On the occasion of Easley Hamner’s departure from TSA it is appropriate to consider for what he should be most remembered. Though I can not be present at this event, I was at TSA with Easley for 20 of his 35 years there, and there are many things that come to mind.
Easley has a thirst for travel and adventure. We have shopped for oriental rugs at the bazaar in Istanbul, bought gold in the soukhs of Kuwait, toured castles in Great Britain and surveyed casinos in Las Vegas. While the memories of the hills of western England and Wales will linger (memories, I might add, gained from views out the passenger window of the rental car because Hamner did all – and I mean all – of the driving), they are not what is most memorable about Easley.
Easley has an easy way with people, and he introduced me, and TSA, to some memorable characters. He was responsible for our involvement with Sheldon Adelson, Arnold and Tony Fisher, Saleh Debasi, Hasan Hajkhalil, Connie Ballard, Curtis Smith, Mervin Kingston, Mike Paneri, Brad Stone, Tom Robinson, Emeril Lagace and Chris Belknap, among many others. I met Harry Archinal and Dorwin Thomas through Easley. Some of you won’t recognize these names, but Easley knows them all. As important as these people are to us, they are not what is most memorable.
He worked on some of the most interesting projects that TSA ever had, even if some of them stretched the limits of our abilities. There was the National Bank of Kuwait, The Singapore Treasury Building, Citicorp Center, Cushing Academy and The Venetian. There were all those competitions in China, and that crazy island off the Greek coast. There were the prisons. Never let it be said that Easley had a limited repertoire of building types, but that is not what he should be remembered for.
Easley loves gadgets, is fascinated by computers, has a Herman Miller chair in his office and a lifelong penchant for photography. He loves to drive and to sail. He loves wine, hates chicken – actually all things fowl – and carries his own pepper shaker. He has more Tiffany silver cups that I can count. He is devoted to the city of Cambridge, to his family, his friends and his work. He is a Fellow in the AIA and a distinguished member of the Urban Land Institute. His name is on the plaque at Citicorp Center. He has achieved success and richness in his life, but even that is not what he should be remembered for.
Many of you will recall that for years at TSA’s Christmas parties I presided over the presentation of Christmas gifts to our principals. There were many wonderful gestures in those times, including the dedication of a star for Hugh Stubbins, a custom made chess set with the pieces in the shape of TSA’s high rise towers and a beautiful crate for a case of vodka. Somewhere in there we gave rose tinted glasses to Ron Ostberg. This was because Ron, at least back then, had some cynical tendencies, and we were hoping to improve his view of the world. That same year we gave Easley a pair of green tinted glasses. Most of you know that green is a complementary color to red, and realize that the intent of the green tinted glasses was to temper Easley’s eternally rosy view of the world with some reality. It was a small joke that was politely accepted at the time.
Upon reflection, however, those of us that know Easley could probably agree that it is his positive attitude and enthusiasm that sets him apart from others. He has an eagerness and optimism that, for as long as I’ve known him, has allowed him to bound forward into schemes and projects that no one else could believe in, and make them successful. As useful as an outlook like his was during those dark days of the recession of the early nineties, or during a Sheldon Adelson fit of temper, it is most valuable as a legacy. What we should most remember about Easley Hamner is his ability to let us see the half full glass, not the half empty one.
With that half full glass please offer a toast not to the departure of Easley from TSA, but to his arrival at the portal leading to the next stage of his life, whatever that may be. We all hope what he certainly knows - that it will go well.
Read by William McGee for Easley Hamner
At the Hasty Pudding Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts
On the evening of December 15, 2003.