Class Note 1952. “The class of 1952, top-ranking scholastically among the postwar classes at Dartmouth and also the first to be composed largely of non-veterans, ended its undergraduate course with Commencement on Sunday morning, June 8.” Those were the opening words of the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine’s July 1952 report on our Commencement weekend in 1952. It only got better: “1952 called attention to itself by achieving the highest first-year scholastic average in modern Dartmouth history.” During the three-day celebration of our graduation, selected class leaders Dorn McGrath, Sam Daniell, Harry Goldsmith, Alan Reich, George von Peterffy, Evan Nelson, Buck Zuckerman, Allan Gschwind, Bob Brace,and Lee Coulter participated in the ceremonies with prepared contributions. Now, only two of those men are still with us, Harry Goldsmith and Bob Brace. Bob summed it up elegantly in 1952 with these remarks to President John Dickey, “For four years this class has been a sizable part of what you refer to as the stuff of the institution. It is with no hesitation that I say we will, as alumni, continue to be the stuff with which an even better Dartmouth can be made. As for the four years just passed, I think I speak for the whole class when I say these have been, and perhaps always will be, the years we will like to remember best.” Now, here we are, some 74 years later, getting ready to celebrate our 75th and final official class reunion in a little more than one year. We have not disappointed ourselves or our alma mater. We hope it will be possible for a representative number of our classmates to join us in Hanover the last weekend in September 2027. Details will be coming during the next few months. Stay well, stay safe, and stay in touch. The full text of the alumni magazine 1952 Commencement report is available. If you would like a copy, contacts are below. Finally, we regret to report the passing of Charles Queenan of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
—William Montgomery, 11 Berrill Farms Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-0260; wmontgod52@aol.com