"Pike" Emory Occupies John Ledyard Chair

John Ledyard preceded Dr. Kenneth P.Emory '2O to the South Pacific by a century and a half, but now the two Dartmouth men have been fittingly linked at Honolulu's Bishop Museum. There "Pike" Emory occupies the new John Ledyard Distinguished Chair in Culture History, a surprise arranged for his 70th birthday when he also received a 594-page book of essays prepared in secret by his colleagues.

Although Dr. Emory did not leave Hanover before graduating, and certainly not in a log canoe as did the "Marco Polo of the Class of 1776," Bishop Museum officials reckoned there are some parallels between them. Both men originally viewed missionary work as a means of pursuing their anthropological interests but finally rejected the idea of converting the natives, and both have contributed much to the understanding of Pacific cultures.

"Kenete," as he is known to Tahitians, and wife Marguerite had some measure of the esteem acquired in his 47 years as Museum anthropologist when they dropped in on an alleged Thanksgiving luau and found 150 friends waiting to do honor with chair, book, and further testimonials.

Dr. Roland Force, museum director, announced that museum trustees had created the chair especially to recognize Dr. Emory's nearly half a century of service in Polynesian anthropology and archaeology. "Project 70" was then unveiled, a leather-bound, gold-inscribed volume, two years in preparation in dangerous proximity to the man to whom it is dedicated.

"Polynesian Culture History: Essays in Honor of Kenneth P. Emory," with 24 essays contributed by the Doctor's associates, was edited by Genevieve Highland who admitted, "An inquiring intelligence such as his, and one with so sincere an interest in the doings of those surrounding him, resulted in several perilous moments."

However, both tributes were successful surprises to Dr. Emory who continues as director of the Museum's Department of Anthropology and looks forward to new discoveries throughout the South Pacific.