Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Oak Yearbook / INSTANO Yearbook (Indiana, PA)

Page 30 text:

In Memory of Jane E. Leonard . i liki- a liiiiiil Kiik. afiart. ot like U ' lm- irna. ohditralv. hard. Thai ilannii its. naked unarled arm That rears its frond defiant face. Ill boast I III mood, nor fears Dulled by the hoary nine The ■ ■nter blasts, nor subtle harm Of age, on weak and totterinfi base. Of eanker ealtnii at the heart. ) et scarce by battling tempests marred. Did ' sl thou resist the years. Did st thou deny the time. Hut like some gentle streamlet free. Dispensing cheer to verging meads: or boast, nor pride, nor strife. Thus be the wealth of useful deeds Sweet waters welling up in thee To life, enduring life. Charle insliiw Oeaiic Biugraph is the quintessence ol historx How true it is of Indiana! Principals have come and gone, faculties ha c Jissohed and heen recimsliluted. hut still there have continued an identity of character and a stabilii of ideals Appearances mav have changed, but essenliall Indiana has not. because it has been indissolublx ' united with .Miss Leonard. The t pe of womanhood ileveloped in the thousands of girls under her care dur- ing lift ' years of ser ice is eloijuent witness regarding her discharge of the duties in the diflicult position of Preceptress Not superficial in her interest, remembering the circumstances elicited b - careful inciuir ' . gentle, respecting the personalit ' of each, appreciating the possibilities represented in them, she took them under her protecting wing and made them her friends for life. Tew guests were e er more welcome than was .Miss Leonard in their homes, Cireat as was .Miss Leonard ' s influence professionall ' . we remember her with e en deeper regard as a woman. Ph sicall strong. mentall ' alert. temperamentall ' sympathetic, but considerate in judgment, with fine ideals of life, she was positive in her con ictions. and courageous in defending them I ler rooms were a .Mecca not only for students in trouble, but also for teachers, former students and fellow citizens, for the range of her interests was wide as the welfare of mankind. .Men of note sought her advice and enjo ed her companionship. But the fact that outshines ever - other in her long and honorable career, that reveals the secret of her influence, that stills e er sigh and forbids e er rear is her firm, adoring faith in her Lord Jesus Christ. Her gentle voice in the prayer-meeting subdued b ' her earnestness, whether in addressing the worshippers or the throne of grace, will linger while life lasts in the ears of those who heard her. She had the jo and peace of belie ing It moulded her character, beautified her life, and shaped her distinv l)r I) | W .ilkr. Jr IN. What a friend she was! We used to sit b the winter lire into ihe wee. small hours of the morning. and talk about e er thing under the sun. from wnmeiis rights

Page 29 text:

Nt [l. LtONARD

Page 31 text:

Id pa•clt■ lill;Ui()ll ' I rum llu- prii|Hr «;i lor our Ki ' I I hki- Io iIh- hill of rij hls :uul llic Manna Cliarla. , ll leoliani ioM ' d lilf .iiul .ill llu-Ki ! llimn ' ol lilf She ciijoyi-il a h mi;I iliiiiicr: slir eiijineil a k ' ' ' ! I ' -. ' ' priii clolhi ' s iieviT lo l llu ' ir tharm for her. And how hf lo cil Naliirr in all lur niooiK I lie simpk ' l flower by ifie roailsiclc appeal- ed to lier, hill so ilul the niajeslv of a slorni. V hal pal iiuolallons often ailornecl her siinplesl speech I remember oiKe when wc were driving out to the okl countr ' club for a school picmc It had rained the night before and the streams were much swdlleii As we crossed a brawhiiK little creek dashing among the rocks, she was i|uoling. and that ' s how the waters came down at I otlore! I ilonbt not that I voice the senlinu ' iils of man of ou when I ileclare that she was the best friend I ever had, d (ilher woman of all m wide aci|uaiiilance, except nn wife and m ' mother. e er mlliienced nn life so much for gooil. I here were some ery troublous limes in the earl part of mv administration of the school, ami I can never forget how alianll she stood and fought for what she believetl to be the right! (he ordinary- wiiinan would have assumed a non-partisan altitude and sought the co er of silence ami imlilfercnce. What a comf irt she was in time of trouble! Mow sound she was as an adviser in all things! She had a keen sense of justice. I know not now where that hra e soul fares, but where e ' er she is. 1 know she is standing and battling for ihe right! J.imes I-, Anient, . great soul has |iasseii into the be oiul We p.iuse, re erenllv. aiul contem- plale the life she led. We must confess, at Ihe outset, that the personalit of Jane l:lizabelh Leonard eludes anal sis as does ihe heaul ami Ihe perfume of Ihe rose, and. therefore, all that is included in her biographs ' . all the analysis of her character that may be made, all the eulog - that mav be pronounced, and all the affection that ma be confessed, fail to portra ' adequately the personality that she was. In mailers political she was alert and interested. She understood the pla ' and interpla ' of nioti e in social life. She knew the trick and (inesse of politicians and she knew straleg Some have called her a iliplomal She was gracious and con- siderate but she ne er concealed what woulil deceive . lways she sIockI four-square on vital social and political matters. She was firm in her political faith, but was so sincere in il that those of opposing political faiths respected her sincerity. . nd in the long, long span of her life, 1 have yet to hear of a single bitterness. To many people. .Miss Leonard came to be the emhodimeni of Indiana. IO herself, she was never this. Instead, she was the willing servant of Indiana. .And bv Indi.in.i , liss Leonard alwavs meant far more than has as vet been here achieved. She h.id a vision of a greater school than has vet been built upon this hill, I once heard her talk of it as Ihe purple shadows of a late . ugust evening settled over the east campus. . nd onlv a month or two before she left us. she sat in mv office and calmly said; I know that mv ' dream about Indiana is to be realized. .And thus she lived among us. cheerful, happv. friendly, sociable, calm, serene. interested, alert, and busv until the summons came, Calmlv and quietly as she had always wished, she slept her life awav, Lo this unalterable decree we bow in sub- mission, .ind then thank Ciod ihal jane Lli abeth Leonard lived and served at Indiana. I his sentiment is echoed in the heart of every friend, of every asstKiate. of everv one of the tens of thousands of Indiana students, of the relatives of these students, and of all of those who know what her service here has been. To sum up and apprai.se her worth in terms of human welfare is impossible. We and the unending generations that shall come to know Indiana are her debtors, and the only wav in which we can even parliallv repav this indebtedness is to carrv on and carry out the idealism of her life Dr. John . , 11, Keith,