(cover)

NEMOSCOPE

SPRING
1954

(page 2)

 President's Corner

   I am glad to have the opportunity of devoting this space to a brief appreciation of the many years
of devoted service given to our college by Dr. Lewis Clevenger, who is retiring from active teaching
in June.

   Lewis Carson Clevenger came to our campus as a student in the summer of 1911. He spent the next few
years teaching and attending school. In the summer of 1919 this college awarded him the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Education, and also made him a member of its faculty for the following fall.

   Dr. Clevenger continued to study in the field of Botany, taking work under some outstanding botanists
at Chicago University, and also at George Peabody College for Teachers at Nashville, Tennessee. In 1921
he began a five year period as Superintendent of Schools at Linneus, Missouri. Under his leadership the
schools showed marked progress. Moreover, Dr. Clevenger was vitally interested in his young students and 
exercised a stimulating influence on the lives of many. One of these students at Linneus, a particular
favorite of Dr. Clevenger, later became an honored alumnus of this college and prominent in educational 
circles. I refer to Dr. Maurice Wolf, a member of the Kansas State College faculty at Manhattan, Kansas.

   In 1926 Dr. Clevenger returned to the campus as Professor of Botany. Two of his favorite courses have
been Genetics and Nature Study. The latter has been a very popular course with many students preparing for
teaching in the elementary schools.

   In 1928 the bachelor professor of Botany married Miss Clara Howard, Professor of Economics and
Sociology in our college from 1921 until her death in 1951.

   The Clevengers took leaves from their professorships in 1931 in order to complete their work for
Ph. D. degrees at Cornell University.

   Although Dr. Clevenger is retiring from active teaching, he is not retiring from active living. He
states that he expects to travel some, to work in his beautiful flower garden, to read, and to eat
sparingly.

   Dr. Clevenger's avid interest in gardening and hybridizing is reflected in his attractive garden.
He has many unusual plants, and outstanding collections of iris, hemerochallis, roses, peonies, and
spring flowering bulbs. He has followed iris hybridizing for a number of years and has several of his iris 
originations registered with the American Iris Society. One of his best known is "Howdy," a large
blue-white, named after his late wife. Another beautiful one of pink and apricot coloring is called
"Phradie Wells" in honor of Miss Wells, a member of our music faculty. Flower lovers find a genuine
welcome in the Clevenger garden. An article on Northeast Missouri wildflowers by Dr. Clevenger appears
on page 6 of this issue.
--WALTER H. RYLE

Alumni Notes

   Dr. Roy L. Dillinger, 1921, dentist and amateur golfer, 54 years old, died at Barnes hospital on
March 28.

   John H. Curry, Jr., 1953, sporting goods and paint manager of Ward's at Kirksville, has been promoted
and transferred to the Montgomery Ward store at Trenton as assistant manager.

   L. L. McDannold, 1936, principal of Okawville Community High School in Illinois was elected president
of the Southwest Division of the Illinois Education Association at the annual meeting of the Delegate
Assembly in St. Louis, March 6. Mr. McDannold is the first teacher from Washington County to be elected
to this office.

   Mrs. Alice Thompson, B. S. in Ed., 1943, and M. A., 1949, was re-elected superintendent of the R-III
School District, Putnam County, March 31, for a sixth term. Prior to her election as the first
superintendent of this group of schools she served for five years as superintendent of the 
Powersville schools. She has been a teacher in Putnam County for twenty-six years.

   Wanda Holcroft Knapp, 1938, has been elected president of the Keokuk, Iowa, Education Association
for a two-year term beginning in the fall of 1954. Members of the organization are the administrators,
supervisors, and teachers of the Keokuk school system. Mrs. Knapp is the daughter of Mrs H. H. Holcroft
of Yarrow, Missouri.

   Dewey C. Hickman, 1926, of Rolla, died April 1, in Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis. He was
fifty-four years old. He became superintendent of schools at Newburg, Missouri, in 1938 and served
that post many years. He was Phelps county representative in the 62nd General Assembly from 1943 to
1945. At one time he was publisher of the Newburg Democrat.

Cover Picture

   President Walter H. Ryle greets H. I. H. Otto of Austria-Hungary at the beginning of the assembly
at the college, March 17, at which the Archduke was the speaker. For related story see page 8.
   
NEMOSCOPE
NORTHEAST MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE
KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI
WALTER H. RYLE, PRESIDENT

EDITOR
ROBERT L. MCKINNEY (ON MILITARY LEAVE)

ACTING EDITOR . . . . Ruth Towne
ASSOCIATE EDITORS . . . . Berenice B. Beggs, Ruth Towne
CAMPUS EDITOR . . . . C. H. AlLen
ALUMNI EDITOR . . . . Lula Allen
EDITORIAL BOARD . . . . Pauline D. Knobbs, Wray M. Rieger, Orville Bowers 

VOLUME VIII	SPRING	QUARTER, 1954	NUMBER 3

   A quarterly publication issued in November, February, May, and August.

   Subscription rate is SI.00 a year; single copy $.25.

   Address all communications to Ruth Towne.

   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, 1954
NEMOSCOPE
PAGE 3

RALLS COUNTY

by
James W. Neilson

   Note: This is the first of a series of articles to be published by the Nemoscope dealing with the
twenty-five counties of Northeast Missouri.

   James Neilson is a senior majoring in history at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. While
a student in the New London High School he began a study of Ralls County history which culminated in this
paper.

   The middle of the twentieth century finds Ralls County one of the typical agricultural counties of
Northeast Missouri. The fourth county south of the Iowa border on the Mississippi River, Ralls is composed
of 313,000 acres divided into seven townships-- Center, Jasper, Saline, Salt River, Spencer, Saverton, and
Clay. Three incorporated towns, New London, Center, and Perry, are found within the county.

