Class Note 1953

I write this as the hideous pandemic rages on. I hope that when you read this, we have survived this holocaust with a more humane sense of our fellow worldly tenants and a renewed zest for life itself rather a search for its frills. Once again, in a time of crisis, I am heartened by the efforts on the part of our classmates to check on each other’s well-being.

Admissions admitted the class of 2024 this month, which caused me to think of 71 years ago, when we were in the same position as the class of 2024. I think of what might await them as they begin their Dartmouth experience and subsequent journey. From the perspective of a lifetime of those 71 years, I remember the many successes and the failures and the joys and the sorrows.

I see the continuing evolution and contributions of my classmates to the world and to Dartmouth. They were wonderful as classmates, they are even better as alumni. I think of the energy and exuberance of a group of incoming freshmen and a continued zest for life so long after, and I know that these ’24s have all of this to look forward to. Welcome! As promised earlier, Richard Cahn’s book, Making Law: A Memoir of Good Times, is now published and can be bought in various forms from Amazon. My critique of this book, which appeared from the DAM, is available at Amazon. Two giants of the class fell this past month. Bob Malin, one of the stalwarts of the class who kept everyone in touch with one another, passed away after a long illness. And, Put Blodgett, only a few weeks after his ascendancy to the presidency of our class, also succumbed. Put was a treasure for the State of Vermont as a donor of forest lands to the Conservancy as well as for Dartmouth and the class, having been a major contributor, both in material and creativity, to the new Moosilauke Lodge. In addition to these classmates, we are very saddened to announce the demise of Robert Nicholson, Bruce Gilmore, Robert Foster, and Alan Sessler and offer our condolences to their families.

—Mark Smoller, 401 Lake Shore Road, Putnam Valley, NY 10579; (845) 603-5066; marksmoller@gmail.com