(cover) NEMOSCOPE SPRING 1950 (page 2) PRESIDENT'S CORNER Among the faculties of our teachers colleges there is a widespread attempt to pin down and define that elusive quality which makes a great teacher. Some of these efforts have concentrated upon methods, course outlines, texts, and syllabi; some on mannerisms, both effective and annoying. Some have sought to measure the effectiveness of various teaching practices but all have finally reached a common goal; the long-term effect of the teacher upon the individual student. It is agreed in the final analysis that a great teacher is one whose students have, over a long period of time, come to value him as a teacher and as a person and have, furthermore, found the effects of his teaching to be lasting and worthwhile. This has been demonstrated most vividly in our Division of Fine Arts during the past two years. During that time, this division has published a newsletter, The Music News, which it sends to all its graduates. In response to this newsletter have come many letters from people who have been little more than a name in the card file to some of the present music faculty. Almost without exception, however, I am told, each writer asked to be remembered to Mr. John L. Biggerstaff. It soon became apparent from the tone of the letters, that here is a teacher within our midst whose influence on many students has reached far beyond the classroom and has lasted long after graduation. As the newsletters began reaching a wider audience with each quarterly edition, a spontaneous movement began to grow in several quarters to present Mr. Biggerstaff with some token of their esteem. A committee was appointed and many plans were proposed and discussed. It was decided by the committee that the idea which Mr. Biggerstaff would himself prefer would be that of a loan fund subscribed to by his former students and friends and set up for the purpose of helping worthy music students through college. Accordingly, The Music News carried the announcement, as requested by the committee, of the John L. Biggerstaff Memorial Loan Fund in the spring issue this year along with the picture and short biography of Mr. Biggerstaff, which you will also find in this issue of NEMOSCOPE. Thus, through the day by day effectiveness of one teacher's work and through the impact of his personality upon the lives of his students, a long and far-reaching chain has been forged. His pupils have carried some of his enthusiasm for music with them wherever they have gone. A memory of his unfailing high standards has helped many a young teacher to do better work and not the least of Mr. Biggerstaff's qualities, a ready and penetrating sense of humor has enriched the memories of many a KSTC alumni. If all other means of measuring the teaching effectiveness prove of little help, we still have the one tried and true standard, the esteem and recognition of the teacher's own students. By this, or by any other measuring device, John L. Biggerstaff ranks high in his profession. COVER PICTURE Mr. J. L. Biggerstaff directing a piano duet practice session. Elsewhere in this issue of NEMOSCOPE, alumni and former students will find an interesting article regarding Mr. Biggerstaff. NEMOSCOPE NORTHEAST MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI WALTER H. RYLE, PRESIDENT EDITOR ROBERT L. MCKINNEY EDITORIAL BOARD WRAY M. RIEGER PAULINE D. KNOBBS BERENICE B. BEGGS C. H. ALLEN VOLUME VI SPRING, 1950 NUMBER 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS THE GREEN CITY COLLEGE. . . .Thomas E. Waddill AMERICAN LITERATURE: A MID-CENTURY INVENTORY. . . .Robert M. Rodney FIFTEEN YEARS OF GENERAL EDUCATION. . . .Wray M. Rieger COLLEGE FEATURED IN BROOKFIELD NEWSPAPERS JOE BURDMAN RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION. . . .Earl C. Cunningham COMMENCEMENT, SPRING SECTION, 1950 "LOST ALUMNI" ALUMNI NOTES JOHN L. BIGGERSTAFF, EXPONENT OF MUSIC A quarterly publication issued in November, February, May, and August. Subscription rate is $1.00 a year; single copy $.25. Address all communications to Robert L. McKinney, Assistant to the President. Entered as second class mail matter April 29, 1915, at the post office at Kirksville, Missouri, under the Act of Congress of August 24, 1912. Accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 26, 1919. (page 3) SPRING, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 3 THE GREEN CITY COLLEGE by Thomas E. Waddill Mathematics Teacher Green City High School AUTHOR'S NOTE: Grateful acknowledgment is extended to Mr. D. C. Myers, prominent and retired businessman of Green City and former student of the Green City College, and Dr. Warner Herington, widely known and respected physician of Green City and the only four year graduate of the Green City College. Without the help from their fund of personal information and Dr. Herington's file of publications, this article would have been difficult if not impossible. Green City, located in Sullivan County (once called Highland County), was surveyed April 30, 1880, and laid out by Henry Pfeiffer. At that time no one was living on what is now the town plat. Green City is located in the center of a fine farming community. The birth of the town came with the building of the Quincy, Omaha and Kansas City Railway. Writings during the 1880's described the town as a town of 300 to 500 people, with fine residences, nice business buildings, and business men who were hustlers and progressive. At the time, as now, the city had a very nice park which occupied the public square. In 1895 there were three churches with sizeable memberships, namely the Methodist, the Presbyterian, and the Christian. While these took care of the spiritual needs of the community, the Green City College helped to fill the intellectual interests and welfare of the city and its locale. The Green City College was established in the spring of 1885, by means of articles of agreement, signed May 25, by and between A. L. Pierce on the one hand, and C. B. Comstock, J. C. Custer, Pfeiffer Bros., and others to the number of sixty, on the other hand. By the terms of these articles of agreement, eighty scholarships were issued, sixty of them at $50 each to the sixty subscribers to the articles of agreement mentioned above. The money thus raised was used to erect a suitable college building. Mr. A. L. Pierce, the projector of the institution and its business manager, secured the services of his brother, Professor B. W. Pierce, B.S., a graduate of the National Normal University, Lebanon, Ohio, and a teacher for thirteen years, to preside over the college. There were two regular courses of study—the preparatory, comprising one year of four terms, and the collegiate department, comprising four years of four terms each. In the collegiate department a thorough education could be obtained in the higher English branches, higher mathematics (including differential calculus and astronomy), the natural sciences, the Latin language, mental and moral philosophy, and political economy. Tuition in the preparatory department was $5 per term, and in the collegiate department $6.25 per term, or less, according to the number of terms paid in advance. The college opened, after a month's unscheduled delay, October 13, 1885, in a three story brick structure 32x56 feet, containing five large rooms. The year opened with B. W. Pierce, presiding, and in charge of Language and Sciences. J. H. Ellison, a