USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > A centennial history, 1837-1937, Colby Academy, Colby Junior College > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
And we in turn seek power from above To make our lives a ministry of love." CLARA ROSS DUDLEY, '82
Reverend Herman W. Wätjen, class of '86, a thought- ful and mature student and friend, wrote of her: "Stand- ing out clear and distinct, like some rugged mountain peak in its grandeur, not cold, however, but vital in its inspiration, is the character of one whose memory lingers like a sweet benediction - Miss Adelaide L. Smiley, Lady Principal of Colby Academy. We cannot forget her genial smile as she greeted us on our entrance to the halls of learning, and her self-sacrifice and devotion to make our stay profitable. Her words of wise and lov- ing counsel, her unbounded sympathy, and the high ideals of life exemplified in her own daily walk before us, endeared her to all who knew her, and now, as we recall her life, a sense of deep gratitude fills the heart, and we rise up and call her blessed."
She was a woman who demanded high standards for herself as well as for others. Gracious and kindly always, she had force and a power to command. Oftener she revealed a tact that won students to her wishes, and she helped many a perplexed boy and girl find themselves. She was modern in her methods of teaching. From a child, when she drove about with her father, a Sutton physi- cian, she was fond of reading and was a student of na- ture. Her active mind laid hold of what sense perception and reflection could give her, and after it had been put through the crucible she gave the rich product to others. Fortunate were the girls who knew her.
For more than twenty years after Miss Smiley laid
330
MARY J. PRESCOTT
HARRIET RICE
HANNAH P. DODGE
Kimball ADELAIDE L. SMILEY
Hargrave MARTHA LEARNARD
JULIA GAY
A. CARMEN TAYLOR
RUTH A. SPRAGUE
AMELIA E. CLARK
SOME LADY PRINCIPALS AND DEANS
THE FACULTY
down her responsibilities on the hill and Laura F. Parker had served as acting lady principal for a year, the title of lady principal was not used. It was as if the standard that Miss Smiley had set was so high that no one else could be expected to measure up to it. Yet those who held the position of first lady teacher per- formed much the same functions and were similarly in- fluential in the lives of both boys and girls.
Martha T. Learnard was no understudy of Miss Smiley. She had her own different personality but she was a thorough scholar and teacher, and she had the confidence of those who came under instruction and superintendence. She was a New Hampshire country girl, who assumed teaching responsibilities in the dis- trict school from the time she was fifteen years old. Eager for a better education she came to New London and graduated from the regular course in 1870. She was conscientious and faithful in performing her tasks, and she gained the respect of her teachers and class- mates. She taught and she studied as she had opportu- nity. She found an opening in Almira College, Green- ville, Illinois, where she taught Latin for three years. Then she returned to her native state and took courses in the Plymouth Normal School, and later went to Boston for study in the Berlitz School of Languages. She never was content with poor training, and if she had commanded the opportunity she would have gone to college. Instead she taught for a time in Salem and then went to Lewiston Academy for four years. From there after fourteen years she returned to Colby Academy and for five years taught classes in English and French on the faculty with Dixon, Peaslee and Miss Smiley. Inter- rupted in her term of service by a year's absence, she returned to take up Miss Smiley's Latin classes and to assume the position of first lady teacher.
Martha T. Learnard was a disciplinarian of herself
331
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
as well as of others, a believer in the ideals and an up- holder of the traditions of Colby. It was her daily en- deavor to stimulate the best in her pupils both in the classroom and in the social intercourse of the school. She trained her pupils in Latin so that they held their own when they got into college. She encouraged budding talent, but she despised laziness and deception. She could see through pretense to the real kernel beneath. After four years she decided, as Miss Smiley had, that she could work to better satisfaction in a different educa- tional environment and removed to New York City to become an instructor in Miss Ely's School for Girls. The time came when she was needed in the old family home in southern New Hampshire, and true to her sense of duty and the dictates of filial affection she gave up her teaching and spent the rest of her life in the homely serv- ice of the fireside and the farm. She never shirked an ob- ligation, though it might be hateful to her; her example of the old Puritan conscience is still potent with those who knew her.
