News & Notes from '33

November 27, 2007

The Class of '33 has lost another one of their extraordinary people. We received a note from his wife Norma Jean , saying that John Harmon had passed away. We feel very sad as we had much communication with him. He wrote many of the articles that you see on these pages, and he was a great and faithful member of the Class of '33. He will be missed by all.

On the day that John passed away, his son announced the birth that evening of Gabriel Robert Harman, who would be John's 8th great-grandchild. Although it was sad that the family lost John, they gained Gabriel.

September 30, 2007

There is a wonderful article about Josh Billing '33 from Vanderbilt University's Medical School. Click here to read the article.

September 27, 2007

The Classes of '33, '58, and '08 have received an invitation from the Class of '83 to the party that they are throwing preceding the Hampton game on Saturday October 6, 2007. The game starts at 3:30 pm, giving us plenty of time to party. The game will be televised CN8, so come out and show your spirit and your colors. Thanks to '83 for including us, and it would be great if we could get a good turnout from '58 on the scene. If the weather cooperates and we can wear our Reunion jackets, I think '83 would get a kick out of it. The party starts at 1:30 PM. More details to follow.

September 26, 2007

Princeton has lost a great Princetonian. We received the sad news that Josh Billings '33 has passed away. To all of us who had the great privilege of knowing him, it is a real loss. He was a wonderful person who did great things for Princeton, for medicine, for his family, and for all of us who had the privilege of spending time with him. He was a very special person.

September 26, 2007

Good things come to those who wait! For years we have been hoping that the Class of '83 would adopt our Reunion jacket, and just today we received the good news. Your humble servant has been extremely quiet on this matter, and has asked classmates not to push '83, as "they will not be pushed." It all worked out - they are going to adopt the jacket. Now '33, '58, and '83 will now be wearing the same Reunion jackets - how exciting! As a further note, the Class of 2008 is very interested in the pattern. Wouldn't that be wonderful! I remember when we first walked on campus at our 25th with our jackets, how thrilled '33 was to see that we had adopted theirs. Over the years we have become extremely close to that wonderful class. It's been a privilege, and now the torch will be passed to '83. How wonderful!

January 3rd, 2007

Although we usually don't announce those situations where a Classmate in '33 has passed away on these pages, the loss of Burton H. Etherington on December 16th needs to be noted as he was so involved with this class. He was Past President and Treasurer, and served the Class of '33 for many years

December 31st, 2006

To end the year on a high note we are most pleased to report that Ernie Chamberlin has made an amazing recovery-Mary reports they had a lovely 70th anniversary- and there are good things ahead.

December 28th, 2006
Dear Dave,

You asked about the origin of the Class of 1933’s beer jacket design and here is what I can report. One might first ask "What and why is a beer jacket?" Well, in those early days 3.2% alcoholic content beer was legal, and as graduation time and reunions approached there was adequate cause for celebration with a bit of the foamy. If some spilled, it would be great to have a casual, square-cut, no-nonsense jacket made of what felt like a surplus piece of white canvas. In addition, a knowledgeable chemistry major might strengthen the brew with a few drops of pure ethanol. Please note I specified ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘might’ which eliminates any speculation of involvement on my part.

But you asked about history, and here’s the real background, as reported in the August1990 issue of the Class of 1933 Summer Newsletter:

"Our beer jacket design stirs memories. Burt Etherington recalls the competition held in 1932 when he, as President, had to select the winning entry. Happily there were only a few to judge. Bob Guinn received a $ 10.00 prize for his contribution. One by Ogden Kniffen was just the cow. Another by Sy Morris was the ring with the symbols. Burt combined the two, putting the cow inside the ring, and wrote the caption: "1933, the Cream of the Crop; No Bull; There’s No Udder Like It".

The symbols in the circle:

P-JGH-KF+HOC= Princeton minus John Grier Hibben minus Keene Fitzpatrick plus Herbert O. Crisler.

H shaking hands with P = in 1933 we made up with Harvard

M.V.O = Major victories none.

Empty money bag needs no explanation."

A copy of the beer jacket design follows on the next page.

In conclusion, those of us from ’33 shall lift a stein in recognition of your clarifying this important historical event, and again propose a toast of friendship and appreciation to the Great Class of 1958 !

Oops………..I just spilled a bit on my beer jacket !

As ever, John

July 18 th , 2006
Ernie Chamberlin is recovering from a number of rather serious surgeries, but he is in good spirits. Mary reports that his magnificent personality keeps shining through. Quite a statement from his wife who will have been married to Ernie for 70 years on November 1st! They are both very pleased with Meadowood, a place that they found through John and Frances Dorrence. Most of you in the Class of 1933 know that Ernie and John were best friends from childhood, went to Princeton together, and met again when both of them moved into Meadowood. What a wonderful coincidence.

