The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-06-20

was to be the business man of the
class and who for everal years con-
Quoted mercantile business success
fully at Lexington, and whom we un-
dertand is living in Florida. And
Edward P. Aull who became an en-
gineer and afterward in the cotton
seed oil business, has succeeded and
lives in New Mexico. He and his wife
were on a visit to South Carolina last
year. And Chris Welch, seven in all
and six of them lived for forty-two
wears after leaving college and four
are still living. Will Daniel and
Welch and Hobbs while in college
planned to be lawyers, and only
Hobbs was admitted to the practice
of the profession. So you can never
tell where the path will lead, howe'er
well you plan as a college boy.
Welch was a born teacher and lead
er. and somehow we always felt that
he was directed in the right path as to
a profession. His first. school was at
Spring Hill in Lexington county, and
he was the only teacher. A little red
school house on the hill beside the
road. But teacher inside, and that
made the school. He sent US a pen
sketch of the school house while ne
was teaching, and we have it yet.
He then came to Prosperity and was
really the founder of the Prosperity
high school. The old wood school
house that stood near the c., n. & l..
depot at Prosperity was put up while
he was teaching at this place, and
was really the first forward step made
by the people of this community IN
the matter of education. He had a
fine school with two or three ass:s-
tants. He published catalogue and
we remember very well that the mot
TO of the school was, Education IS
the Hope of Our Country" 1t was
true then and is now.
From Prosperity Welch came TO
the professorship of mathematics IN
Newberry college, and from here ne
went to Texas as principal of the hlgh
school in Houston, and then he came
hack to take chair of mathematics
in Clemson and thence back to Tex
as where he made such success OF
his private school. We remember
verv distinctly . Sunday morning IN
the early summer some twenty-five
years ago, that Chris and his inter-
esting family were living with Dr.
and Mrs. Peter Robertson in the old
Hunter home where the handsome
residence of Mr.. Geo. W. Summer
now stands, and we took stroll down
the railroad toward where the Mol
lohon mill is now, and we were talk
ing about what he should do. He had
Just resigned the year before the
professorship at Clemson. l remem-
ber that / said to him, that what ne
should do was to go to Texas and op-
en- a private school and prepare
Young men for college, and that with
his experience and his record as a
teacher he would have no difficulty in
getting as many boys as he could
handle, if he would only make his
tuition charges large enough to at
tract men who had money. He said
he did not have the money to go to
Texas. l said borrow it. Whether he
borrowed it or not he went and the
result was the fine private school he
built up.
Welch was born teacher. He had
ability to convey to others the knoWl-
edge he himself had, so that the other
could understand it, and that is what
is necessary in the teacher. He was
still a young man and to the human
vision it seems strange that he should
be stricken in the midst of his use
fulness, but it is for some wise pur-
pose in the plans of the All-Wise
Ruler of the universe. We must feel
that it is all for the best and realize
that somewhere the sun is shining
and sometime it will be morning.
cts hard to do, l reckon-with the
mist around your eyes,
And not star a-shinin' in the mid
night of the skies!
But-think! The light is somewhere
on the hills of life"
Ny sympathies go out to the wife
who has trod the pathway with him
all the years, through the hard times
%D tho l.