Letters to the Editor

Let's Hear it for Moose

An office colleague here at the Wildlife Conservation Society, your alumna Nancy Meyers Fischer '53, shared with me her copy of the Spring 2005 issue of the UNH alumni magazine, the issue with the wonderful article by Virginia Stuart: "The Not-So-Elusive Moose." You've got a great magazine there! I took great delight in its fascinating articles and the splendid photography. The moose article particularly interested me, as I'm an alumna of a certain other New Hampshire school, Dartmouth College. Dartmouth has been considering the venerable moose as a mascot of the impressive New Hampshire wilderness and Dartmouth's campus situated therein. (Currently we are, officially, still the "Big Green"—but the idea surfaces every once in a while as to whether or not we wish to 'mascotulate.') Many thanks for such an interesting read!

Fiona D.J. Bayly
New York, N.Y.

Photo Op

I am a UNH alumnus now living in Texas and plan to visit New Hampshire soon. I enjoyed the recent article about moose. Can you help identify places in New Hampshire where I might have a good chance to see and photograph moose?

Eino J. Lilback '64, '67G
Orange, Texas

Professor Pete Pekins '80G replies: The best bet is "Moose Alley" on Rt. 3 just beyond Pittsburg, N.H. There are a number of traversable dirt roads in Pittsburg that should produce a browsing moose or two in the early morning and late afternoon. Some other locations: Rt. 16 from Berlin to Errol; Rt. 16 above Errol before crossing into Maine in Wentworth Location, N.H.; Kangamangus Highway and Rt. 302 from Conway to Twin Mountain.

Poetry: The Sequel

I was truly impressed with the stunning collection of poems in the spring issue. And I don't believe I've ever read a more concise, accurate and moving description of what a poem is and does than professor Mekeel McBride's introduction. I know from personal experience that magazine layouts force an editor to make difficult space allocations and perform death-defying balancing acts, but I suggest you consider making Professor McBride a contributing editor and poetry selections a regular feature.

Rob Jacques '66G
Bainbridge Island, Wash.

Prepositionally Challenged?

I love the UNH Magazine, but as a person who makes a living writing, I may be more critical than most ... [and] I was disappointed when I read the introduction to the poetry section. Before even thinking about writing this letter, I verified with younger friends (some who teach English in high school) that "Who do we write to?" is still not grammatically correct. The rules about not ending a sentence with a preposition and "whom" being the objective form of "who" still stand, [thus it should have read] "To whom do we write?" I understand "poetic license," but it was not poetry. Even if the author did not catch the error, why didn't an editor?

Susan Knight '68
Remsen, N.Y.

Marvin Hewitt: The Epilogue

I read with some interest your article in the Winter 2005 issue about "Dr. Yates," the phony professor. I was a student in Yates' class with Wayne Overman '55G and four other graduate students. My wife and I lived at A1 College Road, one of a series of apartments that had been cut up from an old Army barracks. One night Wayne appeared at our door in a very agitated state with a wild story about Dr. Yates being an imposter. Wayne wasn't doing very well in the class and so I advised him to forget the whole matter. Wayne would not be placated, however, so I suggested that he go see Dr. John Lockwood, who was my faculty advisor and a kind and wonderful man. The next day, Dr. Lockwood stopped me and asked what I thought of Wayne's story. I said that Dr. Yates seemed OK to me and I didn't want any part of the whole affair.

One day, Dr. Yates announced that all the students except Wayne were doing well and would not have to take the midterm exam. It was obvious that he intended to make the exam so difficult that Wayne would fail the exam and flunk out. Wayne couldn't do any of the problems and went to the head of the physics department and the dean of the graduate school.

They confronted Yates, who admitted that he was not who he claimed to be. The head of the physics department then gave the exam that Wayne could not do to Dr. Lockwood (Ph.D. from Yale) and Dr. Hall (Ph.D. from Harvard) and neither of them could do the exam either. After the department reviewed our tests and work books and found the work was at the appropriate graduate level, we were given credit for the course. Thus ended the saga of the phony professor.

Marvin Hewitt, aka "Dr. Yates," was an amazing man. He would often come to the physics building in the evening and gather the graduate students around to discuss the obscure points of special relativity or the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. One of his hobbies was to write for romance magazines. When we laughed about this, he pointed out that he could earn $100 per article. In 1953 that was good money. He certainly added an interesting interlude to my time at UNH.

George G. Smith '54
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Tell Us What You Think

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