Before W. Walter Braham had ever been to Chautauqua, N.Y., he paid his way through law school as a lecturer on the tent Chautauqua circuit.

Years later, he served as president of Chautauqua Institution, from 1956 to 1960.

Braham’s wife, Selina, had a history with the Institution, and introduced Walter to the place.

“My mother had been coming since her childhood,” said Isabel Pedersen, Walter and Selina’s daughter. “She and Dad rented for five years before we bought the family house. He was a new Chautauquan when he got married.”