The sun shone bright on September 9 as it has on the class of 1953 for 62 years since we first ventured into the Dartmouth continuum. Glistening brightly on this lustrous afternoon and welcoming its benefactors stood the rebuilt, refurbished, reborn Class of 1953 Commons, the latest jewel in the Dartmouth community. Seventy-five classmates and 40 wives and eight widows of our classmates convened to celebrate the dedication of this beautiful new facility. Taking a tour of the building we entered through the imposing entrance, which took us to the magnificent Paul Donnelly Paganucci conference room with its superb leather tapestries and warm woods. To the right is the cozy Donald Carpenter Goss nook. Between them and upstairs expand numerous dining rooms, their varied ambiance decorated in accordance with student suggestions. Together with a dazzling array of food stations this wonderful new facility provides for the enrichment of student life and cultural enlightenment, a far cry from the metal tray, one-choice-fits-all dining which greeted us in 1949.


President Jim Kim, Dean Charlotte Johnson and Steve Mandel ’78 enthusiastically accepted the facility for the College with thanks to the class, especially singling out Bob Simpson, Donald Carpenter Goss, Phil Beekman, Bob Henderson, Bob Malin, Chuck Reilly, Andy Sigler and Fred Whittemore in addition to Marilyn and Paul Paganucci. Priyva Krishna ’13 thanked the class on behalf of the Dartmouth students. President Kim presented a metal tray salvaged from our days in Freshman Commons to Allen Collins as well as to other members of the charitable trust’s board of trustees. After a lovely reception, during which we had the opportunity to visit the various food stations, we enjoyed a delightful dinner.


As we departed after dinner, the sun had already set on September 9 but will shine for generations to come on the Class of 1953 Commons.


I close this joyous column once again on a very sad note. The heart and soul of our class, Donald Carpenter Goss, a man who reached out to everyone in our class, the beacon which guided our class, succumbed after a 30-year battle with health problems. Our most sincere empathy and sympathy goes out to Lillian and their children and grandchildren.


—Mark H. Smoller, 4 Schuyler Drive, Jericho, NY 11753; (516) 938-3616; dartmark@gmail.com