Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-04-04
WRITES OF "wIELDERs OF RULERS"
DR.. Porter Tells Anecdotes on Peda-
sOsues of By-Gone Days.

reckon it dill every reader of the
CENSOR good to read the delightful let
ter of Mrs Flora Chapman Torrance in
last weeks issue of the paper. pretty
nearly cried when my wife read il to
pi7 while | ate my frugal meal at noon
alter having called on over eighty ladies
that forenoon in the capacity Of milk
man. When she read of Mrs Casson
and Mrs. Suttle and the other departed
ones ball of something came up in my
teroat and nearly choked me It was
the globus Mysterious, | suppose, of the
medical writer. and | have no doubt it
came into tnroats of hundred who read
that beautiful tribute to Mr.. Haughton,
Judge Wyman, and the other friends
Mrs. Torrance says how much earlier
we assumed responsibility In those days
than children do now. Yes, / rSlnem.
Der q bright eyed little maid of perhaps
fifteen years, who earned cerhficsts to
teach school in Vernon county, bv hard
work and trudged daily two miles ont
west OF Firoqus, and taught a success.
tnl school where a man had trouble to
keep order the term before. Had she
been one of those for whom every
thing is done and nothing Is expected in
ed her way through Oshkosh Normal
school and have graduated with high
honors from Cornell university as Mis-.
tress of Science or Art forget which.
| know Cornell honored her with do.
gree and she honored Cornell as we'll.
Mrs. Torrance has brother, Charles H.
Chapman, Phi. D., one of the best teach
ers who ever welded ruler in Wiscon-
sin. He taught at Coon Slough, Spring
vile, Viroqua and DeSoto in this county,
and Mt Sterling, Crawford county. He
graduated from Oshkosh normal, and
later from Johns Hopkins university.
For several years DIR. Chapman was
president of the university of Oregon.
tie Is now, | am told, editor Of the
Portland Oregonlan. His wife Is a
physician and was educated in the great
medical schools Of Berlin. Paris and
Vienna DR.. Chapman's first editorial
work was done | believe. on the Sol.
diers Grove Journal in the summer of
1886. ! contributed several articles on
early history to mis- paper / hope his
present Job is more remunerative than
that was at Soldiers Grove
While writing about teachers Of the
olden time, | cannot forbear writing
word about poor, careless Hartwell
Allen. When / met him third of
century ago at teachers examination
he was power for good and an inspira.
ton to us who came before him to get
our certificates. In his last years he
was pedagogic tramp and had a circuit
over four counties. He would have had
the warmest welcome in hundreds Of
homes on his circuit until his death
had it not been for his filthy habits.
No monument, believe markP, his grave
but he had much to do in the establish
ment of the excellent educational systeLJ
of our county. Hartwell was an excel
lent Fourth of July orator and always
happened around in time TO ''orate" at
some cel51ration. President Arthur's
father wss his early teacher. Hsrtwell
never visited my school but Mr.. WYman
came and was an earnest friend OF every
teacher who tried to do well. He was
thorough teacher snd / can see him
yet teaching the vowel sounds long a,
marked with macron, short a, marked
with breve, etc. Wyman was a ter
ror to the bad boy. He visited Achsah
Mcrgan's school near Retreat. Miss
Morgan was the first woman in this
county operated on for ovariotomy. She
had bad boy in school. She asked
him to do something while Mr. Wyman
was there. The boy refused. Wyman
went to him, seized him by the collar
and churned him up and down. He
churned him and charmed him and then
said, go and do what your teacher bade
you do" The boy went. Mr.. Haugh- |
ton visited my school one afternoon
had three boys staying in at recess for
some trifling thing they had done-a
foolish thing for any teacher to do-and |
Mr. Haughton said to me Il thought 1t |
was recess took the hint and the |
boys were let go. This good man left |
his impress on the intellectual and re-
ligious thought of the county as perhaps |
no other has done. He worked for |
mere pittance and walked from one |
town to the other. He was geologi- |
cal student and gave excellent lectures |
on geology He was student while at |
Mcaill University, Montreal, of DIR. |
Dawson, the noted Canadian geoiogist |
who discovered the fossil Eoz oaa Cana
densis in Azoic rock. c. V. PORTER.