Henry Alden Clark, Founder of Crimson in 1873, Pays Tercentenary Visit Here

Henry Alden Clark '74, the oldest living member of a group of ten Harvard men who as undergraduates founded the CRIMSON, paid a visit to the Crimson Building during the Tercentenary days. Coming to Cambridge for the first time in over 20 years, Mr. Clark was confronted by many changes.

The First Crimson

He brought with him ancient memories, long since forgotten by successive Classes or Editors. His chief pride was the first issue of the Magenta, ancestor of the Crimson. On the evening of January 25, 1873, ten members of the Class of 1874 assembled in the rooms of Mr. Cirrk. These were Eugene Nelson Aston, Samuel Belcher Clarke. Thomas Corlies, Frank Child Faulkner, George it win Haven, Edward Higginson, Charles Austin Mackintosh, Henry Childs Merwin, and Calvin Proctor Sampson.

They were awaiting the appearance of the first issue. "We were all." wrote one at the time, "profoundly interested, somewhat excited--agitated over the possible reception of our venture by the student body and other ... we hoped that our efforts would be appreciated and would meet with a friendly reception."

With this in the back of his mind. Mr. Clark was somewhat awed to sea the new Building, erected in 1916. Walking slowly up the stairs to the sanctum, leaning hard on an old came, black hat in hand, and white hair falling easily on his fore head, all seemed quite unreal. But then the sight of an old picture of the Board, done in 1874, brought things to right Here were Sam, Charlie, and Ed. who had died in this year and that before and since the way.

Arrived upstairs Mr. Clark was conducted to the President's chair, in which he sat with much grace and case, chatting quietly while the cameras were busy. Then with a snatch of an old banquet song on his lips he was off to the Tercentenary exercises and from there back to Erie, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Clark has lead a long and strenuous life. Graduating from College in '74, he went the next year to the Law School receiving an L.L.B. in 1877. After a few weeks as a student in the office of Jonathan M. Wood, of Fall River, Massachusetts, in December, 1877 he passed the examinations for admission to the bar and was admitted the following March. Until 1882 he practised in Fall River, moving at that time to Erie being admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1884. For a time thereafter he ran the Erie Despatch Publishing Company, retiring from journalism in 1897 to give his whole time to the law, being in partnership with his father in law being in partnership with his father in law David R. McCreavy and Clark. He was often during these years a Delegate to Republican Convention. He has also been President of the Orphans Court of Erie County.