Rachel Silber Devlin Speaks at the Needham Public Library
Eager readers and listeners were on hand at the Needham Public Library's Community Room this week to hear Rachel Silber Devlin speak about her book "Snapshots of my Father John Silber" and to find out from Silber's oldest daughter what the former President of Boston University was really like.
The event was hosted by Matt Robinson of The Robinson Reporter, who that night wore the class ring of his late grandfather, who attended Boston University.
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| Rachel Silber Devlin at the Needham Public Library |
Work Ethic and Expectations
There were times John Silber would come home for dinner, and then return to his office to finish the day's work.
Devlin spoke for a little more than an hour after the slideshow with some questions from Robinson that followed up and sought a little more insight to her anecdotes about her father, who expected much of his seven children. His wife, Kathryn expected the same.
"Both parents expected a lot of us. My dad would say so," Devlin said. "They were both brilliant. They couldn't understand if you weren't applying yourself."
John Silber's work ethic was demonstrated on many nights when he balanced his duties as President of Boston University and his duties as a husband and father. There were times when he would come home for dinner and then return to his office to finish his day's work. Being home with his family was equally as important as the jobs he was charged with doing in his life.
Speaking Together as a Family
Spending time with his family meant opportunities to speak with his children. Conversations meant questions from Silber for his children that would help them, "formulate ideas" as Devlin put it.
"He was foremost a teacher," she said.
Some conversations took place while sailing on the family's Sunfish, purchased when the family moved to Boston from Texas. When the Silbers lived in Texas, they owned a boat called the DRAMJACKYL. Silber used the boat to teach David, their oldest child and only son, how to sail.
"We would take a wonderful picnic meal and went for a swim," Devlin said of the Silbers' sailing excursions in Texas. The DRAMJACKYL stayed behind when the family moved northeast and was replaced by the forementioned Sunfish.
"Pop realized you could take one person and have a wonderful conversation," Devlin recalled.
The conversations weren't just limited to the children. John and his wife, Kathryn enjoyed meeting and conversing with people. If they were meeting someone who had written a book, they made sure to read that book before they met. If they were meeting a musician, they listened to their music. Devlin said there were always writers, artists, and other interesting people at the Silber home.
A Man of Principles
"That's when he realized he was a liberal." - Rachel Silber Devlin, on the day her father had a confrontation on a San Antonio Bus
John Silber also spoke his mind to people who weren't interested in hearing about it. Devlin recalled a tense moment on a bus in San Antonio when he was ten years old. According to her story, Silber was sitting on the crowded bus when an elderly black lady boarded. The gentleman Silber stood up and offered his seat to the woman, prompting angry outbursts from the other passengers.
"That's when he realized he was a liberal," Devlin said about the episode. "When he was at B.U., people thought he was a fascist, so what can you do?"
His beliefs were something he never swayed from. His political career stemmed from standing up for what he believed in. Devlin said her father had always been interested in politics. When Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, Silber found himself making more and more speeches, which Frank C. Erwin, Chair of the University's Board of Regents, didn't take kindly to.
He was foremost a teacher.
"(He) said, 'I'm going to make you famous. I'm going to fire you,' and he did," Devlin recalled. "He got offer from across the country. B.U. was the most interesting. The history in Boston, that's what attracted my dad."
The University of Texas' magazine, The Alcalde, reported that had Silber remained in the Lone Star State, he would have sought Noble laureate professors he brought to Boston University, calling it, "one of the great what-if's in the history of the University of Texas."
Devlin said her efforts to write a book were spurred by friends of her late father. She consulted her sisters and old friends of her parents. It was a labor of love that took seven years to complete. She wanted to get, "the true picture" of her father, the president of Boston University. a former gubernatorial candidate, a man who loved manual labor despite his academic achievements and callings. Despite all of the effort put into the book, Devlin admits this is not the whole story, otherwise it would be, "volumes."
Coming soon: A review of "Snapshots of My Father"
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