TO T H E E DI TO R
Dear Editor, It was with great sorrow that I read of Dick Duden ’43’s death in the fall magazine. Dick was an early idol of mine, and probably the reason I went (read “was sent”) to Andover.
I was content to stay there. But several arguments with my parents wore me down, always capped with my mother’s punch line: “If it was good enough for Dick Duden, it’ll be good enough for you!”
In 1943, my family moved from Shaker Heights, Ohio, to Rye, New York. Renewing a long and deep friendship with my mother, Dick’s mother, Emma Duden, who was always “Aunt Emma’ to me, became a frequent weekend and holiday guest at our home in Rye. She lived alone in New York and worked at the corporate offices of the Hanes Hosiery Company. She seemed to enjoy these visits, as we all did, which could be at any time of the year. We shared her accounts of Dick’s successes at the Naval Academy. She was also a strong Andover booster and put this bee my mother’s bonnet.
I went to Andover as a lower in the fall of 1948. I played club football as a general purpose back that year and quarterbacked the JVA the next. I was invited back by [coach] Steve Sorota for early varsity practice in my senior year. We had two stellar running backs that year, my dear friend and classmate the late George “Pete” Gardere Jr. ’50, and junior Bob Kimball ’51. Another classmate and later Yale roommate, E. Leigh Quinn ’50, won the quarterback job. Fullback was supposed to belong to a large, fast, and talented junior, whose name escapes me, but he broke his ankle early on, and that job opened up. I worked my way into it, a process not aided by getting hurt approximately every other game.
Occasionally, Dick would come, and, for me, that was really something special. In the fall of 1945, he was captain of the Navy football team. He got a lot of national press both before and throughout that season as Navy challenged Army, with Blanchard and Davis, for national standing. I basked in reflected glory. I can remember a pre-season day when he visited, and I invited virtually every kid from the Milton School 7th grade to come over, meet Dick, and get his autograph, and play touch in our front yard. He got a kick out of that. He was good for tickets: that year we saw Navy play Penn at Philadelphia and Army in basketball at West Point. He never pushed Andover, but then he didn’t have to; Aunt Emma did. I was not enthusiastic when the issue of prep school came up. Rye High School started off well for me, and
Macro Mystery Can you identify the campus location of the photo below?
We were 4 and 2 going into the Exeter game. Exeter was supposed to be very good, with a highly touted ringer named Billy Wells, already admitted by Michigan State. I was physically fit and formally designated as the starting Andover fullback. I was scared stiff! Imagine my feelings when I received the following telegram the evening before the game:
If you think you know, send your answer to:
“Good luck against Exeter! Your friend, Dick Duden”
Congratulations to the winners of the fall 2013 Macro Mystery:
Thanks, Dude!
—Richard G. Bell ’50 Hamden, Connecticut
andovermagazine@ andover.edu
P.S. We cleaned their clock!!
Jing Qu ’13 (first correct answer) Richard G. Fullerton ’46
1949 Football Team Richard Bell ’50 is number 65, front row, far right.
ERRATA Fall 2013 In the “front cover” description on page 2, we should have identified Wang Zong of Beijing as the photographer. In “We, the People” on page 8, the website address was incomplete: the correct address is nosotroselpueblo.wordpress.com. And in the Class of 1948’s notes on page 64, Austin Brandt Graff ’s last name was left off. We apologize for these errors.
This striking emblem hangs above the front door of Benner House at 22 Salem Street. For many years, as Fullerton pointed out in his e-mail, Benner House was home to the Alpha Gamma Chi (AGC) secret society. The building, which also once served as a student snack bar, currently houses PA’s ceramics studio. If anyone can shed light on the origins of the emblem or the meaning of its elements, we’d love to hear from you!
Please share your thoughts with us Andover, the magazine of Phillips Academy welcomes your comments, suggestions, and involvement. Letters may be edited for length, grammar, and style. Please e-mail andovermagazine@andover.edu or call 978-749-4677.