The History of the Green Chicken Exam

The Green Chicken itself began as a wedding present to my
sister Linda. At the time, she was living near Cornell
University, in the Ithaca area. The Green Chicken
was part of a rather interesting looking, ceramic chafing
dish set. Its chartreuse green color did not help its appearance
any and Linda, as well as others who came upon it, instantly
recognized the chicken for what it was worth. For several
years in the Ithaca area, this chicken-like chafing dish was
passed around as a gag wedding gift. At some point, Linda
received it a second time.

When Linda heard that I was moving to Middlebury in the Summer
of 1976, she volunteered to help me move and setup my appartment.
Linda stayed several days but stuck me with the Chicken when she
left. So, both the Green Chicken and I ended up in Middlebury for
the start of classes in the Fall of 1976.

The following year, I met Holly McKenzie. She was the only
woman who would take me and the Green Chicken as a package deal.
The Green Chicken moved in with us in our house on High Street, near
the Grand Union. Bill Beckmann also joined the Middlebury
Mathematics Department that year and the two of us were actively
involved with preparing students for the National Putnam Exam, taken
each year during the first week of December. During this same year,
Peter Andrews joined the Mathematics Department at Williams. Peter
and I had been friends since graduate school at the University of
Maryland.

In the following year (the Fall of 1978), Bill, Peter, and myself were
all involved with preparing students for the upcoming Putnam Exam.
We were having weekly practice sessions with our students and, at
some point early in the Fall, we decided to have our "teams" take a
practice exam on the same day as the Middlebury-Williams football game.
The game was at Middlebury that year and this first test was entitled

"The Middlebury-Williams Pre-Putnam Exam"

The exam was given in the morning so that all of us could attend
the football game in the afternoon. When the exam ended, we went
back to my house at High Street to grade. During the grading, Bill,
Peter, and I decided that things had gone well and that we should repeat the
experience every year. We also thought there should be some award given
to commemurate the exam. It was Holly (perhaps sensing a way of getting
rid of the poor Chicken) who suggested that the Green Chicken be used as
a trophy. The big question we had to wrestle with is who should get it,
the winners or the losers!

Williams won that year and we had the results of the competition
announced during half time of the football game. After the game, a
small ceremony was held and the Green Chicken was awarded in the
back of one of our SDU dining units. A picture of this first award
can be found on the Green Chicken Homepage. In this picture, you can
see Bill, Peter, and myself along with the two top scorers from Williams
XXXX and YYYY.

So the Green Chicken moved to Williamstown. It was sad to see the
Chicken leave Vermont, although I am sure not everyone felt that way.
Peter had a nice wooden base made for the Chicken and placed a gold
placque on it to record the winners each year. Williams used the
Chicken to serve cookies during their seminars.

The next year at Williams, Peter talked the Williams College President
into making the award of the Chicken during half time of the football
game (Williams won that year also). That tradition lasted several years
(the award, not the winning) and I recall watching several of these
half time ceremonies taking place with the President giving a speech
while the Williams "Marching Band" (you would have to see this band to
realize why there are quotes used around "Marching Band"). The two
Mathematics Departments listened with great respect but most of the
remaining spectators hadn't the slightest idea what was going on!