Tale of a Tape

The fabled arm of coincidence grows ever longer, stretching back this time to 1949 when Congressman Richard M. Nixon (R., Calif.) came to Hanover to address a Great Issues class.

Recently Thomas W. Braden '40, a Trustee and a syndicated newspaper columnist, recalling Congressman Nixon's appearance at Dartmouth a quarter of a century ago, decided that the contents of his remarks might have the makings of a timely piece. He called the College to see whether there was any record of the speech. Certainly, he was told; the Great Issues lectures were all recorded, and the tapes were stored in Baker Library.

With some dismay, College Archivist Kenneth C. Cramer reported that - of all the collection of all the Great Issues lectures - only one tape was missing: that of Congressman Nixon's speech. And it has been since Cramer became Archivist 13 years ago.