’Tis the season, our first snow has fallen and our class has responded in kind. On December 7, 33 classmates, wives and widows of classmates enjoyed lunch at the Yale Club. All were delighted to see Fred Whittemore,who with son Ted read his poem, “On Turning 80.” Len Gochman sang and was joined in two verses of “Men of Dartmouth” by the group. Many thanks to Cathy Callender for arranging the event with help from Bob Malin. Not to be outdone, our group in Hanover, 36 in all, gathered on December 16 at Kendal under the aegis of Put Blodgett and Harlan Fair. They included some members of the classes of 1952 and 1954. As usual, good feelings prevailed, lunch was delicious and everyone returned home happy. Though we surely enjoy a good party, we are still busy with other things. Peter Bridges, our prodigious writer of essays and books, has alerted me to classmate Dan Ernst’s new book., The Diplomat and his Daughter. The subjects of the book are Alfred Pearson, U.S. minister to Poland and Finland in the 1920s, and his daughter, Thea Elaine Pearson Ernst, who at 20 went to Europe and served as his diplomatic hostess. Minister Pearson incidentally was Dan’s grandfather. What makes the book unique is that Dan has drawn upon the diaries of both Alfred and Thea in documenting and describing Europe after World War I. Allen Collins, in announcing Dave Siegal’s demise, wrote, “There is no one in the class of 1953 who committed more time, effort and devoted excellence to the chore of ensuring that the rest of us were well informed, organized at our many reunions and well fed and cared for at dozens of Hanover mini-reunions. The absence of David’s indomitable presence and spirit will leave a huge hole in the fabric of the class of 1953.”

Unhappily, I must end this by recognizing and announcing the loss of the following dear classmates Donald Bigham, Robert Douglass and David Siegal. On behalf of our class, I offer our most profound condolences.

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