Curwensville Area High School - Echo Yearbook (Curwensville, PA)

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THE ECHO school system soon after taking control has developed to the polnt where today It IS recogmzed everywhere m thus State as a model for towns of nts slze He was everywhere known as a kmd courteous and conslderate man and leader rn everythlng he was actlvely engaged ln whether It was business publlc Interests church work or has chosen profession of educator ln hrs school work he took a very actlve Interest ln the welfare of hlS teachers as well as the puplls under hrs care and always appreciated any llttle kindness shown to them l can thlnk of nothlng finer to express the human lnterest and consldera tlon of the welfare of his teachers than to reclte rn part a letter l recelved from hum a number of years ago after a week end spent ln camp ln the mountains where he together wxth all the teachers ln hls orgamzatlon were my guests The letter closes by saylng Such meetmgs gxve more of the human touch to all of our school work and brmgs the teachers to know each other better and glves to each of them a more l1v1ng appreclatlon of nature whlch IS always reflected ln thelr dutles as mstruc tors Professor Norrls wlll long be remembered as one of Curwensvllle s most dlStlI'lgUlSl'lCd cltlzens M A Caldwell LUEPRGU' CLIPPING I-ROM THE ALTOGNA MIRROR Members of the Anclent Order of Yellow Dogs have planned a memorial servlce ln memory of thelr departed chleftaln Professor Grant Norrls and other deceased members of the K9 trlbe to be held ln thls clty on Sunday afternoon anuary I3 Thxs IS the first tlme ln the hlstory of dogdom that such a service has been planned Yellow Dogs have been called upon many tlmes to mourn the loss of a falthful member of the kennel and xt IS a dogma of the anclent order to submlt humbly to the wlll of the Master Only a tentative program has been arranged and the place has not been dehmtely settled but present plans call for a meetlng place large enough to accommodate the large membershlp of the Blalr County kennel and a large number of vrsltlng K9s from surroundmg kennels A sultable resolutlon IS bemg prepared for the occasion and a scroll of the dead wlll be prepared by the keeper of records to be read at the close of the service The program wlll mclude sultable hymns by the assembled Yellow Dogs and speclal selectlons by the Altoona Works cholr under the dlrectlon of Professor Howard Llndaman The homlly wlll be dellvered by the past chief of the Blalr County kennel Robert W Smxth wxth mmxsters of Altoona and churches of the county taklng part ln the devotlons lt IS hoped to have a number of mlmsters formerly located ID the county present on thls memorlal OCCHSIOD A sultable memorlal IS bemg prepared whlch wlll be presented to each Yellow Dog at the SCYVICC It IS especially deslred that all persons knowing of Yellow Dogs who have passed to the Great Beyond send the names to the keeper of records George H Llebegott of Duncansvllle as soon a sposslble so that he may complete the scroll The record IS not complete and this will be the only means of makxng It a complete roster of the deceased members The program for the memorial service wxll be completed and the place defmltely flxed at a meeting of the memorlal commlttee called for Saturday evemng January 29 at the Penn Alto Hotel n 1 r I v , . n y 1 v . ., . . y n . . . , u rr - - - u n y H . . . . . . rr - U . . . . . H . . . H . . . . . r - v , . U . . . . . . r - - v v H . . . n . - ' --