   Agriculture is the basis of the economy of Ralls County, and a great variety of land and soil types
makes a varied agriculture possible. The flat plains near the center of the county are productive of
grains, while the broken, hilly country in eastern Ralls County is suited to dairying.

   The history of Ralls County is long and colorful, if not spectacular. Although this county's name has
not become a household term through some unusual occurrence of importance, the history of Ralls County
constitutes a distinct chapter in the history of the movement known as the development of the American
frontier. The story of Ralls County's settlement must begin with the French explorations of the Mississippi
Valley, for the first movements of settlers into the area came from the French posts to the south. Though in
general the settlement of this area constituted a small phase of westward expansion, technically it can be
said that it was a northern movement with the earliest settlers working up the Mississippi to find new
homes. New Orleans and St. Louis were the springboards of this northward expansion.

   At the termination of the Seven Years War in 1763 Spain received the whole of Louisiana from France and
after 1769 this territory was governed by Spanish officials. The question which comes to mind at this point
is "did the Spaniards ever set foot in what is now Ralls County?" There is no definite evidence to support
this supposition. However, there are certain indications that the Spanish were familiar with the area. In
a letter dated November 15, 1777, Francisco Cruzat, Spanish Commander at St. Louis, wrote to his superior,
Don Bernardo de Galvez, an account of various Indian tribes with which he was familiar. Among those
mentioned were the Winnebagoes, definitely known to frequent Ralls County in later years, and the Iowas,
a tribe living on the Des Moines River. Cruzat's letter indicates two things, namely that the Spanish had
explored the Mississippi at least as far as southern Iowa and that they may have penetrated parts of
Northeast Missouri. Salt River would have afforded them a splendid opportunity to visit the area comprising
Ralls County. It is of some interest to note what Cruzat wrote of the Winnebagoes: "But little confidence
can be placed in this tribe, for they are evilly dispositioned, a fact that has always been experienced
also by the inhabitants of the other districts as well as this. . ."

[photo caption] RALLS COUNTY COURTHOUSE BUILT IN 1858

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NEMOSCOPE
SPRING,	1954

A quarter of a century later the settlers of Ralls County learned just how accurate Cruzat's description
was.

   The first white men known to have set foot in the territory which now comprises Ralls County were two
Frenchmen, Dr. Antoine Saugraine and Louis Bouvet, who according to available sources, left France in
1795. The two adventurers went to New Orleans and thence to St. Louis, which became the base for Spanish
exploration and trade. The two men moved up the Mississippi and then up Salt River until they reached a
position close to the present site of New London. A parting of the ways followed with Bouvet going to a
place near the present site of Spaulding; while Saugraine went eastward to the Saverton area. Here he
began to manufacture salt by evaporating water from the salt springs of the area. Both explorers were
later driven from this section by hostile Indians.

   In the year 1807, Samuel Gilbert came to the place where Saverton is located. Here he found a French
settlement of some three families led by a man named Victor LaGatra. He claimed the salt springs near
the settlement and shortly after Gilbert's arrival sold them to him. The latter seems to have been an 
enterprising person for in a short time he was shipping salt to St. Louis. This probably tended to
popularize the Salt River area to the land-seeking pioneers moving out of St. Louis in a steady flow.

   The early settlers of Ralls County did not experience any great difficulty with the Indians until
the War of 1812. During this conflict, British officers from Canada penetrated the region and incited
the Indians to action. After a number of engagements in which the settlers lost men and property, most
of the white populace fled to St. Louis. Some of the settlers remained and fought to protect their
holdings. The leader of this group was a man named Captain Music about whom little is known. However,
he seems to have been a man who was respected by his equals and was able to co-ordinate the actions 
of a group of individualistic pioneers. A body of frontiersmen under Captain Music engaged a party of
Winnebagoes near Saverton and were soundly beaten. The whites even had to leave a number of their dead
on the field when they retreated. After this defeat Captain Music and his followers built a defensive 
structure which they named Fort Mason. After attacking the fort several times the Indians succeeded in
burning it.

   Indian troubles continued in Northeast Missouri after the close of the war. A party of white men
engaged the Indians in a skirmish at Spencer Creek, south of where New London now stands. This skirmish,
considered a major battle by the settlers, ended disastrously for the whites. The final action of the
Indian troubles occurred at a point on Salt River called Cincinnati. After this engagement the Indians
apparently had enough. Soon a general exodus of all tribes in the area took place, and thus the settlers
of the county were free from further Indian troubles.

   There are two accounts concerning the establishment of a small settlement north of the present site
of New London, one states that the little settlement centered around a mill known as "Matson's Mill,"
built by Colonel Dick Matson and his brother Enoch, who moved to Missouri from Bourbon County, Kentucky,
in 1816. Another account contends that a Mr. Foreman built the mill, sold it to a Mr. Sheperd, and that
Mr. Sheperd sold it to Colonel Matson. The second account is probably the more correct of the two stories
as it is supported by verbal tradition in the area. A second mill built by the Matsons to replace the
original was used until 1855.

   In 1817 two brothers, William and Robert Jamerson (or Jamison), and their brother-in-law, Robert
Jeffries, came up the Mississippi from St. Louis to Louisiana, Missouri, on a flatboat. In the following
year William discovered a large spring which is now known as the New London public spring. He built a
cabin on land overlooking that spring and had his sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Robert
Jeffries, join him. Their daughter Nancy was the first white child born in Ralls County. In the spring
of 1819 William Jamerson laid out the town of New London.

   After Missouri became a state in 1820, an important function of its first legislature was to elect
the state's two United States senators. Pike County had two of the fifty-two delegates in the legislature,
Colonel Johnson and Daniel Ralls. Daniel Ralls was a leader in Northeast Missouri and in frontier Missouri
politics in 1820. He was the son of a Revolutionary War soldier, Nathaniel Ralls, and probably had a good
name among the frontiersmen. He arrived in St. Louis on August 4, and became seriously ill a few days later.

