Fairmont State University - Mound Yearbook (Fairmont, WV)

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A Tribute to Mollie Virginia Smith Our souls grow fine with the touch divine ()1 noble natures gone. W ' lun noble and serviceable lives are nu short in Hie very prime of their usefulness it is comforting to know that the influence of finch lives abides and to believe that their activities arc but trans Terred to a higher .state of existence; that the music of their lives is no wise hushed, but blended so about the throne of God thai our poor ears no longer hear it. When a dear form that held a beautiful spirit is placed within the low green tent whose curtain never outward swings. and a talented, active, useful soul has passed out. then it is that grim linblllaf and ;looui doubt slink away and filth Mies out in i :yous strains- — ■All thai is. at all. Lives ever, past reca 11 : Earth changes. 1ml thy soul and (hid stand sure. What entered into thee Thai was. and is. and shall he: Time ' s wheel runs back, or stops ; L ' otter and clay endure. So we believe that while the earthly career of Mollie Virginia Smith is ended, the influence of her useful and noble life will endure, inspiring young men and women who sat under her instruc- tor In tin ' lass ! .mi and testifying to the value of a life de.ded to noble purposes. Perhaps no teacher in West Virginia ever had a wider circle of close friends than had Miss Smith, numbering among them many of the most influential men anil women of the State, to whom the announcement of her sudden summons home must have come with a shock and a keen sense of personal loss. Loyalty to her friends was one of the strong points of Miss Smith ' s character, and she had i 1: ft : inception ;f friendship. During hei illness she kept by her bedside, and frequently read a little poem beginning: I live for those who love me. And for those, who know me true : For the heaven that smiles above me, And the good thai I can do. In Miss Smith ' s death West Virginia loses an enthusiastic teacher. one who had occupied important positions in various sections of the state, and who had made friends everywhere among students and patrons. Her last position as teacher was that of instructor in English in the Fairmont Normal School, where at the same time she occupied the position of preceptress of the Woman ' s Hall. endearing herself to the young women by her sympathy and kind- liness of spirit. From both of these positions slie resigned because of ill healih in June, 1908. Associated with Miss Smith in t lie work of the English Depart- ment during the last year of her life as a teacher was the writer of this sketch, whose joy and solace it is to remember and to record the congenial comradeship of those days, the harmony with which the work was planned and executed; the helpful conferences, with the comparing of notes, and the discussion of students ' problems. To the writer ' s ear. in fancy, comes the sound of the merry ringing laugh in the face of some ludicrous situation, or the quiet, earnest tones as the seriousness of life or the realities of the future presented themselves to the two in conference. Ah. how true it is. that When Death, the great reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness that we repent of, but our severity. Amidst the stress and strain of the heavy work of the spring term the writer ' s burdens were lightened by the thoughtfumess and kindness of Miss Smith. If an interval afforded an opportunity ' or a hall hour ' s rest the hospitality of Miss Smith ' s room was always extended, and to that haven the writer could go, where, refreshed by a h ' minutes ' relaxation, could take up again the work of the class room. Oh, and oi ' those little nameless (not) unreiuembered acts love ! kindness Miss Smith had a strong and active personality. Of dignified tearing with a blight winsome face, gracious in speech and man- ner, cheery, and animated in conversation, she was a social favorite, and had she so elected might have been a social leader. Tactful and resourceful, she was unexcelled as a mistress of ceremonies. As one. speaking at her funeral, truthfully said. Site was a born diplomat. One of the beautiful things in her character was her devotion to her mother, of whom she spoke always with tenderness and rever- ence. Nor was she less loyal as a sister. The secret of her kindly ministrations, her generous sympathy, her helpful deeds, is to be found in the Christian faith which she espoused and which she exemplified day by day. She loved Tenny- son ' s beautiful lyric. Crossing the Bar. and faith can leave no doubt that she met her Pilot face to face when she had crossed the Bar. and that she joined the choir invisible, whose music is the gladness of the world. 1- urmont, i -Tan. 20 100 ' .). X. It. CAMERON MOKKOYV.

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ANN RENOLDS AUS TIN, A. B. Assistant Training School. Teacher High School, Louisburg, V. Va. : presiding teacher, ltog- ersville College. Tenn., I!)ii4-(iri : A. B„ V. V. U., 1906; principal kindergarten and primary. Louisburg. V. Va., 1901-04; assistant principal Greenbrier Presbyterian school, 1906-07 : West Liberty, 1007-08. SARAH ELIZABETH MEREDITH. Graduated from Fairmont State Normal School. 1889; spent year in Adrian College. Mich.: graduated ' . L. S. ( ' .. 1897; teacher in High School. Fairmont. 1891-1902; teacher in Arizona public schools. 1003-05: teacher in State Normal School. Athens, spring 1008; teacher in State Normal School, West Liberty. 1007-08. AMY L. RIDGELT. Art. Graduate and post-graduate of Maryland Institute. Baltimore. Md„ 1906; Teachers College, summer of 1907, New York Univer- sity; teacher Normal School. Fairmont. V. Va., 1000. GARNET GREENE UFA. Graduated from Teachers ' College. Indianapolis. Ind. : taught three years in Mission Kindergarten, Jacksonville, 111.: two years public school kindergarten. Mansfield. Ohio. SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS. Lucy I!. Morrow. ( ' . P. Lee. Edna Jacobs.

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