graduate of the Ornamental Course in Pierce's Business College, of Keokuk, Iowa, was Principal of the Penmanship Department. E. E. Pierce was Principal of the Preparatory Department, assisted by S. F. Wade, an ex-student of the Kirksville Normal and a student in the Green City College. Mr. Wade was in charge of mathematics within the Preparatory Department. Miss Nellie Godfrey was to teach Instrumental Music. The First Annual Catalogue of the Green City College stated, "Now, young ladies and gentlemen, we have a proposition to make to you. We agree to advance the average student of fourteen years who attends the Green City College and follows our instructions, farther in Arithmetic, Grammar and Penmanship, than he has gone in the past five years; and if we fail we will refund your tuition." "Our graduates will possess the ability to get a certificate in any county in the State, and merit without a certificate is far better than a diploma without merit." Students were advised to bring with them a "teachable spirit, a determination to succeed, a love for good order, a curiosity to know, good health, cheerful disposition, good character, an untiring perseverance, and a love for good literature." In all of this, no one can deny that the students would have not only a college education but a preparation for life itself. The motto of the Preparatory Department was, "Well begun is half done." Pupils were urged to "build on the Rock and not on the Sand." The opening exercises of the college chapel consisted of two appropriate songs, reading a chapter from the Bible, a prayer, and then another short song. The aim of the college was to teach morality and to leave religion to parents and ministers. The college made this statement in regard to its purpose: "It is our purpose to keep abreast of the times. We believe that the ability to grasp, to comprehend and reproduce ideas is education. The ability to present ideas in a plain and systematic manner is the true test of thoroughness. This object we expect our pupils to attain and we will not accept anything short of it as proof of scholarship." The second year (1887-1888), C. H. Wise, B. S., a graduate of Oak Lawn College, Novelty, Missouri, and a teacher for six years, was added to the faculty. Prof. Wise was teacher of Natural Sciences, English Authors, Higher Mathematics. He was also to serve as Assistant in the Preparatory Department. In addition to these duties he offered a "Complete Course in German." In the Preparatory Department the following schedule was offered for the year 1887-1888: First Term: Reading—Fifth Reader; Spelling—Henderson's Test; Penmanship; Arithmetic—Ray's Intellectual; Geography—No. 3, Eclectic; Elementary Grammar—Holbrook's Composition. The second term was to be the same as the first in subjects studied. The third term included Arithmetic—Metric System; Advanced Grammar—Parsing; Geography, Map- drawing—Eastern continent; Spelling; Reading; Penmanship. The fourth term was a bit more advanced. It included Arithmetic—Test Problems; Geography—Review; Advanced Grammar—Analysis; Spelling; Reading; Penmanship. The Collegiate Department offered the following subjects: First Year First Term: Lowell's Poems; Arithmetic—Test Problems; Grammar and Essays; Physical Geography; Drawing; Finals. Second Term: Whittier's Poems; Elementary Algebra; U. S. History; Physical Geography; Map-drawing; Finals. (page 4) PAGE 4 NEMOSCOPE SPRING, 1950 Third Term: Longfellow's Poems; Elementary Algebra; U. S. History; Map-drawing; Finals. Fourth Term: American Literature; Drawing; Botany; Civil Government; Reviews; Finals. Second Year First Term: English Authors; English History; Higher Algebra; Botany; Latin; Finals. Second Term: English Authors; Higher Algebra; Latin; English History; Physiology; Finals. Third Term: English Authors; Geometry; Physiology; Rhetoric; Physics; Finals. Third Year First Term: Latin; Chemistry; Trigonometry; French History; Finals. Second Term: Latin; Chemistry; Trigonometry; French History; Finals. Third Term: Latin; Astronomy; Geology; Analytics; General History; Finals. Fourth Term: Latin; Astronomy; Geology; Analytics; General History; Finals. Fourth Year The Fourth Year Course included: Latin, Mental and Moral Philosophy, Political Economy, Logic, Calculus, Mathematical Astronomy, Reviews. Provision was also made for teachers to study Higher Arithmetic, Elementary Algebra, Civil Government, U. S. History, and Penmanship, at any time. The faculty for 1889-90 remained much the same with H. P. Bruce as Principal of the Preparatory Department and E. O. Lemly as Principal of the Penmanship Department. Ivah Hill was in charge of Instrumental Music. The faculty for 1890-91 re- [photo caption] MRS. GERTRUDE C. REED Formerly a teacher in the Green City College mained much the same with Lura Trimble as General Assistant in the Teachers' Department and J. C. Custer, Principal of the Commercial Department. In one of the college catalogs the following is found: "Behold Man! Endowed with an intellect capable of carrying him back through the centuries, to the patriarchs and prophets; of viewing the grandeur of ancient cities, as, Tyre, Nineveh, and Babylon, though now buried in ruins; of traversing all the gory battle fields of the Past; of witnessing the onward march of civilization to the Glorious Present! And more important still! He can read in the beautiful flowers, and in the adaptations of nature to the wants of man, the Wisdom of the Great Architect. He can perceive behind the mechanism of the heavens, the Great Author and Designer who is above all, through all, and in all animate nature. But, far more important than this! He is capable of viewing by faith in Revelation, the shore of another and better world! How can such a being lock himself up in the narrow cell of ignorance?! Beautiful sceneries all about him, yet he can not appreciate them! Music upon every breeze, but he hears it not! Fragrance upon every wind, but he heeds it not! Having the capacity of an angel, yet purposing to remain an animal! Living a quadruped's life and dying a quadruped's death! Is it possible that the Creator intended man to be an ignoramus? Certainly not. For no artist ever displays his paintings or mechanisms to dumb brutes. He asks for an appreciative eye, a listening ear and an intelligent mind. Why, then, did God display his infinite power, wisdom and skill in creating the endless variety of sceneries, as, the water falls, the snowcapped mountains and the lilies of the valleys? I answer, to be seen, studied, and admired by intelligent men and women. Young ladies and young gentlemen: it is a duty you owe to self, to posterity, to your nation, and to your God—to obtain a good education." "Ignorance never made either a happy man, a happy family, a happy society, a happy church, a happy state, or a happy nation." "She is the common enemy of both the Church and State—the fountain head of idolatry, false religion, and superstition; the mother of bad government, anarchy, and barbarism; the originator of false theories of science, intemperance, and skepticism." [photo caption] DR. AND MRS. WARNER HERINGTON "Ignorance is the synonym of all that opposes morality, religion and good government. Let the Patriots of our Republic beware." Also, the college made these statements: "Our school is strictly moral; our pupils, talented, kind, energetic, cheerful, and obedient. Our work is