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L to r: Robert L. Kelly, William
Rosser, Max Schiebel, and Milton H. Medenbach
Photo by Jay Van Rennselaer
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I was seated just a few tables away (with the relative youngsters
from the Class of '49--more on them next issue), and I couldn't
help but feel that the stalwart crew of '29ers has given new
meaning to the words "loyalty" and "longevity." These men remain
admirably active and mentally agile. One, a physician from North
Carolina, just gave up piloting his own plane a year ago; another
nonogenarian and his wife regularly attend all out-of-town
Hopkins lacrosse games. Four members of the class were game
enough to march in the traditional Reunion parade, which wound
around Homewood Field during halftime of the Blue Jays'
victorious lacrosse match-up against Navy. The quartet of '29ers
(above) brought up the rear of the procession, and when they came
into sight all the Hopkins fans in the stands rose to their feet
to give an enthusiastic ovation.
Banks himself was a little surprised at how well he and his
Hopkins classmates have held up over the years. He told me it
might have something to do with the adversity they faced early
on. "The bottom fell out of everything just when we were
graduating," he says. "At least half of the class couldn't get
jobs. There was a feeling among our generation that this couldn't
possibly last very long, so some of us shipped out on freighters
to go around the world. We figured that by the end of our trip,
life would be back to normal. Quite the contrary." He laughs a
little ruefully, then adds, "We were better off than if life had
been too easy for us. A battle helps to build you a little
bit."
Clearly, the Hopkins campus has changed immensely over the past
seven decades, but the changes don't seem to faze Banks--or at
least not much. He cherishes an aerial photo taken when he
arrived as a freshman in 1925; there were just three academic
buildings and one dorm. "We had a similar photo taken at our 50th
reunion--the campus looks like downtown Manhattan!" While
acknowledging that the build-up has been necessary, the Class of
'29er says a little wistfully, "The [early campus] was more
romantic."
After a year spent planning the momentous get-together, Banks
confided that he feels a little let down. "The last two weeks
I've been wondering what to do next," he says. "I guess I've got
to volunteer to organize our 75th!"
Sue De Pasquale,
Editor
RETURN TO
JUNE 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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