1909

"Enjoy yourself - It's later than you think!"

(Note: This profile, written by TubbyBird, will take many Dartmouth men into the realms of the past. Tubby has done an intensely human piece of writing in his treatment of a man who was known to thouof the century.)

JIM HAGGERTY "King of the Grill-room"

Among those unofficially associated with Dartmouth College, when I was an undergraduate, was Jim Haggerty who ran the grill-room in the Commons. Perched on his stool, in a cloud of "Sweet Cap" cigarette smoke, giving orders to the waiters as he leaned over his tall desk, he gave the impression of being a martinet, which he was. But deep down, he was kindly, interested in seeing the students who worked for him (Haggerty's Braves, as they were called) get ahead.

At a table at Jim's left, extracurricular leaders of the college gathered to eat a steak, which was cheap in those days, and to discuss campus problems. He was a good listener, had a lot of common sense, and he must have contributed to the discussions for they kept coming back.

I am proud to be known as one of Haggerty's Boys, and I wish Jim were around so I could tell him so. A lot of other fellows who worked under him, I know, feel the same way. While at Dartmouth I came under the influence of two men who affected my career more than any others. On the academic side, George Ray Wicker, economics professor, stands out, because he encouraged me to go into graduate work and study under Professor John R. Commons at the University of Wisconsin. On the side of hard knocks and common sense, Jim Haggerty stands out, for he gave me employment in the grill-room for five years, helping me to earn my way through college. He taught me to do a job thoroughly, and he taught me that you are never licked.

In my freshman year Jim was short a man and my roommate, Reggie Colley, who worked for him and who, in later life was to become an international authority on wood preservation, recommended me. As I was broke I jumped at the chance. Jim asked me a few questions about my previous work experience and then said he would give me a try-out. He brought in a pail of water and a mop. "Scrub the grill-room floor," he said, and do a good job." I went over every nook and corner as carefully as I could. In an hour Jim came back and looked around critically. Then he went to each of the tables on which chairs were piled, pulled the tables out, and pointed to dirty spots under the legs. "Do the whole floor over," barked Jim, and this time do it right." The second time I passed inspection, was hired, and had learned a lesson.

In going to work I found I was privileged to be on the job with some of the varsity football and baseball players. They put in as much effort as any of us, for if they didn't deliver the goods, Jim would not have them on his payroll. Among them was Walter Norton 'to, second baseman on the baseball team, who was captain of the team and Phi Beta Kappa his senior year. In later years, he became a vice-president of the U. S. Rubber Company. I know he would admit that the training he had under Jim did not hurt him any.

I hadn't been at work very long before I found out I had an added responsibility - to play on the grill-room basketball and baseball team. Known as Haggerty's Braves, we played only one game with the fellows who worked in the big dining room. Although Jim didn't tell us we had to win, he did let us know that the honor of the grill-room was at stake and he knew they couldn't lick us. They couldn't, either. While we had some varsity athletes they were not allowed to play in their regular positions, if they played at all.

I remember one basketball game I played in. Jim was the referee and he never blew the whistle unless someone was down on the floor. About all our team had on when the game was over was our basketball shoes, but we won! In one baseball game that I recall, the score was even and the game was nearly over when one of the opposition hit a ball that looked like a home run. Jim, who was the umpire, was watching the ball. When the batter rounded second, the second baseman tackled him around the legs and held him. Before Jim could make a decision the game ended in a general mix-up. If you worked for Jim you learned to go down fighting and be ready to get up again.

When I went back to Dartmouth for a graduate year for the first time I knew where my next meal was coming from, having enough income so I didn't have to work in the grill-room. I thought I'd have a little fun with Jim, so I sat down at a table where Jim could see me, ordered a steak, and catching his eye gave him an ungentlemanly salute. He jumped down from his seat, came over to my table and blurted, "Tubby, you old So-and-So, I put you through college. Now, you have to help me out. The fellow who was to be my assistant isn't coming back and you have to take his job." So I did.

It was during this graduate year that I really became acquainted with Jim and discovered he had an esthetic side to his nature. On Sunday nights he liked to go for a five-mile hike in the moonlight over crunchy snow. I often went with him. He d comment on the beauty of the sky or the landscape covered with snow. I don't know how much Jim read, other than the newspapers, but he was well informed on political and business affairs. Often he would discuss what he had read, and with a lot of sense.

When I took my oral examination for a Master's degree much to my surprise, when I walked out the door, Jim and two of the fellows from the grill were there to congratulate me. He had been interested enough to listen outside an open window and find out that I had passed.

Several years later, I came back to Dartmouth to teach for a term. As I got up on the platform before 148 students just returned from World War I, I was prepared for the "wooding up" that Dartmouth men usually gave a new instructor. I stood there waiting, and not a sound. I was so taken back that I had difficulty in opening my mouth to begin my lecture. Later, being well enough acquainted with one of the students, I asked him why the class didn't give me the usual reception. "That's easy," he said. "A few days before you arrived, Jim Haggerty got the undergraduate leaders together and told them that 'Tubby Bird, the new instructor, is a friend of mine. Treat him properly'"

Yes, Jim Haggerty has passed on, but the fellows who worked under him remember him with respect and friendliness. I can speak with authority for Dr. Reginald Colley and many others. They owe him a lot.

Thanks, Tubby. You've done yourself noble. As a passing comment I add that both Tubby and Reggie Colley went on to acquire their Doctorates and became highly successful in their respective fields.

And now, kind friends and gentle people, the season's greeting to one and all, with the hopes that only good things in your lives will come to pass.

Jim Haggerty, "King of the Grill-Room," who is the subject of an '09 column sketch.

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