For Distinguished Service . . .
SEVEN of Dartmouth's distinguished graduates were honored with Alumni Awards at the annual meeting of the General Alumni Association, June 20, during reunion week. The presentations, on behalf of all Dartmouth men, were made by Clarence V. Opper '18, president of the Dartmouth Alumni Council.
The Alumni Awards are made by the Council each year to Dartmouth men who have been distinguished in their careers and have demonstrated faith and devotion to the College by loyal and distinguished service to the purpose for which it stands. To each recipient Mr. Opper presented a small replica of the silver Wheelock Bowl after reading a citation. Arthur H. Ruggles '02 of Providence, R. I., was unable to be present because of illness, and his award was made in absentia.
The seven men honored and their citations follow:
ROBERT FROST '96
One reference book, groping for adjectives to describe you, simply states that your life "has been a succession of honors." If we were to ask you the hows and the whys of your years, we could guess that you might say:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
Born of the West, San Francisco you say in '74, you have become the "good grey poet of New England." Your voice, full of strength and wisdom, has filled a great need in our land and will continue so. You are the winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and holder of some forty honorary degrees. And one of the favorite stories that the press tells of you concerns these forty academic hoods you have received. They have been put to unique use, becoming one of your favorite patchwork quilts. And you say, "It's knowing what to do with things that counts."
Your tools in life have been your words and your experiences. Your human poems put the reader or the listener closely in touch with the nature of America. The
images you create carry a warmth and a beauty that we find unparalleled.
We at Dartmouth are proud to have had you for a time as a student. But a host of Dartmouth men remember you as a teacher, friend, and master conversationalist. And they "shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence ..."
With the highest esteem and affection, we act for 30,000 Dartmouth men in presenting you this Alumni Award.
ARTHUR HILER RUGGLES '02
Born in Hanover, the son of a professor, your connection with Dartmouth has been long and intimate.
Graduating in 1902, your advanced medical education included Harvard and the University of Munich. Providence, Rhode Island, became the center of your medical practice in which you achieved international renown as a pioneer in psychiatry. The Croix de Guerre was presented to you for extremely important medical leadership with the Armed Forces in England and France.
The Butler Hospital in Providence became synonymous with the revered name of Dr. Ruggles, its superintendent for nearly three decades. A host of patients suffering from nervous disorders, and their families, are eternally in your debt for the good health you restored to them.
Your community in Rhode Island made you the first recipient of a silver plaque for the most outstanding contribution of a citizen to Providence. Other honors have followed, including honorary degrees from our college and others.
To Dartmouth you have given lifelong service as an Alumni Councilor, a Trustee of the College, and always devoted to your class and to the Dartmouth Club of Rhode Island.
We are proud to commemorate the distinguished years of your life and good works with this Alumni Award.
FRANCIS LANE CHILDS '06
Winkley Professor of the Anglo-Saxon and English Language and Literature, serving some 45 years at this College, you have taught thousands of Dartmouth men exceedingly well.
A native of Henniker, N. H., you received both your B.A. and MA. degrees from Dartmouth; your Ph.D. from Harvard. You were a scholar of renown as a student, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude in 1906, joining the Dartmouth faculty three years later as instructor in English. For many years you were in charge of the English Honors program at the College.
Perhaps your first love is Shakespeare. Your bailiwick for many years was 13 Carpenter Hall. Laertes, Romeo, Falstaff and Lear came to life because of your expert and delightful readings. Your retirement in 1954 left a large void in Sanborn House and you have been called back to give your ever popular lectures many times since.
Beyond the classroom, you took a keen interest in alumni and class affairs, as president of the Secretaries Association, secretary of your class, and a member of the Alumni Council. You hold a life membership in the Modern Language Association of America and the New England Historic-Genealogical Society.
For a full life of unselfish service to the bettering of this College, and because you have been a kind counselor and loyal friend to so many Dartmouth men, we rejoice at the privilege of presenting you this Alumni Award.
JOHN CARLETON STERLING '11
You have made your mark in sales, advertising, and publishing, and since 1937 have been largely responsible for the great success of This Week Magazine.
