Our October 25 installment of “How I Became an Oxfordian” featured a contest in which readers were invited to guess the true identity of a modern-day Oxfordian telling his story under the name, “Mr. W.H.” We invited readers to guess Mr. W.H.’s identity, and allowed only one guess per contestant.
At the SOF Boston conference, we revealed that “Mr. W.H.” is W. Ron Hess, who goes by his middle name, Ron. Four people came up with the right answer and have been rewarded with their choice of an SOF item by Zazzle, such as tote bag, mug, water bottle, or magnet. Congratulations to the winners: Marty Hyatt, Richard Waugaman, Richard Whalen, and Ann Zakelj.
Many of the unsuccessful contestants calculated that the “W” and “H” should be reversed and guessed that Mr. W.H. was Hank Whittemore or Heward Wilkinson. Other common, and more straightforward, guesses were Wally Hurst and Warren Hope. One person guessed Roger Stritmatter (Mr. R.S.?).
Thanks to everyone who participated and especially to Ron Hess, who suggested the idea of writing his essay under an ambiguous moniker.
Happy Thanksgiving to our readers in the U.S.!
“How I Became an Oxfordian” is edited by Bob Meyers. You may submit your essay on this topic (500 words or less in an editable format such as MS Word), along with a digital photo of yourself, to: communications@shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org. Also include a sentence about yourself (e.g., “John J. Smith is a businessman in San Francisco.”).
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