systematic, thorough, and practical." The tuition and fees charged by the college seemed reasonable and sufficient for operation. Gradual indebtedness and financial improvidence on the part of the college head led to the necessity of closing the doors in the Spring of 1890. A number of sales and trades were made with the college building after it came into the hands of the creditors. It eventually went to the Green City School District and was torn down and replaced by the Green City Grade School building. The old college had stood where the grade school building now stands. It is the purpose of any American school to aid in such personal development as will best fit the individual to take a responsible place in his democratic community, state, and nation. One only needs to meet a former student of the Green City College to know that this college fully understood its purpose. The college has had a great deal of influence in the community. Not only did it influence former students, but through these students and their families its influence has been widespread. Grandchildren of former Green City College students now possess what their grandparents were asked to bring to college with them: A friendly co-operative attitude toward learning, a curiosity to know, good health, a determination to succeed, and good character. With a background of (page 5) SPRING, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 5 responsible family training, it has been possible to PRACTICE democracy rather than merely to teach about it in all phases of the present Green City Public Schools. Names of Graduates JUNE 14, 1889 Third Course Warner Herington. . . .Green City, Mo. Second Course Pius Burns. . . .Green City, Mo. H. P. Bruce. . . .Unionville, Mo. C. B. Pfeiffer. . . .Green City, Mo. C. N. Stockton. . . .Hartford, Mo. J. T. Stockton. . . .Hartford, Mo. May Thomas. . . .Green City, Mo. First Course E. M. Wilson. . . .Green City, Mo. Clarence Irwin. . . .Green City, Mo. Lydia Stanforth. . . .Green City, Mo. J. F. Moore. . . .Green City, Mo. Names of Graduates JUNE 13, 1890 Fourth Course Warner Herington. . . .Green City, Mo. Second Course J. F. Moore. . . .Green City, Mo. First Course E. O. Lemley. . . .Unionville, Mo. Eugene Lair. . . .Pollock, Mo. Phares Payne. . . .Green City, Mo. Catalogue of Students for 1890 Acre, Rebecca. . . .Putnam County Archer, Harry. . . .Sullivan County Anderson, Almon. . . .Sullivan County Baker, Roy. . . .Sullivan County Baker, W. T. . . .Sullivan County Baker, Minnie. . . .Sullivan County Behrans, Sadie. . . .Sullivan County Bankus, Daisy. . . .Sullivan County Beatty, Vinnie. . . .Sullivan County Burnett, Don. . . .Sullivan County Bradley, Etta. . . .Sullivan County Bookout, Chas. . . .Sullivan County Cosby, Abby. . . .Sullivan County Crumpacker, E. S. . . .Putnam County Comstock, R. J. . . .Sullivan County Chaplin, Annie. . . .Sullivan County Crum, Jennie. . . .Sullivan County Cram, Ethel. . . .Sullivan County Cram, Norma. . . .Sullivan County Davis, Blanche. . . .Sullivan County Davis, Bertie (Mrs. Fred Pfeiffer). . . .Sullivan County Davis, Nellie. . . .Sullivan County Davis, Guy. . . .Sullivan County Davis, Con. . . .Sullivan County Davis, Jennie. . . .Sullivan County Davis, Deleware. . . .Sullivan County Dodson, J. B. . . .Sullivan County Daly, J. P. . . .St. Joseph, Mo. Drake, Lura. . . .Sullivan County Dever, Lillie. . . .Sullivan County Damrell, Ida. . . .Sullivan County Elder, Laura. . . .Sullivan County Eubanks, Frank. . . .Sullivan County Fear, Ed. . . .Sullivan County Gammon, Belle. . . .Sullivan County Gammon, Florence. . . .Sullivan County Gammon, Q. O. . . .Sullivan County Herington, W. H. . . .Sullivan County Herbert, F. M. . . .Sullivan County Higgins, Elmer. . . .Sullivan County Hardinger, Virgil. . . .Sullivan County Hardinger, Burke. . . .Sullivan County Hill, Ivah. . . .Sullivan County Hill, Chas. . . .Sullivan County Harris, Neal. . . .Sullivan County Irwin, Clarence. . . .Sullivan County Jones, John. . . .Sullivan County Johnson, Chas. . . .Sullivan County Kimberly, Maggie. . . .Sullivan County King, John. . . .Sullivan County Kerr, Harvey. . . .Sullivan County Lair, Eugene. . . .Sullivan County Leas, Wardie. . . .Sullivan County Lyle, W. A. . . .Sullivan County Lemley, E. O. . . .Putnam County Lehr, John. . . .Sullivan County Lehr, Celia. . . .Sullivan County Landree, Harry. . . .Sullivan County Minear, Leaffie. . . .Sullivan County Minear, Clara. . . .Sullivan County Moore, J. F. . . .Sullivan County Moore, George. . . .Sullivan County Moore, Carlie. . . .Sullivan County McLaughlin, Myrtle. . . .Sullivan County McLaughlin, Vinnie. . . .Sullivan County McLaughlin, Burtis. . . .Sullivan County McLaughlin, Bertha. . . .Sullivan County McCullum, Luther. . . .Sullivan County McCully, J. W. . . .Sullivan County McCully, Mary. . . .Sullivan County Parsons, Bettie. . . .Sullivan County Payne, Samuel. . . .Sullivan County Payne, Phares. . . .Sullivan County Payne, Grandison. . . .Sullivan County Pierce, F. E. . . .Sullivan County Pierce, C. S. . . .Sullivan County Riley, Clarence. . . .Sullivan County Rice, Don. . . .Putnam County Rice, Kittie. . . .Putnam County Roberts, Samuel. . . .Putnam County Shannon, Lizzie. . . .Putnam County Shannon, Carl. . . .Putnam County Strong, Lois. . . .Putnam County Strong, Josie. . . .Putnam County Stanforth, Lydia. . . .Putnam County Scott, Edward. . . .Putnam County Scott, James. . . .Putnam County Scott, Della. . . .Putnam County Scott, Chas. . . .Putnam County Thomas, Hattie. . . .Putnam County Thomas, Park. . . .Putnam County Thomas, Thornton. . . .Putnam County Terry, Cora. . . .Putnam County Tharp, J. P. . . .Putnam County Tallman, John. . . .Putnam County Tallman, Wilbur. . . .Putnam County Wood, Pearl. . . .Putnam County Wood, Fannie. . . .Putnam County ALUMNI NOTES David R. Finley, 1943, formerly of Vienna, Missouri, is pastor of the Methodist Church at Cabool, Missouri. Olive R. Eason, 1929, formerly of Kirksville, Missouri, is teaching Social Studies in the high school at Mexico, Missouri. Bill Eddings, 1943, an industrial arts major from Moberly, Missouri, is employed in the high school at Fairfield. His address is: 305 Highland, Fairfield, Iowa. William J. Eagle, 1937, is serving as a Field Representative for the World Supply Corporation of Joliet, Illinois. His address is: P. O. Box 55, Verona, Illinois. [photo caption] THE OLD GREEN CITY COLLEGE BUILDING (page 6) PAGE 6 NEMOSCOPE SPRING, 1950 AMERICAN LITERATURE: A Mid-Century Inventory by Robert M. Rodney Head, Division of Language and Literature Northeast Missouri State Teachers College The year 1950 recalls that it was in the Mid-Nineteenth Century that nine of America's outstanding writers reached their peak performance. Although he died just before the mid-century point, Poe had already published his complete poems and tales as recently as 1845. Lowell's Bigelow Papers appeared in 1848, Parkman's Oregon Trail in 1849, and Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter in 1850. These were followed in quick succession by such American classics as Melville's Moby-Dick in 1851, Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852, Thoreau's Walden in 1854, Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha in 1855, and Whitman's Leaves of Grass in the same year. So much literary accomplishment within the space of ten years might suggest that America has been a prolific spawning