   In the senatorial race David Barton easily won the distinction of being Missouri's first senator, but
several men were striving for the other position. The leading candidates, Thomas Hart Benton and James
B. C. Lucas, were so evenly matched that the outcome was uncertain. One delegate, Marie P. Leduc, although
he hated Benton, was persuaded by his French friends to support him in preference to Lucas Leduc's vote
gave Benton 26 out of 52, but Ralls, a supporter of Benton, was so ill that he was confined to his bed.
Nevertheless, Ralls had four negroes place him on a cot and carry him into the meeting of the, legislature 
where he cast the vote that

[photo caption] New London High School Building Constructed Shortly After the Civil War

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SPRING, 1954
NEMOSCOPE
PAGE 5

made Thomas H. Benton a United States Senator.

   The area up the Mississippi river was being rapidly settled between 1816-1820 and a new county bearing
the name of Ralls came into existence November 16, 1820. At the time it was formed, Ralls County was a
county of magnificent proportions comprising the territory now forming Audrain, Monroe, Marion, Shelby,
Lewis, Clark, Knox, Scotland, and the eastern sides of Randolph, Macon, Adair, and Schuyler Counties. In
1836 the county achieved its present boundaries. Soon after the formation of Ralls County a commission
chose New London as the county seat and in 1822 the first courthouse was erected. It was a two story log
structure eighteen by twenty-four feet. The lower floor served as a jail and the courtroom was upstairs.
A second courthouse, built of brick, was constructed in 1835 and served for twenty-three years until it
was pronounced defective and was torn down. In 1858 native stone was quarried near New London and a
courthouse, intended to last a long time, was erected at a cost of $18,000. It is still used and served
as a model for the Missouri building at both the New York and the San Francisco world's fairs.

   It was during this early period that the forebears of many well known Ralls County families moved
to the area. Most of them came from Virginia or Kentucky. Here are a few examples:  Samuel Elzea and
his wife, Frances (Self) Elzea, with their two sons, Samuel H. and James A. Elzea moved from Shenandoah
County, Virginia, to Ralls County in 1837. William K. Floweree came to Missouri from Fauquier County,
Virtinia, in 1833. Three years later he settled in Ralls County. Walter and Mary (Breckinridge) Caldwell
moved from Virginia to Kentucky and then to Ralls County in 1827. Raphael Briscoe came to Ralls County
from Kentucky in 1821. John Briscoe was born in Scott County, Kentucky, in 1810 and was brought to
Missouri by his parents in 1827. In 1844 he came to Ralls County. William G. Rule was born in Pendleton
County, Kentucky, in 1822. He settled in Ralls County in 1846. Samuel Megown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
brought his wife and son John to Ralls County in 1836. His son later became the Judge Megown who was so
well known in the area during the 1870's and 1880's. Of particular interest is the migration of the
Epperson family to Ralls County. Richard Epperson was a Virginian who moved to Kentucky and settled for a 
time. In 1812 his son Washington was born and seventeen years later both father and son moved to Ralls
County. In 1838 the twenty-six year old Washington Epperson married Nancy Jeffries, who was the first
white person ever born in Ralls County. All of these family names are common to Ralls County today.
Another of interest is Jameson. Willis Jameson and Fannie (Stone) Jameson, his wife, came to the county
from Kentucky in 1822. Mr. Jameson's father, Robert, was a Revolutionary War soldier who lived in Augusta
County, Virginia. Thus was Ralls County settled by people interested in agricultural pursuits.

   The history of education in Ralls County is another topic which holds a few largely forgotten
incidents which may be of interest.

   First of these is the VanRensselaer Academy, a Presbyterian School. It was established in 1852 from a
small school taught in the Big Creek Presbyterian church. The faculty was largely drawn from Marion City
College, then located in Marion County, Missouri, on the Mississippi, about eight miles south of Quincy, 
Illinois. These persons had been forced out of the Marion City College because they were said to be
abolitionists. A large brick building was built in 1852 and a limestone building was erected in 1866.
Later, two dormitories were constructed. A final building was erected in 1912, but the academy went out
of existence a few years later.

   The other historic school in Ralls County is still open. In 1852 a group of New London citizens
formed a stock company and drew up plans for a fine brick school building. The Civil War intervened
and it was not until 1865 that the New London Male and Female Academy began to enroll students. A
Professor Christian was the principal and for a time the only teacher. In 1867 the company sold the
school to two men named Laughlin and Lucy. During the decade of the 1870's the academy became a public
school. The building was modernized and additions were made to the original structure. Facts seem to
support the conclusion that the building still used for the New London high school is the same building
as that of the old New London Male and Female Academy.

   The economy of Ralls County continues to be largely agricultural. However, that is not to say that
its people do not have other important sources of income. It was in 1899 that the Atlas Portland Cement
Company of Coplay and Northampton, Pennsylvania, constructed a cement plant at Ilasco, south of Hannibal.
This is the largest cement plant in the world. It utilized the Bear Creek limestone which tests ninety-eight
per cent pure. One of its first contracts was for 4,500,000 barrels used in the construction of the
Panama Canal.

   Another, and much less successful experiment in business was the St. Louis and Hannibal Railway. This
line, extending from Hannibal to Gilmore, Missouri, was opened in 1882. A branch extended from Ralls
Junction to Perry, Missouri. The railroad did not prosper, and no dividends were ever paid. In 1918 it
underwent a reorganization, but ceased to function shortly thereafter. Even so, during its corporate
history this railroad served Ralls County more than any other line. Today people recall their memories
of the old "short line" as it was called.

