![A wooden spoon.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YHwGL0VawmsU1-18zu7aCmXKjRMVM-d2egMnZLjxDRI1dZRU6h71KEMDcWQ3LU9stY5eKjShqFFxYUfo13XOeC07X26jvdOrgbOZoffVxKqtuyygtg73v57Ya147aCamdCaPS5s3Xw/s320/Spoon.jpg)
Dartmouth has its share of quirky traditions. One of the oddest involved a giant wooden spoon. Each fall, usually in October or November, the Junior Class would assemble and a series of "honors" would be bestowed on class members. Among the awards was a giant wooden spoon given annually to the "heaviest eater of the Junior Class." The tradition appears to have started sometime before 1871 and continued up to 1906.
![The broken-off bowl of a spoon featuring a painting of a man from behind.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5mcF6chH6QyPjJ3VYQSzD6SUrydSUvzmROFxksWRmDI0vg2eTQie7HyI2VYEOy81W-ByQ1YPxTo1nwZvy0mkWNFUCJiFho1FkdLq0kPQ-Xl6XelAmYr11WKenINfgWMhUeJjeze2Pg/s200/Spoon-bowl.jpg)
We have two of the spoons in our collections. One has been painted and shows a student departing from the college with suitcases in hand, above reads, "Thru Dartmouth's Classic Hall I Strayed." The other was presented to Randolph McNutt, Class of 1871. McNutt appeared to have stayed fit despite his hearty appetite, but he did become a fat cat in the business world, amassing a fortune as a distributor of school furnishings and through real estate dealings. He bequeathed $500,000 to Dartmouth in 1927, and two years later, Tuck Hall was renovated and renamed McNutt Hall in his honor.
Ask for
Realia 79 to make yourself feel a little lighter after your holiday feast.