ground for Great Books. As a matter of fact, the literary output of America, relative to the growth of American civilization for three and a half centuries, is quite meager, and we find "that three quarters of that production has been during the past one hundred years. A study made under the auspices of the Grolier Club of New York* reveals that of the one hundred most influential writings published in this country during the first 260 years of its literary history (1640-1899), exactly one-half were written with literary pretensions; and a careful appraisal of these fifty discloses only thirty-seven with real literary distinction (of which thirty-four were written in the 19th Century alone). On further consideration of these writings, one could safely conclude that only six could truly be called literary masterpieces. In the collective judgment of several dozen writers and critics, both American and foreign, and in the judgment of the great mass of inarticulate but discriminating readers who buy and borrow books, the real masterpieces of American Literature prior to 1900 were Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Henry Thoreau's Walden, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, and Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. The term "masterpiece" would have to be defined as any piece of literature which is readable and enjoyable, which is written with artistry, and which carries emotional power, reveals insight into human nature, and concerns itself with some underlying problem of life. *New York Times Book Review, April 21, 1946. Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that the six works specified above, focus on the basic moral problem of man; and that that moral problem, and everything pertaining to it, is presented, and treated with striking simplicity. Furthermore, in each of these masterpieces the reader discovers in the writer a strong humanity which becomes at times a deep compassion for the inadequacies of man in his struggle with the greater moral problems of life (Ben Franklin, the Reverend Dimmesdale, Ahab, Thoreau, Whitman, and Huck Finn all have at least that much in common). Other American writers and their works have been nominated for this category of "Masterpieces": Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Alexander Hamilton's Federalist papers, James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essays, Edgar Allan Poe's Tales and Poems, Francis Parkman's The California and Oregon Trail, Henry James's The Portrait of A Lady, and Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. Whether or not these writings should be added to a list of masterpieces depends upon how closely we insist that they meet the qualifications mentioned above. Whatever the set of criteria we apply, if the criteria are discriminating and exacting enough it is hard to find more than a dozen literary masterpieces in this country prior to 1900—which probably confirms what we already know: that American culture has been a long time coming of age; or that masterpieces, relative to the total artistic output of any people, are very rare things indeed. But what of the state of American literature since 1900? Has this country in the past fifty years produced much writing which is well written, which is both readable and enjoyable, which compels us to a better understanding of man and his relationship to his fellow man and to the world around him, which sets forth the moral problem so clearly and forcefully that we come away from our reading with a "lift"—a feeling of awe or humility or exultation, or a different set of values, or a new point of view? Perhaps we cannot expect any of these latter-day writers to measure up to Homer or Shakespeare or Tolstoy. If it be unfair to look for any great American genius among them, could we reasonably expect to find any 20th Century American writers who might rank with Franklin, Hawthorne, Melville, Thoreau, Whitman, and Twain, or even with Paine, Emerson, Poe, Parkman, or James? Probably none of those 18th and 19th Century Americans was a truly great genius as measured by our modern intelligence quotients; but the fact remains that all of them produced acknowledged masterpieces of their kind (and we must remind ourselves that aspiring writers are not confined within any particular subjects or literary types or forms). Perhaps the Grolier Club was wise not to try to extend its appraisal of American writing into the 20th Century, for who can truly judge his own contemporaries? We need distance and perspective to judge heights. But in the meantime half a century has elapsed since that point in a developing American literature where many recent critics and literary historians have been in the habit of terminating their judgments. And the question persists: What has been most worthy, and what might eventually be called a masterpiece, in American literature of the past fifty years? Since most critics will not predict the fate of modern writers, readers must judge for themselves, a difficult problem for general readers at any time but made even more difficult by the tremendous literary output of a country whose presses have poured out half again as many significant books in the first half of this century as they did in the previous two and a half centuries. For the general reader who is interested in the solution of the problem, a first step toward appraisal is offered in the following list. Over 85% of many outstanding books have already been eliminated, so that the list is a kind of mid-century inventory of our best literary stock—writings of indisputably high literary merit. At the end of the list, a literary judgment is risked which nobody but the present writer needs to take seriously. (page 7) SPRING, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 7 OUTSTANDING AMERICAN WRITINGS: 1900-1950 1906 Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams 1911 Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome 1915 Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology 1916 Carl Sandburg, selected poems 1917 Hamlin Garland, A Son of the Middle Border 1918 Willa Cather, My Antonia 1919 Sherwood Anderson, Wineburg, Ohio 1922 Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt 1922 T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land 1923 Vachel Lindsay, selected poems 1925 Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy 1926-1939 Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln 1927 Edwin Arlington Robinson, selected poems 1928 Eugene O'Neill, selected plays 1928 Stephen Vincent Benet, John Brown's Body 1929 Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel 1929 Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms 1930 Robert Frost, selected poems 1931 Lincoln Steffens, Autobiography 1937 John Dos Passos, U.S.A. 1939 John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath 1941 Edna St. Vincent Millay, selected poems 1947 Gerald Warner Brace, The Garretson Chronicle I predict that in the year 2150 the critics will nominate the following as masterpieces of early 20th Century American literature: Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln, Edwin Arlington Robinson's Ben Jonson Entertains A Man from Stratford, and Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra. ALUMNI NOTES Thomas O. Hickman, 1929, formerly of Princeton, Missouri, has the position as a Railway Postal Clerk. He