Known for your ability to make the right decisions, your first abrupt decision was made in June of 1907 in New Haven. While taking an exam for entrance to Yale, you were troubled by the incessant clatter of trolley cars so you went to a telegraph office and transferred to Dartmouth.
After varied experience in advertising you became publisher and chairman of the board of This Week Magazine in 1937 and have developed its present-day enormous circulation and influence. You are now serving as Director and Chairman of the United Newspapers Publishing Company and Chairman of the Advertising Council.
Dartmouth has always remained very close to you. You have served as Class Agent, Class President, Chairman of the Alumni Fund Committee, Alumni Council member, and as one of the first members of the Capital Gifts Committee. Your two sons attended Dartmouth.
You are honored today with this Alumni Award for your long line of accomplishments, and for the warmth of our affection for you.
CHARLES EDMUND GRIFFITH '15
Editor, publisher, musician, and traveler, since graduation from Dartmouth in 1915 you have displayed brilliance in many fields.
For 43 years you were associated with Silver Burdett Company, music publishers, reaching a top position and becoming a trustee of the American Book Publishers Council and the Association of American University Presses. You have been a devoted civic leader in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Your interest in the arts has enhanced your life and taken you afar collecting native folk songs in many parts of the world.
We of the Dartmouth fellowship know you well as class leader, Barrett Cup winner, President of the Dartmouth Club of New York, and National Chairman of the Tucker Foundation Fund Committee. Your tireless efforts have greatly strengthened our College.
And now you are our neighbor, retired in Norwich, Vermont. But even in the quiet town of Norwich your past has caught up with you. You have recently returned from a goodwill tour of South America, serving as Chairman of President Eisenhower's People-to-People Book Committee. You are in constant touch with the College, giving your talented assistance to our Music Festivals, the 200th Anniversary Development Campaign, and the Tucker Foundation.
For your outstanding accomplishments and for your qualities as a man, we are proud to present this Alumni Award.
KENT HALE SMITH '15
To Cleveland, Ohio, and the world, you are a prominent educator, businessman, and civil servant.
After finishing at Dartmouth in 1915, you received a degree from Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland. The First World War found you busy on several fronts overseas and then you achieved early distinction as a chemist and in business.
For go years you have played a major role in shaping the fortunes of the Lubrizol Corporation which you helped start. You have served this organization as vice president, president, and now chairman of the board. You are also active in hospital work, and on boards of the Cleveland Trust Company and the Servo Corporation of America.
Your long interest in Case Institute stems from the fact that your father was a graduate of Case and a member of the faculty there. Leading its fund drive for several years, you have consistently helped break all previous records. In 1954 you received the honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from that institution, and today you are filling the high position of Acting President of the Case Institute.
We honor your high achievements and your constant interest in Dartmouth with this Alumni Award.
JOHN WILLIAM HUBBELL '21
You have that famous "well-rested look." Is this because of a Beautyrest Mattress? And because you are vice president and director of the Simmons Company? In 1929 you decided that if people needed anything at all, it would be sleep.
During the Second World War you rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and teamed with your classmate, Orton H. Hicks, to run film distribution activities for the Army. You also held a dollar-a-year appointment on the War Production Board.
You are President of the Sales Executive Club of New York, trustee of the American Fair Trade Council, and honorary life director and former Board Chairman of the Brand Names Foundation, Inc. You are Vice Chairman of the New York Anti-Discrimination Commission and a member of the Advisory Committee of the United Negro College Fund.
In Dartmouth affairs, yours is a record of decades of devoted service — to your class, to the Alumni Council, the Athletic Council, and uncounted other Big Green interests.
To you as a leader in business, as one who has served his community, and has given a large part of his life to his college, we are happy to present this Dartmouth Alumni Award.
Alumni Award winners who were present at the annual meeting of the General Alumni Association: l to r, John W. Hubbell '21, John C. Sterling '11, Robert Frost '96, Prof. Francis L. Childs '06, Kent H. Smith '15 and Charles E. Griffith '15.
