History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 72

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 836

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While abroad Doctor Norlin formed the acquaintance of Miss Minnie P. Dutcher, whom he wedded in Cleveland, Ohio, in June, 1905, and they have a daughter, Agnes Margaret.

President Norlin belongs to Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Gamma Delta, two college fraternities, and his interests in community affairs is shown through his connection with the Commercial Club of Boulder. In politics he maintains an independent course yet is withal a close student of political, sociological and economic conditions and in fact of all those questions which bear upon general welfare and progress. His efforts and attention, however, have been largely concentrated upon his duties as an educa- tor and his standing in his chosen field of labor is perhaps indicated in the words of the biographer from whom we have already quoted and who, upon his appointment as acting president of Colorado University wrote: "When President Farrand was sum- moned so imperatively to the all-important task of grappling with .the national health problems of the ally we have come to love so dearly, he douhtlessly weighed most carefully the question of the headship of the university during his absence. He must have forseen that the man selected for the work and the honor would be called upon to face unusual difficulties. It is always hard to be temporarily responsible for the policy and management of a growing university; it was bound to be doubly hard in a time of national crisis when every day and every hour would naturally bring forth new problems and make new demands. Accordingly the choice of an interim president must have called for the most painstaking consideration. When the an- nouncement of the choice of the board of regents was made, the acting president was found to he Professor George Norlin.

"To many citizens of Colorado the name had no significance, but to those mem- bers of the faculty and alumni who knew Doctor Norlin best the choice seemed another fine example of the unfailing acumen and accurate judgment of President Farrand. The Professor of Greek had been at the university nearly twenty years, he had served efficiently on the most important committees of the senate, he had proved himself a reliable man at every turn. Moreover, he was known to have an unusually happy power of presenting things to other people. His written productions were models of clear thinking and lucid expressions; his few speeches were invariably felicitously worded and delivered with a quiet strength. And with those two last words we have probably stumbled upon the final impression made by the Acting President during his year of office as well as in his previous career. There is a point at which effective energy and wise judgment meet in that invaluable equipoise which, for the lack of a hetter term, we often call 'quiet strength.' Many men have energy, and some men have judgment, but for this perfect combination and balance of the two qualities one may search far and wide. When the equipoise is found in the permanent or acting head of a university, the institution is fortunate indeed, and we have no hesitation in declaring that in this respect the good fortune of the University of Colorado has been unique. *

* * In his formative years, perhaps the most interesting and significant feature may be found in his devotion to the classics. Some way or other, 'the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome' appealed irresistibly to this Kansas- born descendant of a land unknown to Pericles or Plato. In fact the appeal was so strong that these things became a part of the fibre of his being. and in every address that Doctor Norlin delivers, in every page that he writes, there is manifested the sweet reasonableness, the human sympathy, the clarity and charm of expression that ought to belong, although unfortunately they often do not belong, to the loving student of the humanities as represented by the literature and art of olden days. For the true lover of the high and great things of the past does not shut himself up in an ivory tower, yielding to 'some rich lotus spell' from the wings of yesterday, but faces the half-built present and the unbuilt future in a spirit of service and devotion. ** * * As to the coming year, there is no need for words. Under Doctor Norlin the university will do its great work confidently and gladly. His difficult task as head of the committee on Americanization in Colorado will demand much time and energy, but he has already done the most difficult part of the work in laying sound foundations

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and winning the confidence both of his co-workers and the foreigners concerned. And this suggests that not the least significant feature of his year of office, and not the least helpful and hopeful feature for the university, is to be found in the fact that the gov- ernor and all other men in public and private life who have come in contact with Doctor Norlin have already grown to trust him and admire him. The longer and bet- ter they know him the nearer they will come to sharing the perfect confidence that is felt by the alumni, the faculty and the student body. The university is in good hands."

