At Seventy
With a step elastic,
Vigorous of mind,
Strenuous of purpose,
Casting doubts behind,—
Vigilant for duty,
Strong to banish fears,—
What a wealth of tribute
To your seventy years.
Backward glance disclosing
Many a service field,
To whose faithful tilling
Bounteous harvests yield,—
Priceless treasures, wrested
From the soil of truth,
Treasures from rich sowing
In the lives of youth;
Treasures from the valley,
Where the shadows lay
Till your voice of comfort
Whispered them away;
Treasures from the hillside,
Whose ascent seemed drear
Till your note of courage
Fell upon the ear.
Where the Graces bloom,
Lavishly exuding
Breaths of rich perfume;
Treasures from the vineyard,
To whose soil were given
Streams of gracious influence
Born of Hope and Heaven;
Treasures from the hilltop,
Where the Eternal Love
Fell in showers of blessing
From the fount above;
Treasures gleaned from sorrow,
When to longing eyes
Came a glimpse of mansions
Reared in Paradise.
Ten and threescore cycles
Are complete today;
Loving benedictions
Speed you on your way.
Age has no forebodings,—
Clouds and shadows fly
From the glow and radiance
Of your western sky.
Peaceful, glad and trustful
Is your forward glance,—
Faith begetting vision
As the years advance.
Do you long to go?
List! the Father speaketh,
Lovingly and low:
"Safe are all the treasures
For which you have wrought;
Safe the precious jewels
Prayer and love have bought;
All your aspirations—
Incense of the soul—
With the seal eternal,
Safe in My control.
"Heaven awaits your coming
With a warmth that cheers;
But the earth-friends need you
For a few more years;
Tarry yet a season,
That My will may be,
Through the twilight hour,
Perfected in thee."
Mrs. A. L. Hardy.
Of late we have heard much on the subject of preparedness. We have been told that the prepared man is the man who achieves the thing he goes after. He is happy. He is satisfied with himself.
On the twenty-sixth of February, seventy-six years ago, there was born into the world a man who now holds a very high place in the thoughts of hundreds of men and women. That man was Charles Edward Putney, our beloved and respected teacher.
The lives of great men, it has been said, are the greatest teachers. Let us then take the life of Mr. Putney and see what a lesson it teaches us in preparedness.
At the early age of seventeen, Mr. Putney was teaching school. If he had not studied and prepared himself could he have filled such a position at the early age? The answer is plainly "No." Mr. Putney had moreover the moral and the physical courage as well as mental ability. In 1861 he answered Lincoln's call for volunteers and fought bravely for the Union. He had prepared to do the right and when duty called he responded.
After the great war was over he entered Dartmouth College. He was graduated from the institution as "honor man." And since then wherever he has gone he has been the "honor man." Men, now old themselves, speak with fondest regard of their teacher and state that he showed them the right way to success. He prepared not only himself but others. Isn't that a glorious thing? What greater hero is there than the fashioner of the thoughts and character of the young?
Let us then, as I have said before, set up Mr. Putney's life as a life to live by. Prepare ourselves as he did and then when we have reached the autumn of our lives, we can look back with pride on a life well spent, on a character that was prepared for all that was right. If we can do that, surely we shall be happy, we shall be satisfied with ourselves.—Burlington High School Register.
There are many people who are seventy-one years old, but there are very few who can claim the distinction of being seventy-one years young which belongs to our respected Greek teacher. We rejoice with Mr. Putney in his undimmed triumph over time and congratulate him on his many years of constant usefulness. As the philosophic Greeks once honored one of their race with the words "not who but what" so we honor and esteem Mr. Putney for his faithful service to Old Edmunds and for the great good he has done for her sons. We love him for his splendid personality, his patience, his fortitude and the kindly interest that he always shows in our welfare. After we leave this school, when we turn and recall the many bright days we have spent in the Burlington High School, the memory of Mr. Putney will ever awake affection and make our heart glow with its warmth.—Burlington High School Register.
February 24, 1912.
Here are my congratulations and best wishes for you. Another year of service is added to your enviable list. It must be a great satisfaction to look back upon a life so well spent and to realize how many lives have been benefited because you have been here all these years.
You cannot but know the honor and respect with which the teachers look up to you, and how we are trying to reach something like the high standard which you have attained; but I wonder if you realize the love which your pupils have for you. Some of them come into my room every day at the close of school for an hour's uninterrupted study and I am going to tell you some of the things which they have said to me about you. "Mr. Putney is such a lovable man." "I thought I should be afraid of him, but he makes us feel he is interested in us and I don't feel one bit afraid even though he does know so much." "He is full of fun too. There is no one in the class who sees anything funny quicker than he." "I am so glad he is in the school while I am here. I shall always feel it to have been a great privilege to have had him for a teacher."
And I want to say that I, too, feel it to be a great privilege to be in the school with you and to have felt your quiet presence and to have known your ready sympathy and interest. May the coming year be a happy one.
Very sincerely yours,
Harriet Towne.