembered moment of their lives:
Robert C. Brandt Robert C. Brandt Jr. 707 Grassmere Ave. 308 Middle Fayerweather Interlaken, N. J.
Son: I certainly appreciate the opportunity to write this letter for the fifth annual Father-Son issue, but I hope it meets with better results than my freshman English themes have! I was born and have lived my entire life in Asbury Park, N. J., with my parents and kid brother, Willy. I hope someday to see my brother come to Dartmouth, although at the present, his marks don't seem to indicate that course. My secondary schooling was acquired at Asbury Park High School where my chief extra-curricular activities were baseball, basketball, and student government. Ever since I was a freshman in high school I had been interested in Dartmouth. My dad had always told me what a great school Dartmouth was, but at first I was a little skeptical. Now, after four months at Hanover, I can truthfully say that I really like Dartmouth and everything about it. Dartmouth has so many outstanding characteristics and opportunities that it will probably take me the rest of my life to fully appreciate all of them. My activities to date have been limited mainly to athletics and the Finance Committee of the Undergraduate Council. I participated on the dorm football, basketball, hockey, and golf teams, and I am currently out for the freshman basketball team. I hope to play freshman baseball this spring. Next year I plan to become a member of the Sophomore Orientation Committee, WDBS, and the Dormitory Council. It is rather early to predict the future of my Class, but I sincerely believe that we can match the achievements of the Class of '57, one of the greatest classes to ever enter Dartmouth, and also the Class of '29, which has produced one of Dartmouth's finest presidents.
Father: The rewards accruing from my years at Dartmouth have been many, including a fuller appreciation of life, as well as the social and economic benefits that have resulted.
It has been my good fortune to be blessed with a lovely wife and two fine sons, who have developed under more or less normal American standards.
Bob, now in the Class of '58, is an average, well, rounded boy. He is a fair student and a good all around athlete, with outstanding promise baseball, wise. Two years of varsity in High School and firststring on the 1954 Monmouth County Champions of the Junior American Legion League bespeak his abilities in this department. He is gregarious by nature, and likes to entertain his friends by indulg. ing his favorite hobby, i.e., sharing his huge collection of popular records.
It goes without saying, that I am very happy Bob chose to enter Dartmouth without my having tried to influence his selection of a college. I leaned over backwards, in this connection, because I have something to do with screening Dartmouth applicants in this locality.
A note of no particular significance, but of more than passing interest, is the fact that Bob was born on my birthday, which is also his mother's birthday. A grim reminder that, as my son enters the Hanover scene at 17, I bask in the ripe old age of 47.
I could not conclude this communication without commenting on the emotions I experienced upon returning to Hanover this past fall. I felt pleasant nostalgia because so many things are just as they were during my student days - the Campus, Dartmouth Hall, the Hanover Inn, Campion's, the Co-op, Topliff and Fayerweather Halls, to mention a few. But the women! I don't remember seeing as many lovely girls during four years in Hanover as I saw in one day, with the possible exception of Winter Carnival or Spring House Party time. It is quite a change, but one, I think, quite easy to take.
In closing, I look forward with pride, and know that Bob, along with the other sons of '29ers, will grow and benefit from the Dartmouth tradition, just as we, their dads did, during our student days of fond memory.
Arthur C. Buffington Robert C. Buffington 4519 Wooddale Ave. 304 Gile Minneapolis, Minn.
Son: When I told my friends that I was coming to Dartmouth College, many of them felt that I had been pressured into coming by my brother Jack and my father. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. To be sure, I had heard a lot about Dartmouth from them, but each member of my family feels that a boy should go to college, not be sent. By this I mean that a boy should be able to choose his own college, and if accepted, attend it. He should not feel obligated to attend a particular college merely because his brother or father attended it. It was on this basis that I chose Dartmouth.
I first saw Dartmouth during Dad's 20th reunion in the summer of 1949. I remember being awed by the geographical setting, by the many buildings, and by the big "college men." It was at this time I first felt that I wanted to come here for my college education.
During my four years of high school, I inquired into, with the help of Dad, the possibilities of other colleges. However, none of these seemed to offer so much as Dartmouth, where I could receive a strong liberal arts education, meet people from around the world, and, upon graduating, feel that I was ready to face the problems of life. I still hold these opinions, and since my arrival at Hanover, I have found many other gratifying reasons for coming here.
I have one important change from my high school days. Here there seems to be a distinct effort to make men think. It is not so much fact learning as it is the learning of clearness and conciseness. This type of learning has been most beneficial to me. I have spent much time thinking about and discussing matters which I never gave much consideration to during my high school days. And, I might add, I am glad that I have.