has held this position since 1936. Mr. Hickman's present address is: 863 Euclid Street, St. Paul 6, Minnesota. Mrs. Alma Staats Kotez, 1935, of Marceline, Missouri, is employed as commercial teacher at the Moline Institute of Commerce. Mrs. Kotez's address is: 1351 15th Street-A, Moline, Illinois. Charline Miller, 1941, whose home town is Greentop, Missouri, is English and speech instructor at the Belmond High School, Belmond, Iowa. FIFTEEN YEARS OF GENERAL EDUCATION At Northeast Missouri State Teachers College by Wray M. Rieger Head of Division of Science and Mathematics Northeast Missouri State Teachers College General education is well along in its fifteenth year at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College at Kirksville. In 1934 the college embarked upon a program of general education by establishing comprehensive courses in four areas of learning; English Composition, Literature, Science, and Social Science. Since that time the institution has subscribed to a two-year program of general education as pre-professional training for the teaching profession. Prior to 1934 survey courses had been experimented with in several fields but they had proved inadequate to develop within prospective teachers the ability to organize knowledge in its proper relationships. The core of the general education program is found in the four comprehensive courses which are each one year in length. The material selected for the courses has been determined largely on the basis of what is needed by modern youth to appreciate, understand, enjoy, and become a part of our democratic society. Space does not permit the outlining of each of these courses but the purposes and functioning of one of the courses will serve to illustrate the treatment of the group. "Man and the Scientific World" is one of the comprehensive courses which has been provided by this teachers college in one of the important fields of human thought. It is the purpose of this course to give to the student a broad background of the essentials that are necessary for the understanding of the part that science plays in the world in which he is to live. The material selected for this course is determined insofar as possible by the present day needs of society. It is intended that the course will serve to satisfy the student's intellectual curiosity and help to prepare him to be a more valuable person in his social and private relationships. This course cuts across all lines of the physical and biological sciences. It is approached from the point of view of man's relationships with his physical and biological environment from the most remote to that of unseeable closeness. The unit titles show the development of the course with the relationship of man to his universe, the solar system, the planet, and man on the planet. Man's struggle for existence is developed in his development of food, agriculture, preservation of food, composition of food, digestion, clothing, and his own preservation. Finally, the enrichment of man's existence through the development of communication, perception, sanitation, recreation, and the scientific age are studied. There is no part of the course which can be labeled Botany, Physics, or Chemistry, but each is treated and woven into the whole. Several members of the science staff have taught the course. At present it is being taught by one instructor who is particularly able in the sciences. It is required of all, as all of the comprehensive courses are, with the exception of those who major in one of the sciences, and it is recommended even in those cases. Students transferring from other institutions with courses in science are not required to take the course, but may substitute science credit for the requirement for graduation. The course is of college caliber and it is in no way a brief smattering of many subjects. The reception on the part of students has been most gratifying and the objectives of the course throughout the years seems to have been largely met. Our students seem to understand more clearly the implications of membership in a democratic society and to have a richer background upon which to build their future lives and their professional training. Lester Hobbie, 1940, formerly of Kirksville, Missouri, is now a member of the regular Army. His address is: Constabulary Flight Det., A.P.O. 46, U. S. Army, c/o Postmaster, New York, New York. (page 8) PAGE 8 NEMOSCOPE SPRING, 1950 COLLEGE FEATURED IN BROOKFIELD PAPERS Howard Green's Editorial Lauds Growth and Broadening Program of Institution Recent editions, of the Brookfield Argus and the Linn County Farmer have carried sections featuring the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. Consisting of several pages of pictures and articles about the College, these newspapers point with pride to the growth and accomplishments of the College. Mr. Howard Green, editor of the Argus and the Farmer had this to say in a front page editorial: Tribute to a Country Editor The special sections of this paper which help to picture the great institution which the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College has become, also is a tribute to a Brookfield man, who played a part in its development. The founder and editor of the Brookfield Argus was a member of the Board of Regents of the college for approximately a quarter of a century. During that time, he served as secretary, vice-president and then president, almost to the time of his death in-August of 1937. During his tenure on the Board of Regents, Mr. Green was associated with two presidents of the college, John R. Kirk and Eugene Fair. Walter H. Ryle, now the president of the college, succeeded Mr. Fair in 1937. For Mr. Green's service to the College, it was "always a labor of love" as he often phrased it. His devotion to the college is best given appraisal in a letter of condolence written to the members of the family following Mr. Green's death in 1937. From the pen and heart of Dr. Kirk, President Emeritus, came: "As a member of the Teachers College Board of Regents, he must have attended almost a hundred meetings. So far as memory reaches back he was the one member invariably present. Many times we met him at the Santa Fe station in La Plata. Rain or shine he made the 16 mile trip to Kirksville. Open Ford cars, dirt roads, gutters axle deep, blinding rain storms; once a drenching to the skin. It was hazardous. It was the way institutions were built and civilization was coming on a few years ago." Yes, the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College at Kirksville has come a long way from those days and is continuing to expand its facilities, which have long been devoted to the ideal of preparing those teachers and leaders to fight for the great cause of education, under Dr. Ryle. From a single building with six instructors and an enrollment of one hundred forty, the College has grown to a modern educational plant consisting of buildings and equipment valued at more than five and one-half million dollars and a faculty of eighty-five and an enrollment exceeding a thousand. The College was originally opened in September, 1867, by Professor Joseph Baldwin as a private Normal School. After operating three and one-half years, the institution became the First District Normal School of Missouri, thereby becoming the first state teachers college in Missouri. Recent legislation permitting the state teachers