1931 Spends Day at Essex County Club With Swimming, Tennis, Golf and Talk

After fulfilling the typical intellectual duties of the "old grad" Monday night at "Pops", the Class of 1931 turned to the Essex County Club yesterday to indulge in the more informal pleasures usually associated with twenty-fifth reunions.

The exodus from Cambridge was accomplished with a maximum of confusion as a fleet of chartered buses rumbled the Class to Manchester by the cold blue sea for a day at one of New England's finest country clubs.

The orange mammoths deposited their cargo at the Essex County Club shortly after 10 a.m., and the Class straggled for the various available activities. Sitting and talking took first preference, although a few stalwarts managed to find their way onto the 12 tennis courts. Still others did battle 'mid the roughs and sandtraps of the club's golf course.

No sooner had the activities gotten under way when several of the orange machines--"shuttle buses" according to the Reunion Guide--began to rumble, signalling a departure for the nearby North Shore beaches, or, for the more passive members of '31, the Manchester Yacht Club, where boat trips explored the "scenic coast" of the North Shore.

Youth and Age

Age and youth were kept apart at the beaches, as the parents went to Singing Beach while the "Intermediates and Juniors" invaded Magnolia Beach. Such a highly suspect move as that of breaking up the family could not last long, and the wound was repaired by noon, when a family luncheon was served in the huge big-top tents behind the clubhouse. Save for a few ants the chicken salad was fine, and for those who could master the wily lobster the meal was doubly successful.

Shortly after lunch, the fathers and sons took to the softball field to determine the inroads of 25 years' athletic inactivity. Partly because of the fact that drinks were free and partly because of the accumulation of the years, the fathers succumbed, 7 to 6, in a game highlighted by the lungpower of the umpire.

On the main tennis court, a large group of spectators watched an exhibition doubles match which featured Mrs. Midge Buck, one of the top women players in New England. The match was only occasionally interrupted by balls flying in from the courts of less proficient tennis enthusiasts.

Swimming, golf and tennis resumed shortly after lunch for those who could still boast of undiminished vigor, and a few even managed to engage in driving and putting contests.

Blurting Beach

By far the most entertaining feature of the afternoon was the public address system, hopefully blurting out progress reports on the loading of the orange "shuttle buses":

"Bus for Singing Beach is leaving ... last call for Singing Beach.... Singing Beach, going, going ... last call for Singing Beach, enjoy the beautiful sands of New England's finest resort area ... bus about to leave for Singing Beach ... bus for Singing Beach will leave in a few minutes ...," proving that truth is funnier than fiction.

In the late afternoon, the Band arrived to perform a half hour of selections for those around the clubhouse. At 6 p.m. dinner was served, and by 7 p.m. the orange buses had returned to carry '31 to the North Shore Music Theatre, where the Class saw a special performance of "Kismet.