Honors for Henrys

Few occasions in the life of an academic institution are as joyous and moving and memorable as gatherings in honor of beloved teachers; the College recently enjoyed two such happy events within a period of less than a week. Two Henrys were the objects of attention (Williams, now 76, and Ehrmann, just 75) &nd two long-standing academic traditions were observed. And, coincidentally, two California connections came into play.

Henry I has to be Henry B. Williams, even though his party came a few days after Henry Ehrmann's, since his arrival in Hanover to join the Dartmouth faculty pre-dated Professor Ehrmann's by 30 years. For this Henry the tribute was the naming of the Theatre Collection in Baker Library in his honor (and, at his insistence, in honor also of the late Professor E. Bradlee Watson '02) and the Treasure Room was thronged with admirers, friends, and former colleagues, many of whom spoke of the numerous ways in which HBW had enriched their lives at Dartmouth. The reading of messages from those who are absent is de rigeur at such times, but, appropriately, on this occasion there was also a spoken message, a tape from one of the many men and women who have worked with Henry Williams in the Dartmouth Players and then gone on to enter the acting profession Alan Hewitt '34, whose splendid voice rang out in reminiscence of some of the very first productions in which HBW began to make his mark on theatre on the Hanover Plain. Since there was also in attendance at least one alumnus who had been directed by the guest of honor after his retirement from the faculty, the whole length of his service was represented and remembered. And, especially for the celebration, Buck Henry '52 (Henry III?) had flown in from California to bring what were obviously very heartfelt greetings from those alumnifriends who swell the ranks of the workers in the movie industry's vineyard.

King (for a day) Henry ll's levee was held at the DOC House, where, amid champagne and all the pleasure of a birthday celebration, the ancient tribute of presenting a festschrift as the culmination of a scholar's career was joyfully engaged in. Appropriately the main presentations were made by a former student and a former colleague, both of whom work in the same field as Henry Ehrmann: Fred Eidlin '64 and Professor Roger Masters, both of whom have made comparative government studies their specialty, spoke eloquently of the inspiration that came from a person whose work in Germany, France, Canada, and the United States had made him a one-man comparative politics encyclopedia, and whose spirit has affected numerous generations of Dartmouth students. Perhaps most moving of all were the words from California, from the Department of Government at UC San Diego, of which Professor Ehrmann is a kind of founder, and certainly a benign godfather: From across the country, employing nautical metaphors appropriate to both an ocean-side campus and so adventurous a life, came words of indebtedness couched in eloquence which is rarely encountered. The festschrift honor is only one half of the tradition: The first item on the post-celebration agenda for Henry Ehrmann is observing the other half writing a scholarly critique to each of the contributors. A volume so thick and meaty will keep its happy recipient busy as usual for some time to come.