Miss Learnard's place at Colby was taken by L. Agnes Rowell of Waterville, New York. Graduating from the West Union Academy, she went to Wellesley College for her higher training, and then had the satisfaction of being asked to return to teach at her own academy. After a year she went to the Clinton Union School as precep- tress, where she remained two years. With that experi- ence she came to New London, to be welcomed by girls who were not many years her juniors. She was able to enter into their interests and to appreciate their point of view. She was friendly to everybody and everybody reciprocated cordially. She was enthusiastic in her Latin teaching, and the boys built Caesar's military bridge be- cause they liked to see her smile and blush her pleasure. Miss Rowell had every reason to enjoy her popularity, and she gave generously from a rich and unspoiled na-
332
THE FACULTY
ture. It was the fate of such a woman that she should be captured for matrimony, but in her home in Man- chester she has kept a warm place in her heart for Colby.
Lilian O. Sprague followed Miss Rowell for two years, teaching Latin and mathematics. Those were the crucial years of disorganization and discouraging decline in numbers, and no teacher could be expected to remain under those conditions. When Dr. Mckean took the reins Edna B. Arnold of Wellesley College and Brown University became the responsible head of the girls, coming from Blue Mountain College of Mississippi, where she had taught French and German. At New London she was given classes in French, German and English. It took a willing spirit and much faith to help carry the heavy load uphill, and she too found it more than enough after two years, but she filled her place with grace and tact. It was her fortune to marry Rev- erend Joseph L. Peacock, who became president of Shaw University in North Carolina, where she must have re- called her experiences with students on New London hill.
Annie M. Roberts of Bates College taught music at Colby for a year, and helped the girls to solve their problems. In 1902 Mrs. Mary M. Ashmore was given the restored title of lady principal, when she took up the task of cultivating the musical touch and aesthetic appreciation of embryo musicians at Colby. She was three years at New London and she ably supported the McKean administration, while the school grew in num- bers and strength.
With the coming of Mr. Wellman it was convenient that Mrs. Wellman should at first fill the position of preceptress, as she was called. Her experience at Ricker Classical Institute had qualified her for that position and for a year she performed its duties. She was succeeded by Alice C. Woods, who remained for two years teaching
333
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
mathematics and English, but she too yielded to the wooing of another member of the faculty and departed to the Far East for missionary service.
After this period of short tenure of office it was very much to be desired that a capable woman should ac- cept the position of preceptress and be willing to stay long enough to build herself into the very structure of the school, as Miss Smiley and Miss Learnard had done. Mr. Wellman was carrying on masterfully through a long term of office, and it was hoped sincerely that the corresponding position would not suffer. It was there- fore with much satisfaction that the trustees were able to secure as preceptress Julia M. Gay, who remained until her health failed fourteen years later. Like Miss Learnard she was a native of the southern part of the state and a graduate of the academy. Like her too she began teaching in her early teens. After leaving New London in 1889 she too alternated teaching and study. Unlike Miss Learnard she tried the experiment of go- ing to Illinois to be superintendent and principal in town schools, and she studied part of the time in the University of Chicago. Overwork compelled her re- tirement and sent her to Europe for eight months. Then she came back to Colby to prove the mainstay of the administration with Mr. Wellman and to outstay the headmaster himself. She assumed the teaching of Latin, which had belonged usually to the preceptress, and she took up her administrative responsibilities so graciously that she was given a warm reception.
Miss Gay soon became indispensable. She was mis- tress of her classes; a wide reader she inspired culture in the students; and her fondness of the out-of-doors made her a companionable tramper over the hills. Hers was a friendly nature and she was appreciative of humor- ous situations and remarks, never holding herself from the good times that everybody enjoyed. She had an
334
THE FACULTY
optimistic nature and by her sympathy and comfort and deep religious faith she was able to build character in those who looked to her for guidance. A small boy in New London was once asked, "Who is Miss Gay?" "Why, don't you know," he replied, "she's Colby's mother." Universal regret attended her death in 1923.