   Over 150 years have passed since the French explorers came to Ralls County. Today beef cattle, hogs,
and corn constitute industries, each of which brings something like a million dollars to the county
every year. Soybeans are grown in quantity, and wheat and oats are important. Dairying also holds 
an important place, especially in the eastern part of the county. Besides these activities, so typical
of the present in Ralls County, one encounters reminders of the past at every turn. In the county seat
at New London a judge presides in a courthouse built before the Civil War. High school students attend
school in a building used as a private academy in the Reconstruction era of Missouri history. In the
Rensselaer Community the buildings, which once housed the old Van Rensselaer Academy, are still in
existence. In the Cincinnati vicinity, Indian signs may be seen on a stone bluff. They are believed to
indicate the westward trek of the Indians following the War of 1812. Here also is an old log inn, now a
private dwelling, standing as a memorial to the day when Salt River was an avenue of transportation. At
Spalding there is the old salt lake where buffalo came for salt perhaps a century ago. Nearby is a
crumbling hotel, which was the center of a summer resort of the Victorian era.

   This is the Ralls County of today,-- a typical Northeast Missouri farming area. The present is
enriched by the charm retained from its historic past.

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PAGE 6
NEMOSCOPE
SPRING, 1954

SOME EARLY WILD FLOWERS OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI

by
Lewis C. Clevenger
Professor of Botany, Northeast Missouri State Teachers College

   To those who have eyes to see, there is no time in the year when nature puts on a better display
than in early spring. The cold bleak days of winter are over, and the early cool rains awaken the
flowers from their sleep. This is the time when the nature lover really enjoys walking through the woods
enjoying the fresh scent of the damp woods, and the display of color. This is when he really lives.

   There are a number of beautiful early flowers. One of the earliest flowers is the hepatica (hepatica
triloba), sometimes called liverwort. It can be told by its leaf which is dark green and three lobed. The
flowers are from five to seven petals, with three green bracts beneath them. The flowers are blue or pale 
pink, and are borne at the end of fuzzy stalks.

   The dog's tooth violet (erythronium albidum) is another interesting lily like flower. It is known
by other names; adder's tongue, deer tongue, Easter lily, etc. It is a lily having six petal like
divisions. The flower, which may be white or lavender or yellow, is borne at the end of a stalk four to 
six inches long. The plant comes from a bulb. There are just two long, parallel veined leaves, sometimes
spotted lighter green. These leaves are relished by people who like wild greens.

   Bloodroot is a fascinating little flower. (The scientific name is sanguinaria canadensis) It is one of
our prettiest early flowers. At first the flower is wrapped in a gray-green leaf. Later the bud is pushed
up to the light and opens into a flower of eight snow- white petals with a center of yellow stamens.
Sometimes we find the petals doubled making sixteen lovely white petals. There are only two sepals and
these drop off as the flower opens. The thick, underground stem is red--hence its name. The thick,
orange-red juice was used by the Indians for painting their bodies.

   Among the best known early wild flowers is spring beauty (claytonia virginica). It has five pinkish
petals and two sepals. There are two, opposite, flat grass like leaves, and the stem is usually reddish.

   Rue anemone and false rue anemone are two much loved early flowers. They are nearly alike. If the
flower is white and five parted, with green centers and three divided leaves, it is likely that it is
rue anemone. If the flower is pink or lavender and the lobed leaves are joined together at one point
(not on a pedicel), it is likely that it is false rue anemone. Sometimes it is difficult to tell one
from the other.

   The common blue violet with a fuzzy throat is liked by most children. These flowers may be picked
without destroying the plant. The leaves are heart shaped. There are many kinds of violets, yellow
violets, bird's foot violets, white violets, etc.

   Dutchman's breeches, and squirrel corn resemble each other very closely. They both have large fern
like, lacy leaves. The flowers are different, the legs of dutchman's breeches are long, and spread apart,
while the legs of squirrel corn are more like bags. Dutchman's breeches grow from a small bulb of scales, 
while squirrel corn develops from a small tuber.

   Jack-in-the-pulpit, the little preacher, is a favorite with children. The modified leaf which makes
the canopy is green spotted. The plant prefers damp locations where the soil is rich and fertile. The
part of the flower called "Jack" is really two kinds of flowers. The female flowers are at the bottom
and the male flowers at the top. In the fall the female portion shows up as a large bunch of red berries.
These may be planted and the seed will produce new plants. The root, or more properly named the corm, has
been called Indian turnip and is very hot if chewed up. The Indians used it as food.

   The word "ranunculus" really means "small frog." These little frogs, or butter-cups as we call them,
like to grow in rich, marshy places. Some will grow along the roadside. There are many kinds, all of
them being yellow in color. The leaves are more or less divided into three parts, hence the common name, 
"crowfoot." The flowers are five petaled with many stamens.

   Lilies have leaves usually with parallel veined leaves. The trillium is an exception. It is commonly
called wake robin. The leaf is three parted, broad and rather blotched with netted veins. Resting just
above these three leaflets is the flower which may be white, rose or purple. It has three petals and
six stamens. It comes in late March or early April.

   Phlox, or sweet William, is a lovely bluish lavender flower. The flower petals form a tube. At the
end are the five sepals which are green. The flowers are from three-fourths to an inch across, and
there are many at the end of the stem.

   The blue-bell is a flower that is sometimes mistaken for another one very much like it (polemonium).

   Among the early flowering trees is the red-bud which blooms in May. The name is cercis canadensis.
The flowers are pea shaped and are scattered up and down the branches, sometimes blooming directly on
the tree trunk. The color is dark lavender, not red. The flowers come out before the leaves which are
large and are heart shaped. Sometimes the tree reaches twenty to twenty-five feet in height.

