1889
Funeral rites for our venerable classmate, the Reverend Arthur Chase, were held February 25 in Trinity Episcopal Church, Ware, Mass., the church to which he had devoted 40 years of his life as rector. Flowers from his few living Dartmouth classmates, which were given a place of honor by his family, gave mute expression to the high esteem and affectionate regard they had for the deceased. Arthur Chase was a good man—a true Christian gentleman. He began his career with the blessing of Phillips Brooks, who ordained him to the ministry. He soon revealed inherent qualities that were to bring him success. His humble, unostentatious attitude toward others, his dignified manner, his never-failing friendliness in his personal relations, at once characterized his daily life, whether in the performance of duties imposed upon him as rector of the church in Ware, to which he so faithfully, so satisfactorily and so long applied himself, or in the role he played, as long as he lived, in the ordinary routine of life apart from his church. He was interested and active in helping others through study and a sym- pathetic understanding of their needs, when- ever opportunity presented itself. Being able to help and be useful meant a great deal to him. He interested himself in the worth-while, good things of life—good reading, good associations, a good home. His home, shared with his devoted wife, was blessed with the birth of their five children,—three sons and two daughters.
The sons, Edward R., Arthur C. and Rich ard D., were educated and received their academic degrees at Harvard; the daughters. Eleanor C. and Elizabeth A., attended and graduated from Radcliffe. All were allowed to follow their own inclination in the choice of college. The eldest son Edward died in 1928 at the age of 25 as he was beginning his last year at the Harvard Law School. Mrs. Chase passed on in 1930. The younger daughter Elizabeth continued to live with her father in Ware until her appointment in 1931 as decent at the Yale Gallery of Fine Arts with rank as instructor in Yale University. Then his elder daughter Eleanor, a teacher in the Ware High School—now its vice-principal, took charge of his home, in which they lived serenely until his retirement as rector in 1935. At that time he went to New Haven to live with his younger daughter Elizabeth and thereafter this continued to be his home. He greatly enjoyed living in New Haven, which he found to be both stimulating and entertaining. Both sons are now married and have homes of their own. His son Arthur, the father of three children, now holds the position of assistant headmaster in the Berkshire School, Sheffield, Mass., in which town he lives. His son Richard lives in Las Vegas, N. M., where he is vice president of a construction company.
While living in Ware, our classmate had various hobbies. He raised bees for the honey they made. He made a study of New England local history and was author of The Historyof Ware, published in 1911 by The University Press, Cambridge, Mass. He became more or less of an expert in redecorating antique stencilled chairs. He kept up his study of Latin and Greek, was familiar with German, knew something of French and Italian, and began the study of Spanish when past 60. He read all articles in magazines on the use of leisure time, and found himself wondering how any one could possibly find it hard to keep busy with so- many absorbing things to do. He looked upon life philosophically. Neither poverty nor depression, he said, could rob him of his rich memories of travel, and his accumulation of knowledge through study. His faith in life and the hereafter was such that in his mature years he was ever ready and mentally prepared to meet whatever might lie ahead. At the time of his death his business matters were in perfect order, his income tax returns had been prepared and mailed, and the day of his accident that proved to be fatal he told their maid that he was ready for death whenever it might come. The following story, given by his daughter Elizabeth, shows the breadth of her father's interests in life up to the very end. A year and a half ago a brilliant German divine became a professor in the Yale Divinity School and, with his wife, came to live in the upper part of the two family house in which Miss Chase and her father were living. They became devoted to her father, who seemed to represent to them all that was soundest and most sincere in thought. Their English was limited and her father helped almost daily in going over the divine's lectures which first had to be translated from German to English, then reviewed orally for correct pronunciation and emphasis. Her father's life-long love of languages, plus his theological background, came into full play, and her father several times remarked to her he never would have dreamed that in his old age his education would again come into use—perhaps, he thought, there might be no one else in New Haven who would have had the leisure, plus the background, to help as he could help. For the first time in many years it gave her father close contact with a progressive theological thinker with whom he was able to discuss with utmost freedom and perfect give-andtake the advanced ideas which always interested him so much. As the divine's knowledge of English improved his need of help lessened, but his affection did not dim, and to the end he came down every Thursday morning to go over his afternoon's lecture. Miss Chase closed her story by stating that nothing could have happened to enrich her father's last yearand-a-half of life more wonderfully than this friendship.
To give an intimate picture of our classmate's family life and his interest in commonplace affairs here are some of his activities during the last year he lived. Last Thanksgiving Day he baptised a young grandniece, a granddaughter of his brother Charles F. Chase '85. A week later he preached in his old church in Ware. He spent Christmas with his son Arthur at Berkshire School and had a wonderful time. He always enjoyed his visits there and being with his grandchildren. He held services and preached on Christmas—his last sermon. When he first retired he decided he would take over the buying of food and the planning and preliminary preparation of meals. He said that keeping the house going was the most important thing a person could do. The week before he died he did a marketing, made a delicious omelet for dinner, made pudding for dessert, prepared the vegetables, as he used to do, and when hi.s daughter Eliz- abeth got home from work the night before he had his fatal accident, he said proudly: "I've decided that the housekeeper, too, is worthy of his hire. I've mended a sheet, done the ironing, gotten myself lunch and tea, and pre- pared things for dinner." On February 12 he went to a concert, had tea with a widow of a Trinity 'B9 friend on the 14th, saw an exhibi- tion of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions on February 15, and went for a long drive with his daughter Elizabeth on the 16th. The next day, Sunday, he attended church, as usual. After his accident happened, when asked by the maid if he didn't want his daughter Eliza- beth called, he replied: "Merciful Heavens, no," which showed he had no realization of the seriousness of his injury. A few minutes later he went into a coma from which he did not awaken before death came.
Mrs. Burt H. Redfield-"Sally Redfield," as she signs herself—has now found out what an old-fashioned New England winter in a valley of the White Mountain region of New Hampshire is like. For the second successive year she has spent the winter alone in her cabin in the Passaconaway Valley. In a letter, dated March 25, she tells of some of the conditions she encountered. Before winter set in, she stored her car down on the main road in a garage that stands back from the road, thinking she could take it out quicker and easier in the spring than putting it elsewhere. At date of her letter, snow covered the garage up to the top of its doors. After one storm of this winter's unusually severe weather the snow was packed so hard and deep that ploughs could not operate in the road leading from the main road to her cabin. For nine days the road was blocked. Some of the drifts were 20 feet high. One morning, after it had been snowing hard all night, it was impossible to see out of any window, or open either porch screen door. Snow was piled about her cabin up to the roof. It made her wonder what she could do at such a time, should her cabin get on fire. On March 25 the record low for the winter was 34 degrees below zero, and there had been a snowfall of 15½ feet, with snow then on the level about seven feet deep.
Donald E. Davis, son of Prof. Edwin B.Davis and Mrs. Davis, is married and has long lived in St. Albans, Vt. He has two children. Richard Donald, a son, graduated in January from the University of Vermont; a daughter, Nancy Jane, recently entered Westbrook Junior Coilege in Portland, Me. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are active in St. Albans in civic and church affairs.
BIRTHDAY GUESTS: The late Rev. Arthur Chase '89 shown on his birthday last August 24 with his grandchildren, Ann, Janet, and Edward Chase.
Secretary and Treasurer, 108 Mt. Vernon St., Boston 8, Mass. Class Agent, 29 Ocean View Rd., Cape Elizabeth, Me.