Sarah E. Gray, a graduate of Colby College, succeeded to the position of preceptress and teacher of Latin, to be followed after two years by Ester Anderson of Bates Col- lege, who taught Bible for a year and held the title of dean of girls. Then came A. Carmen Taylor, also of Bates, be- sides additional training at Columbia and Boston Uni- versity. She took over the teaching of Latin, and as dean made the transition with Mr. Sawyer from the academy to the junior college. It was greatly to the advantage of the school at that critical time to have in the position of authority a person who already had been tested and had made good. By the time she relinquished her re- sponsibilities in 1934 the future of the college was well assured. Ruth A. Sprague succeeded Miss Taylor as dean of women. She was a graduate of Bates College, an institution that has a remarkable record of successful teachers among its alumni. In city high schools in Springfield and Providence and in such private schools as the Ogontz School of Philadelphia and Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, Miss Sprague gave ample proof of her ability. She was a student of psy- chology and at Colby gave promise of great usefulness during her two years of service, but death claimed her in the spring of 1936.
Before the fall term opened the trustees elected Amelia E. Clark, the dean of women at Bucknell University. Miss Clark is a graduate of Elmira College in New York, and received the degree of master of arts after further study at Columbia University. A year of teaching in the Troy High School gave her experience, then she
335
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
returned to Elmira, where she remained eight years as teacher of French. Her record of twelve subsequent years at Bucknell University was such as to make the college authorities very reluctant to release her when the call came from New London, but the appeal of Colby Junior College was irresistible. Students and friends alike are confident that many years of abundant service in Colby's second century await her.
In its hundred years of history Colby has been fortu- nate in many teachers who have given to the students a wealth of instruction and with it a friendliness and sympathy far out of proportion to the meagre salaries that they have received. Conscientious students them- selves they have not been satisfied merely to get through the day's work, but they have contributed a surplus of thought and time and energy that has made the differ- ence between success and failure for many a student. A few teachers have been able by ability or fortune to gain a reputation for scholarship and teaching skill.
No one in the long catalogue deserves higher mention than Ephraim Knight. The term "professor," which shortened to "prof" has been applied often to academy teachers half in courtesy and half in jest, has been as- cribed to him as by right of worth. "The longer I live and the wider my observation, I fail to find his superior, hardly his equal," said Dr. Gardner. He was a born mathematician, keen to see the solution of a problem, reverent before the working of scientific law. He never would allow a student to give a rule learned by rote as the reason for proof of a theorem. He always insisted on a complete demonstration of the problem which would be thought through by the student himself. It was hard to be patient with lazy minds and slow wits when his mind worked so unerringly, but he had the virtue of kindly consideration for his pupils. He loved the subject that he taught and he loved the students to
336
THE FACULTY
whom he taught mathematical lore. He had the gift of lucid explanation, and he was unremitting in his effort to help along those who needed assistance during the eighteen years that he was in the academy.
Professor Knight won the liking of his students and their respect for his ability. Dr. A. W. Perkins, who was a student in the days when the teacher was in his prime and graduated in the class of '59, testifies to his esteem in a letter to the Colby Voice many years later: "Professor Knight was my ideal of a man and an in- structor. He was one of the salt of the earth, and one whose heart was as tender as a woman's. I remember once when five of us were in that particular algebra class, he stood at the blackboard with pointer in one hand and chalk in the other figuring and explaining, as he went along, some difficult problem. It was a hot, sultry day, and when he turned around with pointer in hand to explain to us his work every blessed one of us was fast asleep. The change in the tone of his voice and away from the routine of his work brought us to life again, and it was really pathetic when he told us how anxious he was for our advancement, how he was will- ing, himself, to bear the heat and fatigue, but how dis- couraging it was when we responded with such lazy indifference."
