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A MAJOR MAN ON A "MINOR.” KEY
<4 Golden-Hearted Citizen in the Birmingham District —Makes His Life Count Tor Education and Christianity—The
'Minor School City” a ff Nelv Thing Under the Sun.”
WILLIAM T). UPSHAW.
HERE are some things bigger and bet
ter than iron foundries, rolling mills,
coke ovens and steel plants in the
great Birmingham district —and that
something is MEN! During a recent se
ries of lectures in Birmingham proper,
Bessemer and Ensley I was delighted,
indeed, almost amazed at what I saw of
the regnancy of manhood and Christian
T
character in the liv s of men who reign in the com
mercial world. In Birmingham the “captains of
finance” are likewise captains, lieutenants and gen
erals in the army of God.
In Bessemer I had just enjoyed a day of inspiring
fellowship with my royal old Mississippi friend, Rev.
M. K. Thornton, who led me to the new High School
auditorium on Monday morning, where, in the ab
sence of Superintendent Persons, at an educational
convention, the genial Prof. John C. Sheridan gave
us the right of way, and from a lively half hour with
those bright High School boys and girls we sped
through the rain to the Clarendon, Jonesboro and
Roberts schools, being generously received every
where. At night what The Tinies called a “record
breaking crowd for Bessemer,” met me at the audito
rium and I went to Ensley next morning with a “good
taste in my mouth,” feeling that life was well worth
living. In company with Pastor O. P. Bentley, belov
ed wherever known, and Evangelist W. J. Ray, who
looks handsome enough to be a Congressman and
big enough to be President, the Ensley schools were
taken in. Prof. R. E. Tidwell, the radiant and rotund
Principal of the High School, just pulled the throttle
open and told lessons for a while to clear the track,
and with Professor Blackwell on one side, Mrs. Wil
son on the other and last but not least, Prof. C. P.
Bowman at Palmer Terrace, I rejoiced all day to
find teachers who recognize the fact that there are
some lessons not learned in books.
Minor School “Took My Breath.”
I found at this last school of my strenuous but de
lightful day at Ensley something that I never found
before in all my round of schools from New York
to Texas and from Missouri to Florida. The Prin
cipal, Prof. C. P. Bowman, turned from the speaker
to the assembled students and said:
“The exercises of the hour will be in charge of
the mayor of our school city.”
Before I had time to make out what he meant a
fair young maiden of twelve or thirteen summers
stepped forward and spoke about as follows:
“Citizens of the Minor School City: I have the
pleasure of introducing to you Mr. William D. Up
shaw, of Georgia, who will now address you.” She
was Miss Louise Mathien, the duly elected mayor of
the Minor School City. When I gave the motto,
“Let nothing discourage you—never give up,” which
I teach to boys and girls everywhere, without a word
from anybody she stepped modestly but promptly
forward and wrote it on the board that all her citi-
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The Golden Age for March 10, 1910.
zens might see and remember, and when the Georgia
man had finished speaking she arose and issued a
motion for a rising vote of thanks which was put
and carried in correct parliamentary form. As this
was the very first time I had ever been introduced
by a female mayor of a school city since Columbus
discovered America, my curiosity led to further in
quiry and I found that the school has a regular civic
organization with mayor, judge, city clerk and school
city council, all elected by the Australian ballot sys
tem as used in Alabama. The council consists of
two members from each ward (room) and all ordi
nances must be passed by the council subject to the
mayor’s veto and then submitted to referendum vote
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ll 10. I
J*IO. W. MINOR, Ensley, Ala.
of the school. The teachers are careful to leave the
subject matter of the ordinances to the initiative of
the pupils and they are all practical, relating to the
use of tobacco, profane and vulgar language, throw
ing stones and the like. The mayor and judge together
appoint the peace officers and prosecuting attorney
to aid in enforcing the ordinances. Court is held
once or twice a month and a jury trial is had when
called for by the defendant who is entitled to an
attorney if he desires. The machinery of the school
city government is not designed as a substitute for
school discipline but as an aid and as such it is quite
effective. But were it not, it is good training in civic
forms and gives the pupils much better ideas of civic
duties and responsibilities than can be obtained from
any text-book.
Os course, I am blushing now, to tell this, but as
evidence of the fact that that “school city” has the
generous “know how” as to entertaining a visitor
they gave the school yell of salutation with the vis
itor’s name inserted as the guest of honor.
Os course all of these unusual, unexpected things
“took my breath,” and I naturally wanted to know
more about the Minor School. I found that Prof.
Bowman is one of those rare, warm-hearted school
men from the North who catches his full meed of
Southern sunshine *in his heart and who plans and
executes new school methods by day and dreams
about them by night. As lecturer at the summer
school of the State Normal College at Daphne, Ala.,
I hope he will influence all teachers there to organ
ize among their-pupils a school city like I found at
the Minor School.
And Whence the Minor Name?
There are plenty of miners in the Birmingham dis
trict, but I found only one John W. Minor. I learned
that this school received its name from the city coun
cil of Ensley (before Ensley became a part of Great
er Birmingham) in honor of a golden-hearted citizen
in the. community who had been the generous bene
factor of the school interests in Ensley and who had
proven in many ways that he loved God and human
ity better than the money made at his big brick
yards. He, too, came from the North and has had
the good sense and religion to link northern thrift
to Southern warmth, fusing his whole life into the
mold of unselfish love for others.
That night at the opera house when I spoke on
“John and His Hat” and listed all the important
“Johns” of history from John the Baptist to John D.
Rockefeller and made the local climax on John W.
Minor, for whom the Minor School was named the
big crowd broke into enthusiastic applause. It is
good to see a community appreciate the big-hearted
leaders who seek to build it, but I learned from ev
ery source that John W. Minor is that type of mod
est, real, unselfish greatness that would obey his
God and his heart in his consuming purpose to lift
up humanity in his Master’s name, even though a
laurel should never entwine his brow and the ap
plause of men should never greet his ears.
That’s what I call genuine solid worth.
Next morning I spent a few delightful minutes in
the beautiful Christian home of this knightly “cap
tain of industry” and likewise captain of the hearts
of Ensley youth and I found his great life blessed and
brightened by a noble little woman who was an Ala
bama girl, Miss Hattie Eubank, and who enters with
inspiring sympathy into her great-hearted husband’s
purpose to use his means for the good of humanity
and the glory of God.
True to his Redeemer’s cause, true to his church,
true to his community and true to that larger vision
which “gathers bliss to see his fellows blest” verily
John W. Minor is a major spirit, though found on a
“minor” key—one of the basic builders of Greater
Birmingham who believes that the Rock of Ages is
a more enduring foundation for our best upbuilding
than the coal and iron of a thousand mines.
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