Minnesota’s Carl Van Dyke: Teacher and politician

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Minnesota’s Carl Van Dyke: An elementary school teacher who went on to become a lawyer and then a United States Congressman.

Talented teachers often possess the personality traits that make them successful in the political arena. This is certainly the case for Carl Van Dyke, an elementary school teacher who went on to become a lawyer and then a United States Congressman.

Carl was born on February 18, 1881, in Alexandria, Douglas County, Minnesota. As a youngster, he attended local schools. When he came of age, taught elementary schools in Douglas County from 1899 to 1901. It was in that year that he enlisted in the Minnesota Volunteer Infantry branch of the US Army. There he served as a private in Company B in the Fifteenth Regiment. While in the service, Carl saw action in the Spanish American War, and he was highly respected by his fellow veterans. In fact, in 1918, the former teacher was elected Commander in Chief of the US Spanish War Veterans.

Once he returned from military service, Carl attended St. Paul College of Law, which later came to be known as William Mitchell College of Law. Following his graduation, Carl was admitted to the bar in St. Paul. His leadership abilities evident, the former educator was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he served from 1915 until his sudden death on May 20, 1919, in Washington, DC. He was only 38 years old. After his passing, this gifted teacher, lawyer, and public servant was cremated and his ashes interred in a mausoleum in Forest Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota.

To read more about Carl Van dyke, see this entry at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Isabelle Salmon Ross: Settler and Pioneer for PE

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Isabelle Salmon Ross: Settler and pioneer for physical education for women and special education students. Photo credit: BYU Library

Many wonderful teachers were also pioneers in their time. Such is the case of Isabelle Salmon Ross, who was not only a settler in the Utah Territory in the 1800s, but was also a pioneer of physical education courses for women and special education students during her lifetime.

Isabelle Salmon was born on November 1, 1867, in Perry, Utah Territory. Her parents, William Weir Salmon and Margaret Hay Hunter Salmon, had immigrated from Scotland. Isabelle earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education at the University of Utah. She also attended Harvard University. After college, she became a physical education teacher in the public school system in Salt Lake City, at Brigham Young College, and at the Utah State School for the Deaf and the Blind in Ogden, Utah.

Isabelle was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She served her church in the general presidency of the Primary organization. While working in that capacity, Isabelle met and fell in love with fellow Mormon Charles James Ross. On September 29, 1897, the pair married in the Salt Lake Temple. Her husband was from Ogden and was a member of the general board of the Deseret Sunday School Union. He also served for a time as the manager of Ogden Tabernacle Choir.

In her later life, Isabelle suffered from coronary heart disease. Sadly, she passed away on December 28, 1947, in Salt Lake City. She was 80 years old. She is interred at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Margaret Antoinette Clapp: The teacher who won a Pulitzer

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Often talented educators garner accolades of international proportions. Once such educator was Margaret Antoinette Clapp, a high school English teacher and historian from New York City who also happened to be the winner of a Pulitzer prize for biography.

Margaret Clapp was born on April 10, 1910, in East Orange, New Jersey. As a teenager, she enrolled at East Orange High School, where she graduated in 1926. At the time of her high school graduation, she earned a scholarship to Wellesley College, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in History and Economics in 1930. While in college, Margaret was honored as a Wellesley College Scholar for her academic achievements.

Margaret accepted her first teaching position at the prestigious Todhunter School for Girls in Manhattan, New York, where she taught English literature for 12 years. During these years, she enrolled in Columbia University, completing the requirements for her Master’s degree in 1937.

During and after World War II, Margaret taught history at several New York City universities, including City College of New York, Douglass College, Columbia University, and Brooklyn College. Her doctoral dissertation at Columbia drew much praise, and was eventually developed into the biography Forgotten First Citizen: John Bigelow. John Bigelow was a little-known nineteenth-century politician, editor, reformer, and diplomat. Margaret’s dissertation was developed and eventually published in 1947. The manuscript was named the winner of the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. For her achievement, the talented teacher was featured in a cover story for Time Magazine on October 10, 1949.

