Three Alumni Honored For Service to College

THREE Dartmouth men who have served the College in important and varied ways over long periods of years were honored by the Dartmouth Alumni Council at the General Alumni Association meeting in Hanover on June 16. Recipients of the annual Alumni Awards for Outstanding Service to Dartmouth College were the Rev. Charles C. Merrill '94 of Cambridge, Mass.; H. Richardson Lane '07 of Boston; and John R. McLane '07 of Manchester, N. H.

In making the awards, Donald C. McKinlay '37, vice president of the Alumni Council, read citations and presented small replicas of the silver bowl Governor Wentworth brought to Eleazar Wheelock at the first Dartmouth Commencement. Because of the death of his wife, Mr. Merrill was not present, and his award was accepted for him by his son, John L. Merrill '33.

The Alumni Awards were inaugurated by the Alumni Council in 1954, and the first award was made to President Emeritus Hopkins at the 100 th meeting of the General Alumni Association. The recipients are chosen by a special committee of the Alumni Council for outstanding service that is an inspiration to all other Dartmouth men.

Following are the citations for the 1956 awards:

CHARLES C. MERRILL '94

Dr. Charles C. Merrill of the Class of 1894, as a minister of vast experience in the Congregational Church, you have served your church and your fellow men with a devotion and effectiveness that has given others a warm pride in merely knowing you. And to your large circle of friends you have given freely that inspiration we all need to become better people.

Throughout your life you have been a man with a mission and it is the great good fortune of Dartmouth College that wherever you have been, whatever you have been doing, you carried the banner of Dartmouth College with you.

You had your first pastorate in 1897. Many important posts in state and national affairs of your church have filled many years. Your words have been sought eagerly in the pulpit and in the lecture hall. The wise counsel you have offered since your ordination nearly 60 years ago and your work within your church are an inspiration for all of us.

For Dartmouth College, you are a worker without parallel. You have been secretary of your class since graduation - longer than any other living Dartmouth man - and you have been writing a column in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE since its founding. You were the second president of the Dartmouth Secretaries Association and while in office were a leader in the group that organized the Alumni Council.

Your long devotion to the work of Dartmouth College and the importance of your service as secretary of the truly great class of 1894 give us pride in bestowing upon you this award for outstanding service to Dartmouth College.

H. RICHARDSON LANE '07

H. R. "Dick" Lane of the Class of 1907, you are one of that fine breed of men who, by preference, fishes with light tackle. Although your keen mind, sharpened by wide experience, cuts quickly to the heart of any matter, it leaves less able workers in your cause unscathed. You lead by a quality we would all emulate: gentle manliness.

And lead you have! In the business world your steady rise has taken you through a succession of responsible positions until today, you are respected throughout the nation as chairman of the Kendall Company.

A long-time secretary of your class, you were a member of the Alumni Council and are a past president of the Secretaries Association. You played a vital role in the organization of the Dartmouth Development Council and served as its chairman. From long friendship with Ed and Sally Hall you have substantially assisted the College in policies on Dick's House. Now, a statesman in all Dartmouth affairs, you are serving on the Board of Overseers of the Tuck School.

Few fellow sportsmen have been able to match you where sheer poundage counts. You might wish to deny that a 35-1b. New Brunswick salmon swam into your net, but it is a fact that you have a knack for working with light tackle.

For your outstanding service to Dartmouth College, it is our pleasure to present this Alumni Award.

JOHN R. MCLANE '07

John R. McLane of the Class of 1907, one presumes much to talk about you and Dartmouth but it would be difficult to talk about one without the other.

In so many ways, you are typical of what we think of as the Dartmouth man. Yours is the example: the vigor with which you conduct your life makes it natural for you to be seen running the ski trails on Cannon Mountain or swinging down your favorite, the Devil's River Run at Mt. Tremblant. And you don't ski alone: on Cannon Mountain there are three generations of McLanes on the trail at once.

When you were a child, your grandfather, with less jest than prophecy, nicknamed you "Judge." Now, as the senior member of a respected New Hampshire law firm, as President of the New Hampshire Bar Association, and recognized as an outstanding lawyer of your generation, you have earned the name.

In the affairs of Dartmouth College you have earned the undying gratitude of all Dartmouth men. You have served long as a class agent, and secretary of your class, as secretary of the Dartmouth Club of Manchester, as a trustee of the Outing Club. Since 1926 you have been a member of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College, retiring this month after 30 long, busy, but we hope happy years of very top service to our College.

You have been Acting President in John Dickey's absence this spring. To this and the many other honors you have so richly deserved, may we on behalf of the Alumni Council and Dartmouth men everywhere add this Alumni Award for very outstanding service to the College.

Donald C. McKinlay '37 (center), Alumni Council vice president, presenting award to John R. McLane '07. Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College, at left.

H. Richardson Lane '07 receiving a copy of the citation honoring his Dartmouth work.

John L. Merrill '32 accepts the award for his father, Rev. Charles C. Merrill '94.