The Chamberlins are also extremely grateful that Judy and David Neave, who you have seen accompany Ernie to Reunions many times, have moved within 10 minutes of Meadowood, so they are frequent visitors. Ernie and Mary deserve the best, and having their family nearby is a dream come true.

June 29th , 2006
Today, while driving to New Haven, my cell phone rang : "Hi David, this is Josh" , and the rest of the conversation was memorable - I remember every single word. The call was from Josh Billings, the Secretary of the Class of 1933, just keeping in touch. He is an extraordinary man ; you may remember we wrote about his appearance and photograph on the front page of the New York Times a few years ago as this venerated surgeon kept up with the Class of '33 . We have grown attached over the years . We were supposed to get together recently, but our calendars did not mesh. We will, however, see each other at the Harvard Game. Josh wanted to make sure I would be there. So course I will ; and please join me and say hello to all of '33 there ; they are fantastic . In case you have not noticed, we have been close to this class for almost 25 years, starting when we adopted their jacket at the strong urging of Bill Fortenbaugh for our 25th. That , and many other things , have forged a real bond between our two classes. Now in just two years, we will be the 50 year Class, with our hope that '83 will be adopting the jacket at their 25th Reunion as well in 2008. That will really be fantastic.

March 19th, 2006

Read the Spring 2006 edition of the '33 Tiger Cub Newsletter!

A note from our wonderful friend, John Harman '33:

Dear David,

Sadly, I must report that because our class roll keeps getting smaller in size (we now have less than five percent of our original enrollment) it is time to end the publication of "The '33 Tiger Cub News" with the current distribution of the Spring '06 issue. Our class certainly appreciates and values highly the courtesy shown us by the Class of 1958 in reproducing our little newsletter on the '58 website; quite an honor indeed ! In the meantime, we hail 'The Great Class of 1958' for carrying on that indomitable Tiger Spirit , and send along three rousing cheers as well !!!
John Harman '33

July 13th, 2005

Click here for the Summer 2005 edition of the '33 Tiger Cub Newsletter!

From John Harman '33:

Regretfully, I must report that I understand no one from '33 made it back this year - and there were many who wanted to but were unable because of distance or physical limitations. Some were rarin' to go but still recovering from illness. Nevertheless, we were there in memory and in spirit, as the summer issue of the '33 Tiger Cub News recalls. Here's a big cheer from all of us in '33 to the Great Class of 1958!

January 30th, 2005

Click here for the Winter 2004 edition of the '33 Tiger Cub Newsletter!

July 12th, 2004

David,

Once more I feel unduly singled out for unearned praise in your most recent note on pages of the Class of 1958 website. At the risk of sounding unappreciative, however, I must report a couple of minor errors that undoubtedly resulted from my comments that were not sufficiently specific in our recent phone conversation.

My assignment for the next Tiger Cub News is a short report on some letters received from a few of the current recipients of 1933 Class scholarships, not a review of those who have received scholarships in the past and their accomplishments— that would be a book-sized undertaking ! My interest in the potential of the story was piqued when our class secretary, Josh Billings, forwarded some eighteen letters of appreciation he had received from current students who received scholarship aid. I didn’t know at that point I had seen only the “tip of the iceberg”. As I researched the matter further I found that in the ‘02-’03 school year alone, there were eighty-nine students who had been helped financially by Class of 1933 scholarships! The scope of my short review must, of necessity, be limited to just a few.

The other minor correction concerns my father, who was Editor and General Manager, not Publisher, of the Brooklyn Times-Union. The publisher was Fremont C. Peck, Jr. who incidentally, was another Princeton alumnus. The Times-Union was merged into the Brooklyn Eagle in the mid-thirties, with the Eagle becoming the surviving paper for about another decade, when it in turn, ended publication.

None of this justifies correction or further comment on your web page, but I wanted you to know the correct details, which obviously, I failed to state clearly in our phone conversation.

With best regards, and a big cheer for ’58,

                                                                                                        John Harman, ‘33

June 11th, 2004

Click here for the Summer 2004 edition of the '33 Tiger Cub Newsletter!

January 5th, 2004

The Winter 2003 edition of the '33 Tiger Cub Newsletter is now Online! Check it out!

January 1st, 2004

Dear David,
I feel unduly praised by all your kind words about our little '33 newsletter, and sincere thanks are due you, for recognition is always treasured by the lowly writer. Incidentally, I did check out the '58 web site and felt honored all over again by the high regard shown for the class of 1933 and the attention given "The '33 Tiger Cub News". In return I must reassure you that my classmates and I are most fortunate to have such good and loyal friends who share a common bond.

With best wishes to you and the Class of '58,
                                                                                                           John Harman Jr.'33

December 23rd, 2003

Be sure to check out this New York Times article published about the Great Strong Class of '33