April 18-17-1059 Record copy Salt Lake City Denver Colorado STAFFORD IN THE SPACE AGE BY EDMUND W. LITTLEFIELD Much of the knowledge imparted to us at Stanford has long since been forgotten or has been melded into other learning acquired before or after our campus days. However, one thing that I learned made a lasting impression and that was to be concerned and prepared for the audience reaction that inevitably follows a flattering introduction. In my freshman days I was invited by King Harris, a friend in Encina Hall, to come to his home in Woodside and meet his family. I went there on a Sunday, mentally prepared to meet the ordinary type of older business man in a blue serge suit and replete with dignity. I was completely unprepared for what I found, which was a circle of some fifty Stanford students seated on the lawn and facing a canvas backed chair shaded by a canopy. In this chair sat an elderly gray haired man in black and white checked knickers as loud as anything that I had ever seen, with conflicting wool socks to match, shabby shoes, and a cap tilted back on the back of his head. King held me by the arm, walked me up to the idol at this shrine and said: "Dad, I would like to have you meet one of the nuggets of the class." Before I could utter my well-trained "Pleased to meet you", he looked me up and down and said for all to hear: "King, if that's a nugget, I'm going off the gold standard", and the audience seemed to agree with him. Lest you become concerned over the quality of the Trustees being selected by Stanford today, let me reassure you on this point. I am not a typical trustee. My only distinction is being the youngest. Otherwise I claim equality with my fellow trustees only in sharing their desire to do all within their power to see to it that Stanford continues always in the forefront of the great institutions of learning in the world. This is our task, and we are dedicated to it. What does the Board of Trustees do? It serves as the custodian on