Dartmouth Cream Ale

Dartmouth has had a long and storied history of alcohol consumption. According to legend, Wheelock came to Dartmouth with "a Gradus ad Parnassum, a Bible and a drum, And five hundred gallons of New England rum." Beer Pong was invented at Dartmouth, and Dartmouth fraternity antics inspired the movie Animal House.

It's no surprise then that Dartmouth would have its own brand of beer. Dartmouth Cream Ale was produced by the Commonwealth Brewing Co. in the late 80s and early 90s. The Commonwealth Brewing Co. was one of the first microbreweries in Boston, but has since closed.

The beer may be long gone, but the bottle still serves as great decoration.

Making the Grade

Making the Grade was a fairly mediocre 1984 movie starring Judd Nelson as a streetwise kid, Eddie, who finds himself attending a stuffy prep-school. The fish out of water plot is standard and could have used some editing, but the movie shines as a period piece that highlights mid-80s preppy style.

In this next clip, Eddie, who's been hired by the rich and lazy Palmer Woodrow III to replace him at school, must learn the basics of being a preppy from his sidekick Rand. (who kind of looks like Amir from CollegeHumor)

What follows is a tongue in cheek look at the way preppies dress.

Tri-Kap Men

I found these photos, dating from the 1940s, in the archives of Tri-Kap. They were part of a senior's book, which would have been given as a memento at graduation. Because of the war, Dartmouth students graduated early, and thus men of all years are represented here.

This fellow wears a classic Dartmouth sweater. Unfortunately, these days it's more likely to see this paired with sweatpants rather than a pair of wool trousers and a white collared shirt. On the back of the Photo, it says that dog's name is Duke.



The pipe and wool sweater lend an air of nonchalance to this photo.



'Ol Fuzzy's sweater and wool pants combination is timeless and relaxed. I also like his Indian head cane, which you can still buy today.



Playing cards in a striped suit and repp tie? You'd be lucky to see an outfit like this at a formal.



T-shirt and blazer? Probably the most informal photo of the lot. Reminds me a little bit of Miami Vice.



One final look at all the Seniors together.

The Dartmothian

As a proud Dartmouth student and amateur historian, I enjoy scouring the Internet for all things Dartmouth related. However, there are few websites that focus solely on Dartmouth's history, (Dartmo.com comes to mind as one of the better ones) and certainly not any that focus on the history of style at Dartmouth or life in Hanover.

With the resurgence in interest in the "Ivy Style" and the coming reprint of Take Ivy, it's fitting that Dartmouth should have a record of its traditions.

I leave you with a postcard of Kappa Kappa Kappa's "Parker House" that served as Tri-Kap's home from 1894 - 1923. It was later torn down by the College and Silsby Hall was built on its former location.