S. C. TAYLOR.

S. C. Taylor, whose home is pleasantly and conveniently located a mile north of Fort Collins, in Larimer county, was born in Boulder county, Colorado, southwest of Longmont, May 20, 1871, a son of James and Rachel (Foster) Taylor, who were natives of Scotland and of Ohio respectively. The father came to America when about twenty years of age and for a time lived in Chicago. In 1862, however, he made his way westward to Colorado, driving a mule team across the plains. He located at Central City, where he followed mining for about five years and then took up his abode in Boulder county, where he secured a homestead claim five miles southwest of Longmont. This he improved and developed but after cultivating it for a few years returned to the mines in Boulder county and gave his attention to mining from 1876 until 1881. He then secured a tree claim near Berthoud, in Larimer county, and con- tinued the cultivation of that place until 1905, when he removed to Ault, Weld county, where he carried on farming for two years. In 1907 he arrived in Fort Collins and continued to make his home in the town until 1915, when he became a resident of Loveland, Colorado, where he lived with a daughter until his death, which occurred in May. 1917, when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-four years. His wife died in July, 1917, at the age of seventy-nine.

S. C. Taylor was reared and educated in Boulder and Larimer counties and remained with his parents until he reached the age of thirty-one years, when he pur- chased a place and began farming independently. He afterward sold that tract, how- ever, and he and his father farmed together near Ault. In 1907 he removed to Lari- mer county, where he was employed at farm labor until 1917, when he accepted the position of manager of the Inverness ranch, belonging to Charles Evans, of Fort Col- lins. The place comprises two hundred and forty acres a mile from Fort Collins and he now farms the entire tract, making a business of feeding cattle and sheep.

On the 27th of September, 1902, Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Ella Smith, and to them have been born seven children, Willard, Alice, Frank, Howard, James, Ken- neth and Gertrude. Mr. Taylor is a member of Homesteaders Lodge and in politics is a socialist.

EDWARD A. GORMLEY.

Edward A. Gormley is the efficient sheriff of Adams county, to which position he was elected in 1918 as the candidate of the republican party, of which he has long been a stalwart and aggressive champion. Mr. Gormley is one of Colorado's native sons and was born and reared in the county in which he is now capably serving as an official. His birth occurred upon the home farm near Eastlake, Adams county, Octo- ber 26, 1883, his parents being Edward L. and Margaret (Chamley) Gormley, who were early residents of that section.

In the acquirement of his education Edward A. Gormley attended the public schools, after which he entered the University of Denver. He started out in the business world when about nineteen years of age, buying and selling horses, buying, feeding and sell- ing cattle and qualified as an expert judge of live stock. He conducted an extensive business along that line until 1903, when he went to California and became connected with the Baker Iron Works of Los Angeles.

The following year, however, Mr. Gormley returned to Denver and accepted a posi- tion with the Weicker Transfer Company, with which he remained for several years. He then removed to Beloit, Kansas, and through the succeeding two years was manager of the Alfalfa Stock Farm in that locality. Again returning to Denver, he established a transfer business, organizing the Independent Transfer Company, of which he re-

EDWARD A. GORMLEY

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mained the president and general manager until he sold out the business in 1910. The following year he spent in the employ of the Pullman Company as a relief conductor, serving their interests in various parts of the country. He then resumed agricultural pursuits, locating upon and conducting the old Oliver ranch in Adams county, doing an extensive business in buying, feeding and selling horses and cattle. He has justly been accounted one of the foremost stockmen of his section of the state and few are better qualified to pass judgment upon the value of farm animals.

In 1913 Mr. Gormley was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Oliver, a daughter of George W. and Lucelia (Taggart) Oliver, who were early settlers of Adams county. Her father was a native of North Carolina and came to Colorado in 1871. The mother was born in Massachusetts and removed to Colorado in 1869. They were married in this state on the 14th of October, 1877, and soon thereafter located upon the ranch in Adams, then Arapahoe county, at which time the district was practically a wilderness. They had five children, of whom three are living: Elsie, now the wife of Eli Sager, of Cresco, Iowa; Ruth, now Mrs. Gormley; and Bertha Alice, who married Harry Coursey and resides near Denver. Mr. Oliver died in 1903 at the age of fifty-three years, but Mrs. Oliver is still active, with vivid memory of the early days and the pioneer times of Colorado. To Mr. and Mrs. Gormley have been born two children, Margaret and Edward Oliver.