   Another lovely early flowering tree is the shadbush or service-berry. The common name "sarvis-berry"
is a corruption of the term service-berry. The flowers are borne in loose clusters

[photo caption] The Fifty-Three Piece Concert Band of the Teachers College

(page 7)

SPRING, 1954
NEMOSCOPE
PAGE 7

and are white. The leaves come after the flowers. The fruits come later in the summer and are dark fed
or purplish. They make good pies or jam. Our earliest settlers used them as food.

   The wild plum (prunus) has a flower that is loaded with perfume. In early May the woods are fragrant
with this wonderful scent. The flowers have five petals and are borne many in a duster. They are white
in color. The wild crabapple and wild cherry both belong to the same genus as the wild plum and are
likewise full of perfume. All of these may be used by the thoughtful home owner in landscaping his
home grounds.

   These trees and flowers are enjoyed by all. We should be very careful in picking the flowers. Do not
pull up the roots. Protect our wild flowers so that we, and many others who follow us, may enjoy them.
Do not dig them and put them into your home garden. They would be very much out of place. Be a good 
conservationist.

   Leslie Post, 1939, visited on the campus March 11. He has been working for the Standard Oil Company
in St. Louis for seven years. A Bulldog fullback under Coach Fred Faurot, Post is married and has two
sons and a daughter.

MUSIC GROUPS ON TOUR

   The Northeast Missouri State Teachers College Band and Nemo Singers made their annual tour of the
high schools of Northeast Missouri, March 1, 2, and 3. Sixty-four college students composing these two
music groups made the trip. They were accompanied by Miss Phradie Wells, official chaperone, Dr. Leon 
Karel, narrator, and Mr. Paul Strub, director of the band.

   Programs were presented in the high schools in the following towns: Clarence, Monroe City, Hannibal,
Palmyra, Montgomery City, Vandalia, and Centralia. In St. Louis, concerts were given in McKinley,
Roosevelt, and Ritenour high schools. A varied group of classical, light classical, novelty, and popular
selections was included in the repertoire.

   Before leaving on the regular trip, the band gave a pre-tour concert on February 24 at the La Plata
High School. Following the tour a concert was given in Kirk Auditorium on the campus. Based upon the
estimates of the high school principals in schools where programs were presented, the band and the Nemo 
Singers appeared before approximately nine thousand persons. This is the sixth consecutive year the band
has toured Northeast Missouri under its present director, Mr. Paul Strub. Band tours were made prior to
World War II but were discontinued during the war years and not resumed until 1949.

DIES IN MOBERLY

   Edmund Burke, prominent Moberly attorney, died April 20. He was born in Higbee and attended the
Higbee schools, Normal School No. 1 at Kirksville, and the University of Missouri. In 1916 he received
the law degree at St. Louis University and was admitted to the bar. He practiced law in Moberly and had
served as city attorney. For many years he was the lawyer for the Moberly board of education, a position
he held at the time of his death. During the first term of Gov. Phil M. Donnelly, Mr. Burke was state
supervisor of liquor control. 	
	
   Rev. Dr. Vernon L. Stanfield, 1941, of Louisville, Kentucky, is professor in the department of preaching
at the Southern Baptist Seminary. Dr. Stanfield has been a member of the faculty at "the seminary for the
past eight years.

(page 8)
   
PAGE 8
NEMOSCOPE
SPRING, 1954

ARCHDUKE OTTO AGAIN COLLEGE SPEAKER

   On March 17 H. I. H. Otto of Austria-Hungary was a guest on the campus of the Northeast Missouri State
Teachers College speaking in the assembly that morning on the topic "What Price Peace?" He also delivered
an address at the joint banquet given by the Historical Society of the College and the Northeast Missouri
Council for the Social Studies in the evening. On both occasions he was heard by a capacity crowd.

   The Archduke Otto is the eldest son of the late Emperor Charles, last ruler of the Dual Monarchy.
Exiled following World War I and the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the family lived first
in Switzerland and later on the Island of Madeira. Otto was educated in Spain, France, and Belgium. In 
1934 he received the doctorate of Political and Social Sciences from the University of Louvain, Belgium,
the youngest man upon whom the University ever conferred that degree.

   Archduke Otto was a leader in the organization of the underground resistance movement in Austria
against the Nazis after the Anschluss in 1938. As a result Hitler ordered him tried in absentia by a
German court and condemned to death. Today he is an equally militant foe of Communism, and the Communist
regime in Hungary has similarly charged him with high treason.

   The Archduke now lives in Germany near the Austrian border but travels extensively throughout the
world lecturing on the Communist menace. In addition, he is a fairly regular contributor to a number
of newspapers and magazines in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, and Italy, and he has just 
completed a book, Decision on Europe. He knows personally most of the heads of state and prime ministers
of Western Europe and Free Asia. He speaks six languages fluently and has a working knowledge of several
more. His avowed purpose in his lectures and writings is to bring about good will among men and nations.

   This is the eighth lecture tour of the United States for the Archduke, during which he has visited
each state of the Union at least four times. It is the fourth time he has appeared at the Teachers
College. He is always well received. His sincerity as well as his wide knowledge and fluent delivery
unaided by notes or manuscript are very impressive.

   It is the Archduke's thesis that the disappearance of religion rather than poverty is the chief breeder
of Communism. "It is a proven fact," he declares, "that when religion fades out of men's lives, it leaves
a void which makes them easy prey for Red doctrines." In his speech in Kirksville he also emphasized the 
importance of political warfare for the free world and expressed the thought that by tacit consent the
atomic and hydrogen bombs might never be used for the same reason that poison gas was not used in World
War II--because both sides possess these deadly weapons and the risk of retaliation is too great.
   
