On January 19, 1915, the Rochester Numismatic Association held its third annual dinner at the Hotel Rochester. A report was filed in the March 1915 issue of The Numismatist, and included the entire text of the speech entitled “The Hobby Best Worth While,” made by Mr. Harry E. Montgomery of Buffalo, New York. The speech is excerpted below:
A hobby is to happiness what fresh air is to health; an indispensable element. Without fresh air a man for a time may enjoy a certain degree of health, and without a hobby a man for a time may enjoy a measure of happiness; but for the possession of permanent good health fresh air is a prerequisite, and for the living of a full and happy life, a hobby must be ridden continually.
“Satan find some mischief still for idle hands to do,” and “Show me how a man employs his leisure and I will tell you the kind of a man he is,” are sayings so old and true as to have become commonplace. It is the hours of leisure that constitute the crucial periods of one’s life. If, when the day’s work is done, there is no occupation with which to fill a man’s leisure time, the demons of unrest and discontent will have a clear field in which to sow the seeds of unhappiness. If, on the other hand, when the day’s tasks have been performed, he can jump onto a hobby and, with enthusiasm stirring his blood, ride until the next day’s work begins, what chance has discontent and unhappiness to find an abiding place in his life?
A “hobbyless” life is engaged in a constant warfare with all the forces which create unhappiness; while with a hobby a man is too busy to be unhappy and has no time for ennui and the blues.
While hobby-riding, a man does not stop when the hair whitens, the sight becomes dim, or the voice breaks into a childish treble, but, up to the last, keeps to the saddle like the old-time fox-hunting Squire, and comes in at the death, mounted and equipped, and with a “Tally ho!” on his lips, falls into the awaiting grave. …
The joy experienced by the rider of a hobby in the contemplation of his collection and through the glamour which envelops possession, is an indisputable proof of the usefulness and the blessedness of a hobby.
There are many kinds of hobbies being ridden today and each is capable of bringing happiness to its riders; among those ridden by men of average means are the collecting of postage stamps, of portraits, of autographs, of pottery, of books and of coins and medals.
Those of you who have adopted any of these hobbies are to be heartily congratulated, and you who have chosen no hobby but are contemplating the adoption of one, I would ask you to consider the relative values of these hobbies with a view to determining which one is best worth while.
(Mr. Montgomery then went on to discuss various hobbies, including stamp collecting, portraits, photographs, autographs, pottery, books and other specialties, comparing them to coin collecting.)
Any of these hobbies is well worth while, but the collecting of coins and medals is the one which will enable a man to obtain practically all the knowledge, enjoy all the pleasure, and receive all the inspiration toward a higher mode of living that issue from the riding of any or all of the hobbies mentioned. …
For, as we who are riding this hobby well know, it necessitates the study of history, biography, geography, languages, poetry, art, architecture, metallurgy, mythology, folk-lore, and religion; in fact, it embraces the whole sum of human knowledge, which reveals, explains, and records the life, activities, development and progress of the various races of mankind.
In order to find along life’s pathway peace, contentment and happiness, a man must adopt a hobby and ride it enthusiastically, and from a careful comparison of the relative values of the hobbies selected by men of average means I believe the fact will be patent that the collecting of coins and medals is the hobby best worth while.
