Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

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In the fall of ISSO Mr. Whiting matriculated as a graduate student at the Unie xersity of Virginia, where, after a year spent in the pursuit of the Classics, he received his A. M. under the old issue, a most respectable degree, standing for thorough, high- grade work. Men of Professor Wl1iting's talent, personality, and equipment are always in de- mand, and it is not surprising, therefore, that, immediately upon the completion of his course at the University of Virginia, he was offered an instructorship in the famous old Prince Edward Academy at Woi'sham, Va., just one mile from Hampden-Sidney. ln connection with his going to Worsham, Dr. Atkinson, who had known him in his college days, made the following statement: He has, I believe, the qualities, intellectual and moral, to make him a most efficient and successful teacher. I believe that no Academy in this country offers greater advantages, intellectual and moral, than the Prince Edward Academy under its present management flVlessrs. Wharey and Whitingl. It only remains to add that his career at Worsham fully justified this handsome estimate of his worth as a student and as a man. In ISS6 he resigned his position in the Prince Edward Academy to accept an instructorship in the University School at Nashville. whither he was drawn by his old friend and schoolmate, Professor C. B. Wallace, and where for two years he taught with his usual success and ability. He returned, in lS88, to his native State, Virginia, and at Millwood, the ancestral home of the Whitings, he founded Clay Hill Academy, a private classical institute, well- l.nown for many years as one of the best preparatory schools in that part of the State Here for fourteen years lVlr. Whiting lived the ideal life of a man of his fine heritage, his simple, but elegant, tastes, his deep love of nature, and his sincere interest in his fellow-man. His Alma Mater had not, in the meantime, forgotten the brilliant young son she had sent out in the early 80'sg her eye had been upon him all along, and, when in I902 there arose a vacancy in her teaching staff, she turned quickly to the First Honor man in the class of l880,-and a glad day it was for the old College when Professor Whiting responded to the call and came as Professor of Latin and German to Hampden-Sidney. To his greatly cherished Alma Mater he brought all the zeal and enthusiasm of young manhood, the rich treasures of his talented mind, the abundant experience derived from years of successful teaching. the many virtues of his fine nature and Christian character. and the pure and unselfish desire to serve well his College, his State, humanity, and Heaven. It is needless here to trace his career at Hampden-Sidneyg it is written, clear and plain, upon every page of its subsequent history, upon the hearts and minds of all the students who have come under his guidance and instruction, upon the policies of the Institution, upon the affections of his colleagues,-and indeed wherever his pen has traced, it has revealed, in no uncertain manner, the high character of the man and the sound quality of his work. 13

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itlrnfvniani' william Q. whiting, 311: x l T is the object of the Staff, in dedicating the issues of the KALEIDOSCOPE 0 from year to year, to select for this honor some one who has been closely associated with the history of the College and has attained to Q1 l Q fd H3 praiseworthy distinction in his chosen profession. Moreover, the Staff 5, QQ naturally turns to some one who has done much for the students them- selves, whether in the instruction of the class-room, in the administra- tion of the Institution, or in the furtherance of their literary and other college activities. Most appropriate, therefore, was the dedication of this year's volume to Professor William H. Whiting, Jr. No better man has ever served the College than its present Professor of Latin, and it would be hard indeed to estimate the value of his work and influence at Hampden-Sidney. To put it simply, the College cannot do without him,-and he has, fortunately, proved his unwillingness to do without the College. A native of Clarke County, Va., the scion of generations of gentle breeding and culture,-brought up, as he was, in the typical environment of the ante-bellum South, with its atmosphere of gentility and chivalry, and inheriting a splendid love for the best things of its sacred past, Professor Whiting stands today as a striking representative of the ideal Virginian gentleman. Born early enough to receive the impress of the wonderful spirit that still survived from the old South and late enough to continue its best traditions of culture and character well down to the present generation, he commands the ad- miration, as he exacts the love, of all those about him, and gives to young and old alike the stimulating and ennobling influences of his strong and finely-wrought personality. l-lis school days were the ideal school days of the best young men of his time,- the days of serious study and thorough work, with high regard for the old-fashioned disciplines, Greek, Latin, and Mathematics. Of an unusually strong, clear, and analytic mind, he soon mastered the rudiments, and made such progress in his studies that he was able by the fall of ISY7, though still a mere youth, to enter the Sophomore Class at Hampden-Sidney, where he came easily to the front and abundantly fulhlled the brilliant promise of his earlier years. His mind was open to the reception of knowledge, his heart was always in his work, and he never failed to answer satisfactorily the difficult problems that presented themselves for his solution. Accordingly, when the records of the graduating class of I880 came to be made up, it was found that the coveted dis- tinction of First Honor had been won by William l-l. Whiting, Jr. 12

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In l905 he was forced, on account ol' ill health, to give up his work at Hampden- Sidney, when he returned a second time to his home and school at Millwvood. A happy restoration to health, however, and the urgent and repeated call of the College did not permit him long to remain in this congenial retirement, and when in l906 he resumed his position at Hampden-Sidney, the College was not again to be deprived of his services: so that today he is with us in the prime of manhood, a very tower of strength in all our undertakings, a sure protector against barbarian attacks and vandal invasions, and to all his friends and admirers-whose number is equal to that of all who know him- a sweet delight and a constant source of inspiration. O et praesiclium et dulce decus meum! ' His unusual native ability, his intense earnestness of purpose, and a true and lively interest in his subject, of which he is a thorough master, all combine to make Professor Whiting one of the most capable and efficient teachers of Latin in the State. And while he has no' patience with the shams and sophistries of the make-shift and idler, he evinces for all those who show the least desire to be helped a genuine and never- failing sympathy. If a student is negligent or incorrigible, he recognizes in the straight- forward, thorough-going admonition of Professor Whiting a rebuke not less just than severe, and little hope today may be entertained for the student who comes frivolous from a serious conference with his Professor of Latin. Not only is Professor Whiting an able and successful teacher, but a man of recognized executive ability as well. Twice during critical periods in the history of the College he was called to act as presiding officer, and with such good judgment, tact, and efficiency did he administer its affairs that on both occasions he won the applause of the students, the approval of the Faculty, and the thanks and praise of the Board. After the death of Professor Thornton in the summer of l9ll the treasurership of the College, an office of great importance and responsibility, was entrusted by the Board of Trustees to lVlr. Whiting-an added evidence of the high regard in which he is held and of the confidence placed in his sound judgment and prudence in caring for the interest of the College. It is not without purpose that Professor Whiting's strong, positive, intensely earnest character has been more than once mentioned in the present sketch, for an omission of this trait would be almost like the proverbial Hamlet with Hamlet left out. Whatever he believes, he believes with all his heart, and whatever his hands find to do, he believes in doing with all his might. It is related that on one occasion when the College baseball team was about to be off for a game elsewhere, it fell to his lot to conduct the morning exercises at chapel. As the story goes, Professor Whiting, in the course of his prayer, with beautiful directness and eloquent simplicity, prayed that the players might be en- abled to bat hard, throw straight, and run fast. Another unpardonable omission, even in so imperfect a sketch, would be the failure to mention that quality of the man which makes him so delightfully entertaining, especially 14