1934

What a fine way to open our golden year! At least 34 of the '34 classmates plus wives and friends were there to applaud a sterling 21-3 victory over Princeton. Bill Scherman, in the newsletter, will have described pre and post-game activities and listed attendees all the regulars, of course, but also some who haven't been back for a game in quite a while like Hafey and Lucy Arthur, Roily Wilson, and Oscar Cohn. Hafey, formerly a Hanover resident as hockey coach, has found it difficult to get away from his still absorbing history teaching at Carlisle, Mass. Roily was telling Bob Griffin about walking on the North Pole so Bob will be prepared to duplicate that epic trip next spring. Oscar is a real community asset back in his family's original base, Bloomington, III., where he is active in numerous organizations while managing farm properties and investments.

Stan and Barbara Smoyer came for the odd year when they are not hosting the '34 gang at their Princeton home. We caught them between trips, as they are now off for Athens, Cairo, Istanbul, and Israel. Our '34 president, Sam Carson, and Alec made it back from Switzerland where a daughter's residence provided excuse for a family gathering there during August. And former president TomBeers and Mary, back from tours all over the United States seeing family, allowed us the honor of sharing their 44th wedding anniversary.

For those who got up for breakfast at the Hanover Inn with president McLaughlin, the reward was an informative summary of the changes taking place on campus (the Nelson Rockefeller Center, residence clusters, the new Hood Museum, etc.) He reported that 1,060 freshmen had arrived from 45 states and 11 countries, and that they had an average 1300 combined SAT score. He said that 94 percent of them will likely graduate an as tounding retention rate for today or any day. We had 664 matriculate with us and 503 graduate in 1934. Women are 42 and a half percent of the class of 1987.

At a later meeting of all '34s in town, SamCarson reported plans that are building for our 50th, with Bill Wilson as reunion chairman and Stan Smoyer as head of our reunion fund drive.

You may recall that last month I promised more word on those who went to Tuck for their major. Of the 62 classmates at Tuck in 1934, 43 are living. Of these, 25, or 58 percent, claim they are now mostly retired from their major work; six are still working part time, and 12 are still putting in a full week. The fully active include three in real estate (AlSeitner, Henry Allen, and John Anderson); two in the financial sector (Gordie Haver kampf and Dave Callaway); two business consultants (John Randall and Bill Eldridge); two lawyers (Art Nissen and Vinnie Cerow); two in government or utilities (Bert Alley and Joe Bender); and one store-owner (GeorgeKimball).

These as well as those now retired reported a number of major career shifts over the years. For example, Al Seitner, a Michigan lad, parlayed his M.C.S. from Tuck into a $100 a month start with the Lion Store in Toledo. He shifted to a store in Augusta, Ga., and then to Jacksonville, Fla., where, except for leave to help the Field Artillery, he's been in merchandising then real estate ever since. He became a professor of real estate at Florida Junior College and is still there, while also serving as a part-time realtor (when not on a cruise like he and Helene took to the Aegean this summer).

Henry Allen, a New Jersey native, gave New York first crack at his services as a shop foreman with Consolidated Laundries and an industrial engineer with Continental Can. Then post-war he shifted to Milwaukee and A. O. Smith, where he moved up from assistant controller to senior vice president for public affairs. After retiring from Smith, Hank set up an industrial realtor business with his two sons and allows wife Bobbie to use her mechanical drafting talents in helping him with machine design.

Another who found Wisconsin a good state for his obvious energy is John Stone Randall, who started life in Omaha. He was one of 13 Tuck classmates who went back to Hanover for a fifth year, but he approves of the current emphasis on working before going for a Tuck degree. By chance (not design, he says) he ended up in the capital goods industry, moving from company to company and ending up as president of a large machine tool firm. Then he was ready to start his own consulting business, and in addition he currently serves on the boards of ten companies. He's also still harbor commissioner for the Port of Milwaukee. Dorothy will have trouble getting him to retire.

Then there's Bill Carr, the Buckeye who stayed in New England after Dartmouth. His career path included real estate management, the Army, management jobs for Canada Dry and Maytag, then back to real estate as a broker and appraiser for the past 15 years. He works part time now, with the apparent approval of Becky, to stay centered in Yarmouth, Maine.

More next month on which career choices led the 50 year parade.

In closing this month, I want to elaborate a bit on the newsletter report that John Torinus would retire as editor of the Post Crescent in Appleton, Wise., after earlier relinquishing his duties as general manager. He plans now to continue as senior editor till he can celebrate 50 years in news publishing. Meanwhile, for his retirement party, his associates put out a wonderful "front page" spoof covering his brilliant career. John's son, Mark '75, shared the tribute with us, and a cartoon caricature of John from it is reproduced near this column.

The associates of John B. Torinus '34 marked his retirement with a spoof front page of the Post- Crescent of Appleton, Wise., which he edited for 21 years. The mock edition included thiscartoon of Torinus in his editorial sanctum and a description of him as a "pleasure" to workwith and the "epitome" of the "personal" editor.

Nicholas Biel, the nom de plume of Nick Jacobson '35 of Norwich,Vt.,was the subject of a recent feature articlein the Vally News. The substance of the article, which also oncluded this photograph, is retold in the 1935 class notes column.

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