| Pearce, Alexander, Cameron, Bradley |
| William Eli Alexander 1 2 |
Educate Ten Children With "Perfect System" Mr. And Mrs. W. E. Alexander, Sr., Explain How Farmer Sends Children Through College - Mr. Alexander Declares Right Mother First Point. BY FANNIE LOU BINGHAM Charlotte News Staff Writer The overproduction of school teachers has now been traced to its source. The misdemeanor is laid at the door of Mr. And Mrs. W. E. Alexander, Sr.,who live on a farm about two miles from Huntersville. The Alexanders arethe parents of twelve children, ten of whom were graduated from collegeand became teachers in schools of the country scattered from Mecklenburgcounty to Los Angeles, California. The Alexanders, parents and children, have repented of the chaos into which they threw the teaching profession - and in the last few years allof them except one have deserted it for greener fields. Mr. Alexander is 82 years old. His wife is 70. They have been married 54 years. Mr. Alexander has farmed all his life. He started out with 50acres. He now has 135. NOT HARD TASK Sending children through college is no task at all, he says, "I would have sent my other two if they had wanted to go." "No, it isn't a matter of money. It's just a matter of the right kind of system. Takes no more money to send ten children through college than tosend one. Have you ever tried it?" "Well, you see it's kind of like pushing a rock down the hill. It takes a lot of push to get it started but after that it runs along on its ownmomentum." "One thing that made it easy to get our children educated was that we had smart children. They took after the mother, you know. My wife was MissJanie Knox and she took lots of prizes for being smart when the oldHuntersville school was just started." Here Mrs. Knox took up the story about education. "I was one of the eight pupils enrolled when Dr. W. W. Orr opened the Huntersville highschool. The first year he offered a prize for general merit. The prizewas a Green's history of the English people and I got it." "Dr. Orr didn't leave any room for people to say his prizes were given unfairly. He lined his students up on the stage at the schoolexhibition, and gave an oral examination. The whole community sat aroundand looked on. The students who answered the most questions got theprize." And here Mr. Alexander continued. "I was policing the school exhibition that night and I decided right then that that was a mighty smart littlegirl. Later when she was 15, almost 16, we got married. I was 26 yearsold." "Well, getting that smart mother for them was the first step in getting my children through college. After that it was not so much a matter ofmoney, just a system. "We saved and economized and sent the first one. Then she began to teach school and paid the money back. As she paid back, we paid the expensesof the next one and on and on and on. In a few years we had morechildren paying back money than we had children in college. The rock wasjust flying down the hill then. If you have money enough to send onechild through college and the right kind of system you can send ten justas easily." Erskine and Asheville Normal were the favorite colleges with the Alexander family shoes educational career when something like this: THE CHILDREN Mary Jessie, the oldest daughter, was graduated from old Lynwood college and taught at Fletcher, Gilead, Long Creek and Bessemer City. She laterbecame Mrs. Gliff Westmoreland. Irvin was the next. He graduated at Erskine college and taught at Muskingum, Ohio. Twenty years ago, however, he left the profession andwent to work in the Charlotte post office, wher he has been ever since. Then Lelia, the third child, graduated from Lynwood college and taught in the Mulberry school in Mecklenburg county and in Gaston county until shemarried M. M. Morrison. J. L., the fourth one, graduated at Erskine and became principal of the Carmel school in Mecklenburg county. He is now pastor of the UnitedPresbyterian church at Winfield, Iowa. The girls now changed over from Lynwood to Asheville Normal. Violet graduated from this school and taught in Valdosta, Ga., Mecklenburgcounty and Franklin. She is now home demonstration agent in Beaufortcounty. Leutie next graduates from the Asheville Normal and taught in Gaston county, Roberson, Archdale, High Point, and Mecklenburg. A few monthsago, she was married to Dr. J. W. Woodle, the Quaker minister at WhitePlains. Kate, who is now Mrs. Maynard McLean, graduated at the Asheville Normal and carried the torch of education to the western states. She taught inNew Mexico, Tucson, Arizona and Los Angeles, Cal. Rebecca, Mrs. S. O. Baker, was the next graduate of the Asheville Normal. She also took the torch of education to New Mexico and California. Then Reid, the ninth, came along. He graduate from high school about the time that the United States entered the World war. Instead of going tocollege, he volunteered to "make the world safe for democracy." He hasbeen in the army since. He is now stationed at Fort Bragg. ONE TEACHER REMAINING Edith came next, changed colleges and graduated from the East State Teachers college at Greenville, N. C. She went to Roberdale to teach andhas been there the past ten years. She is the only member of the familywho has stuck to the teaching profession. William U., the eleventh child, decided he'd like Davidson better than Erskine. He graduated from Davidson; also got his M.S. degree from thesame school and later graduate from the Erskine college seminary. Hetaught at Hillcrest and Lucia and is now home missionary in WestVirginia. Then came Jonas, the twelfth and last. Jonas graduated from the Huntersville high school right in the middle of the depression. He wasoffered a scholarship at State college - because of his football record. Jonas says he multiplied the additional $500 per year he would need bythe four years he would have to go. Then he would figure up what hecould make teaching or farming. At last, he decided he would startfarming without any scientific training. Jonas now lives at the family home with his mother and father. Mr. Alexander rocked Jona's baby last night as he explained his system. "I have never done anything except farm," he said. "No, educating your children isn't a matter of money. It's a matter of the right kind ofmother and the right kind of system." The writer looked around the comfortable living room. Attractive rugs were on the floor. Prints of painting from the masters hung on the walls. Mahogany furniture filled the spaces. What a mother! What a system!
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