Springfield College - Massasoit Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 17 text:

THE M ASSASOIT 13 “ Keep for us, O friend, where’er Thou art waiting, all that here Made thy earthly presence dear. “ Keep the human heart of thee, Let the mortal only l.e Clothed in immortality. “ And when fall our feet as fell Thine upon the asphodel, Let thy old smile greet us well.” In jVIemory of Doctor Durgin By Dv. 5Cl. 6. Ballaiitinc C l IE ' I ' raitiing; School sustained a heavy loss iti the deatli of the Rev. Dr. I)e ' itt Clinton Durgin, which occurred oti Decem- her 2. Six years ago, at the age of seventy, he removed to Springfield and made his home with his daughter, Mrs. L. L. Doggett. Although in no official way connected with the school, he at once tnade for himself a necessary jtlace in its life and found a cordial welcome atnong the students. Class after class elected him to hoitorary memher- shij). His tall, majestic form and long white hair and heard and his kindly hearing made him a notal)le figure in the reading room and lecture hall. Age had not in the least chilled his companionable nature. Ilis work had always been among the young, and his heart was young to the last. He delighted in hall games and all the social gatherings of the boys. He had an unfailing sense of humor and a dry wit that always drew an interested group around him. He illustrated the manliness, the geniality, and the dignity of the Christian religion in a way that none who saw it can forget. During these six years since his life work has been supposed to be closed and he has been in so-called “retirement,” Dr. Durgin has been quietly doing for the Training School an invaluable service in en- riching its ideals, ami he has left the memory of his exalted character to be added to our endowment of inestimable traditions.

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12 THE M ASSASOIT She was never so happy as wlicn she was expending ' herself lavishly in serviee. Someone has said that there are two kinds of people, those who lift and those who are lifted. Mrs. Woods was one of those who lifted, raising ' all those whom she touched to a higher level. r oth Henry Lee and Mrs. Woods had a prophetic (jiiality in their affection for the school. They saw with the eye of faith not merely that which was, hnt that which was to he. ' riiey saw possibilities for measure- less service to God and men in the struggling ' school and the struggling students, d ' he realization of their ideals rests ni)on ns. The ’onng Men ' s Christian . ssociation is Christian friendship or- ganized. It is strangely appropriate that these two pioneer lovers of the Training School should have been rare embodiments of friendship in its highest form. The very word friendship will have a new meaning to ns hecanse of their lives, and if we are loyal to onr inheritance, we also will belong tt) this royal order of friends. lUesscd are those who help, for theirs is the royalty of service! These lines, taken from W hittier ' s poem In Memory,” are fitting when a])plied to both Mrs. Woods and Henry Lee: — W ' arm of heart and clear of lirain, Of thy sunhriglit spirit ' s wane Tliou hast spared us all the pain. “ Now that thon hast gone What is left of one to say Who was open as the day? “ Mirth that lit hut never hurned ; All thy lilaine to pity turned. Hatred thou hadst never learned. “ Every harsh and vexing thing At thy home-fire lost its sting; Where thou wast was always spring. “ And thy perfect trust in good, Faith in man and womanhood Chance and change and time withstood.

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6ditorials School publication C O years ago the death-knell of Xobody’s Business was sounded. The secret of the failure of that ])eriodical seems to have been that the snggestiem contained in the name had a reaction upon the students. Xohody cared much about it. Tho the student body at the Training School is small, there is no reason why wc should not publish a monthly, representative of all the activities of the school. While graduates of an institution arc interested in the discussion of technical subjects ])ertaining to their work, they are equally desirous of being kept in touch with the life of the students. Our excellent Seiiiinar caters to the huMuer desire in a mo.st satisfactory man- ner, hut is less i)leasing in its ai)])rcciation of the latter. The majority of schools, many of them no larger than T. S.. ])ublish a i)aper attaining both of these ends. T should he second to none. There are two possilile solutions of the ])rohlem which faces ns. The task of editing a representative sheet might he handed over to the Student .Association. I ' his body could then elect an editor who .should he assisted in his work by a hoard of six assistant editors — three Seniors, two Alid- dlers and one Junior, elected by their respective classes. There, of course, would also he a faculty editor on this hoard. The other alternative is ])crhaps more feasible. The present man- agement of the Seminar might he su])plcmented by a student committee of. say, four members — two Seniors, one Middler and one Junior, each chosen by his class. The forty or so pages allotted to this snh-committee would contain information regarding all the activities of the students, their recreation and their work, their lighter as well as their more serious thot. The publication that would result from some such plan as this would he representative of all sides of onr school life.