The 55th Reunion of 1902
FROM its 46 living graduates, 21, very much alive, plus two, not technically but very loyally classmates, gathered at the White Cupboard Inn of Woodstock, Vt., for the 55th reunion of the Class of 1902. They were: (with wives) K. S. Brackett, A. H. Chivers, R. C. Clark, A. H. Dalrymple, C. W. Davis, G. L. Dow, R. F. Estabrook, L. B. Farr, H. W. Farwell, W. Howard, J. L. Huntington, A. J. Irvin, Frank C. Moore, H. E. Plumer, P. P. Thompson; and (singly) J. A. Brown accompanied by his daughter Mrs. Jessup, J. Frank Drake, C. H. Dudley, A. H. Fitzgerald, R. S. Merrill, H. F. Parker, C. A. Studwell, and E. B. Watson; also attending were wives of deceased classmates: Mrs. A. H. Houghton and Mrs. D. B. Keniston, making a party of 41 in all.
The unexpected death of our class president, Percy O. Dorr, that occurred within three weeks of Commencement, was a very great sorrow, for Percy had been the much beloved class leader ever since graduation, and he had given himself without stint to planning our many reunions - this latest with more than usual eagerness. Well aware that we could pay him no more fitting tribute or more sincere appreciation than by making this our most delightful and satisfying class occasion, as he had intended it to be, we joined wholeheartedly in carrying out the plans he made in close cooperation with the reunion chairman; arrangements, as all agreed, that could not have been bettered for reuners so long out of college.
The program was made simple enough to allow ample time for the pleasantest feature of any reunion - the opportunity to exchange memories and to renew the happy fellowship of the many years gone by. No place could offer more appropriate facilities for such intimate reuning than the White Cupboard, whose proprietor, Mr. Allan Darrow, left nothing undone that could make us feel at home in its tasteful parlors and quaint candlelit dining room. All agreed that we had never enjoyed each other's company more.
At the first dinner together we had the added pleasure of Ross McKenney's Canadian yarns and forest lore. For the class dinner J. Blair Watson of the audio-visual department took us on an all-inclusive tour of today's College in color film - a forceful reminder that, although the spirit is the same, the facilities and opportunities the College has to offer now are incredibly more varied and attractive than those we had from '98 to '02. And yet we know that, in essentials, those under President Tucker were great for their time and more than adequate as preparation for the successful careers that many attending the reunion have had.
On the same evening, J. Frank Drake, Percy Dorr's most intimate friend in college and ever since, gave an impressive account of his life, as modest as it was great in the best traditions of New England. Always with probity and on his own merits he rose to great distinction as banker and broker and as an untiring supporter of good causes, political and social, taking part in countless activities in his Springfield community from boys' clubs to church affiliations, in all of which he discharged duties of great importance. The extent of his civic influence was gratefully acknowledged editorially in Springfield's leading paper.
Class officers were then elected to serve for the next five years: President, Ernest B. Watson; Vice-President and Bequest Chairman, Harold E. Plumer; Secretary, Arba J. Irvin; Treasurer, Albert H. Dalrymple; Class Agent, Hermon W. Farwell.
CLASS PRESIDENT
