New England into Canada
(Post-Reunion Excursion)

     Our trip to the Class of 1961 50 th Reunion, and then our visit in Halifax proved to be two weeks of persistent activity. Needless to say, when we returned home on Tuesday the 21 st we were two weary travelers, but had seen people and visited places that made the trip both nostalgic and rewarding.

     An early morning flight on Tuesday the 7 th out of Gulfport connected from Atlanta to Boston, with arrival just after noon. Enterprise put us in a nice Chevrolet Impala and we headed north for Grantham, NH. Arrival found our classmate and host, Tom Conger, waiting at his home, with conditions quite different from what F. J. had experienced in January when he visited: Where’s the snow?! The weather was also HOT – as in NH “hot” that is, in the high 80s/low 90s – but then the rains came. Wednesday was shopping day at the Co-op for gumbo makings, but the shrimp, crabmeat and dressed crabs had come with us in a trusty Coleman cooler. Kathy and Tom (self-dubbed souse [sic] chef) prepped and cooked the gumbo through most of Wednesday for the “Gumbo Feast” planned for that night. As the aroma filled the chalet that is Tom’s Eastman home, friends began gathering in a makeshift Looziana setting for a delightful trip to New Orleans via food – gumbo and key lime pie with fixings. The gang included local residents John & Nancy Walters ’62, and the ‘61s: Reunion master Maynard & Sandy Wheeler, Gim & Eileen Burton, Roach & Puddin’ Roussel (who trekked all the way from New Orleans to have gumbo in NH– and attend the reunion), Glenn Gemelli, tc – and us. The McElhinneys (Jim & Patti), arriving the next day from Denver, missed the feast but found a way to sample the leftovers.

     Thursday AM found us at Ellie’s in New London (becoming a tradition) for a New Hampshire breakfast (we were too late, and had to settle for lunch), and then on to the beginning of the 50 th in the evening. To describe the reunion, with almost non-stop activities through the next five days, is difficult: Rev (Doberman) Cox’s inimitable “Passages” on two occasions, the memorial service at Rollins Chapel which remembers those who remain in our Dartmouth spirit, panels led by Mike Gazzaniga (brain science and free will) and Steve Bosworth (foreign affairs)– ambassador to the Philippines when Marcos was overthrown and now envoy to North Korea, Dean of Fletcher School at Tufts University, and shared Ma Saboski’s off-campus house during our junior year; social events (Dartmouth students past and present do consume some alcohol) at various locations (e.g. Occom Pond, Moore Hall and Hopkins Center), David Birney & Michele Roberge’s presentation of “Love Letters” as a Class of 1961 Legacy for the Performing Arts benefit, a class dinner on the lawn of Baker Library Friday evening (the only rain-free day we had), and a healthcare forum that highlighted Dartmouth’s new role in service delivery as a science. Add the gatherings of the 1961 footballers, ruggers, and a tribute to the late Fatz Miller at a local pub, and you might concur that the days were full. The really great thing about reunions (the 50 th in particular) is that you get to renew friendships from a half-century ago and meet classmates you know by name but have not really met personally – and they come with delightful accompaniment that have joined their lives after Dartmouth. Paths We’ve Taken – our 50 th yearbook – does indeed capture the lives of many of my classmates who chose to contribute – and have done such amazing things through their lives. (Oscar’s beloved) NylaArslanian supplemented the yearbook with “THE HERSTORY of Dartmouth ’61 which gave our ladies the chance to contribute as well. The Reunion ended with well-chosen remarks by Dean Thad Seymour (who informed us that he was 32 years old when we entered Dartmouth), now retired President of Rollins College and continues to live in Orlando, and a musical endeavor with substantial talent by classmates reinforced by the Aires (used to be the Injunaires, but PC “Big Green” has replaced our venerated mascot) that simply blew us away. With hugs and fond farewells, we ended the 50 th of the Class of 1961. We left behind substantial funds for the College to use wisely (with a renewed impression that President Kim will do just that) and a gift to the Class of 2011 that will be the foundation on which their support of the College can be built. Everyone knows: We never leave Dartmouth.

     (Tuesday AM found us heading north for St. Johnsbury, VT, before transiting upper New Hampshire... Next Tuesday we found Logan, after getting lost in Boston, and were home by 8.)