When she was 39 years old, Margaret accepted a position as the eighth president of Wellesley College, and she served in this capacity from 1949 until her retirement in 1966. At the time she accepted the position, she was one of only five women who were serving as university presidents. During her tenure, Wellesley’s financial resources and facilities were expanded to a substantial degree, and Margaret earned a reputation as a tireless advocate for careers for women. For her work at Wellesley, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy for Arts and Sciences in 1952. The library at Wellesley is named in her honor.

After leaving Wellesley, Margaret served briefly as administrator of Lady Doak College, a women’s college in Madurai, South India. She was then named as United States cultural attache to India, and eventually became an official of public affairs in the United States Information Agency until her final retirement in 1971.

After returning from India, this amazing chalkboard champion settled in Tyringham, Massachusetts. In her later years, she was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, she passed away on May 3, 1974.

You can read more about this amazing Chalkboard champion at this link: encyclopedia.com.

Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area is great place to explore

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Author and retired educator Terry Lee Marzell recommends exploring Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada. The area is a great place for teachers who are looking for ways to include environmental lessons in their curriculum. Photo credit: Hal Marzell

Teachers are often looking for ways to include environmental lessons in their curriculum. Given the fact that field trips, especially field trips to places far from home, are difficult anytime, but especially during a pandemic, teachers could help their students explore natural environments virtually. A place I recently visited that would make a good lesson for students was Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Red Rock Canyon was designated as Nevada’s first National Conservation Area. The area is visited by more than two million people each year. Administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Red Rock is an area of international geologic interest. The area encompasses 195,819 acres within the Mojave Desert and features a diverse mix of plants and animals, from seasonal wildflowers and wildlife to year round plants and animals.

My husband and I visited the conservation area last month. We took the 13-mile scenic drive, with a couple of stops to take a little nature walk. We took a short hike down into a canyon to explore some rock formations. Rock climbing is also available for those who are interested. In fact, there are 26 different hikes, climbs, and trails of different degrees of difficulty that can be explored, from the deepest canyons to the highest points.

Of course, not everyone can visit the area in person. But you can find a variety of instructional resources online. You can view Teacher Resources, which provide teachers with information and resources about Red Rock Canyon and the surrounding area, and also offers general teaching aids. Also, you can browse these links: Red Rock Canyon A-Z, Wildlife Wednesday, and Flower Friday where you will find articles to learn more.

 

Exploring northern California’s redwood forests with students

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Author and retired educator Terry Lee Marzell recently visited several of California’s redwood forests. She is pictured here at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, located along the famous Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County. Photo credit: Hal Marzell

Educators who are creating lessons about California’s rich botanical heritage will surely want to include information about the California’s redwood forests. The majestic trees found in these forests are among the tallest and oldest in the world. Groves of redwoods can be found in redwood state and national parks along the northern coast of California. In fact, the state boasts a total of 31 such parks. I had the good fortune to visit several of them on a road trip my husband, our little dog Kurby, and I recently enjoyed.

The average height of a mature redwood is between 200 to 240 feet. Some can even grow as large as 350 feet with a diameter of over 20 feet. These amazing trees can live up to 2,000 years!

If you visit in person, you can explore these forests by walking along  easy, relatively short, well-marked, and well-maintained nature trails. Touring these trails is like venturing into a magical fairyland, complete with towering timbers, lush ferns, colorful mushrooms, spongy floors, and filtered light. I’m sure these forests would be impressive at any time of the year, but in winter, the growth is more green and lush, and because of the frequent insulating fog and the ample rain, over 300 types of mushrooms sprout up.

You and your students can also explore California’s redwood forests online. Here is a link to a six minute educational about the forests, and also a live webcam that shows a river flowing through the forest: Virtual Redwoods. To learn more about the various redwood parks along the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County, click on this link. At this website you will find maps, photos, and information about visitor centers.