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.