byron e. johnson
it has been my misfortune, or fortune, to be reared practically in the arms of poverty. i have spent the most of my days on a little farm in southwest arkansas, the family consisting of six children and father and mother, living in an old log house on the farm. just at the time when we were getting to where we could make a crop without buying everything on time, we lost about all we had on account of the ill health of my mother.
i was eighteen years of age when i finished the seventh grade. i thought then that i had enough education for any ordinary man. i had finished geography in the high school, i knew united states history fairly well, and had been through fractions in arithmetic; so i thought i was prepared for life. besides having enough education, as i supposed, mother’s health was very bad; so i decided that it was time for me to stop fooling with school and go to work.
the next school term came around and mother’s health was no better; so as i had to stay at home, i decided to attend school. three days after school was out, mother died. “now as mother is gone 226 and i have finished one grade more than is necessary, i must get out and make something to replace our loss,” was about as high a thought as ever entered my mind.
along in the summer i went to new mexico. there were several children where i stayed, and when they started to school, the thoughts of the dear old school days came to me, and i wished that i were in school. as soon as i could get money enough, i returned home and entered school. although i had learned enough to begin to realize my ignorance, i was still determined to make something to replace our loss. with this in view, i went to texas, before school was out, to take a position at $30.00 per month and board. this was more than the average man received; yet it did not take me long to realize the fact that competition is too hard for any ordinary man to earn enough by honest labor to place himself in good circumstances in twelve or fifteen years. i had come to desire a nice home surrounded by the comforts of life, and when this desire dawned upon me, i decided to finish the high school.
i returned home and entered school at the beginning of the term. after some insisting on the part of my professor, i decided to go through college. i had practically two years of high school work before me, and i had no money at all; still, the more i thought about it, the more determined i was to take a college education. 227
by working hard and doing without many necessities, i managed to graduate from the high school at the end of two years, with first honors. as the time of my departure for college drew near, i found that my determination increased. i borrowed a little money with which to make the start. i arrived at fayetteville, arkansas, september 18, 1912. as the old boys have nearly all of the work about the university, it is hard for a freshman to get work. but after school had been going on a week, i secured a position which paid me $5.00 per month. i soon made a good many friends, including the commandant. with their help i have been able to get enough work to carry me through my first year. i wish to say to those who read this, that i never could have made my way this far without these friends, and a determination. i try to make all the friends i can, but i never let a friend come between me and duty.
university of arkansas,
fayetteville, arkansas.