colleges to change their names resulted in the colleges at Maryville, Warrensburg, Springfield and Cape Girardeau becoming state colleges, leaving the school at Kirksville as Missouri's only State Teachers College. From its very beginning until the present time the central theme of this College has been the preparation of teachers for the schools of the state and nation. By close adherence to the single purpose the institution has been able to produce some of the finest teachers in the state and has gained national recognition and prominence for its singularity of purpose. The College has had seven presidents, including Joseph Baldwin, the founder. Dr. Walter H. Ryle, the seventh president, was elected to that position in August of 1937. Under his direction and guidance the College has more than doubled its physical plant and expanded its faculty and its curriculum. So far as is known there is no sentiment in Northeast Missouri or among the alumni and friends of the College favoring a change in the name of the institution. In fact the general opinion is to the contrary. It seems to be the feeling throughout this area that the people of Missouri are entitled to at least one professional school which maintains that its primary purpose is the preparation of teachers for the public schools of the state. Without jeopardizing its professional program the college at Kirksville is able to offer pre-professional training for a great number of students who plan to enter schools of medicine, journalism, dentistry, osteopathy, agriculture, law, engineering, theology, nursing and similar fields. College officials report that a number of students take advantage of the opportunity to attend the Teachers College for this purpose, because the costs are somewhat lower than in many places and because they are assured of high quality instruction. President Ryle recently commented that, "we feel an obligation to accommodate as many students of Northeast Missouri as we possibly can." ALUMNI NOTES Winston Everett Morlan, 1936, a chemistry major, is Superintendent of Schools at Vandalia, Missouri. Mrs. Alpha Branter, 1932, whose home town is Lemons, Missouri, is employed as commerce teacher at the Browning, Missouri, High School. N. Alice Bragg, 1936, formerly of La Plata, Missouri, is teaching in the Public Schools of Ottumwa, Iowa. She was an English major while in school here. Mrs. Jessie Nichols Alley, 1949, an elementary education major, is teaching the fifth grade at Central School in Chillicothe, Missouri. Her home address is: Princeton, Missouri. Howard E. Boen, 1949, formerly of Novinger, Missouri, is employed as science teacher at the Brunswick, Missouri, High School. Henry S. McClintock, 1947, of Huntington, Missouri, is social science and physical education instructor in the high school at Wentzville, Missouri. Emily Lucille Moore, 1935, an English major, is employed in the Moberly Public Schools. She lives at 326 S. Morley Street, Moberly, Missouri. Katharine Line berry, 1945, has the position as Foods and Nutrition Instructor at Iowa State Teachers College. She resides at: 2118 1/2 Clay Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Charles Neubauer, 1944, formerly of Sweet Springs, Missouri, is teaching in the Guthrie Center Public Schools, Guthrie Center, Iowa. (page 9) SPRING, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 9 THE JOE BURDMAN RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION by Earl C. Cunningham Professor of Philosophy Northeast Missouri State Teachers College The administration of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers ' College is pleased to announce to the public and to the alumni of the College that Mr. Joe Burdman, a successful Kirksville businessman, has provided for financial grants to the College which are to be used to bring outstanding leaders in religion and human relations to the campus each academic year. The funds will be administered by the College under the name of the "Joe Burdman Religious Foundation." Mr. Burdman has stipulated the following principles and purposes as the core of the Foundation: "The Joe Burdman Religious Foundation is established by the Founder on the proposition that the happiness and well-being of free men in a free world are contingent upon developing instruments of religious and spiritual control; and upon the further proposition that the promotion of such religious and spiritual control can best be enhanced through selected educational channels. To promote these propositions the Joe Burdman Religious Foundation provides for an annual grant to the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College to be administered by the College in selecting outstanding leaders in the field of religion and human relations to hold lectures, forums, and study groups on the College campus for a period of one week each academic year." This Foundation becomes much more meaningful when viewed in the light of the life of its donor. . . In the year 1892, Joe Burdman was bom in the Ukraine of Southern Russia, in the rural section contiguous to Odessa, of peasant parents. Age thirteen found him doing a man's work as clerk in a grocery store in his native community. Age twenty-one confronted him with the problem of four long years of compulsory military service in the armies of the Czar, at the rate of pay of one dollar per month. Two factors turned his eyes toward the "promised land" of America—one, the prospects of these long years of enforced military servitude; and two, the fact that he had had a youthful sweetheart whose parents had emigrated to America. . . Her frequent letters fanned the flames of his youthful imagination and ambitions—America became the focus of his dreams; the challenge of military servitude was simply the precipitate that transmuted his dreams into constructive action. . . Age twenty-one finds him, belongings on his back, a fugitive from tryanny, slipping without passport into Poland; and from thence, by bribery, into Austria-Hungary. He arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1913. Salt water, from his steerage passage across the Atlantic, had rotted his shoes from his feet. In his lone pair of pants was five dollars—his total possessions. Fortified with two cans of sardines and a loaf of bread he began the long trek to Burlington, Iowa, the home of his Ukraine sweetheart. His first job in the land of his choice was in a Burlington basket factory, where he worked sixty hours a week at the rate of $9.00 per week. From this income he saved $34.00 during his first year—which served as the "nest-egg" for his marriage to the old-world sweetheart. We next find Joe and his wife "on their own." They have their own home—a one room affair minus the conveniences deemed so essential today. They are also in business for themselves. "Mrs. Joe" buys and sells, using the one-room home as the basis of operations. Joe is out collecting scrap—scrap iron, scrap rags, scrap paper! In 1919 a son, Bernard, was born. In 1921 Joe and his family moved to Kirksville, where he set up business again buying and selling scrap. It was in his coming to Kirksville that the saga "from rags to riches," made famous by Alger, and inherent in the promise of America, began to unfold. 1921: An unknown immigrant man, speaking a "broken" tongue, his sole instruments of business a horse drawn wagon; combing the countryside for things people no longer wanted. 