Craftsmen

Our community was diminished by the loss of Arthur Wilson, Daniel Webster Professor and professor emeritus of biography and government, who died in June at a youthful 76.

A South Dakotan who came to the College by way of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and Harvard, where he earned his doctorate, he taught here for 34 years. When he retired in 1967, Palaeopitus established the Arthur Wilson Teaching Prize, testimony to his distinction in the classroom.

Within a few years, unfortunately, the prize lapsed, probably with the disappearance from the campus of its sponsor. But last year, Jerome Goldstein '54 endowed a new Distinguished Teaching Award, to go annually to a full-time member of the teaching faculty, of any rank, the selection to be made by a committee of full professors who hold endowed chairs.

In June — still, it seems to us, the time of endings and beginnings in the academic world, innovative curricular calendars notwithstanding — the new award was made for the first time to Robert A. Oden Jr., assistant professor of religion, specialist in ancient and Near Eastern faiths, and — in the words of one colleague — "a near-professional fly fisherman."

A South Dakotan who came to the College by way of Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and Harvard, where he took his doctorate, he has taught here since 1975. The common thread makes one wonder what special, if unlikely, affinity exists between the wide plains of South Dakota and this green plateau in the Connecticut River Valley.

Oden's addiction to fly fishing commenced with a visit, at the age of 11, to Washington State to visit an older cousin, a legendary fisherman. Back home, where trout streams are scarce, he began tying flies, inventing flies on the basis of appropriate entomological research — in his own terms, sitting and rethinking the basics of the craft. His interest is in the craft; fish caught on the light fly hooks are released. The Baker and White Rivers have become Oden's favorites in the North Country. Having studied their insect life, he has developed flies that imitate effectively those found tastiest by the "big, wise fish" that inhabit their waters.

We don't know that Arthur Wilson was a fisherman, except for the minds and imaginations of students. But we do know that he was a superb listener to the sounds of life, the sort of contemplative man the best of anglers is presumed to be. And, whether experiencing or imparting the love of learning, he knew the basics of his craft.

Robert Oden, with some help from a friend, won the Distinguished Teaching Award.