Five years after the resignation of Professor Knight a Newbury boy graduated from Colby Academy so quali- fied by hard undergraduate study that he was appointed to teach without further preparation. So well did Frank J. Peaslee succeed in the department of science and mathematics that he remained eleven years at Colby and later returned to resume teaching and as assistant prin- cipal. He had the spirit of devotion to his task, which has not been rare among Colby teachers, but he also had the knack of making a subject understandable by his clear explanation of what seemed difficult problems. He
337
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
expected students to apply themselves to study and it was easy to escape from the consequences of delinquency, but students were ashamed to deal unfairly with one who dealt so squarely with them.
Mr. Peaslee was a Christian gentleman, helpful in the church as well as in the school, and for two years he was superintendent of New London schools to the great advantage of their scholastic standards. His record at the Durfee High School in Fall River as teacher of sci- ence was proof that he could teach elsewhere than at Colby, and his return to the hill was acclaimed as greatly to the advantage of the academy. His fine sense of chiv- alry led him to stand by his chief when Mr. Johnston was under attack soon after the return to New London and once more the school was bereft of his services.
The academy was fortunate in being able to find a successor of experience and ability who could carry on the efficient work of his predecessor. Professor LaRoy F. Griffin, A.M., was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Brown, had taught at Phillips Andover Academy, and for a considerable term of years had been professor of natural science at Lake Forest University in Illinois. He knew his subject and he knew how to impart his knowledge with contagious enthusiasm. Boys who could not become interested in other studies awoke to an appreciation of science when they got into the laboratory. Certain of his students not only accom- plished superior work in college, but made a reputation as teachers in prominent secondary schools and even in college. Although gray-bearded, Professor Griffin pos- sessed tireless energy. He would tramp miles with the boys through the spring mud for scientific specimens or for the sheer love of the excursion. He had a twinkle of the eye and a contagious smile that made students feel that he was their friend. He was an ordained min- ister, took his part in the academy vesper services, and
338
THE FACULTY
preached regularly at North Sutton. He was active in the church, the Grange and the Odd Fellows. He was the author of scientific textbooks. It was his ill fortune to be left with an insoluble problem in school adminis- tration upon the resignation of Mr. Gile, and the en- suing merciless reduction in salaries compelled his with- drawal.
The three men already named were old enough when they came to New London or stayed long enough to make their mature counsel a rich privilege for many a student. The same thing could be said of Mrs. Mary H. Morgan, who was a colleague of Professor Griffin on the faculty of the 'nineties. Mrs. Morgan with her kindly spirit and her motherly disposition would have made an ideal pre- ceptress, but circumstances did not permit that. It was possible for the academy to enjoy her services only be- cause the ill health of her husband and then the decrepi- tude of "Mother Morgan" made her presence in the New London homestead necessary for several years. As a former teacher in Boston and the wife of a minister for many years, she had experience and a fund of counsel that brought to her door many a boy and girl for advice and cheer. She taught French as her major task and helped out with courses in English.
George W. Parker, class of '95, who was in the acad- emy at that time, has written of Mrs. Morgan: "The homesick or discouraged found in her a sympathetic soul. This sympathy in no way interfered with the effectiveness of her teaching but strengthened it. Many of us found our way to the big house in the center of the village and listened to her vivid portrayal of travels or of incidents connected with her husband's pastorates. She was well versed in the history of Colby Academy and of New London and the personages who played a part in either." A host of friends reveled in the correspond- ence which she carried on, and every year added to
339
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
the number as the students received their diplomas and left the hill. The school was the poorer when she de- cided that home duties required the severance of school relations.
Those who knew the history of the first half century do not forget the place held by such a man as John J. Holbrook, who was a graduate of the academy and taught for four years, and some will remember Edward E. Whit- ford, who made German intelligible to Colby students during his four years' residence in the 'eighties. The academy was luckier than it deserved in some of the younger men who came fresh from college to experi- ment on the hilltop boys and girls. Such were. Morse and Miller who were of the Gile regime.
