WINTER 1973
R. Alden Burt "Experience ·A Good Teacher" A biographical sketch Born to Mildred P. and Clarence A. Burt December 11, 1921 in Hanover, New Hampshire ... a boy, R. Alden Burt. Dick, as he soon came to be known, was an only child and as a result was involved in many so litary activities. Dick had what he termed "a pretty normal" ch ildh ood during his early years in Vermont. He attended the first eight grades at the one room Rice's Mills School in Thetford, Vermont. Whe n he reached high school his problems began. He didn't see the se nse of it al l. He was very interested in art and hard outdoor work; the Randolph, Vermont school didn't offer much of e ith er. Dick str uggl ed through one year of high schoo l, but in his seco nd year, at the age of fifteen, dropped out and left home . Most Vermont boys w ho left home traveled south , but the South didn't appeal to you ng Mr. Burt. He ·e nd ed up in Upton, Maine work in g as a cook's helper in the Great Northern Paper Company Logging Camp. One evening short ly after he began his job the head cook disappeared. This marked the beginning of Dick's short career as a cook. He had arrived at camp in ear ly w inter and took over the cook's duties, doing "an adeq u ate job" through the winter months. At the e nd of the co ld w inter season yo ung Burt was convinced of one thing; he had no interest in the lumbering indu stry and would not return to a simi lar position again. From Maine Dick decided he wo uld now move south. He e nd ed up in Boston where he quickly found a job with the A.S. Campbe ll - Cellow Manufacturing Company. His job was running a machine. Dick describes his daily duties as "Running metal into one end of a machine which produced a completed auto number plate holder from the other end." The job wasn't very challenging and certain ly not interesting. As a result, Dick became restless and qecided to look for another position. Wh il e work in g for Campbe ll - Ce llo w, he saw an ad in the company newspaper, advert ising for a chauffeur. He had to stretch his age just a bit to be cons id ered for the job . After considerable age stretching and some good sample driving, Burt was hired by Mr. A.S . Campbell, owner of the Company, as his personal chauffeur. Dick en joyed th is position whic h he held for three and a half years. Mr. Burt remembers Mr. Campbel l as a pleasant man w ith one bad habit that was cured during a trip from Mr. Campbe ll 's home in Duxbury to a business appo in tment in East Boston. Mr . Campbe ll had the bad habit of g ivin g directions at the last moment. Burt wou ld be driving along when sudden ly Mr. Campbe ll would order, "Right here ." This usually meant that Burt would have to pass the street or road where he sho uld h ave turned, if he we re expected to make a safe maneuver. Burt wou ld then turn the car around to the other direction and make the turn requested by Campbe ll. Dick decided something had to be done about this bad habit. On the way hom e from East Boston, Mr. Campbe ll ordered another quick stop. Burt slammed on the brakes. Mr. Campbel l ended up in the front seat under the instrument panel whi le the car end ed up directly opposite a vegetab le stand. Altho ugh Burt received some "hot words" from his boss, Mr. Campbel l never again gave last minute directions. "He was alw ays careful to give advance notice from that day on!" said Burt. Young Burt's job ended sudd enly in South America. just three days out of Rio, Mr. Campbell died suddenly. Campbell was traveling with his chauffeur by ship. He had had the car shipped and intended to make severa l business contacts in Brazil. Mr. Campbell's sudden death left Burt in Rio once again, job hunting. The American Consulate was helpful in finding him a position w ith the Brazilian Air Ministry as a chauffeur again. There was one catch; he had to
Mr. Burt working with art student, Vance Katker.
provide the car, and cars were not inexpensive in South America. T hi s problem didn't stop young Burt who was now twenty. He purchased Mr. Campbe ll 's car and leased it to the Air Ministry and continued on as a chauffeur. He was in Brazil on ly a short time when he became aware th at he must reg ister for the draft. He returned home in the spring of 1940 and a few short months later, in November of 1940, was drafted. Dick Burt began his army training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. He e nd ed up in the infantry, as a foot sold ier, and was then sent to Fort Benning, Georg ia w here he took the OCS tests. After the tests, he began his pre-OCS tra ining and to quote Burt, "I washed out, but whi le in the process of being washed out, I received 18 months of 'bad time'." Mr. Burt says that he next "was volunteered to_ .the Army Air Force." No , he didn't vo lun teer; he :Vas vo lun teered. According to Burt, "Th is is when the Army's cho ice be co mes yours, whether you like it or not!" He was trained as an aeria l gunner.
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Cardigan's new Sno-Cat - See page 4.