Class Note 1942

Your class meteorologist sees the autumnal equinox approaching. When you read this, it will have passed. However, I must comment that after several heat waves in the 90s—climate change—today it does feel like fall.

I reached out to several of your classmates to gather some news. Jon Mendes says there’s nothing new with him, except I know he continues his daily walks around the reservoir in Central Park, weather permitting.

Stu Finch reports that he just had his 98th birthday, recently received a new aortic heart valve, and finally finished working on the Chernobyl research project involving the medical follow-up of the radiation-exposed cleanup workers.

Bob Gale reports he thinks about Dartmouth “every single day. It may not be about the education but the friendships.”

Bob reports that his book about Robert Frost is being printed. And would you believe he has just started a new book—might this be 66?—on the fiction of Frederic Remington (best known as painter, illustrator, and sculptor). Apparently artist wrote two novels and about 25 short stories—the best of which compare favorably with some writings of Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Stephen Crane. Bob, you continue to educate and amaze us.

I thank each and every one of you for your recent contribution to the Dartmouth College Fund. As you know, your unrestricted gifts help fund financial aid to students in need, hundreds of whom are the first in their families to attend college, and the faculty. Dartmouth consistently ranks in the Top 5 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching” in the “Best Colleges” edition of U.S. News & World Report.

Our class project—Dartmouth at War—lives on. It is awarded to ROTC graduates each year. It is a living legacy for our class.

For those of you football fans, on November 9 the Dartmouth-Princeton game will be played at Yankee Stadium, celebrating Dartmouth’s 250th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of the College’s football program. Tickets available at www.tickets.dartmouth.edu.

My closing reports the loss of two classmates in 2011 that we just learned about: Allen Hooker and James J. Mulligan. The class of ’42 belatedly sends condolences to their families. Jim Mulligan and Leo Caproni were roommates during freshman year.

—Joanna Caproni, 370 East 76 St., Apt. A 406, New York, NY 10021; caproni@aol.com