Mr. Gormley has long held membership with the Grange and is also identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Foresters. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has given stalwart allegiance to the republican party and has been active in political affairs though never an office seeker. In the campaign of 1918, however, he was made the choice of his party and induced to accept the nomi- nation for sheriff, to which position he was elected with a substantial majority, and is now filling the office with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He has qualities which make for popularity and for friendship among those who know him and the circle of his friends is constantly growing as the circle of his acquaintance broadens.

THOMAS J. TYNAN.

What Colorado owes to Thomas J. Tynan can scarcely be put into words. He combines business principles with a humanitarian spirit, ideals with practical methods and keen foresight with enterprise. These qualities have made him a state penitentiary warden whose work is known throughout the length and breadth of the land. He has accomplished results not only in the business management of the institution of which he is at the head but in the making of honorable men from convicts-results that have been of the greatest benefit to the state. His own life story, now so closely inter- woven with the lives of many others, had its beginning at Niles, Michigan. He was born January 15, 1874, a son of Patrick and Margaret (Crawford) Tynan. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native state and afterward became associated with A. F. Sheldon, of the Sheldon School of Chicago, in the book publishing business in 1902. Later he was house manager for Armour & Company at Pueblo and subse- quently a traveling salesman. In each position he made good. He went out after results and achieved them by methods that would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, and it was from his position as a traveling salesman on the road that he was called to take charge of the state penitentiary at Cañon City as its warden.

In the meantime Mr. Tynan was married on the 9th of July, 1908, to Miss Florence E. Scott, of Las Animas, Colorado. On the 7th of April of the following year he was appointed warden of the state penitentiary, which position he still occupies. In 1918 he had become so prominently known throughout the state and his ability was so widely recognized that the democratic party nominated him at the primaries for the office of governor. defeating Julius C. Gunter, the recent governor of Colorado by a heavy vote. However, he met defeat at the following election in the republican land- slide. His work in the penitentiary, however, has made Thomas J. Tynan a national figure in connection with prison reform measures. He had no experience along that line and probably no theories when he was called to his present position. He had proven his worth as a business man, however, and he saw before him the business of wisely managing an institution for the public. But he saw more than that-the opportunity to make men of criminals. It is said that during the first week after his arrival at Cañon City he spent his time in investigation "into every crack and corner, going over vouchers, conning price lists, studying deputies and keepers, talking

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with prisoners in dungeons, cell and yard, eating food out of the prison kitchen, finger- ing garments in the tailor shop and generally familiarizing himself with the institu- tion just as a merchant would look into a business that he was taking over." This week sufficed to make him familiar with conditions in the institution and resulted in the discharge of many drunken guards and brutal keepers. In so doing he thought nothing of politics or pull and he enunciated his doctrine as that of the "square deal" -- a policy that must govern every individual in the institution from the lowest criminal to the highest official. He countenanced no graft in purchases but bought where he could huy most advantageously. He was paid a salary of two hundred and eight dollars a month and on coal alone he soon made a change that saved to the state five hundred dollars a month. This was his initial step. He had been in office little more than a year when it was written of him: "Notwithstanding the trebled cost of living, he has practically rebuilt the penitentiary, provided better food and clothes, made a hundred and one improvements, and at the end of his term will have sixty thousand dollars left out of his appropriation to turn back into the state's treasury." The financial side, however, is but a meager thing in comparison with what he has done for the men. Again we quote from a published article: "He found an atmosphere of evil and despair. Of the seven hundred and odd inmates of the penitentiary, more than half are now working out in the open, away from prison walls and without armed guards. Many of these men he found in dark cells, cursing, raving, willing to give up the wretched remnant of their lives for some small chance of revenge. He created an atmosphere of hope and honor, and made it clear to every convict, no matter what

his crime, that they still had a chance to 'make good.' * * * After doing away with brutality and dishonesty, and convincing every prisoner that he would be treated fairly, he looked about for a chance to employ the men to the hest possible advantage for the institution but most of all for their own good. The men know that he is humane, honest, and always on the square, and they also know that he can't be fooled, and that his hand can fall heavy as lead when the occasion demands. And all around them they see proofs of his interest in them, his friendship for the man that wants

to make good. * It is his custom every Sunday to hold audiences for the con- victs. Every convict, the worst along with the best, gets his weekly chance to prefer request or grievance. * *

