Dartmouth Mourns Passing of Craven Lay cock

Dean Emeritus, Beloved by Countless Alumni, Dies in 74th Year; Was Dean 21 Years; Graduates, Students, College Officers Pay Tribute to His Memory

CRAVEN LAYCOCK '96 ended one chapter of his Dartmouth life and began another of infinite duration when death took him suddenly from the College community on April 4. Stricken late at night by an internal hemmorhage, Dartmouth's beloved Dean Emeritus died the following morning at 5 a.m. at the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. His life had lasted for 73 years, by far the greater part of which had been devoted to the College as undergraduate, teacher, dean, and as evangelist of the Dartmouth heritage.

Dean Laycock's passing was mourned not only in Hanover by the official College but also in every quarter of the world where Dartmouth men learned of his death. Tributes and expressions of sorrow poured in upon Mrs. Laycock and the College, evidencing the unparalleled affection in which Dartmouth men of all ages held the Dean. Among these friends were classmates of 1896, former public speaking students, men whose undergraduate days occurred during the 21 years of Mr. Laycock's deanship, graduates of recent years who knew him as the mellow and somewhat legendary Dean Emeritus, and Dartmouth men of all periods who had become acquainted with him in a myriad of ways or who knew of his great devotion to the College and looked upon him affectionately as the living symbol of the Dartmouth spirit.

President Hopkins, away on a speaking engagement in the South, wired at once his feeling of great personal loss. "To the respect which I acquired for Dean Laycock as an undergraduate beginning in 1897 when I entered college, was later added my great affection and appreciation for him as an associate," he said. "I know how greatly he served the College and how much Dartmouth owes him. His death is a great personal loss and will be mourned by a host of Dartmouth men."

Dean Laycock's was a life of success achieved in the hard way. He was born in Bradford, England, on September 30, 1866, one of the youngest of 16 childen of John and Martha Berry Laycock. As a youth he worked in his father's Yorkshire textile mill and at the age of 14 crossed the Atlantic with his parents to settle in Canada. In 1881, the year after they reached North America, the Laycocks moved to Lawrence, Mass., where young Craven worked for seven years in the mills of the Pacific Corporation. The money saved during that period enabled him in 1888 to enter Tilton Academy at Tilton, N. H., to study for the ministry. It was at Tilton that he first met Miss Florence Hill, whom he was to marry in 1900.

Dean Laycock entered Dartmouth in 1892 and from the start showed marked ability as a public speaker and debater. He won his Phi Beta Kappa key and became a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Casque and Gauntlet senior society. Upon graduating in 1896 he was invited to remain at Dartmouth as public speaking instructor on the Evans Foundation. Four years later he was promoted to assistant professor of oratory and also for one year filled the additional post of instructor in public speaking and discussion at the newly established Tuck School. Professor Laycock and Miss Florence Hill were married at Tilton on April 19, 1900. The future Dean had been studying law in the Tilton office of Judge Fellows during the summers following his graduation from college, and in 1904 he was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar. He also took a year of post-graduate study with Professor Churchill of Andover to improve his already outstanding oratorical ability.

Oratory to Professor Laycock was the very substance of life and he delighted to teach it to the young men in his classes. His was the grand style of public speaking, and during the latter years of his life he had little patience with the growing neglect of delivery and manner. He once stated that "the finest message in the world does no good if people will not listen to you." The art of public speaking to him was the absolute control of voice and body, the sensing of the audience's frame of mind, the knowledge of when to provoke laughter, when to bring a hush, when to strike home. At another time the Dean stated that the one essential of a good speech was "to know when and how to shut up." His authoritative knowledge of public speaking and debate was put into two books of which he was co-author, Argumentationa?id Debate by Laycock and Scales, and Manual of Argumentation by Laycock and Spofford.

