Class Note 1945
Issue
May-June 2023
This month I attended a heartwarming celebration for Bob Gaudet ’81, the recently retired men’s hockey coach at Dartmouth. A multitude of thanks and inspiring words of praise from a host of speakers filled the festive evening. Coach Gaudet spent 23 years leading the Big Green and finished as the all-time win leader with 331 wins, surpassing the great Eddie Jeremiah, who coached the men of 1945. This gathering of the hockey community reminded me of another heartwarming moment and one of my favorite Dartmouth stories. It involved your classmate Murray Smart.
In 2014 I was vice president for alumni relations. I sent out a digital holiday greeting created by Pilobolus, the dance company founded at Dartmouth, to all Dartmouth alumni. One day the phone rang, and it was a friendly voice who had called to thank me for my email. When I asked what class he was, and he said 1945, I told him that was one of my two favorite classes, 1945 and 1976! He suggested that I probably say that to all alumni. I assured him that was not true. I went on to tell him that my dad was a ’45 and I am a ’76. My new friend asked me what my dad’s name was. It turned out that Murray and my dad played on the same sophomore hockey team and had the great fortune of being coached by Jeremiah. A couple of days later, by special delivery, I received a beautifully framed black-and-white team photo with the following notation: “Your dad is second from the left in the back row, and I am third from the right in the back row.” I did not have the chance to meet Murray in person, he passed away in 2016, but I still have the photo hanging in my house alongside other Dartmouth treasures. It constantly reminds me of the remarkable Dartmouth fellowship we all share. My best wishes as you enjoy the warmer days ahead. Please send me news of your 100th birthday celebrations!
—Martha Johnson Beattie ’76, 6 North Balch St., Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 667-7611; mbeattie76@gmail.com
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In 2014 I was vice president for alumni relations. I sent out a digital holiday greeting created by Pilobolus, the dance company founded at Dartmouth, to all Dartmouth alumni. One day the phone rang, and it was a friendly voice who had called to thank me for my email. When I asked what class he was, and he said 1945, I told him that was one of my two favorite classes, 1945 and 1976! He suggested that I probably say that to all alumni. I assured him that was not true. I went on to tell him that my dad was a ’45 and I am a ’76. My new friend asked me what my dad’s name was. It turned out that Murray and my dad played on the same sophomore hockey team and had the great fortune of being coached by Jeremiah. A couple of days later, by special delivery, I received a beautifully framed black-and-white team photo with the following notation: “Your dad is second from the left in the back row, and I am third from the right in the back row.” I did not have the chance to meet Murray in person, he passed away in 2016, but I still have the photo hanging in my house alongside other Dartmouth treasures. It constantly reminds me of the remarkable Dartmouth fellowship we all share. My best wishes as you enjoy the warmer days ahead. Please send me news of your 100th birthday celebrations!
—Martha Johnson Beattie ’76, 6 North Balch St., Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 667-7611; mbeattie76@gmail.com