THE MCGUFFEY SOCIETY AT THE LOGAN ELM The McGuffey Society of Columbus was organized to perpetuate the memory of Dr. William H. McGuffey. He was one of Ohio's greatest educators, but his place in history and in the affections of thousands is fixed by his famous series of Readers familiar to the present and last two generations. The officers of this Society conceived the original and unique idea of a gathering of its members and guests beneath the shadowing boughs of the historic Logan Elm, near Circleville in Pickaway County, and there with other exercises, formally read the Indian Chief Logan's speech, one of the striking features of McGuffey's Fourth Reader, of the edition of 1853. This eloquent and tragic expres-, sion of savage oratory was made imperishable in Amer-. ican history by Thomas Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, and its subsequent repetition in the McGuffey's school books. So on June 24th, there assembled three hundred people to commemorate one of the most dramatic incidents of American history. From Columbus, Circleville, Chillicothe, and the surrounding country. came the visitors to hear the program of the occasion. It was a faultless day, reminding one of Lowell's lines: "And what is so rare as a day in June, Then, if ever, come perfect days; When Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, The old Elm is still in the full vigor of robust age, for it was ancient one hundred and forty-eight years ago when Logan by proxy made his celebrated speech to Lord Dunmore. It was one of great dignity and eloquence, and embodied his dramatic protest and bitterness against the whites for their treatment of his people. The tree is located in a park now owned by the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society, who received it as a gift from the Pickaway Historical Society to forever keep fresh the memory of Logan. Beneath its shade the following program was successfully developed: 1. "The Scioto, Valley," an address by Hon. Daniel J. Ryan, of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society. 2. "Logan and the Logan Elm," an address by the Hon. James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society. |