In 1910 the College elevated Mr. Laycock to a full professorship and awarded him an honorary Master of Arts degree. The following year he began administrative work as assistant dean, while still teaching, and gave up his Hanover law practice in order to have time for his new duties. In 1913 he took over the deanship to launch himself upon the colorful career which was to make him known as "The Dean" or "Craven" to every Dartmouth man of the next quarter-century. From the stern disciplinarian of his early years in office Dean Laycock gradually developed into the mellow second-father venerated by thousands of Dartmouth undergraduates, but he never varied his basic policy of dealing severely with sham and falsehood and of making every effort to help the man in trouble or the man who was willing to admit that he had done wrong.

More anecdote's cluster about the Dean than about any figure in recent Dartmouth history. One has to do with the time a student came into the Dean's office and asked to be excused so he could take his dog home and de-flea him. "Young man," the Dean is reported to have said, "you are the champion liar of Dartmouth College, and in recognition of that fact I'll excuse you." The boy protested, but the Dean waved him out. Later Dean Laycock learned that the student had told the truth, so he called him in the next day and apologized for his misjudgment.

Other stories relate how he loaned students money to pay for college damages, how he agreed to excuse the cuts of a Dartmouth student if he won his girl back from a Yale man, how he completely squelched a Norwich lady who telephoned about naked Dartmouth boys swimming in a brook behind her house, how he chortled over the alibi of the man who slid past the chapel door and failed to gain entrance before the deadline, how he was abashed at last by the student who clumped in and snorted that Dartmouth had become "the grandmother of men" by calling off classes during a blizzard that made it practically impossible to go outdoors. Whether these stories are entirely true or not, Dartmouth men love to tell them over and over, indicating again the warmth and depth of their affection. Even modern undergraduates have made the Dean the central figure of their chief superstition, courting good luck in examinations by rubbing the nose of the bronze bust of Dean Laycock which stands in Baker library as the gift of the Class of 1896.

During the year preceding his retirement in 1934 Dean Laycock was feted royally and sentimentally by alumni clubs throughout the land. The study of his Hanover home was almost entirely fillec' with gifts and tributes from admiring Dartmouth friends. Starting in November, 1933, he visited 28 alumni groups from the Atlantic to the Pacific, ending his tour in May, 1934. At the commencement exercises the following month the College gave the Dean its highest official honor by conferring upon him the Doctorate of Laws. A dramatic and emotional scene took place when the entire graduating class, as one man, arose with the retiring Dean and gave him an unprecedented ovation.

In conferring the degree, President Hopkins said: "In college work, the intelligent mind, when supplemented as is yours by the loving heart, is increased in worth beyond reckoning; and when under the domination of these you have gone forth to paint a verbal picture for constituencies near and far, yearning for a view of the changing College, your like as an artist has not been known and your persuasiveness as an evangelist has been beyond com- pare."

OLD SCHOOL ORATOR

In these words President Hopkins made reference to the unique role which Dean Laycock played as the beloved expounder of the traditions and ideals of the College. Always in demand at Dartmouth gatherings, the Dean as one of the evening's speakers was certain to pack Webster Hall for a student rally or to bring alumni out by the hundreds in the cities he visited. Dean Laycock as an undergraduate was present at the first Dartmouth Night in 1895 and in the 45 years to follow he gave many of his finest speeches at that traditional celebration. Thousands of Dartmouth men have roared at his jokes and have felt tingles go up and down their spines as he talked of the College in hushed or stirring tones. During the years after his retirement the Dean continued to take part in the Hanover celebrations of Dartmouth Night and also spoke to each entering class on the history and traditions of Dartmouth.

Dean Laycock since his retirement had also taken a keen active interest in alumni affairs of the College, even though he had relinquished his Alumni Council membership in 1934. He served as the faculty representative on the Council for a total of 15 years, being elected in 1915-16, in 1918, and for the period from 1921 until his retirement.

