Traverse City High School - Pines Yearbook (Traverse City, MI)

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earnitiu ' inoiu-v to pay his school exi)enses. After couiidct- iiii - his work at Yi)silanti he went to Plymouth, as Princi- pal of the ])ul lic schools, where his real career as an edu- cator beyan. For four years he tauyht in the scluiols of Plymouth with al)iiity and tlevotion. The i)e()i)le there have not forgotten him and they still turn to him for advice and counsel in educational matters. During- a part of this time he was Secretary of the Wayne County Board of School Examiners. It was during- thi.s time, also, that he began a home for himself. On Nov. :25, 18H1, he married Helen J. Blackwood of Northville, Wayne Co., who had been a student with him in the State Normal School. Thus was begun a ha]ipy home life which has grown with the years. In the fall of I 4 Mr. Grawn came to Traverse City as Sui)erintendent of her public .schools. Since that time he has labored here and grown with the growth of the city. On the presentation of two theses in Ls92 the State Nor- mal College conferred ujDon him the degree of B.Pd., and the M.Pd. was added in ls97 by the same institution. The State Teachers ' Association claimed him as its president in L 94. By hard study and frequent attendance at professional meetings of all kinds Mr. Grawn has kept himself fully up to the times. Besides being successful in school he has been very successful in business ventures, and is one of the few teachers in Michigan who can show financial results for their labors. Personall} ' Mr. Grawn is pleasant, genial, sincere. He is greatly esteemed by his patrons, teachers and pupils. His heart is warm and bright, and the generous kindness of his nature shines out from every feature of his ojien coun- tenance, and his presence is like a benediction that is not soon forgotten. In June, 1h99, Mr. Grawn was appointed Superintend- ent of the Normal College Training School at Ypsilanti-

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Chdiics T. Grcivvn, R.Pd., h . X . I— OR tifteen years the i)ublic schools of Traverse City were under the suijervision of Mr. Chas. T. Grawn. Under his manai ' ement, during- that time, the} have in- creased from twelve teachers to over forty. Their ,n rovvth in tone, etticiency, and influence was no less conspicuous, giving them a good name throughout a wide region in North- ern Michigan. Good buildings were erected, and })eace, harmony, and progress prevailed. These schools are a monument to Mr. Grawn. What better monument can man build ? Mr. Grawn w as born in Washtenaw county, Mich., Oct. 4, 1857. His parents were Swedish pioneers. His boyhood days were spent on a farm in Kent Co., where he took many of his lessons in nature sludy. His toil was that of the ordinary farm boy, when not in school. For several months each year he was required to learn to read Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian, but in the winter he attended the district school of the neighborhood. When he was seventeen years of age he entered the Newaygo High School, which he attended for one year. While in this school he did janitor work and chores to pay the usual expenses of board and books. After attending the high school for one year he began teaching. His first experience was a term of four months in a district school at twenty dollars per month, boarding around. In the spring of 1876, he entered the State Normal School, and was graduated from that institution in June, 1880, having completed the classical course. During these four years his summer vacations were spent on the farm.

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He began his work there in the following- September, and in a few months had won the hearts and confidence of both students and facult}-, when, on the resig-nation of Principal Charles McKenny of the Central State Normal, the State Board of Education again showed their hig h appreciation of Mr. Grawn by electing him to succeed Prin. McKenny. He entered upon his duties as Principal of that 3 ' oung ' but vigorous institution in April last. The reception given him by the students, teachers, and citizens of Mt. Pleasant is prophetic of a long- and successful administration in this important position.