1916's Singing Secretary

As both singer and song-writer, F. Stirling Wilson '16 has accomplished a mansized lot to forward the aims of the S.P.E..B.S.Q.S.A., or Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. The lyrics which he wrote for a hit number entitled "Diggin' Sweet Potatoes on the Eastern Shore" are now being sung by barbershoppers all over the country. His tenor voice has been raised to help make his particular quartet, the Washingtones, one of the most popular in the Singing Capital Chorus, Washington's large chapter; while his executive ability has won him the honor of being its Delegate to the Mid-Atlantic District Association and Deputy from the Mid-Atlantic for the State of Maryland.

With the same enthusiasm which he shows in his participation in alumni activities—he has several times been elected president of the Dartmouth Club of Washington, and is at present Secretary for 1916—Wilson devotes himself to providing entertainment for himself and others with "songs through which can be expressed the familiar and genuine emotional experiences of ordinary persons like the singers themselves; and those who listen."

Beginning in a small way with a few men who wanted their barbershop singing put on a more regular and critical basis than that provided by unscheduled parties —with beer, if any, served after singing rather than before—the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. now has a rapidly increasing membership in chapters all over the country. In Washington, Wilson was a charter member of the Singing Capital Chorus and has helped sponsor several new chapters in the East. It is a matter of pride to him that seven Dartmouth men were charter members of the Boston chapter.

Called a "red hot barbershopper" by his friend, Jack English '16, Wilson was listed as Master of Ceremonies of a recent concert program, entitled Harmony Gala, presented in Washington's Constitution Hall. It was then that "Diggin' Sweet Potatoes on the Eastern Shore" had its successful debut. His quartet, the Washingtones, contributes at least one night a week to singing for hospitals and charitable entertainment. In an article published in the Society's magazine, The Harmonizer, he describes some of the unusual trials incident to managing a barbershop quartet.

His enthusiasm for barbershop singing is unbounded, but there is one limit he sets for himself. "I like barbershop singing," he says, "but absolutely refuse to sing more than seven nights a week or 24 hours a day."

THE WASHINGTONES: With tenor voice ringing clear, Stirling Wilson '16 (second from left) engages in a little close harmony with his famous quartet. Joseph Huber '40 (left) is the baritone.