GRADUATE ALUMNI CLUB HAS BANQUET

   The Graduate Alumni Club of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College were guests of the President
of the College at their annual spring banquet on Monday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. The Banquet was held in
the Blanton Hall Cafeteria with about forty alumni and guests present. An interesting program had been
prepared for the occasion including musical selections by Miss Patricia Kelly accompanied by Miss Darlene
Peterson. The main speaker for the evening was Miss Margaretha Salet of The Netherlands. The Graduate
Alumni at a similar meeting last spring had voted to sponsor a foreign student for the academic year
1953-54, and made the original contributions to a scholarship fund to be known as The Graduate Alumni
Scholarship Fund for Foreign Students. Miss Salet was the student selected as the recipient of this
scholarship and this was the first opportunity that the Graduate Club had to get acquainted with her.
President Ryle introduced Miss Salet who expressed her appreciation to the Club for their sponsorship
and gave some interesting comments on the differences in the educational systems of the United States 
and The Netherlands. Miss Salet entertained with a piano solo after her talk.

   At the business meeting which was held preceding the program, the members of the Graduate Club voted
to again sponsor a student from The Netherlands for the next academic year 1954-55. Contributions
amounting to approximately $65.00 were given, and the President of the College indicated that he would
begin immediately to try to contact a student for this scholarship.

   Anyone wishing to make a donation to this fund may do so by writing to Mrs. C. H. Allen, who is the
treasurer of the Graduate Alumni Scholarship Fund for Foreign Students.

   Officers of the Graduate Alumni Club are: president, Mr. Joe Henry, Superintendent of Pike R-III
(Paynesville) Clarksville, Missouri; vice-president, Mr. Raymond Rigsby, Superintendent of Schools,
Hurdland, Missouri; secretary-treasurer, Miss Mary Kerr, Secretary, Office of the President, Northeast
Missouri State Teachers College, Kirksville, Missouri.
   
DEAN RESIGNS

   Dr. Robert C. Aukerman has tendered his resignation to the Board of Regents as Dean of Instructional
Service to become effective June 1, 1954. He is leaving the college to accept a position in the
Department of Education at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, and he will serve as Director
of the Summer School Session.

   Dean Aukerman, who assumed his present position during the spring quarter, 1948, is now completing
his sixth year with the institution. He has obtained official leave of absence for two summers to teach
in other institutions. In the summer of 1952, he was visiting professor at Oklahoma Agricultural and 
Mechanical College, Stillwater, and in the summer of 1953, he was a member of the instructional staff
at Pennsylvania State College.

   Prior to coming to Kirksville, Dean Aukerman was associated with the city school system of Detroit,
and he also taught in the University of Michigan and Wayne University. He holds the Bachelor of Arts
and Master of Arts degrees from Wayne University and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University
of Michigan. He holds membership in a number of professional organizations and learned societies.
   
   Mrs. Alverta Ross, 1941, teacher of special education at the Willard elementary school, Kirksville,
was elected secretary of the Central Missouri Branch of the International Council for Exceptional
Children at a conference on special education held Saturday, April 3, at Camdenton, Missouri.

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SPRING, 1954
NEMOSCOPE
PAGE 9

EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS ON CAMPUS

   Among the many services rendered to the teachers and public of Northeast Missouri by the Teachers
College is that of furnishing a place for the holding of meetings. College personnel also take over
many of the duties of making the local arrangements for these groups. This spring as always a number
of organizations have met on the campus.

   On April 10, the Northeast Missouri Council for the Social Studies held its annual spring meeting
in the Chapel Room of Kirk Memorial Building. About forty teachers were present. The program centered
around the problems of the teaching of American history on the secondary level and included a panel
discussion led by teachers from various parts of the district. At the business meeting officers for the
coming year were elected including Robert Pfaff of Unionville, president; Mary Shirley Waggoner of
Granger, vice-president; and Pauline D. Knobbs of the college faculty, secretary-treasurer. At noon a
joint luncheon was held in Blanton Hall cafeteria with the Northeast Missouri Council of Teachers of
English which met on the campus the same day.

   At the English teachers meeting a writing laboratory under the direction of Miss Berenice Beggs of
the Language and Literature Division of the college was featured in which students from the junior
classes in the high schools of Milan, Novelty, La Plata, and Kirksville participated.

   The afternoon session of the meeting was given over to evaluation and discussion of the themes
written by the students. Criteria for evaluation were set up under the group leaders and reports were
made by group chairmen. The publication of outstanding high school themes each year by the division of 
Language and Literature of the College in a booklet titled Youth Flashes has stimulated wide interest in
promoting good writing and prompted teachers in the northeast Missouri area to ask for the writing
laboratory demonstration at the April meeting.

   In the business meeting, the following officers were elected: president, Mrs. Arthur Bailey, Kirksville;
vice-president, Agnes Dinsmore Nicely, Novelty; secretary-treasurer, Fred Creason, Brookfield.

   April 24, sixty-three college and university librarians attended the annual spring meeting of the
college and university division of the Missouri Library Association held on the Teachers College campus.
The theme of the meeting was "Meeting the Needs of College Students in the Atomic Age." The principal
address was presented by Dr. Robert Downs, director of the University of Illinois libraries, who spoke
on "Current University and College Library Trends."

   May 3, the Keokuk-Quincy division of the American Chemical Society met on the campus. Dr. Felix
Haurowitz, professor of chemistry at the University of Indiana, was the guest speaker. Dr. Haurowitz,
who is the author of a book, Progress of Bio-Chemistry, spoke 6n "Anti-bodies and Anti-agents."
Osteopathic and medical doctors of the area were guests of the society and chemists from Macomb and
Quincy, Illinois, Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Hannibal and Canton, Missouri, attended.

ALUMNUS TO FOREIGN POST

   Ray Mabee, B.S. in Ed., 1949 and M.A., 1951, former Unionville attorney, has been appointed chief
of the United States Escapee Program in Turkey, the Foreign Operations Administration announced in
Washington, D. C. In this position, Mr. Mabee will work with officials of the Turkish government and
voluntary agencies to see that escapees who have fled from behind the Iron Curtain to Turkey are fed
and clothed and that jobs are found for them until they can be moved to other countries.