One comment which I would like to say about my admission to Dartmouth College concerns the wonderful job that John Faegre and his group did and are doing in Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas. This group of men is doing a fine, conscientious job, and I think that they ought to receive a lot more praise and help than they have received in the past. To me, this idea of meeting the many Dartmouth applicants, interviewing them, and then sending written reports to Dartmouth is sound, and should be used throughout the country. My hat goes off to them.
As of now, I have no definite plans for my future occupation. I have formed a few ideas, but until I straighten out some problems, I.do not wish to make any comments on this subject. At the present time, I am looking forward with great expectations the next three and one half years at Dartmouth College.
Fatber: Son Bob, Class of 1958, will do the reporting for the family if he can take the time during exams since my older son Jack, Class of '54, had the pleasure of writing for the first two Father-Son Issues and I reported my activities recently in the Class of '29 Book.
Neelgss to say, we are mighty glad Bob chose Dartmouth.
Robert A. Friend Robert, Friend, III 30 Meadowview Road 102 Butterfield Melrose 76, Mass
Son: There's really not too much I can say for or about myself. I arrived in Hanover with lots of good ideas and even a few better ones. I've managed to Struggle through my courses producing fair but not startling results.
As for extra-curricular activities, I'm not especially active yet I've been doing some hunting and chubbing (hiking) with hopes of getting into the Cabin Trail part if D.O.C. next year. I play guitar in a ten-piece dance band known as the "Green Collegians." That particular phase of life I inherited torn my dad - the only difference is that he played (and still plays) a very cool sax.
As for sports, I didn't make the freshman hockey team, but playing dorm hockey has been just as enjoyable. Dorm hockey, moreover, requires no training! Women-wise I have no problems. The best policy, I find, is to keep many varieties of women on the line for certain special (or specified) occasions - that way one avoids wear and tear on the nervous system! Dartmouth has its famous reputation; therefore it is never very difficult to get a date for most any weekend. Seems funny, but every time I'm asked as to where I go to college - and I answer "Dartmouth" - whoever posed the question gets this odd look on his (or her) face: Oh, yes, I've heard about Dartmouth . . .!!" — I've yet to run into a person who doesn't make this or some similar comment. However, these comments concerning Dartmouth aren't made with malice, I've discovered; rather — with awe!
"To be a Dartmouth man, one must ski." Well, I'll take half-credit there — I water-ski. I've been doing it for about five years now and I enjoy it very much — water's softer than trees, rocks, packed snow, other skiers, slalom gates, and various automobiles parked too close to the bottom of the downhill run!
Dartmouth has many opportunities in aiding one to enjoy life, and I plan to take advantage of every one of them!
Father: First - let me explain that Robert Friend III '58 is called "Peter" because of his mothers burning desire eighteen years ago. His proclivities are similar to Dad's, i.e. - music - guitar versus saxophone.
Thayer fair food vs. Commons grub. Scholastically a plugger vs. a dreamer; women vs. women; and a homebody vs. Dad, who still travels (business).
Most important Peter will complete Dartmouth, whereas Dad became an "X-'29er" very early m 1926.
Both love Hanover and its proud institution and we can boast of four Indians now in the Friend family — '23, '29, '48, '58 and possibly '63, when Peter's brother Ricky (Mirick) follows a family tradition.
Philip E. Hoffman David L. Hoffman 177 Clairmont Terrace 307 Richardson Orange, N. J.
Son: My arrival in Hanover this fall was the realization of a goal which I had set seven years ago. It was the first of our many family excursions to see the College, which convinced me that Dartmouth was the place from which to obtain my degree. This was 1948 and, consequently, I was left with a rather long wait.
I had help in this wait in the person of Paul Jameson '58. I met Paul at Newark Academy in the seventh grade, after transferring from the public school system of Orange, N. J.; he also had already chosen Dartmouth as his future college. Together we formed a unique pair; not only would we be in the same class at Dartmouth if our hopes were realized, but both our fathers had been members of the Class of 1929.
My father, like the sensible man he is, did not attempt to persuade me to go to Dartmouth simply to carry on a family tradition. Naturally he felt that Dartmouth was a fine school, but he left the decision to me. To this day, I am not certain just how much effect his being a graduate of Dartmouth had on me. Perhaps one of the greatest influences was the fact that the whole matter was my own idea and had not been shoved down my throat. Any boy appreciates this.
One of the best things I saw in Dartmouth was the fact that it was isolated and therefore there would no longer be the nauseating sound and smells of city life. This and the fact that, by comparison, Dartmouth is a fairly small college, were the major components of my choice.
