University of Wisconsin Oshkosh - Quiver Yearbook (Oshkosh, WI)

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John O. Qitantz 10

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Jn 3Urmnn of John 0). (Quantz uilio dirri 31anuan 24 and Alfaretta Haskell who died April 18 1903 16

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JOHN OSCAR QUANTZ. John Oscar Quant , came to the Oshkosh Normal School in September, 1901. The thoro-ness of his preparation for the work—five years of post-graduate work in Toronto, Wisconsin, Clark, and Cornell Universities, after he had taken his bachelor’s degree at Toronto—made it evident that no one who has ever filled the chair of psychology and pedagogy in the Oshkosh school has come so well equipp'd for the work from the scholastic standpoint. In fact, the very thoroness of his preparation along this line called our attention so strongly to his scholarly qualities that we were in danger of overlooking his more important qualities as a man. As a teacher he was remarkably clear in statement and was not satisfied until he had succeeded in securing from his students clear and comprehensive statements of the subjects under consideration. Ilis patience with those who were in earnest in their preparation, but slow in comprehension. endeared him not only to such as received this treatment from him. but also to monitors of his classes who loved justice. The fact that in every subject touched upon in class he was evidently keeping back tenfold more than the time of the class allowed him to present, gave to all an unlimited respect for the reserve power of the man. His remarkable command of the Hnglish language that made him pick and choose for just the right words with which to express the exact shade of thought that was in his mind, showed the scholarly instincts of tinman and his keen appreciation of the value of the artistic expression. These were the qualities more evident to all of his students. To the smaller number who wanted to go more deeply into subjects pursued by the class and therefore came into closer intellectual touch with him thru conferences out of school, there was disclosed another side of the man that appealed to them even more strongly than his pre-eminently scholarly attainments. They found him a thoroly companionable man, with broad views of life’s more serious problems, and a kindliness of heart that only a closer acquaintance fully disclosed. W e all saw and realized to some extent the courage with which he faced death during the last month, when the struggle was so sharp that every morning each of us inquired of his neighbor whether the night had put an end to the conflict: but we are liable to forget that for months, probably for a year previous to his death, he had realized that for him the grave was imminent. And yet, during all this time, no impatient word fell from his lips, and, in so far as we know, not even the murmur, “Doth God exact day-lal or, light denied? There was the keenest longing to “present his true account,” as there naturally would he with any whole-souled man who felt so completely prepared to undertake a man’s full task. His cheerfulness thruout the whole of that portion of his life during which we knew him, should to to each and every one of us a noble example. Tho cut off early in his period of usefulness, yet his life has not been without rich fruitage; and assuredly we may say that there was no teacher or student in the Oshkosh Normal School who came to know Mr. Quantz during the year and a half of his connection with the school but will to a totter man or woman, a more helpful citizen, bv reason of the friendship. 17