frank r. dyer, a.b.
my first inspiration toward college came from a public school teacher by the name of homer c. campbell, now a successful business man of portland, oregon. mr. campbell was a gifted teacher, brimful of inspiration and helpful suggestions.
my impression while i was a boy was that the rich only could get through college. my estimated amount of money needed was far beyond what i ever had seen together and was beyond my fondest hopes.
during the seven months of mr. campbell’s stay with us, he taught us much not in the books. he made us realize that there were higher fields inviting us and the means to the end were within our reach. before he left us he exacted a promise from me that i would go to college. i was very willing to promise, due to my confidence and admiration for the man; but, at this late date, i realized that far, far away was my hope to realize the goal. my old teacher did not let me forget my early ambitions, but took numerous opportunities to remind me of my promise. 25
after teaching a short term in the country and then serving as clerk more than a year in a country store, i quit the job with many misgivings and started for the ohio normal university, located at ada, ohio,—the school founded, and many years directed by that prince of educators, president henry s. lehr. i had all the queer sensations of a new boy in a strange school, but the experience is common to all who will read these letters; so it will be unnecessary to repeat it here.
i had one hundred and forty dollars as a nucleus that i had saved from two years’ work. three terms made up my first year. there were five terms in the year. i was able to get through three of them, and have a small amount of my capital left. i may add that the ohio normal was run for the benefit of the student body and a vacation was a very rare occurrence, and when it did occur, there was what was known as a “vacation term” for the students who did not have time to quit. in the town was my old teacher, who often had a kind word for me and always pointed to the day of graduation, a day which seemed too far away for me to consider.
i taught school that winter. as soon as school closed i went back to the normal, took a new start, and worked all summer till time for school to begin in the fall. so, by the plan of the normal school, i was able to teach each winter and go to school from early in the spring till late in the fall, and 26 still make the purse hold out. the high cost of living was not in evidence. i paid $1.40 a week for table board, and fifty cents for my room. this continued till the purse came in a little stronger, and i went up to $1.60 a week. i may add that in my later years i got into the plutocrat class and paid $2.00 a week, but the room rent was the same. two dollars per week was a regular rockefeller rate for the normal boys, but we lived well. our wants increased as the years went by, but we were able to have some surplus left over each year, which was a very gratifying condition. thus, by half year work and half year study, i was able to complete the classical course when the long hoped for day of graduation came. this is now history. my ambition had been thoroughly aroused and i felt that i must now finish college. my surplus with a little that my brother lent me during the last few months in college was enough to take me through. as i look back over the road, i find only pleasant recollections of the college work, even though there were times when we bought our coal oil by the half gallon because it avoided a large investment at one time in one commodity.
we did not ride in automobiles then as many do now. our only expense aside from lodging, board, and fuel, was to spend a few dollars for a good book now and then, and a few dollars more for lecture tickets. the lectures were of the best, by joseph cook, george wendling, sam jones and men of that 27 type. we must admit at this late date that our best girl beside us made the lectures more interesting and instructive than they could have otherwise been.
our temporal wants were few, and our intellectual opportunities, accordingly great.
one time in traveling through the mountainous part of kentucky the most conspicuous sights were the cabin on the barren hillside and the razor-back hog with the proverbial knot in his tail to keep him from running through the crack in the rail fences. i was so impressed with the simplicity of the life there that i said to a gentleman on the train near me, “how do these people ever supply their wants?” he replied in the characteristic english of the locality, “mister, they ain’t got no wants.” these people seemed to be happy. as i look back over my college work and experience when often the purse got down below the last nickel, i recall that our desires for knowledge were so paramount that we did not seem to have any wants.
at this time of life i take off my hat from the place where the hair ought to grow to do honor to the ohio normal university, because it made it possible for me and thousands of others to get inspiration for higher things. all honor to the ohio wesleyan university, my later school, for its scholarly instruction, its able professors, its college association, and above all its training in christian manhood, a part of the curriculum never forgotten or neglected in the o. w. u. 28
may the years deal kindly with all such as the president emeritus of the ohio normal who will still inspire youths to do their best, and reach out to the things beyond. rewards have come to many of my professors in the ohio wesleyan university, but the memory of their lives and work remains.
any young man or woman who has no obligation but his own support can enjoy the advantages of the best educational institutions of this or the old world and make every dollar of his expense independently.
wichita, kansas.
