Doctor Howland Retires
Fred A. Howland, LL.D., an outstanding figure in the distinguished annals of the class of Eighty-seven, Dartmouth, has resigned as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Life Insurance company of Montpelier, Vt.
He has given as his reason the fact that he is seventy-eight years old; but his classmates, who enjoyed the privilege of seeing him at the 55th anniversary of the class, will hardly regard this as an adequate cause. He is a splendid specimen of robust health.
Dr. Howland thus ends a service of 40 years with the National Life, and 21 years as its president. He has seen the assets of the company grow from over twenty-five million dollars to over $251,- 000,000, at the end of the last fiscal year.
His Alma Mater honored him with the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1933, and he served for ten years as one of the alumni members of the Board of trustees of the college.
The Vermont papers and others in the New England area have devoted a large space to Dr. Howland's career, declaring him the "outstanding citizen" of the state, and giving a long list of his valued services in many civic and business activities.
Among these many tributes, his classmates will appreciate the truth of the following, quoted: "Although a man of large stature and natural dignity, he has been in a wholly effortless way, close to the hearts and minds of his friends and associates, ever ready to study their problems, and to give them thoughtful counsel in the kindliest way."
After his admission to the bar, he practiced his profession briefly in Minneapolis and Lancaster, N. H. But he soon entered the firm of his uncle, United States Senator William P. Dillingham. There is a legend that he could have been Governor of Vermont, had he been willing, and following the death of Senator Dillingham, could easily have been his successor.
His classmates remember him as a freshman, when his form was lean and elongated. Certainly more than 100 pounds have been added to that thin body, and each pound has brought greater dignity and impressive presence.
