Class Note 1972
Issue
Jan - Feb 2018
“Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends for forever,” writes George R.R. Martin. Winter is upon us and, as with many of us, some of my favorite memories of Hanover are winter memories. I decided to ask a few of our classmates to share their winter memories with the rest of us. Here are a few of the responses I received.
Bill Schur: “On a crisp fall morning during our freshman year I emerged from the basement on Allen Street where The Dartmouth was printed. I had completed a ‘night ed’ and had the first copy of that day’s paper in my hand. As I walked to Thayer Hall for breakfast I saw the sun glistening on the roofs of Dartmouth Row. Reflecting the sun’s rays was the first frost of the season. At that moment I knew I was at one with all that is Dartmouth.”
Gary Dicovitsky: “I recall walking across an empty campus from basketball practice in sub-zero temperature, mid to late December, kind of feeling sorry that friends and family at home were not within reach. Then I reached the Green with the giant Christmas tree, surrounded by probably 30 additional glowing Christmas trees, with Baker Tower shining and a zillion brilliant stars seemingly within reach. It was magical, and the winter campus silence, frankly, added to the beauty!”
Joe Davis: “January of senior year in high school I visited campus after a major blizzard. I walked by New Hamp and they were jumping out of a fourth-floor window into a snowbank. That’s when I decided to go to Dartmouth.”
Shel Prentice: “Winter Carnival junior year I fixed up [several friends with dates]. Merrily Gerrish, my ‘date,’ was a good sport as I was going back and forth trying to make sure everyone was happy. Merrily and I still are friends.”
Bill Roberts: “Seeing the 1969 Winter Carnival dragon with flames coming from its nostrils!”
John de Regt: “How crisp and clear everything was when it was very cold. Didn’t matter day or night, just stepping outside, taking that first breath and feeling the cold was best for me.”
Larry Elia: “I have a very clear memory of walking across the Green on my way to an early class and figuring out that ice crystals formed inside my nose only when the temperature was 5 degrees or lower.”
Neal Traven: “Walking to my dorm on a dead-still, minus-25-degree night after a midnight shift on WDCR, I turned around and saw my breath hanging in the air, all the way back to Robinson Hall.”
Dan Cooperman: “Walking alone on campus late at night after a new snowfall with the moonlight reflecting off the snow: the silence, stillness and solitude.”
Thanks to everyone who shared!
Sadly, I have to report that John E. Rutledge and Stephen Alan Hill have both passed away recently. Our condolences go out to their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time!
—David Hetzel, 5 Chestnut St., Windham, NH 03087; dghetzel@gmail.com
Bill Schur: “On a crisp fall morning during our freshman year I emerged from the basement on Allen Street where The Dartmouth was printed. I had completed a ‘night ed’ and had the first copy of that day’s paper in my hand. As I walked to Thayer Hall for breakfast I saw the sun glistening on the roofs of Dartmouth Row. Reflecting the sun’s rays was the first frost of the season. At that moment I knew I was at one with all that is Dartmouth.”
Gary Dicovitsky: “I recall walking across an empty campus from basketball practice in sub-zero temperature, mid to late December, kind of feeling sorry that friends and family at home were not within reach. Then I reached the Green with the giant Christmas tree, surrounded by probably 30 additional glowing Christmas trees, with Baker Tower shining and a zillion brilliant stars seemingly within reach. It was magical, and the winter campus silence, frankly, added to the beauty!”
Joe Davis: “January of senior year in high school I visited campus after a major blizzard. I walked by New Hamp and they were jumping out of a fourth-floor window into a snowbank. That’s when I decided to go to Dartmouth.”
Shel Prentice: “Winter Carnival junior year I fixed up [several friends with dates]. Merrily Gerrish, my ‘date,’ was a good sport as I was going back and forth trying to make sure everyone was happy. Merrily and I still are friends.”
Bill Roberts: “Seeing the 1969 Winter Carnival dragon with flames coming from its nostrils!”
John de Regt: “How crisp and clear everything was when it was very cold. Didn’t matter day or night, just stepping outside, taking that first breath and feeling the cold was best for me.”
Larry Elia: “I have a very clear memory of walking across the Green on my way to an early class and figuring out that ice crystals formed inside my nose only when the temperature was 5 degrees or lower.”
Neal Traven: “Walking to my dorm on a dead-still, minus-25-degree night after a midnight shift on WDCR, I turned around and saw my breath hanging in the air, all the way back to Robinson Hall.”
Dan Cooperman: “Walking alone on campus late at night after a new snowfall with the moonlight reflecting off the snow: the silence, stillness and solitude.”
Thanks to everyone who shared!
Sadly, I have to report that John E. Rutledge and Stephen Alan Hill have both passed away recently. Our condolences go out to their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time!
—David Hetzel, 5 Chestnut St., Windham, NH 03087; dghetzel@gmail.com