West Chester University - Serpentine Yearbook (West Chester, PA)

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lEfhi not 1 ,1.1. HE great mass of the people in the world are very much alike. They are wholesome, patient, reasonably industrious, modestly successful men and women, whc play their part in the world ' s work witli fidelity and die leav- ing no place which cannot easily be filled. There are always a few men who stand out from their fellows generally, in the fact that they are non-c(jnformers. To do what the average man does is without charm to men of this type. When they are malevolent they make our great criminals ; when their minds are well disposed toward their fellows they break the way into new paths in which their fellowmen sub- sequently safely follow. Of this last type is the subject of the present sketch. Dr. C. E. Ehinger was born near Keokuk, Iowa, on March ii, 1858. His father was a native German, a successful physician and an accomplished botanist. Slight of build and energetic of mind and body, this almost eagle-eyed man saw everything about him ; from him we easily trace many of the qualities and tastes of his son, Clyde. His mother, of English and Scotch descent, was of a sturdier build and more phlegmatic disposition. To her the son owes his solidity and strength of mind. During his younger days the tastes of the boy were formed by a double cir- cumstance. For some time he drove his father ' s carriage, visiting with him his pa- tients and seeing with him the plant world. Thus was fastened in our friend, the Doctor, his desire to be himself a physician, and a fondness for studying the outdoor world, which has remained the passion of his life. Near by ran the steady course of the great heather of Waters. Here our friend learned to swim and boat, being a member of a boat crew, which for some time held the amateur six-oared barge re- cord of the country. During the last year young Ehinger was stroke oar of this crew. After preparation at the Iowa State L ' niversity, he entered the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, from which he was graduated at the age of twenty- two. Here our friend began to acquire his now jiro found knowledge of the human frame and of the mischances which may befall it as well as tlie conditions which de- termine its healthful progress. After finishing his medical course he served for one-half year as Intern in the Cook County Hospital. At the end of this time he was appointed attending physician in the Hospital, while practicing medicine in Chicago. Before his time came to serve in the Hospital an o])ening in Ouincy, 111., attracted his attention and he removed to that city, winning at once a promising practice, which grew steadily for five years. During all this time, however, the Doctor ' s

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THE SERPENTINE mind was always more strongly drawn to health than to disease. It always seemed to him so much better to keep the body well than to cure it when sick. This convic- tion, joined to his great fondness for athletics, made him determine to train for the work of a Director of Physical Education. Going with his wife to Brooklyn, N. Y., they both entered the School of Physi- cal Education. There he acquired the clear understanding of physical training which has marked his administration of tb.at department of our school. In 1890, the Trustees of the West Chester State Normal School determined to build the present Gymnasium. They decided at once to equip it and direct it in a manner entirely superior to that found in any other Normal School in the State, if not in the country. In looking about for a director they fell at once into the happy combinatiion of Doctor and Mrs. Ehinger, into whose hands they unreservedly placed the task of building up a department which should maintain a standard unquestiona- bly high. How thoroughly their trust was carried out every student of West Ches- ter Normal knows. No other school of its size within the boundaries of the East- ern States has so efficient a course so thoroughly laid down and so carefully fol- lowed out as that of our Normal School. The entire credit of this effective work must be laid at the door of Dr. Ehinger and his helpful wife. The Trustees have always provided the means, but these minds have directed and controlled the work. Our annual open Track and Field Meet at West Chester is looked upon by those from outside who participate in it, as one of the great events of the year. It has always been the policy of this department to think far more of building up the gen- eral health of the whole student body than of developing a few highly trained ath- letes at the expense of the great mass of students who need the training most. The work done here by Dr. Ehinger has gained wide recognition. For years he has held positions in the National Physical Education Association, having been for some time a member of the National Council. Along with all this busy work the haliit of watching nature, which the Doctor learned while driving in the carriage with his father, the physician, has never been given up. Year by year Dr. Ehinger has grown more and more fond of outdoor life. Each year he has come to know nature ' s secrets more intimately. The trees, the flowers, the ferns, insects, spiders, all catch the Doctor ' s eye and yield him their secrets. But the voices of the birds speak to him with a clearness and an insistence that will not be neglected, and to the birds his heart has gone out as to no other crea- tures outside of his fellowmen. Secrets of nests and of food, of haunt and habit unfold themselves year b} ' year in response to his patient quest. Literature on the subject surrounds him in his well-stored library. The result is that Dr. Ehinger has come to be the most accomplished bird student in this neighborhood. . few years ago he determined to do some studying during the summer at Cold Spring Harbor. This seaside laboratory gathers together a group of aml)itious students and gives them the best of outdoor instruction. It did not take the managers of this body long to find that the man who came to study ought to remain as a teacher. Since that time the Doctor has been one of the instructors of the department of bird study