PAUL FARNSWORTH
h i st o ry l esso n
Sig Story
This signature and date were uncovered during classroom renovations in Hathorn Hall. We thought it was a name from the 1800s, but soon learned the truth.
The mystery of a signature — Frank? Fran K.? — uncovered in a historic Hathorn Hall classroom ends with a very contemporary answer by jay bu rns “YES, THAT’S MY NAME,” said the man on the other end of the phone. “But I didn’t write it.” The voice was divulging the answer to a mystery that vexed us for a few weeks last summer: the identity of the person whose signature was found on wallpaper behind an old chalkboard in a Hathorn Hall classroom. During summer work to replace worn-out chalkboards in Hathorn, project manager Paul Farnsworth snapped a quick photo of the signature — but alas, not of the complete signature — and shared it around. Because Hathorn is the 92
Spring 2022
oldest building on campus, opened in 1857, and because the pencil signature was on old wallpaper, we figured that it must belong to someone deep in Bates’ past. The photo was first published in an installment of the online Campus Construction Update about the work being done in Hathorn. The caption suggested that the words appeared to be, “Thank you.” Emma Gay ’25 of Herndon. Va., not yet matriculated at Bates, sent an email suggesting that it was a signature, perhaps “Fran K.”
