CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter has a reputation as a modest man with a wit shared especially among his friends.

The 68-year-old justice, boyish grin on his face, listened to accolades for 45 minutes from friends and former colleagues Wednesday at a ceremony dedicating a conference room to him at the state Supreme Court. Then he told two stories as his way of thanking them and the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society, a nonprofit organization that sponsored the event.

“David was and is modest to the point of almost being humble,” longtime friend Charles Leahy said. “That is Justice Souter today.”

“I don’t think David ever has forgotten that no matter how esoteric and macro the issue, sooner or later it intercedes and interacts with real persons living their real lives,” said Tom Rath, a former state attorney general and friend.

The tribute reminded him, Souter said, of accolades paid to another judge at an event he attended 15 years ago. Afterward, Souter said he asked the judge if he had a rebuttal.

“They got it 100 percent right,” Souter recalls the judge saying.

“In this case,” Souter said of the tributes to him, “maybe 60 percent.”

Souter told the 50 or so people gathered in the chamber he was touched and honored.

“This is my home ground,” he said.

Souter, who lives in Weare, practiced law in Concord before becoming an assistant attorney general, deputy attorney general and finally attorney general in 1978. He served as a superior court judge before joining the state Supreme Court in 1983. He moved briefly to the federal appeals court in Boston before becoming a judge on the nation’s highest court in late 1990.

During his confirmation hearing, Souter said he was in a secure room with the attorney general who was familiar with the background material prepared on him by the FBI.

“He said, ‘You have either lived a basically clean life or have extraordinarily loyal friends,” recalled Souter.

“After hearing what you have heard this afternoon, I think you would go with the loyal friends and so would I,” he said.

Souter then told the group his second story – going into great detail – about a man who made his living years ago logging in New Hampshire’s northern woods. Loggers cut the timber in the winter and floated it to mills in the spring when the rivers thawed, he said. When the logs jammed together, two or three men would wrestle to let loose the key logs that would free them, he said.

After one such successful effort to break up a log jam, a young man slipped on his way to shore and fell into the icy water, said Souter.

“They could tell the cold was getting to him,” said Souter.

A middle-aged man on shore stripped off some of his clothes, jumped in and pulled the young man to shore. They built a fire and after a time, the young man was able to stand and speak again.

“I’m much obliged,” was all the young man told his rescuer.

“Mr. Chief Justice, members of the court, I’m much obliged to you,” finished Souter to applause and laughter.

AP-ES-07-09-08 1640EDT