West Virginia Wesleyan College - Murmurmontis Yearbook (Buckhannon, WV)

Page 8 text:

®0 i atx, A. 31. Uilktnsou. liljo liaa Bljniim l tntarlf lo be a itmxh of Eiuralion. a frieni) nf tl)f tjniitl] nf WsBt TJirgiuia, atiii an rantfst Bupportpr Df tl|nBp tljinga far lulitrli fflrBlrjiau QlnUrgr atanJiB, uie rrBprrtfully iriitratr lljis nolutnr.

Page 10 text:

A. J. WILKINSON. In till- I ' arly days it was tlic liiippv lliduj ht ul ' sunn ' rclitor of till- MUKJIURJMOXTIS to acilicatf tlic- volumr to an cminout son of West Virsrinia. It may liave been in liis riund that liiograjihy affords truest ins[iii ' ati(m for tlie making of useful lives; or he may simply have aeeepted the opportunity to honor his book by dedieatinj ' it to some loved and worthy friend. The lu-esent Board of K litors is pleased to euutinue thi- riistom and diniMy ha])py in being alile to dedieate it to so useful a servant of the eommonwealth as A. J. Wilkinson. There is probalily no mie. not even tln ' itinerating minister or the politieian. who is l)etter known througli- out the state than he is. His temperament makes him soeiable. his vocation leads him to meet thousands of per- sons yearly, he himscdf — what he is — eauses them to like him iiumi ' iisely. ' i ' licrel ' i irc he has friends fi-niii I ' .I iidirld 1(1 Wi ' llslinri; ' . from Harper ' s Kerry to Kenova. . nd wi- hipid that if a bh ' ssiui; ' bchiniis to him wlm n ' plaees the singh ' blade of grass witli two. nuieh more is it due to -Mr. AVilhinson who has effectively preaidn ' d tin ' L ' dod lextdiooks foi ' sixteen yi ' ai ' s in evei ' v liamlet ami county of the state. This self-made son of the Littli ' . binntain State was born and reared in Harrison County, Imt at the age of ten years supported him.self by doing the work of an errand boy at a hotel. Later hr Avorked on a farm, soon b-aving to become the fireman of a saw-mill at a salary (d ' seven dollai-s a month. A passion for I ' dni ' idion led liini to boolis. teaehers ami tearhiug; ami when a youiiL ' man lie si-i-ured a sdioul nl ' bis own. So sn ssI ' mII ' did he teach that in foni ' years be beeanie jirinidpal of the rirafton Tligli School and in another four years was pi ' o- moted to the Sujieriidencb ' nt of Si-liools for that dty. In this cai)acit,v he served for a (luadrennium. resigning bis position in 1894 to become the State Representative of the American Book Company, the service in which be is still (ddefly engaged. Thi ' horizons of bis educational interests have al x ays been wide. From 1801 to 18iiii he was a member of, and Secretary to the State lioard of Examiners, He was President of the State Educational Association for a year and for eighteen years served the Association as Secre- tary, But much of his service to the cause of ednea+ion lias not been known to the public ; here and there through- out the state are men and women whom he has (|iiietly helped financially to attend some school or college, and other links in this fine chain are being added by youths who ai-e now i n School bccanse the man from Grafton helps mc. .Mr. Vill inson Avas last . ' o cmlicr ideclcd (ii-arjil Si ' cii ' tary of the (irand Tjodge, Indepcinlcnt Oi-der of Odd Fidbiws. i { West A ' irginia, and is now inidcr ap|)ointnn ' id as ()i-aud Keprcsentative to the Sovereign Grand Ijodse of America which is to mei-t in September at Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a member of the Free .Masons, (d ' the Knights of Pythias and of the Order of Elks. His service as an official no ' mbci- (d ' the .Vndrews Abdhodist Episcopal Church in Grafton and his work for the civic betternu ' nt id ' that eit,v have made him es|)eciall.v esteemed and hon- ori ' d l)y those who know him best, Tlic career of ] lr. Wilkinson repeats again the story of Amciican jilnck and pcrse -eranci . Tn the face of un- toward circumstances be lias folbnved the gleam, keeping inlcgi-ity, ( ' liristian I ' aitli ami bnc for hnman kind, until a great cmiimonwcalt li pmndly names him as a well-loved soli.