* Stripes are only worn by the disobedient and unre- pentant; others wear blue. And Mr. Tynan is now preparing to clothe his road and farm men in olive-colored khaki." Fully one-half of the men are working on high- ways. Over two thousand miles of Colorado's splendid highways, which are unsur- passed in the country, have been built through prison labor. These men are sent out in camps under supervisors and not under guards. They work in the open under the blue sky and have a clean, cool place in which to sleep, where good thoughts are made possible. Some of the road camps where the men work are as far as three hundred miles from the prison proper, each camp under the direction of three supervisors. The men work eight hours a day and have their Sundays for recreation. Faithfulness wins them a reduction of ten days a month in their prison term. It is the hope of the men to get into some of these camps, which are modern, sanitary and with no sign of the physical restraint usually associated with prison life. When a man obtains his parole Mr. Tynan endeavors to place him in a position where he can earn his liv- ing. Many of the men have worked upon the thousand-acre farm connected with the institution. They have learned modern and scientific methods of agriculture, of dairy- ing and poultry raising and along any of these lines they are able to provide for their own support. Mr. Tynan has found opportunity to place many of his men on ranches and he is continually receiving letters of good report. A feature of the Institution of which Mr. Tynan is justly proud is a magnificent new hospital, modern in every respect. There is a perfect operating room, water closets in every cell, a separate ward for consumptives and sun porches. This building was erected at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars as compared with seventy-five thousand dollars usually spent for such buildings in the average prison. Mr. Tynan has also regarded the influence of beauty upon the men in his charge. "Just as he turned odd bits of lumber into a sun porch, so did he use paint scrapings to turn plain windows into stained glass and have artistic grills made out of stray bits of wood. Grass grows where once were barren stretches of dirt from which every wind blew dust clouds, and on every hand are flower beds and climbing vines." Something of the efficiency methods of Mr. Tynan is found in the fact that he removed all of the penitentiary floors and pave- ments that were made of flagstones and put in concrete because it is "cleaner, bet- ter and more sanitary." Then he used the old flagstones to make feeding platforms in the pig pens, and when he saw alfalfa heing cut and hauled in as food for the Vol. IV-38

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pigs, he said: "Let the pigs do their own cutting." In other words, he had a strong fence put around an alfalfa field and turned the pigs into that, thus saving the labor of men and teams. From a business point the penitentiary has certainly been a suc- cess, but there is nothing of which Mr. Tynan and the state are so justly proud as the fact that many of the inmates have returned to lives of usefulness, contributing to the material development of the state through their business activity-no longer a liability but an asset.

CALVIN EMMETT BROMLEY.

Calvin Emmett Bromley. a well known ranchman who since 1906 has occupied and managed the old homestead property near Brighton, was born about six miles north of Denver on the 18th of June, 1881. His parents are Martin and Grace (Clodtfelter) Bromley, who were early residents of eastern Colorado. The father was born in Peru, Clinton county, New York, and came to this state in 1878, turning his attention to the cattle business after taking up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres on Sand Creek. In 1886 he purchased one hundred and twenty acres from the Union Pacific Railroad Company and has since owned and improved the property, actively carrying on farm- ing for many years. He was the first sheriff of Adams county and has been closely identified with pioneer progress and development as well as with the advancement that has been made in more recent years. In Denver, on the 2d of September, 1880, he married Grace Clodtfelter, who was brought to Colorado in 1861, during her infancy. Her grandfather was the Rev. Keeler, who built the first brick house in Denver and was one of the first ministers of the Episcopal church of the city. He had a brother, Jack Keeler, who was the first sheriff of Arapahoe territory, having come to Colorado in 1858. Martin and Grace (Clodtfelter) Bromley became the parents of nine children, of whom Calvin E. is the eldest, the others being: Daniel, now living in California; Martin V., who is at Barr, Colorado; Thomas, a resident of Brighton; Maude; Har- rick H .; Donald, living in Denver; David; and Grace.

