A Reunion Thank You From
The DOC House Restoration Committee
Dear Classmates,
In the afterglow of our marvelous 50th Reunion, and thanks to the generosity of so many of you who have stepped up in support, we are delighted to report that we have now reached the $2 million mark on our way to the $3 million required to fully fund our Class of 1969 legacy gift: the restoration and renovation of the historic DOC House located at the north end of Occom Pond. (We have 162 donors so far representing 23% of our class.)
Those of you who attended our reunion and the events held on site at the DOC House can surely vouch for the worthiness of this project. For those of you unable to attend, have a look at what we are doing by clicking here.
Make sure to click on the e-book link to get the full story:
VIEW BOOK
Here’s the shorter version:
The Dartmouth Outing Club House, proudly built in 1929 as a gift from the Class of 1900, is a landmark structure historically celebrating the great outdoors while serving as a gateway to the North for the entire Dartmouth community. Beautifully located between the far north end of Occom Pond and the golf course, it has offered an idyllic gathering place for hikers, cross country skiiers, ice skaters, snowshoers, tobogganers, golfers, and anyone with even a passing interest in outdoor activity. Its wood burning fireplaces, grand meeting room, curated library, changing spaces, rental equipment shop, and food service facilities have provided a wonderful social setting for students to meet up, to embark upon and recover from year round outdoor activities, and to embrace the spiritual uplifting of outdoor life. Particularly in winter, when Occom Pond becomes an ice palace for skaters and the golf course transforms into a snowy wonderland for cross-country skiiers and snowshoers, the DOC House is uniquely positioned to encourage the college’s undergraduate and graduate communities to get out day and night to enjoy the unparalleled beauty of the full Dartmouth experience.
On the eve of its 90th anniversary, the Dartmouth Outing Club House is at a critical juncture. Having served generations of students, as well as countless thousands of alumni, faculty and staff of the College and similar numbers of Hanover and Upper Valley residents in myriad ways over the years, it has sadly degenerated into a dim gray shadow of its former self through years of deferred maintenance, rendering it structurally dilapidated and largely unequipped to serve either its originally intended purposes or more modern usages. This marvelous legacy gift from the Class of 1900 was in danger of being tragically lost forever.
But no longer!
In recognition of our 50th Reunion and the 250th anniversary of the College, the Class of 1969 has joined in spirit with our predecessors in the Class of 1900 to fund the restoration and renovation of the DOC House in order to ensure that generations to come will continue to enjoy the comfort and hospitality of this unique resource.
Dartmouth’s greatest competitive strengths and distinct differences must surely include (1) providing the finest undergraduate education anywhere; and (2) having direct access to the great New Hampshire and Vermont outdoors from one of the country’s most beautiful campuses. A restored and renovated DOC House will add to this unique strength and further highlight this distinct difference.
If you are inclined to join us in this effort, click here to do so online or reach out to any one of us via return email, and we will get back to you in person. We are particularly interested in speaking with any of you motivated to join our committee.
Let’s do this together!
Have a great Fourth of July weekend.
The Class Gift Committee
Andy McLane (Chair)
Sandy Alderson
Henry Allen
Jeff Bloomberg
Dimitri Gerakaris
Tom Hunt
Bill Kneisel
Greg Lau
John Mathias
John Myers
Jim Staros
Paul Tuhus