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I2 THE ECHO GRANT NORRIS A Frzend In order to understand IVIr Norris as a friend I think it is well to conslder some of the qualities that enter into a great friendship This is a subject that has been the theme of poets and philosophers from the very beginning of ClVlllZa tion and it will probably continue to involve the mterest of the human race to the end of time Probably no other subject has received more attention and probably no other experience has added more to the happiness of the human race While different writers may stress different qualities as being important factors in a friendship I think every one will agree that the greatest yearning of the human heart in every class of society old and young poor and prosperous wise and foolish is for sympathetic understanding The person who can only stare when you speak of something that stlrs your soul IS a poor companion The person who is not touched by scenes that bring tears to your eyes is of I1ttIe comfort in times of trouble The person who can see no reason for your joy and your sorrow lacks feeling and understanding Some one has said that Loneliness does not consist in being alone for then ministering spirits come to soothe and bless Loneliness IS to endure the presence of a person who does not under stand Grant Norris had wonderful ability in understanding the feelings of human the democrat He was able to converse with the man at the plow as well as wlth the man in the office I-Ie was ready at all times to talk about fishing or philosophy I-Ie was able to enter into sympathetic relations with people of all classes And in addition to his deep understanding he had an unusual amount of tact rn getting along with people Few people have ever been hurt or offended by hls criticism I-Ie was unusually kind This made him a most comfortable companion This does not mean that he was not a man of definite notlons and strong convictions I-Ie was generally the Ieader of the group with which he was asso ciated This came about partly because he was well informed and largely because he was an easy conversationallst and an excellent debater He was quick to take advantage of the weak spot in his opponent s argument And along wlth the keenest arguments he was always well polsed and affable So he was a real favorlte in clubs and social gatherings His deep interest and Iarge sympathy with the world crowd did not prevent him from having some close friends who belonged to the inner circle Those who were privileged to know his deepest nature will agree that he had the soul of a poet and the mind of a phllosopher I doubt if any other man has ever quoted as much poetry to me as he has He used to revel in sollloquies in the conversa tions that great men held with themselves and in whlch they justified their con duct or lamented thelr fates And with all his ability as a speaker he was a perfectly good Ilstener I-Ie enjoyed soc1aI intercourse and was a master in the greatest of all arts Irving in harmony with his surroundings D S Swaney WHILE? GRANT NORRIS A Publzc Servant I knew Professor Grant Norris for a great many years I-Ie was very broad minded in everything he undertook and as a result of this splendid trait he was recognized as a Ieader Professor Norris a natlve born and raised son of Clearfield County was generally acclaimed her most successful educator I-Iis reorgamzation of our beings in all walks of life, He was as much at home with the aristocrat as with

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THE ECHO MEMORIAL TO GRANT INORRIS Grant NOTTIS was born sxxty years ago near the same place he dled Cur wensvllle Pennsylvanxa He was of Scotch lrnsh stock on both sldes of the house and mherxted all the traxts of that lndormtable race HIS forbearers came lnto that country when It was an unbroken forest and wlth axe and rlfle subdued It He had many of the qualltles of the frontxers man ln hls make up He loved the solltudes the chase the camp fire He had the ploneer s reverence for God for nature for schools It IS a well known fact that the Scotch lrlsh ploneers when they went lnto a new country after they first bullt thelr rude log cabins next bullt a log church and then a log school house rlght by the church oftlmes they would use one of these bulldlngs for both purposes of worshlp and education We deslre to call attentlon to the three outstandlng factors that lnfluenced Grant Norris IH hls contacts wlth hls fellow men l His rellgxous llfe ll Hls school llfe III Hls Frxendshlp for his fellow men I Hls relxgxous llfe Man lS so constltuted that he must worshlp some Grant NOITIS bCllCVCd and worshlpped God as a great Splrlt prevadlng the umverse the Creator of the worlds thelr suns moons and satellrtes who put 1n operatlon the laws that govern them and who at tlmes may and does set aslde hls natural law ln order to make hls power manlfest to the children of men He was a member of the Methodlst Episcopal Church at one tlme a local preacher ln the same and at the tlme of hls death the teacher of the Men s Blble Class He beheved that the orgamzed church IS the best medlum that can be devlsed for the cultlvatlon and enrichment of the splrltual man He belleved that God was a Great Splflt He belleved ln the lncarnatlon that esus Chrnst was somethlng more than a good man that He was God H believed ln the resurrectlon of the body He could not explaln It who can3 Who can explam the mysterles of the Spmt anyhow3 The wxsest man that ever hved or ever w1ll hve can not analyze a thought or measure the power of the Spzrzt Then how futlle lt IS to reject the thmgs we do not or cannot understand3 ll HIS School Lnfe He was tramed for hls llfe work xn the common schools of Clearfield County and Allegheny College He was the Valedxctorlan of his class when he graduated from Allegheny College and while there won honors on several occaslons as class orator Hls mlnd was keen and analytlcal when he became a teacher and school admlnlstrator the pupxls and teachers wlth whom he worked were his most devoted followers recogmzlng ln hlm the ablllty of leadershlp of the highest order When he was Supermtendent of the schools of Braddock Pennsylvanla he was regarded as one of the ablest Supermtendents ln Western Pennsylvania and was urged by frlends to be a candldate for the County Supermtendency of Allegheny County but hls loyalty to Superintendent Samuel Hamxlton would not permit thls Hls pupils and hrs teachers were constantly ln hls mxnd and he was constantly planmng for thelr betterment He stressed the fundamentals of a school educatlon when hls puplls were exammed 1n these they were found to be exceedmgly strong l 4 thing. 'He creates his God out of his faith, his hopes, his desires. . J . ' . l ' . . ' e