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

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History of the School .1 SI I 1 1 HI III 1 I OS KI) liuli.in.i. Maivli S. ISSS Of Ihe ck ' i-n Sl.ilc Normal SchonU nl l ' fniis K.inia. iiuli.m.i is llu- iuiinc l hill imi ' , and et it is now almost t vtnl scars mikc the iliscusMon aiiioiin the citi- zens that led ti) its estabhshment began. In ISd ' ). some eighteen or twent - thousand dollars were subscribed in aiil of the project, but there the movement stopped. In IS7I an act was passed to aid the Indiana Normal SchtHil similar to the act passed in IS() ' , granting aid to the school of California. Ihe subject was considered at the l ountN Institute held in the fall of 1871. subscriptions were resumed, and from that time Ihe work was pushed forward igorously. Ihe best site in the whole icinit . o erlooking the town, was purchased, plans were adopted, estimates were made. c in- Iracts were consummated, and building was begun On . la ' 17. I.S7t. the sch(H)l was opened. . lan who reail this sketch will re- member that first term. It was ten weeks long and we had 14S students in the Normal School, and W) in the .Model School, . mong the bright and earnest faces that greeted us on that opening da ' were at least two of the contributors to the Ci.iuNiAN. Dr .WcCurds of Philadelphia, and .Miss Brooks of the .MlegheiiN High Sch(x l. Ihe latter was. we remember, the tirst )ung lady who selecteil a room at Indiana. The State recognition look place on 1 rida , ilsi of . la At two o ' clock on the afternoon of that vla a thousand people were galhereil in the chapel to hear the report of the committee of inspection, and to lisieii to tlu-ir words of appro al and congratulation hat a ringing speech .Mr. Wickershani. then Slate Superintendent. iiKule. and we h.kl a taste too of the reall. ' line eloquence of the principal of the School. I:. B I airfield. D D.. 1.1.. D. In the splendid building, completed after so much effort, and in the large number of students alread ' attracted to the school, its friends and the public spirited citizens of the town, began at last to realize their dream of a sch(K)l at Indiana The .Normal School law of lSi7 provided for no State appropriations The friends of these sch(M)ls proposed to appl to them the old Pennsylvania polic of allowing private enterprise to precede State action in the establishment of public institutions, later the State came to their aid. but. with all their required expensive and large equipments. the ' must be in the main self-supporting. This makes the struggles of new schools difiicult. sometimes appalling. I ' rom such struggles Indiana was not exempt: but so determined were the Board of Trustees to shield the school that its reverses and misfortunes were taken up b ' themselves, as far as possible, and borne in silence. It happened more than once that trustees had ever ' dollar lhe personally owned pledged for the honor of the school. The first two and best friends of the institutio.i were John Sutton and Silas .M. Clark. The former was elected President and the latter Secretary- at the first organ- ization of the board, as nearly as we can ascertain, on .May 15. 1872, three ears before the sch(x)l opened. In the death of .Mr Sutton. June ' Hh. 1877. the school sustained a heavy loss. He had devoted himself acluelv to its establishment. gi ing to it largely of his thought and time, and prnate means His sons ha e. since their father ' s death, become members of the board There still remain in the board three of the men who were trustees at the open- ing of the school thirteen ears ago. Silas .M. ( lark. now on the Supreme Bench of the State, but still the wise friend and guiile of the school, . ndrew . Wilson and James K l)aiighert .Mr Joseph K Smith, like .Mr Sutton and Juilge Clark, was

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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,

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in llic iiDKiii.il bo.irJ i.l 11 wn w in I I ' hnKiiv ' I. IHH7, wc IdsI a frieiul who hi ' lil iKilhinn Inil his honor loo niin:h lo ki l- Io ihc msliliilion to which he hail ile- (ilril Ml nian w. x ol lo al mt kt. It Is lo Ihc uisdoni anil unilfil t-lloil ol Mii:h men lli.it ihi- markeil prosperitv aiiil MKCi ' ss ol ilu- slIiooI Is iliii ' I hi ' ha e aKva s been a ' aily to Ki e time anil work to Ihe school uilhoul an ihounlil o| compensation. I ' hey have labored wears ' ila s anil iiiKhls to ornani e and adminisler its alFairs, and this man - times under ureal stress of circumstances The ha e borne ureal burdens voluntarily and Krandl - Our success has been won h - their alor. labor and sacrifice. It is the prize of their well mei ili-d icIor In the Slimmer ol lS7(i l)r I airlield. ihe lirsi principal of the school, resiRneil, ■. nt. accepted the chancellorship of the I ni ersit - of Nebraska, A man of learninu and power the Doctor was. hut he knew little about the manasement of a Pcnns l- vania Normal School, While here he collected ! ;i.(lll(l for chemical apparatus, and throuKh him the lion lulward S, Golden and others presented the fine bell which haiiKs in the cu|iol.i . l.iiu of our old students will recall sweet Nellie lairlield. who died not lonn alter le.iMiin us, ,ind .Mrs I airlield, and Major Bolar. Assistant in ,M.ilhenialics. .iiul lliram Collier, ihe r.ire and accomplished Professor of Chemistry and l ' h sics. all since passed to the land of shadows, Besides Professors Collier and Holar. Mrs. Col. Porter, formerly Miss Butler, Principal of the .Model School, is the onl - one of the whole teaching force of thirteen years not still living. David .M. Sensenig, M. S., who had previously held the chair of Mathematics, u.is Dr I ' airfield ' s successor. The Professor was a superior and inspiring teacher, bill llie more ,;rieil duties and larger responsibilities of a principal were distasteful to hini. and his lieallh f.iiling. he declined re-election in the summer of 1S7.S. Dr. John II. 1 rench was chosen to succeed Professor Sensenig. Dr. Trench had been Slate Superintendent of Sch H)ls in ' ermont, had written several text-books, hild been a successful instructor in the State Normal School at .Mban.N ' , N. .. and in the one at .Mansfield. Pa., and at teachers ' institutes in this state and elsewhere. Dr. and ,Mrs. I ' rench made a fine and deep impression upon the school, especiall upon its social and religious character. rhe remained connected with the school three ears. Dr. Trench ' s successor, in October of 1S.S1, was Professor Leonard II. Durling. Professor Durling is an Ohio man, was educated at the Wesleyan I ' niversity. in {Delaware, Ohio, and afterwards graduated and taught at the National Normal L ni- ersit ' , at Lebanon, in the same state. Ti e years later he was elected Professor of Natural Science in the Central High School, at Pittsburgh, which position he held until elected Superintendent of the schools of . lleghen ( ' it Trom this superin- tendencs ' he came to Indiana. Lnder his management the school has grown steadilx in numbers and influence. Like all institutions which ha e become a permanent success and power, the Indiana Normal School has grown graduallx. The catalogues gi e the following alleiKlance for each ear: ■il-ARS STUDENTS YEARS STUDENTS 1 YEARS STUDENTS KS7S 1 ?0(i 1880 375 1884 522 1870 MU ISSl,.. . 302 I88i. 557 1877 !I14 l.ss. ' . 11 IS,S0, .. i27 1878 lif ISSl 41(1 1, ' 87 Dili iS7P Jlli