Guilford College - Quaker Yearbook (Greensboro, NC)

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When in 1888 New Gartlen Boardins School was changed to Guilford College, with additional buildings and greatly augmented funtls, and tlie course of study so developed as to put it on a par with other colleges of the State, no one seemed so well fitted to guide its destinies as Lyndon Hobbs, who was at once chosen Presi- dent by the trustees. Entering zealously upon his duties, he has worked unceas- ingly and at great sacrifice for the welfare and improvement of the institution; and the establishment and success of the College is due in no small degree to his faitli in its future and his intelligent realization of its present needs and opportu- nities. Not only has his care been exercised towards better equipment and larger endowment, but for the growth and symmetrical develoj ment of the individual stutlents in all that is best and highest. He moves among them the embodiment of a cultured Christian gentleman, courteous toward all, with cjuiet dignity, think- ing of self last, without guile, — his very presence commands the putting forth of the noblest and best that is in one ' s nature. The entire growth of the College during the twenty-two years of his presidency, and the strong young men and women who have received their ideals here and have gone out to their work in the world, will iK ' riK ' tuate better than could any monument his love and loyalty to the cause of humanity. This unscliisli devotion to the eilucational progress of the State and the real acrniiiplishnieiit of work in its larger significance, won wrii-deserveil recognition in tlie rather interesting coincidence in 1909 when lie receivecl the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from ixith the rniversity of North ( ' arolina and his Alma Mater, Haverford College. President Hobbs has also l)een a most valuable ser -ant of his church. From his youth a member of the Soci(!ty of Friends, he has all his life manifested an in- terest in its welfare. As a boy he was jiunctual at the Sabbath School and con- stantly attended the meetings held in the old Revolutionary Meeting Hou.se at New Garden, where he had the privilege of hearing sermons by some of the most gifted ministers of the denomination Ixjth in this country and from England. The seed fell into good grountl and have been bearing fruit ever since in a simjile, loyal life lived for others far more than for any personal gain or glory. His attachment to the church is warm and sincere, and his execution of every trust impo.sed upon him is faithful and efficient to the extent of his ability. He has occupied almost every position of service within the denomination, having been Clerk of Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, Overseer and Elder. Furthermore, for several years he has served the whole body of Friends in North Carolina as Clerk of their Yearly Meeting, an office which embraces not only clerical duties, but those of presiding officer as well. The necessity in this position of judging quickly and imjiartially of the merits and weight of ojiinions advanced, has lieen met by a quickniws and fine spiritual percejitioii as well as good judgment and ])erfect fairness that seem almost marvelous. Not only vithin the liounds of his own denomination has his influence been felt. He has been active in every movement for the improvement of our ])ublic schools. By addresses and personal persuasion he has forwarded the cause of local taxation for educational jiurposes. Largely through his effort the first rural

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Hoiii Hpnbon ohh T was a most natural thinp; for the first Annual of (luilfonl Col- lege to be dedicated to Dr. Hobbs — her first and only President. To write a history of his career would l)e to personify tiie Col- lege to which he has given his life in the fullest measure of devo- tion. The simplicity and sincerity of his life makes its history siinjile, though beautiful. Dr. Hobbs i.s a native of Guilford County and was born on the 17th of May, 1849, at New Garden (now ( iuilford College), North Carolina; almost within the shadow of the institu- tion in which has wrought so long anil so well. His ])ari ' nts were Lewis and Phoebe Cook Hobbs, who in their anxiety to give their children the enduring things of life hovered close by the ciuiet Friends settlement at New Garden. His ancestors came from Pennsylvania with the wave of Scotch-Irish and Quaker emigration which swept southward about tlie middle of the eighteenth century. His father was a teacher, a man of education and spiritual refinement, a dignified, lovat)le character. He taught in the little brick .school house which the Friends of New CJarden at once built near their Meeting House. He died while still a young man — his son Lyndon Ijeing only three months old, but wlm can say that it was not a beautiful sequence that the son, imbibing the loyal and unselfish .spirit of the father, should transform that same moilest schoolhouse into a modest, yet strong college ? It must be added that the early loss of the advice and care of his father was overcome by the blessing of a strong, courageous mother. Liheriting much from his worthy father and absorliing the gentle and ennobling influences which his mother cast about him. President Hol)bs began early to foster principles of integrity anil uprightness and to make the best of the opportunities about him, and even to make opportunities in the midst of difficulties in order that he might cultivate his mind and equip himself for usefulness in life. Having received his preparatory training at New fiarden Boarding School, now Guilford College, in 1872 he entered Haverford College, where he pursued his studies with real love of learning and entered with zest into college sports, both of wliich characteristics he happily still retains, so that not only in the class and lecture rooms and in executive affairs, but on the athletic field as well, the students have his cordial sympathy and co-operation. Upon his graduation in 1876 he entered at once upon what has grown to be his life work by accepting a place as teacher in New Garden Boarding School. The classics were his chosen field, and for several years his work was largely con- fined to the Latin language and literature. After special work in this direction, he received the degree of M.A. from his Alma Mater. Since that time he has studied at Clark LIniversity, Massachusetts, where he came under the influence of that profound scholar, G. Stanley Hall. By intelligent observation both here and abroad, he has developed that broadness of culture and toleration which marks the ideal teacher.

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graded school was established in North Carolina, located in a handsome hrick building upon the same piece of ground where his father taught the children of his day. For four years he was a member of the State Board of Examiners and for several years of the Guilford County Board of Education. His has been the guid- ing hand in management of the Guilford Graded School, devoting both time and mean.s to the advancement of the young people of the community. A man of retiring nature, he has never sought any honors which have come to him, but as they came he has proved himself strong in the assumption of them and fitted to grace the position with dignity and honor. This characteristic is best sho-iMi in the following extract from his inaugural address as President of Guilfortl College in 1888: In accepting the position as first President of Guilford College, I recognize the grave responsibility which is placed upo n my shoulders, yet I am happy in the be- lief that I accept that charge with humility and in the fear of God, knowing full well that mth the added responsibility will come added strength for serving my fellow- men in the cause of education. While I have not sought the headship of this in- stitution, since it has fallen to my lot, I accept it as a divine commission, and pray to be found faithful in the discharge of my duties, in order to best promote the success of the institution in its grand mission of disseminating sound learning and moulding Christian characters. In 1881 Dr. Hobbs married Mary Mendenhall, eldest daughter of Dr. Xereus ] Iendenhall, a well-known educator of the past generation. This union has been a most hapi y one — each life compensating whatever weakness the other might have, and it can truly be said that these two have wrought together in genuine helpfulness both to themselves and to the great host of Guilford students both present and past who have spent the formative periotl of student life in the sun- shine and purity of their presence.