The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-26
MRS, TAFT AS 4
 SCHOOL TEACHER Building Still Standing In Cin-
 cinnati Subuib PERSONAL >RECOLLECTIONS Many Remember When the First Lady of the Land Engaged in Bus-
 ness of Training Young
 Ideas to Shoot.
PERSONAL >RECOLLECTiONS

Felix J. Koch, in the Cincinnati Com
 mercal Tribune.
 In Cincinnati, the home of President and Mrs. William H. Taft. they are in dulging in lots of interesting gossip about the earlier years of the notable pair-the years when Taft was still a simple judge in the courts at Cincln- nati. and when, if he had any presi- dential aspirations, he minded the maxim that mo man can make himself President" and kept his hopes care- fully to himself
 For example, it is a piece of news, unknown to many. that the first lady of the land vas at one time school teacher.
 On Walnut Hills, a suburb of the Queen City, just door or two from Peebles corner, where car lines diverge to east west, north and south for other outlying suburbs, little church stands In bit of lawn, well back from the street. Two or three old silver poplars droop ancient limbs down on the chapel; otherwise it Is left almost to care for itself
 When the biography of the Tafts comes to be written, however. 1t will give its chapter to the little chapel and the young woman who taught the three "R's" there 20-odd years ago.
 In one of the suburban apartment houses of the Queen City Professoh' White, once principal of the Franklin academy, resides, and he today enjoys the distinction of having engaged a future first lady of the land to teach.
 As he tells the incident. it is as follows:
 'tRa in oatol1i.1,.1 school on Walnut Hills and very soon took the old Presbyterian church near Peebles corner for a sch ool house. The property belonged to the Longwrth estate later on, so we rented it from them, and after altering the interior somewhat found it quite suited to the purpose. The first year we were there we engaged Miss Herron-as she was then-as an assistant. She began teaching in 1882 and taught through that fiscal year.
 All in all, she was with us in the capacity of teacher for three years. We still have the little blue catalogs of the school giving her name.
 Miss Heron had charge of the pri- mary department"
 Rules Through Gentleness.
 Miss Heron, at the time, it is said, was a bright, intellectual woman, one who was ont content, after her graduation at Miss Nourse's, to sit stil land play the society girl. She did not need to teach-that is. from the financial standpoint-since her father was an attorney in comfortable circumstances None of Miss Heron s sisters worked, yet all were fond of the intellectual life.
 MT. White does not now recall how he happened to hear of Miss Herron's avail ability for such position thought 1t is probable that Miss Nourse recommended her. He said, however, known her per sonally, having met her through mutual friends.
 The primary classes which Miss Heron had were not very large, and she ruled through her gentleness alone. She taught the usual subjects assigned such grades The classes came to her in turn rather than she having one set room. There were 43 boys in the department at that time and of these eight or ten formed her pupils.
 Those were the days of Miss Heron g debutantehood and she is recalled not only as a good scholar but also as a good musician. In fact, Miss Heron was looked on by her set as a very intellec- tual girl.
 She and perhaps ahlf dozen other young women and men got up what they called the "Coterie" or Salon" One memDer or tnlS was her SlSIor, Maria Heron. Another was Miss Alice Keys now Mrs. Howard oHllister. William H Taft was a member so was Howard Hol- lister. Then there was Thomas A. Mack an iron man, now in New York in busi- ness. There also were Professor White and others.
 These young folks met weekly and dis cussed questions of moment There were boat rides and other entertaining fea- fIraS in fl1aEa 01apftnQq nn6O1Ihf- edly that William Taft and Miss Her ron discovered two hearts that beat as one Dame Rumor says that this Is where the romance began, and 1t led on to the altar. The salon met in the several housese of the members and gave the astute young lawyer a chance to see what sort of a home maker Miss Her ron might make. Will Taft as a result married Miss Heron and Hollister too Miss Keys.
 An Early Day Prediction.
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