Bill Roberts reports that last summer he and his wife, Ingrid, went on their fourth Dartmouth alumni travel adventure. In July they landed in Stockholm, Ingrid’s paternal grandparents’ homeland. After two days of remarkable excursions there, including visits to the Nobel Prize banquet halls, a 17th-century warship, and two nights of sumptuous dining, they boarded a French ship for a Baltic Sea cruise with fewer than 200 passengers, including 10 wonderful Dartmouth alumni and spouses and Dartmouth professor Lynn Patyk. They visited Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Estonia, Visby on Sweden’s Gotland Island (with its intact medieval Old Town), Gdansk, and Copenhagen. In Denmark, Bill’s maternal grandfather’s homeland, they stayed with friends and visited Tivoli Gardens, Hamlet’s Castle, and author Karen Blixen’s home. One of their lecturers was Lech Walesa, who signed his book, which Bill had previously read! It was an extraordinary trip.

I also heard from one of our classmates who recounted a wonderful story about our own George Buesing. Some of you may remember George. He was a tall, handsome young man who excelled at many things while at Dartmouth. The classmate who wrote to me wants to remain anonymous to keep this short story focused on George. While I am glad to honor that request, I will also use the text of his email message to recount this lovely tale.

“George was a stellar athlete (football and crew), outstanding student (premed), and an extraordinary friend who always had time to chat, notwithstanding his busy schedule. After graduating he went to medical school. Just as he was about to graduate, he discovered that he had leukemia. Rather than continue with the specialty for which he was training, George spent the rest of his life providing medical care to drug addicts in Jersey City. George died on January 14, 1981. A fund was established to honor and preserve George’s memory and to provide financial assistance to needy Dartmouth students.”

I think many of us try to give back to our fellow man when presented with the opportunity to do so. But I dare say that most of our efforts would pale in comparison to the extraordinary service given by George Buesing so many years ago, even as he realized that his time on earth was short.

What our anonymous classmate did not want me to say is that he was the one who “got the ball rolling” to establish the George F. Buesing Memorial Fund mentioned above. And through the many gifts given by the Dartmouth community during the past almost 40 years, that fund has now grown to almost $73,000. Because it is used to provide financial assistance to Dartmouth students who meet the requirements of the College, George continues to serve those in need even though he has passed away.

If you knew George during his time in Hanover, drop me a line. And to our anonymous classmate, thank you ever so much for taking the time to brighten our world a bit.

Kind regards.

—David Hetzel, 997 State Blvd., Franklin, TN 37064; dghetzel@gmail.com