"Old Pine" Chain Returns to Hanover

In the photograph above. James E. O'Neil '46, president of Palaeopitus, and Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College, are shown examining a wooden chain carved from wood from the famous Old Pine and recently presented to the College by Willis T. Sparhawk '93 of Cincinnati, Ohio. The chain, made from a single piece of wood, was whittled by Samuel Phelps, an instructor in the New Hampshire School of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, which existed in Hanover from 1867 to 1893. The wood from the Old Pine, destroyed by lightning in 1895, was obtained by Mr. Sparhawk, with the help of Edward S. Miller '93, and was given for carving to Phelps, who lived in the old "Rood House," later torn down to make room for Webster Hall. The chain has long been one of Mr. Sparhawk's cherished possessions and for some years was in the safekeeping of Ferda P. Fish '9l. Its presentation to the College was made through President Emeritus Hopkins. Only a few mementos of the traditional Old Pine are possessed by the College, and the wooden chain now becomes perhaps the most interesting item in this valued collection in the College Archives.