Oregon State University - Beaver Yearbook (Corvallis, OR)

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Margaret Comstock Snell

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EDICATION To Margaret Comstock Snell, in deep appreciation of her life spent in the service of others, to whom she is an ideal and an inspiration, and of her untiring efforts towards the up-building of our Alma Mater, we, the class of nineteen hundred and nine do lovingly dedicate this volume.

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MARGARET COMSTOCK SNELL IT HAS been said that they have achieved success who have lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who have gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who have filled their niche and accomplished their tasks; who have left the world better than they found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who have never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty nor failed to express it; who have always looked for the best in others and given the best they have; whose life has been an inspiration; whose money a benediction. Measured by this standard, Miss Snell’s life is a successful one. Born in New York, of Quaker parentage, she spent her early years in that section of the country. The family moved to Iowa, where she attended Center Grove Academy, later becoming a student at Grinnell College. After teaching school three years in Iowa City, she moved to California, where, with her sisters, she established Snell Seminary which is now located in Berkeley. Deciding to pursue the study of medicine, she left her work in the Seminary and entered the Boston University Medical School, from which she was graduated with the degree M. D. She entered upon the practice of her profession but became imbued with the idea that the higher and nobler functions of medical lore was to teach people how to keep well rather than to cure disease. She accepted the call, in 1889, to the chair of Domestic Science and Hygiene in the Oregon Agricultural College. During these nineteen years she has done a much-needed work in bringing to public notice by her teaching and her lecturing the fact that much of the sickness and general ill-health are due to improperly prepared foods, ill ventilated rooms, and unsanitary conditions of dwelling houses and their environments. To all with whom she has come in contact, she has demonstrated the joy of service and the liberation of love into work. Her ideal has been to carry culture and education into all phases of industrial work, to dignify and ennoble labor. She believes with Emerson that the acquisition of some form of manual skill and the practice of some form of manual labor are essential elements of culture. A woman of fine culture, high ideals and a winning personality, she has left a lasting impression on the minds of hundreds of young women who have sat at her feet. Who can estimate her influence? Her recent resignation has caused deep regret, but she will carry with her through coming years, the best wishes of her colleagues and of the students of the A. 0. C.