The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-04-24
CONN
GENUINE LOSS TO.
COLLEGE FACULTY
Leaves Enviable Record In
Scientific Work AS Last
ing Tribute to Career

professors who have served in their
various departments for more than
a. quarter of century, and who
have brought large recognition to
the institution which they have
served who-heartedly. The names
of Rice, Winchester. Crawford,
Kuhns, Armstrong, Mead and Conn
are known affectionately to more
than a generation Of Wesleyan men,
and now that the, famous little CO.
terie has been broken by the sud-
den and untimely taking Of the head
Of the biology department, there
will be genuine regret in all parts Of
the country where the name of Wes-
leyan Is known.
The college man, above all others
perhaps, is ready to recognize a
mans real worth in his chosen field.
He will be pretty certain to take, his
crack jocularly at the fanctes and
foibles that grow up about the in
dividual who specializes, but those
very traits that mark the man are
part Of what makes him dear to his
students.
At a small college like Wesleyan,
the funny things about each professor
are caught up and catalogued and
paraded before the public in one way
or another They raise a laugh and
are usually greeted with show of
good-natured tolerance. upon the
part of the professors themselves.
That is the best way, too, for no one
of them escapes.
Professor Conn was known as
.tHerbie" to his classes. Decade af-
ter decade called him that and he
seemed not to care. 1t was no
worse, at any rate, than Bill nor
Bobbie, and a lot better than Nancy
and the Goat When he wrote
banana on the board in a way all
his own, putting in a too liberal
sprinkling of ms and as. the class
laughed uproariously but "Herbie"
merely looked at the board, to see
that he had not written Johanna, and
went on with his lecture with show
Of good humor that Indicated that he
believed that good spoilers were born
and not made.
In some respects he was impatient
of small details, although this never
extended to the technique of an ex-
pertinent Like Byron he was care
less of the vehicle which conveyed his
thought He spoke quickly and with
little attention to the niceties OF the
words-the thoughts were uppermost
with him, the words subordinate and
of little consequence so long as they
expressed what he had in mind.
Some of his former students can
see him now, facing the class and
lecturing while at the same time he
was reaching grotesquely to one side.
or above his head, and drawing a
cross section on the blackboard which
looked ludicious enough, it might be.
but which served we'll to picture what
he was trying to explain. When
student tried to hide a lack of pre-
paration with the excuse that he could
not reproduce the cross section the
professor was asking for. the head
of the department would maintain
that everyone could draw and would
insist upon the luckless one taking the
crayon and doing his best.
Professor Conn could really draw
very we'll when he put his mind to
it. How many Middletown people
Their are who remember the frolic-
some Brownies he used to draw for
the delight of the children of the
First Methodist Episcopal Sunday
school, of which he was superinten-
boys and girls are parents now, but
they can picture this really great man
standing there, at some of the Sunday
school entertainments, and amusing
the children with the pictures he call
i ed into. being.
| How he would sing at the Christ.
mas entertainments Of the school. He
entered so wholeheartedly into the do
ing Of it that others did their par,
from the sheer force of his example
No wonder the school grew and pros
pered and splendid spirit was fos-
tered and impaired under leader
like that. Those who concluded they
were too busy to teach in the Sun.
day school looked at this busy, ener.
getfc man, and took fresh grip upor
things, and turned to the place which
was calling them with a vigor and
lcheerfulness that made this Sunday
school conspicuous for it's success.
There was something about Profess
sor Conn which stripped him of the
professional air. One felt no barriers
learning or of the gown when they
were chatting with him. He talked
easily and freely, and seemed to en-
Joy the interchange of ideas. It was
noticeable that he ever tried to get
the other mans viewpoint Perhaps
that was why people liked him SO
wei, and why he won and retained SO
many who called him their friend
Those who knew him find it hard to
recall even one occasion when Pro-
fessor Conn was engaged in a contro-
versy. This is the more remarkaBIe
] when 1t is remembered the high
places which he filled and the occa-
sfons upon which it became his duty
to announce matters OF policy and OF
| scientific research.
i It was in the COS that Professor
Conn startled the public 10y branding
the oyster, which had no voice to
protest, as purveyor of typhoid. A
score Of Wesleyan sophomores had
come down with the disease suddenly.
and the professor traced it to New
Haven City Point foivalves which they
had eaten at a banquet, which had
been fatened near sewer beds Since
then the head OF the biology depart
ment at Wesleyan has scored one
success after another.
! When the epidemic OF infantile par
aIYsis caused CONSERVATION in this
state, nearly decade since, Professor
Conn set to work to discover the
cause. Through patient Investigations
carried on in Meriden and elsewhere
he was able to announce that the "a.
flea was probably. the cause. Only
last summer a noted New York scien-
fist gave it as his opinion that this
theory, evolved by Professor Conn
Hong since, was gaining credence
among scientific men.
Some of his most useful werk was
with the friendly and beneficent a gri