   Mr. Mabee began practicing law in Unionville, Missouri, in 1924, and has served as city attorney
there as well as prosecuting attorney for Putnam county. He also served as an assistant attorney general
of Missouri and two terms as state senator.

   Mr. and Mrs. Mabee and their 11-year-old son left April 15, for Istanbul, where he is to be stationed.

DRAWS PORTRAIT OF PRESIDENT RYLE

[photo caption] Johnny Koo Presenting the Portrait to Dr. Ryle

   Yung Jun Koo of Seoul, Korea, better known as Johnny, has presented to President Walter H. Ryle a
portrait which he made since coming to the campus. The portrait is done with a drawing pencil and is
a good likeness of Dr. Ryle.

   Johnny started portrait drawing in high school where he had special courses with a graduate from
Tokyo Arts University. He comes from an artistically-minded family. Several of his ancestors have been
artists; his sister has been an art teacher, and his father has a great love and appreciation for pictures.

   To be an artist himself was Johnny's highest ambition, but the war put an end to his plans. Because
he feels that Korea needs engineers today more than anything else, he plans to become a chemical engineer.
However, drawing will always be the young Korean's favorite hobby.

(page 10)

PAGE 10
NEMOSCOPE
SPRING, 1954

   FACULTY NEWS

   Dr. Dean Rosebery and Dr. Richard Sullivan attended the ninth National Conference of Higher Education
in Chicago March 4 to 6. The principal speaker was Dr. Charles Malik, Ambassador of Lebanon to the
United States, who spoke on "Higher Education and the World Crisis."

   President Walter H. Ryle attended the annual meeting of the North Central Association of Colleges and
Secondary Schools in Chicago March 22 to 26. Dr. Ryle was a consultant for one of the divisions of the
commission on research and service. He presented the distinctive role of the teachers college in teacher
education.

   Paul Strub, assistant professor of band music, has received a fellowship for the coming year from the
University of Kansas. He will begin a leave of absence June 1 which will continue until September, 1955,
to complete work for the for the doctor's degree in music education.

   A composition by Dr. Leon Karel of the music faculty has been 
accepted for publication by Clayton F. Summy Company of Chicago. The work is entitled "Seascrapes" and
is for a clarinet quartet.

   Sherod J. Collins, assistant professor of speech, attended a meeting of the Central States Speech
Association in Chicago April 2 and 3.

   President Walter H. Ryle and Forest L. Crooks, director, Bureau of Audio-Visual Education and Program
Service at the Teachers College, have been making a series of visits this spring to schools in the
Teachers College district. Dr. Ryle is particularly interested in how the college can aid in the 
improvement of elementary education in Northeast Missouri.

   Dr. Albert P. Kline, professor of chemistry, attended the meeting of the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology at Atlantic City, New Jersey, April 10 to 16. Dr. Kline is a member
of the subcommittee on research projects of the national committee for the survey of the physiological
sciences. While in the East Dr. Kline also visited the: Wister Institution at Philadelphia.

   Dr. C. H. Allen, head of the Division, of Personnel Service, attended a national meeting of the
Student Personnel Association for Colleges of Teacher Education at Buffalo, New York, April 11 to 16.
Dr. Allen is secretary-treasurer of the organization.

   Dr. Richard E. Sullivan, professor of early European history, attended a meeting of the Medieval
Academy of America in Toronto, Canada, April 9 and 10.

   Dr. W. A. Browne, professor of geography, attended the annual spring meeting of the Southwest Social
Science Association at Dallas, Texas, April 16 and 17. He read a paper entitled "Grain-Hay-Livestock
Middle West" before the geography section.

   Dr. Hamilton P. Easton, of the Social Science Division went to Madison, Wisconsin, for the meeting
of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association April 21 to 24.

WIN STATE DEBATE TOURNAMENT

[photo caption] Ronald Bailey of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Walter H. Ryle, IV., of Kirksville, winners
of the state debate tournament, photographed with Mr. Sherod Collins, debate coach.


   The Northeast Missouri State Teachers College debate team composed, of Walter H. Ryle, IV, and Ronald
Bailey were the winners of the 1954 annual Missouri debate tournament award by receiving four out of
five possible decisions. The Missouri Association of College Debate Directors tournament was held on
March 4, 5, and 6, on the campus of the Central Missouri State College, Warrensburg, Missouri, with
fourteen colleges participating. The question for the debate was, Resolved, "That the United States 
should adopt a policy of free trade."

   The Northeast Missouri State Teachers College has been an active participant in the Missouri
Association of College Debate Directors tournaments since 1937, when Mr. Sherod Collins became a
member of the faculty and assumed the responsibilities as debate coach. Clifton Cornwell, Jr., and
Lundy Allen won the state award in 1940. In the following years the college rated high but did not 
win again until 1952. That year the college was represented by Walter H. Ryle, IV, and Burleigh Arnold.
Walter H. Ryle, IV, is the only student of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College who has the
distinction of winning the state debate award for two years. He won in 1952, and again in 1954. Walter 
H., was not a member of the debate team in 1953 due to the fact that he was away from the campus and
enrolled as a student in the University of Mexico City, Mexico.

 NEW FACULTY MEMBER

Mrs. Mary Day Warhurst assumed her new duties in the college as instructor in home economics at the
beginning of the spring quarter. She succeeded Mrs. Lena Buckingham who resigned to accept a position
on the instructional staff at the Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls. Mrs. Warhurst teaches
classes in foods and also has charge of the Home Management House. She received the A.A. degree from 
Christian College and the B. S.

(page 11) 

SPRING, 1954
NEMOSCOPE
PAGE 11

in Ed. and M.Ed. degrees from the University of Missouri.