Dean Laycock's last years in Hanover were spent in happy leisure with his wife. He loved to walk and was seen taking his constitutional almost every day. More often than not, if he were in a busy part of town, he would be seen chatting genially with friends or striking up new acquaintances among the undergraduates. Reading was another of his favorite pastimes, and at the Graduate Club he was able to gather with his cronies and play bridge and cribbage to his heart's content. During the winter season in recent years Dean and Mrs. Laycock closed up their Rope Ferry Road house and lived at the Hanover Inn. There they held unending court as they met and talked with alumni and friends in the lobby or dining room and in their own hospitable quarters. It was in his winter home at the Inn that the Dean was fatally stricken on the night of April 3.

Surviving him are Mrs. Laycock and two daughters, Catherine, wife of Prof. Robert A. McKennan '25 of the Sociology department, and Helen, wife of Richard W. Olmsted '32 of New Haven, Conn. The McKennans, on leave of absence for the present semester, were traveling in the Southwest at the time of Dean Laycock's death and could not be reached until after the funeral service. Located finally in Santa Fe, they immediately started back to Hanover.

The funeral service in Rollins Chapel on Monday afternoon, April 8, was impressive in its simplicity. The College was still in recess, but hundreds of Dean Laycock's friends from the administration, faculty, students, alumni, and town gathered to pay last tribute to a beloved figure. Undergraduate ushers for the service were drawn from Palaeopitus, Casque and Gauntlet, and Delta Kappa Epsilon. The Rt. Rev. John T. Dallas, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, conducted the service, with the assistance of the Rev. Chester B. Fisk of the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, and officiated at the burial rites in the old Dartmouth cemetery, where lie other men famous in Dartmouth history.

CLASSMATES AT SERVICES

Honorary bearers at the funeral were Guy C. Richards '96 of Salem, Mass., class president; Harry D. Lakeman '96 of Portland, Me., class secretary; James C. Chandler '98 of Boston; Dean E. Gordon Bill; Dr. John F. Gile '16 of the Board of Trustees; and Prof. William F. Geiger '92. Active bearers were Dean Lloyd K. Neidlinger '23, Dean Robert C. Strong '24, Sidney C. Hayward '26, Robert O. Conant '13, Willard M. Gooding '11, and George C. Bray. Bishop Dallas delivered no eulogy but in his prayer gave thanks for the character and friendship of Craven Laycock. His prayer, in part, was as follows:

"Eternal Father, let us thank Thee for all those who have builded their life into Dartmouth College, for those whose skill has laid in the use of stones and bricks and mortar, for those who have given their money, for the poets and the dreamersand the scientists, for those who have directed, for those who have taught what Thou hast given them to teach. Let us thank Thee for those who have found within this fellowship, the adventure and the opportunity to make men. Especially let us thank Thee for Craven Laycock—for the humor which sparkled in his eye and which put gentleness on his tongue, for the fearlessness with which he met boys not yet made men, for the depth of his religion which would not let him speak too boldly of The Way, The Truth, and The Life, for his appreciation of hard work, for his loyalty to those with whom he worked, for his devotion to Dartmouth in Hanover and to Dartmouth at the ends of the earth, for his gift of speech with which he stirred the souls of men, and for his faith in youth.

"Let us bless Thy Name for his understanding of children and for his ability to talk with them, for his love of home and for those who made home a refuge from the world.

"In Thy Mercy, grant us to be worthy of his love, his friendship, and his memory."

Among the great outpouring of tributes to Dean Laycock was that by Dean Neidlinger, who succeeded him as Dean of the College and who learned from him many of the things which have enabled him successfully to carry on the tradition of the office. Dean Neidlinger said: "In the long years of service to Dartmouth College, Dean Laycock was the master of two great powers: the power to inspire and the power to convince. He made it his mission in life to understand young men, and to hold their confidence and respect; he loaned his heart as readily as his mind. Sympathetic, wise, persuasive, he enriched the lives of the generations of students and alumni who came within his influence by sharing with them his love of life and love of Dartmouth."