1926: The opening of his first place of business, in his own building, selling automotive parts. Later: A new building in Kirksville— 13,000 sq. ft. of floor space; a plate glass front of 100 ft. Still Later: Eight branch stores scattered over the cities of Northeast Missouri. . . Such a history tells a vivid story both concerning the nature of Joe Burdman and the Land of his choice! Success has sat well on Burdman's shoulders. He is common, in a gentlemanly way, and humble. The writer learned from other sources that he contributes to ALL of the churches of Kirksville. He is president of the Board of Governors of the local Salvation Army. He is a member of the Temple Israel Synagogue of St. Louis. He is an active supporter of the Jewish Chautauqua Association, an organization dedicated to better religious and racial understandings. This is a brief history of the man who has arranged for annual grants to the College so that it may secure outstanding religious and social leaders in building and extending the rational and spiritual areas of awareness of its continuing student body. Mr. Burdman, we of the College and alumni congratulate and thank you. We congratulate you on what you have done with your own life; and we thank you for sharing with us through the purposes of the Joe Burdman Religious Foundation. [photo caption] MR. JOE BURDMAN (page 10) Page 10 NEMOSCOPE SPRING, 1950 COMMENCEMENT, SPRING SECTION, 1950 One hundred and fifty-three degrees, nine being the Master of Arts, were conferred on the spring section of the class of 1950 at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College on May 25. Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg, former Chancellor of Austria, delivered the commencement address for the graduates. Dr. Schuschnigg, who was forced by Hitler to resign as Chancellor of Austria on March 11, 1938, spent the next seven years in solitary confinement in various prisons and concentration camps until liberated by the American Fifth Army. At the present time, Dr. Schuschnigg, who was at one time Minister of Education of Austria, is a member of the St. Louis University faculty. He used as his topic, "The Actual Problem in Central Europe," for his address before the graduating class at the college. Gordon Collett, graduating senior, gave the tenor solo, "Thanks Be To Thee," by Handel, during the morning exercises. The announcement of honors and awards was made by Dean Robert C. Aukerman, and the conferring of degrees was made by President Walter H. Ryle. The Commencement program climaxed a series of senior activities at the College this spring. The Rev. Ralph M. G. Smith, pastor of the First Baptist Church at Kirksville, delivered the Baccalaureate Address on the evening of May 21. The College Choir, directed by Miss Phradie Wells, gave two selections, Gloria from "Twelfth Mass," by Mozart; and "Open Our Eyes," by Macfarlane. The Senior Banquet, at the Masonic Temple, and the Senior Dance, in the Ophelia Parrish Gymnasium, took place on the evening of May 19. President and Mrs. Ryle entertained the graduating seniors with a reception at the Ryle residence on the afternoon of May 18. The graduating seniors presented one of the best received assemblies of the year on May 17, with James Stookey as program chairman and master of ceremonies for the Senior Assembly. The program opened with a group ofreadings by the Vocal Chords, composed of Misses Frances Parcells, Gloria Lanza, Martha Bates and Mary Jane Mabee, and Gordon Grober, Rollie Houchins, John Goeke and Paul Kaye. Also on the program were vocal solos by Jack Acuff and Robert Umbarger, a small band combo under the leadership of Richard Johnson and a number of songs by the popular "Men of Song," composed of Robert Sloan, Raymond Goeke, Stephen Melvin and Jack Acuff. Class officers for the spring section of the outgoing class were: President, Stephen Melvin; Vice-president, Richard B. Locher; and Secretary-treasurer, Miss Azalea Ann Belt. ALUMNI NOTES Mrs. Elizabeth Carter Schnegel- berger, 1946, is employed as music and commerce instructor in the Humphreys Consolidated School,. Humphreys, Missouri. Birney Collins, 1939, a native of Kirksville, Mo., is vocational agriculture instructor in the Winterset, Iowa, High School. Ermine Capps, 1941, is teaching the third grade at Hugoton Grade School, Hugoton, Kansas. Lawrence Chatten, 1939, is working for the Veterans Administration at Cameron. His address is: 101 Sherman Apts., Cameron, Missouri. Leo E. Barnes, 1931, formerly of Kirksville, Missouri, is Superintendent of Schools, Grand Meadow Consolidated School, Washta, Iowa. Cleo Casady, 1935, of Livonia, Missouri, is attending the University of Iowa where he is working on his Ph.D. degree. His address is: 207 Riverside Park, Iowa City, Iowa. Robert L. Conner, 1948, is now employed by the Continental Air Lines, El Paso, Texas. Orville G. Stanholtzer, 1930, formerly of Braymer, Missouri, is employed in the Works Division of the General Aniline and Film Corporation at Rennselaer, New York. It is one of America's top chemical companies and a leading manufacturer of dyestuffs, film and cameras, and textile auxiliaries. Nellie Marie Stewart, 1949, an elementary, education major from Washington, Iowa, is teaching the fourth grade at Jefferson School in Keokuk. She lives at 726 Morgan, Keokuk, Iowa. [photo caption] Recipients of the Master of Arts Degree at the spring commencement ceremonies, pose for pictures. Left to right, front row, Chester J. Kessler, school administration; Dr. Wray Rieger, marshall; Pres. Walter H. Ryle; Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg, commencement speaker; Armon Adams, Music Education. Back row, George W. Leach, Jr., business education; Gordon Compton Thomas, English education; Edward Pershing Shumate, school administration; Warren G. Dickerson, school administration; Margaret Lee Bullock, music education; and William Thomas Cooper, music education. (page 11) SPRING, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 11 "LOST ALUMNI" Listed below are a number of alumni of the Teachers College, who have become "lost" so far as the Alumni Office is concerned. Mail addressed to these persons at their last known address has been returned marked "undeliverable." If you have information concerning any of these alumni will you please communicate with the Alumni Office. Numerals indicate year graduated. —EDITOR. Floyd E. Acree, 1941 Orvye Guy Adams (Mrs. James Smith), 1925 Beulah Shipley Aitken, 1944 J. T. Aldridge, 1890 Fred William Alexander, 1890 Sylvia Marie Apostol, 1944 George Washington Atterberry, 1894 Susan A. Baird (Della), 1893 Edna Baker (Mrs. A. P. Dralle), 1901 Florence Baker, 1900 Harriet H. Bartlett, 1905 George Francis Bennett, 1910 Ruth Hall Billington (Mrs.), 1915 Ella Edith Black, 1923 Vera Blake, 1904 Genevieve Bovard, 1900 Charles Edwin Bowls, 1925 Raymond Bowls, 1925 Charles Price Boyer, 1925 Gratia M. Brammer, 1938 Virginia Breckenridge, 1933 Amy Brown, 1898 Cora Mae Bruner, 1918 Frank Fitzhugh Buckner, 1896 Pius Elmer Bums, 1897 George Finley Burton, 1891 Amy Eloise Busse, 1930 Sidney E. Calvert, 1904 J. A. Carmack, 1900 Addie Carthrae, 1920 Ruth Borron Chaffee, 1944 Anna Byrd Chapman, 1915 Nora Cleminson, 1941 W. Lemuel Cochrane, 1900 Mary Ethel Cockrum (Mrs. Leslie), 1907 S. A. Coffman, 1904 Jennie E. Cole, 1892 Alma Coleman, 1948 Cora B. Collier, 1904 Luna Corbin Farmer (Mrs.), 1913 Lida