Herbert L. Morse was a native of Maine and a gradu- ate of Colby College in the class of '91. In his bachelor loneliness he had his residence in Colby Hall, where he was responsible for the discipline of the boys. He had little trouble because he liked the boys and they liked him. His department of teaching was mathematics, and he took pains to make the subject interesting, even fashioning cones and cylinders and other queer shapes out of pasteboard in order that he might help his pupils visualize their problems. His duties included instruc- tion in athletics, and from that time Colby students be- gan to shine on the athletic field. Fond of science and nature, Mr. Morse enjoyed botanizing and geological excursions, and was a kindred spirit in this respect with several of his fellow teachers and students. Before he moved on to other pastures he lost his heart to Martha Anthony of the student body, and after she had received her diploma on Commencement day the happy couple went to the church platform and were married, thus uniquely distinguishing a Colby Commencement. For forty years they have lived in Troy, New York, where Mr. Morse has been teacher of science in the high school.
340
THE FACULTY
The mantle of Mr. Morse fell upon Irving E. Miller, who had graduated from the University of Rochester as valedictorian in the class of '94. For a year he was prin- cipal of a school in Ontario, New York, then assumed the mathematical task at Colby. He was by nature and he became an expert teacher. He had to learn at the ex- pense of his pupils but later years were to show his worth. His character made him respected and every- body knew that he was master of his subject of instruc- tion. Caught in the undertow of radical disintegration of the school in 1899, he improved the opportunity to go to the University of Chicago for further study. Soon afterward he was assistant professor of philosophy at Illinois College, and subsequently occupied the chair of psychology and pedagogy at the state normal schools of Wisconsin and Colorado. Since 1914 he has been at the head of the department of education in the state normal college at Bellingham, Washington. Professor Miller has written books that have become standard in the field of education.
Contemporary on the hill with Morse and Miller was Henry K. Rowe, a Massachusetts boy, graduate of Brown in the class of '92, and coming to New London in the spring of '93 at. the same time as Professor Griffin. He came without experience in teaching, except for a few weeks in a Boston private school, but he undertook to teach Greek and history, and he learned from his stu- dents as fast as they learned from him. Writing of him one of his pupils of that day says: "If the student mistook his mild manner and inbred gentility for weakness, he was to be disillusioned. So strong was the force of char- acter that no threats were necessary. The studious qual- ity was uppermost and pleasant relations characterized his classroom. He was never spectacular; his forceful- ness was of the quiet sort that inspired scholarship. A fellow felt as ashamed to go to a class unprepared as he
341
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
would have to commit a misdemeanor." What the teacher learned at Colby has been of inestimable benefit to him through the forty years since, including thirty years of teaching history and social science in the New- ton Theological Institution. Professor Rowe is the author of several books in his own field of study and teaching. He received the degree of doctor of philosophy from Boston University in 1905 and the degree of doctor of divinity from Brown in 1932.
During the same period Mary E. Burpee contributed her part as a Colby teacher. The academy was no stranger to her since she was a neighbor and had completed its course of study. It was natural that the trustees should turn to her to share in the pedagogical efforts of the Dixon regime. That experience whetted her appetite for more study, and she was given leave of absence for a year to take courses at Radcliffe College. She came back qualified to interest her classes in history and to take charge of the library. It was her task to reassemble it and put it in order after the fire. She had a way of straightening out library difficulties in school and town more than once in subsequent years. Her gift of music made her a valued member of school quartettes and of the church choir. Her marriage to Walter L. Macomber ended eight years of teaching, and her residence of some years in Boston removed her from immediate contact with the school, but she never ceased to keep it in her heart. Returning after a number of years to New London, she took up again the threads of relationship, won new friendships by her cheery spirit, and made herself indispensable to school and church and town as well as in wider circles through the state, especially through her interest in Christian missions. It was en- tirely logical that Mrs. Macomber should be elected to the Board of Trustees in 1905, the first woman to be thus honored. Her family connection with the Burpee,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.