Ladies and gentlemen of 1956, the late Joel Ash in a recent column referred to the phrase, “lest the old traditions fail.” Jack Billhardt recalls speaking of a classmate, possibly Dr. Eric Jensen, who might have said, “Dartmouth today is not the college I knew in the 1950s.” Jack opined that nothing is the same 65 years later! So, what’s up? I submit that recollections of classmates and events are the stuff and substance of tradition! The road trips, the seven fires, the chipping for a keg, the first crisp breath and squeak of snow underfoot while heading for an 8 o’clock class, the sound of Baker bells (are they next to go?), the uniqueness of the Upper Valley to us city kids—these are the traditions that stay in our hearts, in our minds, and in our souls forever! And, Linc Spaulding adds, “Would you agree that we are living in a brand-dominated age? Whether it’s sports, commerce, or education—brands dominate! Which begs the current question: What is Dartmouth’s brand? Do we have a symbol for it? Should we? Big Green is a slogan, but does it cut it as a brand? When I think of brand I think of form and substance, like a Nike swoosh, and something that can be easily recognized from row ZZ. In the ‘old days’ (1920s-80s), the Dartmouth brand was an undergraduate body of doers. This was enthusiastically explained to me by a Wellesley graduate friend of my parents, who, upon learning that I was headed to Dartmouth, exclaimed how marvelous that was because ‘everyone knows that if you want to get something done, find a Dartmouth grad. Dartmouth grads are doers!’ In those days, the admission protocols pretty much guaranteed an action-oriented student body. Our isolated northern New England location put a premium on self-reliance and well-honed decision-making skills, all so essential to ‘thriving in the howling wilderness,’ as Michael Wigglesworth put it in 1662!” Part two of the brand in the next column!

See you in the woods. The Indian will never die.

—J.W. Crowley, 15612 SE 42nd Place, Bellevue, WA 98006; (425) 746-1824); jackcrowley@hotmail.com