Toaxnoes Spring 2011 Final2.indd - Nichols School

Bob North ‘29Poetic Memories withBob North ’29by Nina BaroneIn March of 2011, I visited the home of Bob North ’29 withBlake Walsh, Director of Alumni Relations, and Matt Kianka,Digital Media Specialist. We took video of our visit, including Bobreading some wonderful poems from his collection. Visit our websiteat www.nicholsschool.org/alumni to see more.What’s the secret to a long, fulfilling life? According to theoldest living Nichols alumnus, Robert North, Jr. ’29, it’s havinggood parents, getting plenty of exercise, maintaining a variety ofinterests, and doing a great deal of reading. Not to mention keepingbusy, which Bob does well.Although he summarizes his activities as being “the same as anygood fourth grader: reading, writing and arithmetic,” Bob seemsto have a gift for filling each area of his life with purpose. Heapproaches every day with a zest for learning and discovering. OnMarch 1 of this year, Bob turned 101.Upon arriving in Bob’s home, you could be certain of two things– he is a lover of books and art. His apartment is lined with floorto ceiling bookshelves, brimming with hundreds of hard covers,poetry anthologies, short story collections, novels and referencebooks. On every wall without books, you will find strikingwatercolors, oil paintings, sketches and photography. If you lookclosely, you will see Bob’s own signature in the corner of some ofthe most stunning pieces.Bob attended Nichols for one influential year following EastAurora High School. His parents were encouraged to considerNichols because a friend of his attended the School before going onto Harvard University and Harvard Medical School.“My music experiences looked good to Harvard, along with mytime at Nichols,” Bob said. He credits being a violinist among thereasons why he was accepted to Harvard. At his Commencement,Bob played an Italian violin concerto.Bob’s roommate at Harvard played the piano, and anotherfriend of his was a singer; he said they would perform Schumannand Schubert. Bob said Harvard had flair for “putting two peopletogether who would develop even more,” and the school exposedhim to a variety of interests he would sustain throughout his life.Entering college in September of 1929, just a few days beforethe great collapse, Bob’s professional life took shape as a result ofthe conditions at the time. During the Great Depression, Bob saidthere were simply no jobs around, but he and his wife, Marion deMauriac, knew there was a market for librarians in Buffalo at thattime. Persuaded by Marion that viable opportunities existed in thatfield, Bob followed her lead and enrolled in library school afterstudying art history and earning his undergraduate degree fromHarvard University.“My wife was a very smart cookie. She was awarded Phi BetaKappa in her junior year. So,” he continued with a jolly laugh. “Ifyou ever asked her a question, you got the answer.”Bob completed a graduate program at the State University ofNew York at Buffalo, as well as a librarianship. In 1935, Bob becamea librarian in the old Buffalo Public Library.He was drafted into the United States Army in 1943, and wasplaced in the Air Force’s weather wing due to the fact that he36 Nichols School