I will probably always remember the sense of awe I felt within me upon seeing the entire Class of 1958 (762 boys strong) seated together in Webster Hall during Freshmen Week. My graduating class at Newark Academy had consisted of 24 students.
Now that I am here, I find that my previous estimations of Dartmouth were accurate The students are a wonderful group and the life is just what I am looking for. I am looking forward to a very profitable and enjoyable four (or rive) years in Hanover.
Father: Perhaps the only drawback involved in being an alumnus of Dartmouth is the constant terror one lives in that each visit of the mailman will bring a request to compose a letter such as this.
To me, its greatest thrill has been to have a son enrolled there. It honestly had never occurred to me that I'd get such a belt out of watching my boy repeating my experiences at Hanover.
"Repeating my experiences" is probably not the precise way of putting it. David, and those or his classmates whom I have met, don't seem to have the same approach to the school or what they want to get out of it as we did. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I sense in them a more serious attitude - more sophistication in their ability to separate the worthwhile from the worthless than we had. The emphasis on good times on "kicking the gong is not so great.
This doesn't mean that we've bred a generation of grinds. The boys in '58 have every bit as good a time as we did — perhaps better. Their reactions are normal - as witness, for instance, the fact that "sex starvation" seems, as m the past to be epidemic in Hanover at this point. But they view their pleasures in better proportion. In short, there seems to be a better sense of values in the 58ers than there was in the '29ers.
obviously, this may be a very personal thing and may simply represent an improvement in the case of this father and this son I hope it's more general. Because if it is, it would mean that this generation will get more out of Dartmouth and give more to it than we did.
But regardless of this — whether our sons are good had or medium material for Dartmouth in comparison to what we were — it surely the cockles of one's heart to have them up there.
Paul C. Jameson Paul C. Jameson, Jr. 70 Harrison St. 313 wneeler Verona, N. J.
Son: Several years ago I read the Father-Son letters in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. I wondered then if i would have the chance to write this letter. For me and for 758 others the big day came in May 1954. I distinctly remember the feeling gratification I experienced after reading the letter of acceptance.
I was raised in the Dartmouth tradition, starting with the wearing of the D sweater when I was two years old and attending where possible all the Dartmouth football games. As soon as I thought of college I knew that Dartmouth was the only school for me.
Before entering Dartmouth this fall I attended Newark Academy, N. J., and played football and baseball and was captain of the baseball team. I plan to go out for the freshman baseball team this spring. Another son of a '29er, Dave Hoffman, came with me from Newark Academy.
On completing the first semester of my freshman year, I now understand the reason for the devotion and the loyalty of Dartmouth men to their school about which I have heard so much. Right now my future plans are to go to Tuck School and then into the Army. I hope that I will be able to live up to the traditions and honor that the name of Dartmouth gives to its graduates.
Father: Paul had never expressed a desire to go to any other college but Dartmouth and it was a gala occasion when we knew that he would be a member of the Class of 1958.
The class book that was published Just prior to our 25th reunion pretty well covers what has happened to me since 1929. Since the book went to press, however, I have received a promotion. Effective January 1, I was elected secretary and treasurer of National Distillers Products Corporation. I joined National in 1933 after spending three years with The Chase National Bank and I have been very happy in my work.
l am exceedingly pleased that Paul is a freshman at Dartmouth College. I am sure the four years in Hanover will prove to be extremely rewarding to him.
Morton C. Jaquith Peter C. Jaquith 48 Cedar St. 102 Streeter Clinton, Mass.
Son: I am proud to say that Dartmouth has already cut a notch in my plaque of memories. I feel, as anybody who has ever spent a semester upon the Hanover Plain feels, that she may be small, she may be isolated, and she may be in the bad weather belt of the United States, but we still love her. Whether we love her for these reasons or for others does not really matter. What is important is that we do love her.
When you dig up your college memory plaque and brush the dust from it, you mav see yourself strolling hand in hand down Truck Drive with an old love. You may recall how the cold brisk winter wind used to blow through her hair, giving her that wild look of beauty. Or you may remember the day that you first lifted a can of beer and drank to Eleazar. Then again the mention of Dartmouth may rekindle those fires of fascination which some outstanding personality held for you. Probably your memory plaque includes all of these incidents and then some. At any rate it is now complete.
However, I am just beginning mine. Nothing is more enjoyable than the process of carving these notches and that is why I am so happy and so grateful to be here. I have found those same winter winds, that same enthrallment, and we still drink to Eleazar.
Thank you very much for allowing me to express my feelings towards Dartmouth.
