With thanks to Granthia Preston, who was kind enough to keep me up to date on the following, I can report that on Sunday, August 22, classmates and friends gathered at Moosilauke Lodge to celebrate the life of our past president, Put Blodgett. The setting for the gathering could not have been more fitting, as Put lived a life of service to Dartmouth and to the forests of Vermont. He has bestowed thousands of acres of his own forests to Vermont as grants to be protected and allowed to remain natural, as well as being instrumental in the building of this beautiful new lodge, providing the lumber as well as his expertise. It was a time to honor this self-effacing, altruistic ’53 Classmate of the Year. It was his wish that his son, Peter, host this happy event. There were many loving toasts to Put during the cocktail hour with stories about his exploits. Eighty-five people were on hand for the lobster and steak dinner, including Granthia and Harlan Fair, Cynthia and Dave Donovan, Dick O’Connor and his son, Helen Whyte and Ross McIntrye, Seth Carpenter, Marge Cooke, Marion Blodgett, Put’s five children, and Roger Gilmore ’54. For the past month I have had the pleasure of reading some books of professor emeritus Neil Isaacs. He has written a passel of books addressing serious academic subjects as well as whimsical musings, from books about sports and sport figures to a study of Tolkien. Two of his books which I have read to date are One Thing and Another Stories and Other Stories and Flirtations with Fame. I commend both to you for some fun reading. I look forward to reading another of his books, Innocence and Wonder: Baseball Through the Eyes of Bat Boys. Sadly, I end this column with condolences to the families of our dear classmates who have departed: William Wolff, Bruce Sherman, Juraj L.J. Slavic, Paul Corcoran, William Teare, Eugene Gabianelli, Phil Parshley, and Peter Bridges.

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