E. Gordon Bill, Dean of the Faculty, also paid tribute to his former administrative colleague. "Craven Laycock," he said, "had the rarest of all human qualities, wisdom. A character as fine and rugged as his Yorkshire heritage, a caustic wit that with the years had become softened, he was not one to initiate new programs; but his great wisdom made him more sought at the council tables of Dartmouth College than anyone else I have known."

A particularly close friend of Dean Laycock's in recent years has been Prof. William F. Geiger '92 of the Education department, who stated, in part, that "to have had an intimate association with him, to have known his kindliness, sense of humor, insight and understanding, and his courage—to touch upon those more tender sentiments that are so often concealed-was to have had an experience whose effect cannot be effaced. Some rare men have a lasting influence upon our lives. Craven was one."

SPUD BRAY PAYS TRIBUTE

George (Spud) Bray, who was the College inspector while Dean Laycock was in office, had daily contacts with the Dean and looked upon him as one of his true friends. His tribute gave remembrance to the Dean's never-failing consideration: "In this busy, troubled world, men nurse recollections of wrong, but soon forget the many kindnesses received. Not so with 'Craven.' He taught me the grand lesson of friendship, and from that came the fruits of gratitude. I was a private in the rear ranks of Dartmouth College who had 12 years of his never-failing consideration and kindness. The loss of this counselor and true friend is one that can never be replaced."

Alumni clubs, whose messages of loyalty Dean Laycock had read at many a Dartmouth Night celebration, within a few hours after they heard of his death began to send wires to Hanover. This time it was not the institution in whose name the

messages were written and sent; it was the symbol, sacred to many men, of one whose life was synonymous with the name of the College. From the Pacific Coast, from the Northwest, from Chicago, from cities large and small in the East and throughout the country, came moving tributes to "Craven."

At a concert by the Dartmouth Glee Club in St. Louis on April 6, Dartmouth Undying was sung in memory of his passing. The Dartmouth men in Georgia called the Dean the "loyal friend and wise counselor to generations of Dartmouth's sons." The alumni in Springfield, Massachusetts, said that to them 'Craven typified the true Dartmouth spirit; a gentleman, a scholar, and a great lover of human beings."

The editor of The Dartmouth, Thomas W. Braden Jr. '40, wrote in behalf of the student body:

"To most students of today, Dean Laycock was a part of the continuity of Dartmouth College. His long, lean figure on the street, his nods to students, his blue eyes filled with humor and understanding and affection, his 'I guess I don't know you, I'd like to talk to you for awhile' seemed to make him a living part of what had gone before. They thought of him and respected him as the Dartmouth College of the days before their freshman year."

A representative of the younger classes, James M. Mathes Jr. '39, spoke for his contemporaries: "If Dean Laycock makes as many friends in Heaven as he has on earth he is to be envied rather than mourned."

From an older generation when Dean Laycock's influence in the College was at its height, Bill Cunningham '19 spoke in the Boston Post, in part: "He was tall and lithe and keen as a sabre back in those days. And he could be tough. Maybe firm is a more dignified word. But he could discipline without fear or favor, and he did. He could expel, and he did. There were those who took the bitter ride down that long hill, hating him. In their hearts, however, and no matter what they told their folks, they knew they'd lied to him.

"He was fair.

"He didn't make the rules. His job was to enforce them. This he did; but, no matter what the difficulty, if you only told him the truth, he'd go all the way with you and back, even if that truth seemingly incriminated you beyond all hope of saving.

"He was the college dean. They had but one in those days. The dean is the man who has direct charge of the undergraduates. He takes the place of the parents who've had charge until then. If the monthly records show the young man is low in his class work, he's summoned to the dean's office to talk his troubles over. If the embattled constabulary of some nearby village report that five students were drunk at the local Saturday night dance, tried to steal somebody's girl, got into a general fight, broke the front out of the piano and tore the uniform off a local cop, it's the dean who summons the young gentlemen and goes into action.

