Evening star., 1909-03-14
YALE'S OLDEST GRAD"
Chester Dutt0n of Kansas At
tains Age of 95 Years.
MEMBER OF CLASS OF 1888
Two Others Of the Same Body Rank
Second and Third.
TELLS STORY OF ADVENTURES
Writes Long Letter to Resident Of
This City Giving Experiences
and Recollections.

By WILLIAM E. CURTIS

By WILLIAM E. CURTIS
~sit:rn for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
President Taft is not the only graduate
Of Yale University. There are others. both
younger and older, although he is the
only Yale man ever elected President Of
the United States.
The oldest living graduate of Yale Is
Chester Dutton. Concordia. Kan. who
was born March "A, 1914. and IS therefore
nearly ninety-fve years of age After
graduation he taught school for three
years. Since 1S42 he has been a farmer,
at first near wolcott. N Y. Wayne
county. where he lived until 1865. when
he moved to Riverside Homestead, near
Lake Sibiey. Concordia, Kan. Ie took up
4 homestead while the Indians were still
in possession of that country and has
lived there ever since.
The next oldest graduate Of Yale is
Henry p. Hedges, Bridgehampton. n. Y.
who was born October Is. 1917. graduated
in the class Of 1888, admitted to the bar
in 1912, and still continues the practice
of law. He is president of the Sag Har-
Dor Savings Bank, and is also a sue
CssEiul farmer.
The third oldest graduate of Yale Is WILL
liam T. Cooper, LID, No. 1 West Both
street, New York city, who was born
March IL, 1920, lived in Tennessee until
1856 was member of the supreme court
for many years and president of the Bar
Association.
These three gentlemen were all members
of the class of 1888.
Meets Oldest Graduate Living.
While Mr.. Dutton was living at VOL
colt, N. Y, he made the acquaintance of
Rev. DR.. Thomas Wright, a member of
the class of 1850 at Williams, who is now
lix,t,
ception of William Rankin, LID, an
eminent lawyer of New Jersey. of the
class of 1881, is the oldest graduate living
The two families became intimate sixty
years ago and have kept up their relations
TO this day Mrs. John A. Waiting. the
Washington at the Mendoza apartment
house. and is in correspondence with Mr..
Dutton. from whom she received a very
interesting letter the other day. 1t gives
a graphic account Of his adventures last
fall while going to town to have his pho
tograph taken for the Yale Alumni As
sociation. and illustrates what Yale
lad of ninety-five years can do. 1t should
be explained that Mrs. Dutton, who ap-
pears in the story. is also over ninety
years of age, and is absolutely blind.
Written With Firm Hand.
The letter is dated Concordia. Kan,
February %, 1909. and is written upon
legal cap paper. eight full pages with
cross lines upon the margin. The writing
is large and irregular. but firm and per-
fectly plain. without the slightest evil
dence of a trembling hand. 1t was writ
ten in installments and contains personal
"reminiscences and references to domestic
affairs which would not be understood by
people unacquainted with the family. Mr.
Dutton seems to be very close observer
of the weather, and gives the readings
of the thermometer. barometer and the
direction of the wind, with atmospheric
indications on every one Of the several
days devoted to writing. l will follow
the rambling course of the writer through
the letter. omitting portions that are of
no public interest:
While the name of Washington was
more revered seventy-five years ago than
now, February Do was not SO generally
celebrated as now. The first time l re-
member helping to eat a birthday cake
was in 1643 in Ithaca.
"A mist of snow Is falling, wind north
and strong, but not violent. Two men are
here cutting wood on shares. We have
plenty of wood of our own raising from
seed, and burn it freely night and day in
large sizeS-green-but use little Rocky
mountain blazing coal to liven it up. We
like to see and feel the fire. We would
not endure a subterranean furnace heat
even Ii we were able to afford it,
We have a cereuS and balsam (Sul-
tana) now in bloom in our window.
I'VE have twenty-nine grandchildren
and twenty-five great-gradchildren. but
only one great-grandson to bear the fam
I'VE were In Washington a few days
in the summer of 1894. but did not see
Cleveland, nor did we form any new ac-
auaintances or find many old ones.
Notified Of Distinction.
II was duly notified from the secre-
tary's Office (Yale) when my distinction
befell me last summer. I have since
been subjected to a fusilade of communi-
cations and also to clippings from News
papers throughout the country from Bos-
ION TO Honolulu and Los Angeles, with
few write-ups more or less accurate
usually leSs), but SO long as they did not
accuse me of ever doing anything either
good or bad. they could not be far out
of the way. 1 could never recognize
any OF the upwriters.
From New Haven came a reauisition
for n likeness. which I ignored until
it was seconded and indorsed insistently
from Kansas City. and then came an
experience. Concordia is seven to eight
miles from Riverside, the opposite
(south) bank OF the Republican river. The
roads are all laid by compass-E. and
W. and y. and s.. crossing at right
angles. There are three bridges-one the
old bridge. crossing from the west part
of the town. Another. the new bridge
mile farther n. and a mile farther
f.. on the y. road. adding two miles
10 the distance and a third, the east
bridge. two miles farther west on an
T.. and w. road. crossing south
ern branch of the river. This east bridge
was the only one available that day. the
river being at flood. We found some
water in the road, but no danger or
difficulty.
Faces the Camera.
My son Georges widow had rented
out her farm adjoining our own and was
living (and is living) in town; so we
drove to her house for the night, and
the next pm. we faced the camera
and then started home by the east bridge
the same route we had come. We met
no teams but thought little of that
because people would be going home
at that time of day, as We were If
our eyes had been good we might have
observed that there were no fresh tracks
AS We neared the river we found more
water, until we were wadihg in It. hub
deep. for half mile; still we felt no
alarm. because on each side of the