Hobart College - Echo of the Seneca Yearbook (Geneva, NY)

Page 19 text:

 Durfee House “Without question the most beloved teacher ever to walk this campus was William Pitt Durfee, known to more than 50 Hobart classes simply as “Durf.” Almost from the day of his appointment in 1881 as Professor of Mathematics until his death in 1941, “Durf” was the living embodiment of all that Hobart has come to mean to generations of her sons. There was something about this man with the shaggy moustache and the sparkling eyes that captivated forever all with whom he came in contact. “In 1888, four years after he had appeared on the campus. Dr. Durfee became dean of Hobart, and is said to be the first dean of any American Liberal Arts college. He continued in that capacity until 1925, four times serving as acting President.” 18 “Twenty Generations of Hobart' Opposite: “Old College Row” in 1960.

Page 21 text:

I Bishop Hobart JOHN HENRY HOBART “It was gray in the pre-dawn of that September morn in 1820 as the six men approached the crest of a gentle hill. Walking in pairs, the men noted the mist rising from the Lake below, but it being too early for conversation, each maintained his silence. The two who led reached the crest and quick- ened their pace. Then one, whose garb marked him as clergyman of the Episcopal Church, held up his staff and paused. The others quickly gathered round. “Standing near the edge of the bluff, the men conferred, each in his way expressing an opinion. But just as the first rays of sun danced across the mist, the talk ceased. The one whose bearing, as well as the cross and ring, marked him a leader of his Church, took a dozen brisk steps away from the bluff. As the others came up, he slowly raised the staff and struck it into the ground saying, “Here, gentlemen, this is the spot for the College.” “With those words John Henry Hobart, third Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, chose the site for the College which was to perpetuate his name.” From “Twenty Generations of Hobart 20