Simple Gifts
In WM Fall 2013 and in the spirit of President Greg Hess’s inaugural theme “Simple Gifts,” we asked faculty to tell us about the simple gifts they’d received from their fellow teachers at Wabash. Professor David Hadley’s reply came in too late to be published then, but the story is too good to miss:
When I came to Wabash in 1969, I certainly did not expect my career here to last for 43 wonderful years. That I even reached tenure, I owe to several Wabash faculty for their simple gifts to me.
First, the gift of motivation: It came at a holiday party in December 1970 from Professor of Psychology Eldon Parks, who asked how my dissertation was coming along. Admitting my progress had been slow, I told him that I planned to begin going to my office early in the mornings to work on it. Eldon asked when I planned to begin my early morning routine.
“Monday, maybe,” I said.
“What time?” he asked.
“Oh, 5:15 or 5:30, maybe,” I replied tentatively.
“Good, I’ll see you in Baxter, Monday morning about 5:30,” Eldon answered.
He showed up at my office door in Baxter Hall 205 that next Monday and continued to come in by 5:30 a.m. until I finished my dissertation.
Professor of Modern Languages Dick Strawn gave the gifts of time and grace of language. Throughout the summer of 1973 while he sat watching the Watergate hearings, Dick read drafts of all 442 pages of text and gave me meticulous notes on word choice, phrasing, the intricacies of proper punctuation, and the subtleties of meaning. I hope I passed on to my students over the next 40 years a modicum of what I learned about good writing from Dick Strawn.
Professor of Mathematics David Wilson, hearing me talk about my computer simulation of roll call voting in the Indiana House of Representatives, formulated a set of equations to operationalize my theory of the way communications among legislators affect their decisions. I never asked him to do it. One day he simply strolled into my office, scribbled the equations on the chalkboard, and offered them to me for my use.
Finally, but certainly not least, fellow junior faculty Professor of Economics Steve Schmutte ’66 and Professor Phil Mikesell ’63 led me by example and gave essential moral support, not to mention Phil’s good-natured ridicule of my slow progress, to finish the work.
These were simple unsolicited gifts, but certainly not small ones. They made all the difference in my world. I am certain they lengthened my career at Wabash by at least 37 years!
—David Hadley H’76, Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Thanks to Riley Floyd ’12
In his superb article on Byron Trippet [“Rowing with President Trippet,” WM Winter 2013], Riley Floyd ’12 talks of how the former Wabash president recalled Wabash classes gone by. Trippet writes, “But if you listen, you can hear their songs and cheers.”
I flashed back some 15 years to when I was on campus with my then-eight-year-old daughter. In the course of her young life I had entertained her on long road trips by singing “Old Wabash.” She loved it, and before long she had memorized the first
verse and the chorus and we would belt it out as we tooled about the Oregon roads where we lived.
On this lovely Indiana afternoon we had arrived early for the festivities. We were in front of Yandes [Detchon] Hall when we heard men’s voices singing. My daughter stopped in her tracks and looked at me as if she’d heard ghosts. She recognized “Old Wabash.” The real deal.
She grinned and yelled, ”C’mon!” dropping my hand and dashing off in the direction of the Chapel, where Glee Club Reunion guys were rehearsing.
I picked her up so she could see better and we both joined in. A tear trickled down my face. I hadn’t been back to the campus, to the town and college my forebears founded, in 35 years.
Thank you to Wabash Magazine, Riley Floyd and Byron Trippet for bringing back that wonderful moment.
My daughter, Tylor Elizabeth, graduated in June 2012 from Southern Oregon University where the commencement speaker was Dr. William Cook ’66. We sought him out in the crowd at the program’s conclusion and let him know he had friends at hand by coming up behind him singing, “Old Wabash.” We had a good visit.
—Peter Toll ’64, Lake Oswego, OR
ERRATA
In the story about Arturo Granados and his great work with the Special Olympics [“A Small Gesture of Kindness,” WM Fall 2013], Granados was incorrectly identified in the photo. Here’s the correct photo. Our apologies to Arturo.