Father: I acknowledge the second appeal for father and son letters from the Jaquith wigwam and am sorry to have put you to the extra trouble. Pete and I both suffer from Lawyer's Disease, alias procrastination, a virus sine cure picked up at Harvard by me, and passed on by inheritance to my son. The virus never got foothold apparently at Wellesley, so the distaff side is not afflicted. The disease is particularly virulent during income tax and examination seasons, also when the sun shines on the golf course and the moon shines over Northampton. Besides, reading scintillating letters written by classmates and their sons is more fun than writing a dull one.
However, a request from you is like an order from Caesar.
How does it feel to have a son at Dartmouth? I can remember asking the question of classmates Barto, Case, Cavanagh, Rose, among others. I don't remember what they told me but I can remember the combination of glowing pride, mystified puzzlement, and joie de vivre with which they said it. I got a slight impression that Dad was downright proud to have a son make the grade at the Admissions Office; that he was puzzled by what atomaged Dartmouth expected his son to know and to learn; and that he was finding his second tour through classic Dartmouth's College halls a lot of fun in spite of the expense.
The slight impression observed externally has now become the fixed obsession imbedded internally. I have a son at Dartmouth of whom I am more than a little proud. He has, I know, a lot to offer The Old Mother and also a lot to learn from her. His loyalty once pledged will, I swear, never be shaken and her love once gained will be with him always. He has within him strong currents which when they flow in harmony will make him a leader of men. Dartmouth's task is to feed, to strengthen and to synchronize those currents, and his task to digest that food, to apply the strength, and to turn those currents to the service of his fellowmen.
Can Dartmouth give it and can Peter take it? The gate he has- entered is the narrow one and his fellow travellers on the road are many, mighty and capable. The competition from them is of the keen- est. Who would want it otherwise? Not Peter, we know. Dad will try to remember he is only an ob- server and act accordingly.
Harry T. Lewis Charles D. Lewis 1755 Glencoe St. 102 Butterfield Denver 7, Colo.
Son: I'm sorry that I got around to this so slowly but it caught me right in the middle of a week of training and races, which was followed closely by exams. I hope I'm not too late.
Three for three; my father, my brother, and now me, all Dartmouth men. I think that is a pretty good average for any family, but was it tradition or something else that convinced me Dartmouth was the place for me?
Of course Dad always left the ALUMNI MAGAZINES around, and my brother's tales of the school always kept it foremost in my mind. When the time came for me to pick a college I tried to put Dartmouth on an equal level with other schools I was considering, but no matter what happened I was drawn toward Hanover. I wanted a small school, one not in a city, one where I could continue my skiing, and one where I could receive a good education. Well, this almost spells Dartmouth and so here I am.
This fall I came back a few days early in order to participate in the annual Freshman Trip. To me this trip was a wonderful introduction to the school and surrounding country. I feel it is too bad that only 160 or so men can be accommodated on this early fall excursion into the woods. Those four days the trip took showed me some of the "Dartmouth Spirit" and how it is acquired, how the DOC operates, a part of New England I might never otherwise see, and gave me a head start in meeting my classmates. The two days we spent on the trail and the two days spent at Moosilauke made four very pleasant days for me. The trip isn't very strenuous and I think every freshman should be encouraged to partake in this adventure. It was definitely a highlight in my first semester at Dartmouth.
The one thing I found depressing was the weather. Coming from "Colorful Colorado," I was used to seeing a great deal of blue sky and sunshine. Now I'm getting accustomed to the cloudy weather and very few days of sunshine that seems to be characteristic of New England. In September I was told we were in the middle of the stormy season, but I have come to realize that this season never ends for more than a period of one or two days. I imagine this sort of weather wouldn't bother many true New Englanders, but I'm not a New Englander.
I had a very distinct advantage when it came to choosing a room and courses. My brother could give me almost all the "straight poop." (He missed only once and lined me up tor the hardest history course in the college.)
This winter I'm out for the freshman ski team. I don't think there are many places in the country that can offer so much to the skier. There is probably no place like Dartmouth to pick up a few tips about racing. Dartmouth has always attracted some of the nation's top skiers and with the facilities available will continue to do so.
I find being out for a sport relieves some of the tension brought on by too much studying. I find also if I remain dormant (getting little or no physical exercise) I become slower and less accurate in my work. Skiing, therefore, provides two things for me; relaxation and a recognized sport to participate in.
Before my arrival here I was never able to understand how Dartmouth men could remain so absolutely "gung-ho" about a school. After my first couple of weeks here, a few rallies, the first football or so I began to understand. Dartmouth, it seems to me, is a spirit that develops inside of you, a feeling you can't quite explain and I think I will always be able to say truthfully "I'm glad I chose Dartmouth."
