MAISON G. DE NAVARRE, THE MAN 141 was first established, I was particu- larly anxious, as president of your SOCIETY, tO have the award ad- ministered by an impartial com- mittee which, moreover, could be relied upon to have access to all the relevant information concerning any prospective medalist's qualifica- tions. This is why I appointed to this committee men connected in- timately with technical publica- tions, and among them Ed de- Navarre. The chairman was Dr. Wimmer whose recent untimely departure has been a source of grief to the entire membership. The other members were Mr. Far- rell, editor of Drug and Cosmetic Industry and present chairman of the Medal Award Committee, and Dr. Chichester, then technical edi- tor of Drug 7?ade News. One may be sure that while serving on this committee, Ed contributed his ex- cellent judgment toward the selec- tion of recipients for the medal the list of the SOCIETY'S distin- guished medalists, brief though it may be, furnishes convincing testi- mony of this Committee's capacity for making the right choice. It is, therefore, with particular pleasure, and a sense of poetic jus- tice, that I may play a part in these exercises honoring Ed deNavarre, perhaps also by way of making amends for having helped to delay this honor to Ed by making him a member of. the Medal Award Committee. Ladies and Gentlemen, when news first reached me of the Medal Com- mittee's decision, my immediate re- action was: "It could not have hap- pened to a better man." Your en- thusiastic presence here proves that indeed it could not have happened to a better man. Thank you! MAISON G. DE NAVARRE, THE MAN BY HARLAND J. WRIGHT, VICE-PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER rimerican Perfumer & Essential Oil Review, New York 18, N.Y. Mr. President, Toastmaster, members and guests of THE SO- CIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS, the ladies in gracious attendance and gentlemen: WHETHER BY evil design or a complimentary gesture, neverthe- less I appear tonight, cast in the role of the proverbial "Over-the-back- fence" gossip--and about a man. And behold, the man-subject is in the presence. Poetically, the sub- ject is one of my top best friends. The program planners were em- phatic--"do a job and let the chips fall where they may." Anyway, the subject himself invited it. I have always been sensitive to voices--the quality and timber of voices. When the scholarly and

142 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS genial toastmaster of this evening Dr. Dan Dahle (whom I originally met in Washington), first talked to me, I found myself so spell bound and enthralled by his mellow, deep, rich intonations--with a touch of spice--that I was plumb oblivious to what he was saying. Such a gift! There's another voice in which I always take delight. This voice first responded to the Doctor's Administrations in the year 1909-- in the tragic land of Poland. The family came to the United States the following year, then Reyn- oldsville, and Clearfield, Pennsyl- vania, and Detroit. Schooling followed in due course. An apt student, he finished High School, studied Pharmacy at Wayne Uni- versity obtaining Ph.C. degree in 1929 and B.S. degree in 1930. Thus M. G. deNavarre's career took definite shape. Classically, he earned his first money carrying a paper route--did some teaching in odd hours at school--worked in drugstores whenever opportunity permitted. Yet his own educa- tional progress did not lag--in fact, he hurdled a grade here and there. He was a purposeful student. The point is, that in his early years, he demonstrated that he wanted to work. He had a will to work, an urge to accomplish things and acquire the knowledge that meant progress and ever more prog- ress. In fact, unconsciously, instinc- tively, he hitched his wagon to a star--and it is still so hitched. It ever will be. Why this "voice" of his never bursts into song, I do not know, for music is a passion with him. While at Wayne University, he ushered at the Masonic Auditorium, willingly losing needed study time, rest and sleep, without pay, in order to feast upon song and music. He pushed backstage and had the thrill of meet- ing famous operatic personalities such as Mary Garden, deGorgoza, Tibbett, Rachmaninoff, Geraldine Farrat, DeLuca, and scores of others. He admits he occasionally slipped under the ropes and watched the stars prepare their make-up. When working in drugstores he gravitated to the cosmetic and perfume counters, meeting actors, actresses, itinerant vendors of cos- metics in the vaudeville day, also dermatologists, endocrinologists, sales managers, and manufacturers, ever learning, ever inquiring, and ever storing pertinent knowledge. Inevitably, his pent-up storehouse burst bounds. He submitted a manuscript to Louis Spencer Levy, then publisher of a trade technical magazine (which on my part re- mains nameless at present). It was the use of Vitamin D in cosmetics. He was invited to dinner at the Statler Hotel in Detroit by Mr. Levy. A friend of Mr. Levy's joined the party. Ed picked up the menu. The prices stunned him. He had visions of the check--with $0 cents in his pants pocket. Sud- denly he just was not hungry. Settled for a dish of peaches in his burning embarrassment. Of course Mr. Levy saved the day!