I look back on the old Academy days under Mr. Putney with ever increasing appreciation of him and of his influence over my life. I am glad to add my tribute to his memory and I do so most heartily.
Charles E. Putney was a kindly, courtly, Christian gentleman. He was a wonderful teacher, leading his students through the classics by ways that made Latin and Greek no longer "dead" languages but very much alive; and so were the thrilling narratives of the old worthies who almost seemed to speak again in Mr. Putney's classrooms. Meantime, character building was going on and his insistence of high standards of honor and strict discipline made most of the boys more manly and most of the girls more womanly, and they are grateful to him, as I am, for it all.
Devotion to duty was characteristic of him in school and church, in home and public life. He was a good soldier and to him citizenship meant service. He was a true friend and that meant the helping hand.
I honor and revere his memory. My humble tribute is one of gratitude for his noble life, which, touching mine, revealed more clearly for my stumbling feet the shining pathway that he trod to worthy self-investment, to truth and God.
Rolfe Cobleigh, '86.
From that first day when I went into the Academy office to consult with Mr. Putney as a new student, I have been and shall continue to be under the deepest obligation to one of the noblest spirits and finest teachers whose influence ever has been exerted upon young men and women. His scholarship was accurate and he made Greek interesting. His moral standards were lofty and he made honor and truth beautiful. His soul was sincere and devoted and he made Christ attractive to the mind and will of a boy. He knew how to give encouragement at the critical moment and how to exercise discipline justly so that no sting remained. He influenced me more deeply than any other teacher of my youth, and my love and gratitude grew as the years passed. Mr. Putney did not disappoint me as my ideal of a Christian teacher and lover of young men. It was a great life.
Ozora S. Davis, '85.
A teacher projects himself through the lives of his pupils and an institution of learning speaks through the voice of its scholars. St. Johnsbury Academy has been a formative force in the educational life of New England and beyond, and her leadership has been buttressed upon sound learning.