"Dad" Bowman Dies

News of the death of Willard E. "Dad" Bonman, 88, in Danbury, Conn., on August 17, will recall to many Dartmouth alumni the memory of one of Hanover's most popular barbers and canniest fishermen. He was a familiar and well-loved part of the Main Street scene from 1897, when he became a barber in Cobb's Store, until 1946, when he closed up his oWn shop at the age of 82 but he was perhaps even more closely identified with the Connectis cut River. Most often seen in the company of Prof. Emeritus John M. Mecklin, Dad's oats seemed to take him where the fish were, and no fisherman on the river had better luck.

The tribute paid to him in Professor Meck lin's book, My Quest for Freedom, comes from one who knew him well:

"He had an uncanny knowledge of the way's of the bass. He combined the soul of a fishman, a keen sense of humor and a Kindly tolerance, with the hard horse sense of the Vermonter. He never spoke ill of any man and he stood the supreme test of the fisherman when he laughed goodnaturedly at the big bass that, after a long and hard fight, finally outwitted him and broke free. In him the kindly spirit of old Izaak Walton still lives."