Class Note 1943

It was January 6 as I wrote this, and I was watching the Golf Channel. My phone rang and I saw the name “Doc” Fielding on the screen. He was calling to wish me a happy New Year and I reciprocated. He sounded just fine in Massachusetts, and I told him, “It’s 60 degrees here in sunny northern California.” According to the San Francisco Chronicle that day, it was 37 degrees in Boston.

What a joy it was to hear from a favorite ’43. We reminisced about bygone days. I reminded Doc about our first dinner at our 70th reunion at the Hanover Inn: At our table were Doc and his date; my daughter, Carol, and her husband, Tommy; Bob Ehinger; Henry Keck and his significant other; and myself. Henry regaled us with his inventive stories, pure genius at our table. One story led to another, and who there will ever forget variety night and jam sessions in front of Robinson Hall and Webster Hall? Who was the talkative master of ceremonies? You’re right, our own Doc Fielding! One wag lately told Doc, “Thanks for a great show. We ran out of gas ration coupons so had to settle for your act.”

Doc and I reflected on our 55th reunion (or was it our 60th?), when Doc and his Suzie mesmerized everyone (including those in the classes of ’38 and ’48) with their song and dance, corny stories, and wonderful entertainment in the Hopkins Center. Then two banjo-playing ’38s brought down the house by leading us all in singing golden oldies from the 1930s and 1940s. What a night for all the old-timers!

We were seniors during the summer of 1942, when the College instituted classes so we could graduate six months early, in December 1942. They were accelerated programs due to WW II. The U.S. and Allied forces were losing on all fronts. Gas ration coupons were impossible to get. Hanover became a Navy town as 900 midshipmen arrived—90 days later to become ensigns bound for wartime duty. President Hopkins announced that the total student body was 1,984, the lowest in 20 years. Dartmouth’s newest objective: Prepare students for service in the nation’s armed forces.

Thanks for your phone call, Doc. You made my day!

Our class sends heartfelt condolences to the family of Oliver “Ollie” Lazare, who died on December 12, 2019, in Scarsdale, New York.

—George Shimizu, 2140 Sepulveda Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035-6142; (925) 937-2504; marymariko@comcast.net