CARVED IN THE interior lintel of the main doorway [of Goodhue Hall] is the exhortation, “Go forth and spread beauty and light.”
Hackley teacher and English Department Head Arthur Naething, one of our most distinguished teachers from 1961 to 1995, ended his classes with those words, and they resonate for generations of alumni. Now his words will grace future generations as well, as they “go forth” daily from Goodhue. Walter Schneller wrote in his history of Hackley, Where the Seasons Tell Their Story, “[These] parting words to each class…rivaled ‘Enter here to be and find a friend’ as the school motto.”
Arthur was especially known for his teaching of Moby Dick and Hamlet, with alumni reporting that his renown had spread even among their college English teachers. For Hackley students, Shakespeare’s poetry was enhanced by Arthur’s dramatic baritone, and their attention was commanded by his wooden sword.
“Nay, child” was his gentle correction of myriad adolescent faults.
On Alumni Day, October 17, 2003, 16 alumni from the Classes of 1966 to 1993 participated in a Master Class on Hamlet taught by Arthur Naething, and a film of the event in which Arthur was interviewed by Keith Olbermann [class of] ’75 was underwritten by alumni donations.
-from a message to students from Hackley headmaster Walter C. Johnson, posted on the school's website
-Marie-
