professor m. a. mcleod, a.b.
being the son of an invalid mother and a confederate soldier who received a wound that permanently disabled him, i did not attend school but five months till i was twenty-one years of age. believing that education is to agriculture, commerce, society, professions, government, and christianity what the sunshine and the rain are to the vegetable kingdom, and what christ is to those who believe on him, i decided to try to cultivate the mind of myself and as many others as i could.
when i left home, i had one dollar. “keep good company, and may god bless you,” were the words which my mother gave me. by the time i had secured work, i had spent my dollar, but held on to the advice, which did me more good than all the gold of california would have done me. i was willing to do any honest thing to educate myself. i plowed, cooked, walked four miles to school, worked on saturdays and during vacation, drove a wagon, rang bells, studied fifteen hours every twenty-four, and taught school.
broadway, n. c.