The Dean's Shiny Nose
A ND NOW, gentlemen, let me introduce you all to Craven Laycock, a graduate of Dartmouth College in the class of 1896 (this was also Robert Frost's class, by the way). Born in England in 1866, Mr. Laycock became a much-beloved dean of this College. Three years before his retirement in 1934 his class presented this bronze bust to the College, on the occasion of the 35th reunion of '96. Just as he was of great service to all Dartmouth men during his 21 years as Dean, so has he become extremely helpful to generations of Dartmouth students since his retirement. You should remember, gentlemen, that before you take any examination you must come to this spot and rub Dean Laycock's nose, thusly. . . . He has always had a shiny nose!"
Dartmouth's freshmen are taken on a tour of Baker Library, in groups of ten or twelve, just after the matriculation ceremony in the Class of 1902 Room in the Library, where President Dickey personally welcomes each new student. In the course of the library tour, this writer has been introducing the freshmen to Dean Laycock in the rather formal manner suggested above and, incidentally, revealing an important Dartmouth tradition. This September a member of the Class of 1960 asked a question which has also bothered the writer for some time: "How did such a tradition get started?"
Careful research in Baker's files of TheDartmouth, the ALUMNI "MAGAZINE, class records and other documents have failed to unravel this mystery of long standing; interviews with interested individuals in Hanover have likewise proved unrewarding. It is certain, however, that the custom started very soon after the bust was placed in Baker Library in 1931 —long before Dean Lay cock's death in 1940, indeed before his retirement in 1934! Twenty-two years ago, as this particular freshman still remembers vividly, he first learned of the necessity of "rubbing the Dean's nose" during his guided tour of Baker.
If I may digress for a moment, TheDartmouth, in a front-page story on September 19, 1934. commented: "One thing which the Class of 1938 will miss above all else, though, will be the lecture on the College and its traditions which Craven Laycock used to give before his retirement from the Deanship. Dartmouth freshmen for years on end have thrilled to the words of one of the few men who could handle sentimental subjects before a college audience. The Class of 1938 has missed a rare privilege." The newly retired Dean did, however, speak to the freshman class at a special meeting in Dartmouth Hall on Wednesday evening, November 14. The scene was described by the ALUMNI MAGAZINE as follows: "Every inch of space jammed with rapt young men; every listener swayed to applause, deep silence, cheers or laughter, as the Dean willed; a tumultuous ovation as the speaker came to his close; and finally, a jam of students around the Dean, shaking his hand, asking questions, delivering the regards of fathers, or simply waiting to hear another witticism. It is a picture of the Dean in his element. Young men and affection."
The bust, which was placed between the two west entrance doors of the Tower Room in Baker Library where it is still located, was presented to the College at the 35th reunion of '96, just 25 years ago. On that occasion Byron E. Eldred '96, who had suggested the idea to his classmates and had selected the sculptress, Nancy Cox-McCormack, spoke the following words: "President Hopkins: as an expression of their appreciation and deep regard, the Classmates of the Dean are privileged on this occasion to present to the College this portrait-bust, the work of a famous artist. May it serve as a permanent memorial and a lasting reminder to Dartmouth men, for all time, of Craven Laycock '96 - the Dean - and the Man."
President Hopkins responded in part as follows: "Of this Dean of Dartmouth College I can but say: Firm, but patient and kindly, in supervision, direction and control of undergraduate relationships to the College; stimulating and cooperative as an associate; friendly as a companion; I rejoice that this enduring likeness comes to us in the period of his fullness of power, when our query may be, 'Does it look like him?' rather than 'Did he look like this?' "
Dartmouth's senior College historian, Harold G. Rugg '06, Associate Librarian Emeritus, tells me that, at first, Dean Laycock did not at all enjoy having his nose rubbed. The bust was removed from its pedestal not long after the shiny proboscis was first noticed; it was shipped to Boston, refinished, and finally returned to its proper place. The new finish lasted approximately one week! Dean Laycock thereupon resolved that tradition was too powerful even for a Dean to buck and, accordingly, submitted his nose to its fate in good grace. The Manchester Union later described his feelings about the bust as follows: "There is a bronze bust of him, given to the College by his class of 1896, in the college library. Students, rubbing the nose for luck on their way to examinations, have made it shiny. Old grads bring their friends to see it, and say: 'That is Craven Laycock —he was always a good friend of mine.' That amused Craven, and pleased him. He was secretly very proud of it. They'll keep that bust at Dartmouth a long, long time. But they don't really need it to keep fresh the memory of Craven Laycock."
It is most probable that the tradition was started by a now anonymous student o£ the early 1930's; he may well have been encouraged by the fact that the Dean's nose was shiny even before the official presentation ceremony! This all-important clue ("The First Rub") was revealed by Byron E. Eldred '96 in a letter to the editor of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, March 1948: "Just prior to the official presentation of the portrait to the College the Dean, the artist, Nancy Cox-McCormack, and I met at the library for a final inspection of the bust in peace. The covering was removed and we were just plain shocked at a large shining spot at the end of the nose. The first thought was vandalism but this idea was ruled out as untenable because of Dean Laycock's universal popularity. Mrs. McCormack promptly got busy with lipstick and powder effecting proper temporary repairs. Later it was discovered that a painter working near the portrait had splashed paint on its nose and had resorted to steel wool to effect the removal."
Alumni in possession of additional clues are requested to submit them to the editor of this magazine in order to assist in the solution of "The Mystery of the Dean's Nose."
Dean Laycock died suddenly during the spring vacation in 1940. Thomas W. Braden '40, editor of The Dartmouth, expressed the views of the undergraduates in his moving editorial "There Is No Title":
"There ought to have been some time for telling Craven Laycock what he meant to undergraduates of today. Alumni who knew him as the Dean had a chance to have their say, and only Dean Laycock could know the number of men who wrote to tell him some secret memory, of standing with shaking knees and poor excuses before his desk. Alumni, having said goodbye to the College, could write and thank him for what he had said, for what he had done, and been.
"But undergraduates never had such a time...
"It would have been hard to thank Craven Laycock for he was no Dean to us. He had a title, 'Emeritus,' and he wore it lightly, but there was no title for what Dean Laycock was to students of today. The real title which undergraduates had for him was too much tied to individual memories, and to individual feelings, the kind of feelings about the College which are better felt than said.
"There are some things which just a few will remember - students who were in trouble, or those, who by some fortunate circumstance, came to know him. He had a way of knowing undergraduates he'd never met, of stopping a man on the street, shaking his hand, and telling him not to worry. Men on the college newspaper, sick of debate and scorn, men who didn't make the team, and men who didn't get elected - these were the men Dean Laycock stopped to meet and talk to. Perhaps the college officers never knew that - it is the kind of help for students which isn't listed in the College catalogue, but there are undergraduates in the College today who were waiting for the time of leaving when appreciation is in order.
". . . The morning before he died, he stood on Main Street and kidded three students about what they would do in New York, and imitated his own speeches, rolling out his famous, 'The Great Dartmouth Spirit' with a laugh at himself, for his seriousness."
