Illinois State Normal University - Index Yearbook (Normal, IL)

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Page 13 The INDEX RICH RD EDW RD , LL. D. llr. Edwards is a notabl country for one who makes ities. C example of the possibilities in this tfie best use of his energies and abil- XX'hen he came from XYa of twelve, he could not s and at least one brother, w learned it. The subject of t e pea es to the United States, at the age k English, his father and mother .io lived to past middle age, never his sketch was not so content. He iood, and next to that for a knowl- worked diligently for a livelif. ich he gained a mastery equalled by few of the native-born, then was eager for other useful learning. .Xt his home in .'Xkron, Ghio, his energy, ambition and zeal at- edge of theilanguage, in wh tracted the attention of all, among them, Mr. Samuel S. Greeley, who for many years has been the surveyor of Cook county, Illi- nois. Mr. Greeley was a graduate of Harvard, and was urgent that young Richard should lit himself to enter that college and take the course, this seemed impossible for want of means, but, urged by Mr. Greeley and others, he did go to Massachusetts, to 'obtain an education, taking with him barely money enough to reach his destination. Before entering upon his studies, to lay up a little money, he taught school for awhile, and was accus- tomed to say, in after life, he proved he was incompetent, and that work a failure. He soon entered the Xormal School at Bridgewater, under the presidency of Nicholas Tillinghast, a re- markable man. That school was also the 41111141 IIICIIIFI' of Ed- win C. Hewitt and of Thomas Metcalf, each of whom for many years did eminent service in the Illinois Normal. Dr. Edwards always held Mr. Tillinghast in high esteem, and named a son after him. After leaving Bridgewater, young Edwards graduated at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N. Y., and then entered upon teaching, he rapidly rose in his profession and soon be- came the head of the schools at IValtham, thence he was called, in 1857, to St. Louis, and, in 1862, to the p-residency of the Illi- nois Normal School. President Hill, of Harvard, said Massa- chusetts never sustained a greater loss in its educational field than when St. Louis gained him from her. As a teacher, he was not only well grounded in what he taught, but had a magnetism and personality that created and maintained enthusiasm in his pupils. The man was behind the teacher. This quality is of the first importance. Probably Thomas Arnold, Horace Mann, Mary Lyon and others of the highest eminence did not understand their subject, or even the routine work in the class-room, better than many others, but they

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The INDEX Page 12 He was fond of the comedy side Of life. Laughter was music to his ears. He looked for the relief which comes with the play of fancy as it festoons with its airy grace and delightful draperies the severities of life. It was an instinct with him to contribute to the happiness of others and he sought such Opportunity. Qver against this quality the most tender 'sentiment was set. lt led him to invest childhood with that dignity and sacredness which every true-minded teacher recognizes. Few faces were so sad as his when lost in reflection. NVas he thinking of his dead? Five preceded him to the shadows. Here was the realm of a deep religious sentiment, not so much the fruitage Of the creeds as of the love of the gracious Master who had won his allegiance. And here, too, was where he shared his inner life with the friends he loved, and to be admitted there once for all was a thing that memory fondly dwells upon. There was a third aspect to his character that added to its attractiveness, at least to those who love the truth and the true- hearted. lt was an element of sternness and rigor that some- times approached severity. lt was his instinctive answer to the call of the right as he saw the right. He stood sharply and clearly four-square to the world. He had none of the arts of the Hman- agerf' He was too blunt for delicate finesse. The profound im- pression that he made upon the community in which the work of his life was done was due to his clear-grained human worth. He was close to the management of this institution. For thirty-six years he was a member of its board of control and for thirteen its president. He was always present at its meetings. He was not old yet he was impressed that he was soon to go away. Vfe looked to see him sit for years among his sheaves in glad content before the final call of fate. He told his pastor his simple wishes as to what they should do when he had no voice and he confided to his loving wife the names of a few friends to whom should go- The steel cold fact in one laconic thrust, if the end should come unexpectedly. In the night, in a distant city, without warning, with no one near but his faithful wife, like the sudden blowing out of a taper, the end came and he was gone. As was said of the master whom he met and loved at Penikese: lVhere the eyes that follow fail, On a vaster sea, his sail, Drifts beyond our beck and hailf' It was a joy to us that knew him that we could walk and serve with him and learn anew the beauty of sweet sincerity and undeviating devotion to childhood and to truth. Delialb, March 2.1, IQO8. JOHN W. COOK.

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The INDEX - Page 14 55 had what so many lack, the rarer gift of imparting inspiration. In a high degree, Richard Edwards had this gift. One was indeed dull, who could remain a laggard under him. His first appearance at Normal was when he gave an address upon The Heritge of Culture, which is yet remembered by those who heard it, and this from one who had no ancestral heritage of the schools of which to boast. His manly bearing, splendid voice, polished sentences, noble sentiments, distinct elo- cution andearnestness of manner, captivated all. To the last, he was an orator. He found the school at a low ebb. It really was not upon its feet, when, its president and every male student who was capable of bearing arms entered the army. Mr. Perkins Bass, a mem- ber of the Board, had consented to act as temporary president un- til a permanent one could be chosen. Mr. Bass made no pretense of being a teacher or of understanding that kind of work. It can