March 26, 1913.
It would be a genuine and great pleasure to us to be with you at the
doings of the Alumni Association and to meet again all the famous
characters expected there, especially the guest of honor. We are glad of
this opportunity to renew our profession of allegiance to him. He was
our principal during the final year we passed at the beloved Academy,
the year when, because of Mr. Fuller's absence abroad, he was the acting
principal as he afterwards came to be the titular principal as well.
We have always cherished the sincerest regard and affection for Mr.
Putney,--not only because he was our competent and faithful teacher and
our respected principal, but because he was in the truest sense our
friend. We owe him a great debt of gratitude which, like honest though
insolvent creditors, we can acknowledge though we cannot hope to pay.
Ours was the first graduating class that knew him as principal, and we
always cherished the fond conceit, that, as he was peculiarly dear to
us, so we were a little more to him than any other class could be. I
hope he will not say or do anything upon this occasion to banish that
happy thought from our minds. He will probably try to appear as fond of
you as he is of us. He always did have a way of letting you down easy
when he didn't want to hurt your feelings. You cannot have forgotten
how, when you answered his questions in classroom, he always said, "Yes,
yes," as though your answer was all that could be desired, even when he
followed it by some quiet correction, which when you had taken your seat
and thought it over, gradually let you see that you had missed the mark
by about a mile. We wish that we could do anything as well as Mr. Putney
could teach! Happy is the school that has him for a teacher! Happy are
the boys and girls--of whatever age--who have him for a friend!
Sincerely and fraternally yours,
FLORENCE AND WENDELL STAFFORD, '80.
Being both a paternal and maternal grandson of the Academy, I subscribe
to the above with duty as well as pleasure.