Father: Just when Charles decided that Dartmouth was the college he wanted to attend, I don't know. In 1952 when we were in New England to see his sister Margaret graduate from Middlebury College, we visited a number of campuses and I am sure he eliminated several possibilities at that time.
Quite by chance, one of Charles' roommates, Robert Friend III, is also the son of one of our classmates.
Late in October I was in Hanover for a few days and at that time Chuck seemed to be enjoying his part as a member of the Dartmouth family. I have the impression that he finds academic standards the hardest to adjust to successfully. His brother Harry '55 says, "Chuck is well integrated with his group." Just what that means, I don't know.
Chuck likes to ski. We saw very little of him during Christmas vacation as he spent most of his time on the slopes at Aspen and Winter Park.
I was impressed by the studious attitude prevalent in Hanover and even more so by the poise and maturity of the undergraduates I met. It seemed to me that there has been a considerable improvement in the past quarter century.
Henry R. Sharpe Sumner M. Sharpe19 Hall Ave. 212 TopliffNashua, N. H.
Son: For several years prior to my entering Dartmouth, I had very ambitious plans of attending Cornell and of becoming a veterinarian. During the summer before my senior year in high school, my father started talking to me about Dartmouth. I had never really seen the campus, but I had been to several football games and what I had seen there, I liked very much. By the time my senior year began, I had forgotten all about becoming a veterinarian, and all I wanted was to attend Dartmouth.
I think the final factor that really sold me on Dartmouth was the reunion last spring and the spirit that prevailed over it. It all seemed amazing to me how the men of '29, even though some of them hadn't seen each other for 25 years, still were imbued with the spirit and comradeship that they had gained as a result of the adventure of attending Dartmouth.
Some of this spirit must have rubbed off on me, because all I talked about all summer was how fabulous and wonderful it was, and I still think it is. At the reunion, I finally got to see the campus and some of its life, such as the Commencement ceremonies and dance. This was the first time I had ever attended events like these, and I was very much impressed by them.
In my opinion, the thing that really makes Dartmouth tick is tradition. Some of it might seem unnecessary, but I had never had so much fun in my life as during Freshman Week. I will never be able to understand how the classes before the Class of '57 ever really enjoyed their Freshman Week when there wasn't any Sophomore Orientation Committee to guide them. This is probably one of the greatest advancements the College has made in a long time, so far as the life of the undergraduate is concerned.
Now Carnival is coming and its spirit is spreading over the campus, but the thought of finals is more overshadowing, and so, back to the books.
Father: On a September day in 1925 I wrote my first theme for English I. How I struggled with that composition! Now, more than 29 years later, I am still experiencing the same feeling of ineptness that made the writing of that theme so arduous a task. I must admit, too, that the textile business, which now engages my attention, contributes not at all to one's literary sense.
This letter must have a beginning and so to December 31, 1936, when Sumner was born. I will always remember that day. Understandably, our plans for the evening had to be cancelled, but no two people ever looked forward to the New Year with a greater degree of pride, hope, and optimism than did Alice and I that New Year's Eve.
Until Sumner was four years old he was thoroughly spoiled by both his maternal and paternal grandparents. Then came a sister, Sandra, who shared in their affections. This awakens a tide of tender memories, for, in recent years, all four grandparents have passed on to a quieter and more peaceful realm.
At the age of 6, Sumner's interest in fishing was awakened by his paternal grandfather, who was an ardent fisherman. Over the years they went fishing together and Sumner's interest in this sport has never waned. It has stimulated his love for the outdoors and is easily his number one hobby.
When Sumner was 13 years of age, I resigned my teaching position to enter the textile field. Because of his constant proximity to fabrics, Sumner is probably one of the few young men his age who knows the difference between dimity and lawn. There has been a great deal of hard work connected with our present venture and Sumner has contributed his efforts to its success.
Now Sumner is at Dartmouth. For his mother and me it is a dream come true. It makes everything we do worthwhile. Since September we've made three trips to Hanover and, each time, as we approach the college landscape, I thrill to the same feelings that I experienced as a Freshman in 1925.
'29 SONS IN THE FRESHMAN CLASS, whose letters appear in the class column this month,are (l to r) front row: Charles Lewis, Robert Buffington, Robert Friend, Paul Jameson; secondrow: Sumner Sharpe, Robert Brandt, David Hoffman and Peter Jaquith.
Secretary, 26 Wampatuck Rd., Dedham, Mass.
Treasurer, 1728 Beechwood Blvd., Pittsburgh 17, Pa.
