Class Note 1942
Issue
November-December 2024
Ginia Allison sent me an article from the local paper of the new ownership and opening of the Ruggles Mine, which Robert Searles and his wife owned and operated for some 20 years.
I have had some wonderful emails from progeny of ’42s and want to share them with you. I also want to encourage more stories and emails. These alums should seek out the publication Dartmouth at War to get a sense of what their fathers endured.
Below is an email from Nicholas Hunt ’75, son of Charles Hunt.
“I have always enjoyed reading class news of the great class of ’42 because of my father and because I knew a few of his classmates. Dick Hill was a trustee when I was attending. Hugo Schnabel was a close friend of my father. Hugo married the carnival queen as I remember. My father had never visited Dartmouth before arriving as a freshman. The first night on campus, the hurricane of 1938 hit. He woke up thinking he was in hell and a long way from Iowa! He did three years undergraduate and one year at Tuck before going to war as second lieutenant in the Navy. He was responsible for loading ships with shells and bombs at Port Chicago in Oakland, California, and later in the South Pacific. Fortunately, he left Port Chicago before it blew up.
“After the war, he farmed and fed cattle with his brother. It has always amazed me how a man with his education would choose to farm when he could have made more money on Wall Street and with a lot less manual labor. Times have changed because today, farming is a big business and a lot less manual labor. In 1977, my dad suffered a stroke which severely handicapped him. I took over the farm and still farm today. He lived until 2002, despite his doctor’s predictions. My daughter, Elizabeth ’05, was in ROTC and graduated as second lieutenant in the Army. She served in Afghanistan and earned a Bronze Star. Thank you for writing the ’42 column and thanks to all the great classmates of 1942 who fought for the freedom we enjoy today.”
—Joanna Caproni, 370 East 76 St., Apt. A 406, New York, NY 10021; caproni@aol.com
I have had some wonderful emails from progeny of ’42s and want to share them with you. I also want to encourage more stories and emails. These alums should seek out the publication Dartmouth at War to get a sense of what their fathers endured.
Below is an email from Nicholas Hunt ’75, son of Charles Hunt.
“I have always enjoyed reading class news of the great class of ’42 because of my father and because I knew a few of his classmates. Dick Hill was a trustee when I was attending. Hugo Schnabel was a close friend of my father. Hugo married the carnival queen as I remember. My father had never visited Dartmouth before arriving as a freshman. The first night on campus, the hurricane of 1938 hit. He woke up thinking he was in hell and a long way from Iowa! He did three years undergraduate and one year at Tuck before going to war as second lieutenant in the Navy. He was responsible for loading ships with shells and bombs at Port Chicago in Oakland, California, and later in the South Pacific. Fortunately, he left Port Chicago before it blew up.
“After the war, he farmed and fed cattle with his brother. It has always amazed me how a man with his education would choose to farm when he could have made more money on Wall Street and with a lot less manual labor. Times have changed because today, farming is a big business and a lot less manual labor. In 1977, my dad suffered a stroke which severely handicapped him. I took over the farm and still farm today. He lived until 2002, despite his doctor’s predictions. My daughter, Elizabeth ’05, was in ROTC and graduated as second lieutenant in the Army. She served in Afghanistan and earned a Bronze Star. Thank you for writing the ’42 column and thanks to all the great classmates of 1942 who fought for the freedom we enjoy today.”
—Joanna Caproni, 370 East 76 St., Apt. A 406, New York, NY 10021; caproni@aol.com