Corken, 1899 Anna Donna Coulson, 1925 Aimee Alice Cowherd, 1925 Mary Crigler, 1916 Ellen J. Crockett, 1899 J. Frederick Lawson, 1942, of Osborn, Missouri, is pastor of the Methodist Church at Stanberry, Missouri. . . . ALUMNI NOTES . . . Mrs. Kate Bragg Stiles, 1939, whose home town is Kirksville, Missouri, is now in Civil Service work serving as a draftsman with the waterways. Her address is: 3121 Eads, St. Louis, Missouri. Leota Harris, 1948, of Bowling Green, Missouri, is teaching health and physical education in the Horace Mann Junior High in Burlington. Her address is: 1300 Perkins, Burlington, Iowa. John Guthrie, 1940, formerly of Kirksville, Missouri, is Superintendent of Schools and music instructor at the Perry Public Schools, Perry, Missouri. James C. Heaberlin, 1949, an industrial arts major, is now engaged in the machine shop business in Kirksville. His address is: 410 S. Baltimore Street, Kirksville, Missouri. John R. Hilpert, 1942, has the position as Educational and Athletic Director at the Iowa State Penitentiary. His address is: Donnellson, Iowa. Henry Clive Freeland, 1933, of Cora, Missouri, is teaching history and government in the Linn County Public Schools. His address is Browning, Missouri. Virginia Ellis, 1946, whose home town is Molino, Missouri, is teaching art in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at Sutton School, Maplew'ood, Missouri. Miss Ellis lives at Apt. 206, 5079 Waterman, St. Louis, Missouri. Doris V. Byers, 1943, formerly of Newark, Missouri, has a private secretarial position in Kansas City. Her address is: 414 West 33rd Street, Kansas City 2, Missouri. Mrs. Mabel Trotter Howell, 1945, an education major, is teaching the fifth grade at Prospect Hill School in Burlington, Iowa. Her home address is: 1223 Avenue H., Ft. Madison, Iowa. Lee E. Baker, 1938, is now a member of the regular air force. His address is: Major Lee E. Baker (Pilot, USAF), Craig Air Force Base, Selma, Alabama. Theodore Mallinckrodt, 1943, history major from Elsberry, Missouri, is now pastor of the Larger Parish of Platte County in Platte City, Missouri. Eunice May, 1941, is State Young People's Secretary and Acting Executive Secretary for the Woman's Missionary Union of Arizona. She lives at 725 1/2 E. Portland, Phoenix, Arizona. Mrs. Mildred Thiele Hanson, 1946, an elementary education major from Bucklin, Missouri, has been employed by the W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company for the past two years. Mrs. Hanson lives at 905-19th Street, Ft. Madison, Iowa. William J. Egan, 1937, is employed as a chemist for the Socony Vacuum Oil Company in East St. Louis. His address is: 2547 N. 42nd, East St. Louis, Illinois. Peter H. Heinze, 1935, whose home town is Kahoka, Missouri, is doing research work for the United States Department of Agriculture. Dr. Heinze's address is: Route 1, Berwyn, Maryland. Anna Heaberlin, 1940, music major from Kirksville, Missouri, is teaching music in the elementary school at Ferguson. Her address is: 22 S. Clark, Ferguson 21, Missouri. Fern Harrington, 1937, is a missionary to China where she is working with the Chinese in the Philippines. Her address is: 4 Carino Street, Baguio, P. I. Martha Felker, 1944, of Lewistown, Missouri, is fifth grade teacher at Bonne Terre Public Schools. Her address is: 33 Benham, Bonne Terre, Missouri. Eunice Hays, 1941, is working with the Woman's Missionary Union of Maryland, doing work with young people in the churches, planning camps, and directing other activities such as teaching classes among young people in mission activities and Bible study. Her address is: 307 Professional Building, Baltimore 1, Maryland. Deloris Fairchild, 1947, formerly of Warsaw, Missouri, is teaching the third grade in the Franklin School in Kansas City. Miss Fairchild lives at 1011 Reynolds, Kansas City, Kansas. Mrs. Ruth Milhoan Deskins, 1949, formerly of New Boston, Missouri, is secretary in the Admissions Office at the University of Missouri. Her address is: 52 Dairylawn, Columbia, Missouri. Roger L. Farrington, 1949, is Coordinator of Diversified Occupations at Central High School in Cape Girardeau. His address is: 601 Highland Drive, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. John Kimberly, 1949, has been employed as Claim Adjuster for the American Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Kimberly's address is: P. O. Box 756, Lima, Ohio. (page 12) PAGE 12 NEMOSCOPE SPRING, 1950 JOHN L. BIGGERSTAFF, Exponent of Music John L. Biggerstaff was born March 31, 1881, in Edina, Missouri. He lived in the home of his maternal grandparents there as a boy and in his grandfather's extensive library acquired the foundation for a broad knowledge of literature. Both of his parents were musical and his mother was an accomplished pianist. His early life was filled with the great masterpieces of music and many of these he played in four-hand piano arrangements with his mother or cousins. At the age of ten, he was accepted as a pupil of Mrs. Annie Frost Ringer, a graduate of the Chicago Musical College, who had organized a school of music in Edina. She taught him theory, history and piano and became a lifelong friend and counselor. Upon finishing High School, the young man worked awhile in Kansas City and Edina but was soon back in musical studies at Chicago. He returned later to Edina where he assisted in the management of the school founded by his former teacher. Here he met Dr. H. J. Jurgens, a former professional flute player and now a surgeon. A chamber music group was formed and the lack of radio and recordings was more than offset by the actual performance of music in this field. In 1906, Mr. Biggerstaff married Anna Mary Hax and the growth of his family made a wider field of operations financially desirable. For a term of several years, he taught piano classes at Clarence and Palmyra and was band director in Macon. In 1910, Mr. Biggerstaff became a member of the faculty of K.S.T.C. Continuing his studies in Chicago, he was awarded the degree Bachelor of Music from the Chicago Musical College in 1919. In 1922, he became head of music at K.S.T.C. and in 1925, head of the Fine Arts Division. A leave of absence gave him the chance to do graduate study in New York and in 1928 the Julliard School awarded him the Certificate in Composition. Another leave gave Mr. and Mrs. Biggerstaff the opportunity to make a world cruise in 1938-39. Mr. Biggerstaff sends the following message to all graduates: "I should like to take advantage of this opportunity to express publicly my appreciation of the unfailing support and cooperation that I have received during my many years on the faculty of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College from Presidents Kirk, Fair, and Ryle. This fact, the friendship of my colleagues and that of many students, a number of whom I wish to thank for recent letters, will always make the recollection of my teaching career a happy and rewarding memory." CUT ALONG THIS LINE The John L. Biggerstaff Memorial Loan Fund Karl E. Webb, Committee Chairman Kirksville, Mo. Dear Sir: I wish to pledge $. . . . .toward establishing the John L. Biggerstaff Memorial Loan Fund. I agree to pay this pledge by— (a) Cash or Check (b) Installments of $. . . . .payable. . . . I understand that the fund is to help music students through school and will be administered by the Business Office of the College. (Date) (Signed) (Address)