   Prior to coming to the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, Mrs. Warhurst held the position
of supervisor of high school home economics in the State Department of Education, Jefferson City. She
has had varied teaching experiences, being employed in the public school systems at Marceline, Huntsville, 
Harrisonville, and Columbia. She is a Missourian by birth and she has one married daughter.

PUBLISHES TEXTBOOK

   Applied Business Calculation by Vivian W. Kline, assistant professor of mathematics at the Teachers
College, was published in April and was featured in the April issue of the magazine, Business Teacher.

   The book, which was printed by the Gregg publishing division of the McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc.,
is a business arithmetic text. It contains a number of short cuts to be used in various situations and
is expected to have a wide distribution for use in business arithmetic classes throughout the nation.

   Mrs. Kline, who joined the Teachers College faculty in 1943, holds an A.B. from Lincoln Memorial
University and an M.A. from Western Maryland College. She has done graduate work at the University of
Maryland, Harvard University, and Johns Hopkins University.
   
   ALUMNI NOTES

   Frances Hook, 1941, married John T. Young, Jr., of Curryville, Missouri, on March 13. Mrs. Young is
now teaching in the Ladue school system in St. Louis County.

   James William Steele, 1950, was among the 67 who passed the state bar examinations given in February.
Mr. Steele is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Steele of Milan, Missouri.

   Glen R. Ellis, 1953, who was formerly with the Holt Laboratories of Springfield, Illinois, has been
chosen as supervisor of the Waynesville General hospital, Waynesville, Missouri.

   Donald Robinson, 1950, visited the campus April 23. He is now a mathematician with Douglas Aircraft,
Inc. of Long Beach, California. His wife, the former Bettie Cross, attended the Teachers College. They
have one daughter.

   Reverend Arnold Prather, 1940, is pastor of the Methodist Church in Corder, Missouri. For eight years
before entering the ministry he coached football in high schools in Texas and Missouri. During World War
II he was a gunner on a B-l 7 which was shot down over Germany. He was a prisoner of war for five months.

   Miss Roberta Minter died suddenly March 21 in New York City where she had taught music in the public
schools for the past twenty years. She was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Richard Minter who lived
in Kirksville while Miss Minter attended the old Normal School from which she graduated with a Ph. B.
degree in 1909. Later she received an M. A. degree from Columbia University in New York.
   
   Marie Poole Simpson, 1935, visited Kirksville March 19. She is now teaching speech and drama in the
Maplewood school at Richmond Heights, St. Louis County.

   Nolan M. Chapman, Jr., 1946, has filed candidacy at Chillicothe subject to the August primary for
the Republican nomination for prosecuting attorney of Livingston County.

   Boyd Tibbles, 1951, writes that he is now happily and busily engaged in the supervision of a three
thousand acre farm located in the Grand River Bottom Area near Chillicothe, Missouri.

   Mary Feaster, 1952, was married to George Hilbert of Monroe City, February 12. They will live on a
farm southwest of Monroe City. Mrs. Hilbert is a teacher in the Adams County, Illinois, schools.

   Dr. V. H. Casner, 1929, chairman of the Department of Public Health at the Kirksville College of
Osteopathy and Surgery, has been reappointed Adair County health officer, a post he has held since
1946. The Adair County rural school health examination program developed under the direction of Dr.
Casner has attracted wide attention.

   The Nemoscope Editor recently received a letter from Gwyn H. Baker who graduated from the Old Normal
School in 1899. Mr. Baker taught mathematics in the Kirksville High School from 1900 to 1902. He then
left Missouri and went to California and worked for the Santa Fe Railroad until 1921. He practiced law
in San Francisco until 1949 when he retired. Mr. Baker is now living in Oakland, California.

   Helen M. Starbuck, M. A. 1953, of Port Acres, Texas, married Glynn A. Prejean also of Port Acres on
March 26. Mrs. Prejean is a teacher at the Port Acres school.

   Dr. Paul Kelso, 1939, is coordinator of Student Counseling at Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar
Falls. Dr. Kelso holds both the M. A. and Ed. D. degrees from the University of Missouri.

   James A. Fox, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Fox of 303 West Pierce, Kirksville, Missouri, was ordained
as the pastor of the Novinger, Missouri Baptist Church on Sunday, March 14, 1954. Reverend Fox has been
preaching at the Novinger church for the past three years. After graduating from the Northeast Missouri 
State Teachers College in May, 1952, he attended the Central Baptist Seminary, Kansas City. While in
college he was active in the Baptist Student Union and since June of 1953 he has worked through the week
for the welfare department at Memphis.

ALUMNA EXHIBITS CERAMICS

   Helen Caldwell, 1940, director of art education in the public schools of Burlington, Iowa, had her
handmade ceramics and ceramic sculpture exhibited at the Municipal Art Gallery in Davenport, Iowa, April
9 through the 25th. Before assuming her present position, Miss Caldwell, daughter of A. W. Caldwell of 
Milan, was supervisor of fine arts in Sullivan county. She has done graduate work in art at the University
of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago; University of Southern Illinois and the University of Missouri.
   
KANSAS PROFESSOR DEAD

   Dr. Dale Zeller, professor of education at the Emporia State Teachers College and a member of the
faculty since 1922, died April 16 at the home of a sister, Mrs. Carolyn Millard, in Chicago.

   Dr. Zeller was nationally recognized as an authority in elementary education. From 1936 to 1939 Dr.
Zeller served as director of curriculum with the Kansas state department of education. In the summers
of 1948 and 1949 she was in Germany as a consultant for the United States Army and the State Department 
on the reorganization of German education.

   She was graduated from the Kirksville Normal School in 1910 and held both master's and doctor's degree
from Teachers College of Columbia University.

(page 12)