The Story Behind the Picture

Probably my last "official" decision at the College Grant was to designate the rocky outcrop above Half-Mile Falls on the Dead Diamond River as "Sid Hayward Ledge." This was his favorite rendezvous with himself and occasionally a few selected fishing pals.

There he would catch himself a square-tail or two from the rips below the pool, start himself a small cooking fire on the ledge, and then eat himself some fresh trout. Sid wasn't as self-centered as this might indicate but, like most of us, he enjoyed being by himself once in a while.

The designation was my idea. The sign was contributed by Clyde Smith of Franconia, an acquaintance since 1928, who has routed so many attractive and useful signs for the State Parks and Reservations. It was erected by William Gile Cavaney '73 of Hanover, College Grant "slave" in the summer of 1972.

Even a local black bear got into the act as shown by the claw marks at the corners of the sign, traditional "stamp of approval" by bear whenever anything new is added to their environment.

At left is Prof. Robert E. Huke '48, chairman of the Geography Department, and at right Douglas J. Peterson '75, on the Department's annual fall pilgrimage to Dartmouth's northern outpost.

We like to think of Sid Hayward Ledge as a landmark in the real North Country quite apart from the Sid Hayward Room in the Hanover Inn. Sid would have been perfectly at ease in either location. Such was his personality.