"Or if some heartbroken kid stumbles into his office bowed beneath burdens too heavy to carry, it's the dean, or it was this dean, anyhow, who closed the door, lighted a pipe, put his arm around a pair of possibly quivering shoulders and said, 'Now sit down, boy, and tell me all about it. There must be something we can do.' " "I'm one who knows."

A younger graduate wrote in the Holyoke, Massachusetts, Transcript and Telegram in part: "We did not know Dean Laycock in those days. But it was our good fortune to know him when he had retired and was able to look back on the action filled years. And this was the most amazing thing about him. He had had to handle the boys when they were bad. And sometimes they were pretty bad. But he came through it all one hundred per cent, certain that there was no boy who was even half bad. His faith in the general goodness of young American manhood was a beautiful thing to behold. It was like somebody who had walked into a mud puddle clad in a white robe and come out of it spotless. There was no Pollyanna sentiment about it either. He was a keen, canny individual who had come to success in the hard way. But there was that something about him which made him an Apostle of Hope."

Several columnists among the alumni devoted editorials to Craven Laycock. A close friend of his in college and now a Trustee, Philip S. Marden '94, said in his Lowell Courier-Citizen:

"Hanover won't be the same now, for no man who has been such a vital part of the college life for nigh onto 50 years can be snatched away without leaving an unfillable void. God rest ye, Craven! You have fought the good fight and you have kept the faith. Somehow I keep recalling that good old hymn they have sung at every Commencement in Hanover since the days of the founding fathers, to the venerable tune of "Amesbury": "Oh that each in the dayOf his coming may say,'I have fought my way through—havefought my way through..1 have finished the work thou didst giveme to do'. ..."Oh that each from the LordMay receive that glad word,'Well and faithfully done!Enter into my joy and sit down onmy throne!' "

"If ever a man merited that encomium, Craven Laycock did. I count it among my choicest blessings that I was numbered in his list of friends, and he in mine."

In recognition of the vital role played by Dartmouth's long-time Dean in the development and growth of the College, Basil O'Connor '12 wired: "Dartmouth wouldn't be the great college it is today had we not had Craven Laycock."

Tributes and messages came not only from Dartmouth men. The Rev. John U. Harris of Trinity Church, Boston, until recently Rector of St. Thomas Church, Hanover, wrote: "His was a full life, useful and fine, touching youth in that formative period of college age."

A little girl, Judith Mackay, whose father is in the class of '26, and who had stayed at the Hanover Inn this winter where Mr. and Mrs. Laycock made their home in the winter months, wrote (with parental help): "Daddy is all upset tonight. He says I can't ever see the Dean again. He liked him a lot I guess. So did I. I am going to bed but he is all upset. He has taken down from the shelf a book by Kipling and he has read to me some words that man wrote in his dedication to his Barrack Room Ballads. They seem to be just about right: 'E'en as he trod that day to God so walkedhe from his birth,In simpleness and gentleness and honourand clean mirth.' "

It has been possible to give here only parts of a small portion of the outpouring of tributes and messages to the family and the College. April 4, the day of Craven Laycock's death, was an occasion for one of the greatest demonstrations in Dartmouth history of the ties that bind men to each other and to the College. It was a memorable observance, greater than any Dartmouth Night, of the affection, respect, and veneration that may be given to a beloved man, in the name of an institution.

THE EDITORS.

CRAVEN LAYCOCK AT 26

AT THE 1934 COMMENCEMENT THE DEAN BECAME DR. LAYCOCK WITH HONORARY DEGREE OF LL.D. WERNER JANSSEN '21, DOCTOR OF Music, LEFT, AND PRESIDENT HOPKINS, CENTER.

"And when he fell . ... he went down as when a lordly cedar, green with boughs,Goes down with a great shout upon the hills, and leaves a lonesome place against the sky "—EDWIN MARKHAM.