Calvin E. Bromley was educated in district schools of Adams county and worked with his father upon the home farm for a few years after his textbooks were put aside. He then turned his attention to mining, in which pursuit he engaged for a few years but in 1906 returned to the old home place and has since given his attention to agricultural pursuits there, leasing the farm at the present time from his father. He has added to its development and to its improvement and is accounted one of the progressive agriculturists of his section of the state.

On the 4th of August, 1909, in Denver, Mr. Bromley was married to Miss Pearl L. Duncan, a daughter of William and Amanda Melvina (Horton) Duncan. Mrs. Bromley was born in Kansas. Mr. Bromley is actuated in all that he does by a spirit of enter- prise and his labors are productive of splendid results in the attainment of agricul- tural success.

JOHN OTTO MILLER.

John Otto Miller. acceptably filling the office of postmaster at Boulder, to which position he was called by presidential appointment in June, 1916, was born upon a farm in Johnson county, Missouri, October 17, 1869. His father, John D. Miller, was a native of Kentucky, his birth having occurred in Cumberland county, that state, on the 6th of August, 1826. He removed to Missouri and on the 11th of November, 1854, was there married to Miss Margaret M. Crutchfield, whose birth occurred in Ran- dolph county, that state, April 18, 1835. They came to Colorado in the early '60s, locating in Canon City, where they resided until 1868, when they returned to Mis- souri. Both spent their remaining days in that state, the father passing away Decem- ber 15, 1907, while the mother was called to her final rest on the 10th of March, 1897.

John O. Miller was reared upon the old homestead farm in his native county to the age of fourteen years, when the family removed to Holden, Missouri, where he supplemented his early education, acquired in the district schools, by advanced study in the graded schools of the town. He continued to make his home in Holden until 1892, when at the age of twenty-three years he removed westward, believing that he might have better business opportunities in this new and rapidly growing section of the country. Arriving in Boulder in 1892, he became identified with commercial

JOHN O. MILLER

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interests as clerk in a hardware and grocery store. In 1901 he removed to Salina, Colorado, where he opened a general merchandise business on his own account, re- maining a factor in the trade of that place until 1915, when he sold out and returned to Boulder. While a resident of Salina he was the democratic candidate for the office of county commissioner at a time when that party was greatly in the minority and yet he lost the election by only a few votes. In Salina precinct he carried every vote with the exception of four or five, a fact indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence and trust reposed in him. In June, 1916, he was appointed to the position of postmaster of Boulder, in which capacity he is now serving. This is not his initial experience, however, in a position of this character, for he had previ- ously served as postmaster at Salina, Colorado. He has thoroughly systematized the work of the office and gives satisfaction to its patrons by reason of his close atten- tion to his business and his uniform courtesy.

On the 5th of August, 1891, in Holden, Missouri, Mr. Miller was united in mar- riage to Miss Sallie Maud Whitsett, who was born April 22, 1871, a daughter of James A. Whitsett, who served as a soldier in the Confederate army during the Civil war. On July 4, 1867, he wedded Miss Henrietta Jane Newton, of Lexington, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have become the parents of four children: Art F., who was born July 8, 1893, and is now with the United States army in France; Edgar Gordon, who was born August 25, 1898, and died on the 22d of January, 1901; LeRoy Herbert, whose birth occurred March 5, 1902; and Vera Jean, whose natal day was August 24, 1903.

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History of Colorado; Volume IV, Part 72

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 836

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 836