Ohio History Journal

DEDICATION OF THE WAGNALLS MEMORIAL

 

Memorial Day, 1925, will not be forgotten by the two

thousand people who were present at the dedication of

the Wagnalls Memorial, in the village of Lithopolis.

Clear skies and normal temperature for the merging of

spring into the summertime put everyone present into

a mood to appreciate the appropriate ceremonies of the

occasion.

Lithopolis is a beautiful village and on this eventful

day in its history was in its most attractive attire to

welcome the throng of visitors. Neatly painted dwell-

ings, velvet lawns, blooming gardens and well kept

streets told their own story of thrift, comfort and an

appreciation of the beautiful.

In the Lancaster Daily Gazette of June 1, 1925, ap-

pear very complete and well written accounts of the ex-

ercises of the day written by Ruth B. and Adrian

Fuller. We here present extracts from both of these

together with the address in full delivered by Dr. Frank

H. Vizetelly, Editor of the Standard Dictionary, a dis-

tinguished scholar and one of the greatest living lexico-

graphers. It is seldom that an Ohio audience has an

opportunity to hear an address from one so eminent in

learning, the organizing genius of a work so monu-

mental.

THE BUILDING

 

BY ADRIAN FULLER

Lithopolis, whose name, freely translated. means "city of

stone", provides a setting for perhaps the most unique memorial

building in the world.

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Dedication of the Wagnalls Memorial           253

 

Here is a bit of the old world, Tudor-Gothic in construc-

tion, modernized in all essentials, but possessing the charm of

the age-old piles of Europe, whose very atmosphere provides

the inspiration of those venerable shrines of culture and learning.

A half-million dollars has been spent, and--what is more

important--two and a half years of the time of two remark-

able people, genius personified, has been put into the erection of

a noble memorial to a revered father and mother, whose hum-

ble origin and early struggles in this village are thus commemo-

rated in perpetuity. Mabel Wagnalls Jones, the donor, and her

husband, Richard J. Jones, the dynamic idealist who has

wrought this building, are the persons who have created this

shrine of love and devotion -- this edifice that so signally achieves

all that "the dream" of Mabel Wagnalls defined.

Not only was this building conceived in love, but it was fairly

wrought in loving labor. The spirit of those who planned the

building was passed on to the artisans who constructed and la-

bored that the Memorial should be a perfect symbol of that

spirit of veneration and love actuating its erection. Thus built

into the edifice itself; into the sturdy walls of limestone and the

concrete floors, and into all the other things to go to make this

harmonious whole, is the labor of workmen who had caught the

spirit of the donor and who worked in that spirit alone. Pos-

sibly not since the olden days of the Guilds has such atmos-

phere surrounded the erection of a building.

The limestone, taken from the old quarries not far distant

from the building was selected by a master hand who knew his

work. and blocks were broken too by his hand, only the best be-

ing good enough. The old quarries were re-opened for this pur-

pose, and probably never will be used again.

Lithopolis workmen, men whose ordinary skilled work was

refined by the spirit of the undertaking had the leading part in

the construction work, and one of the beautiful things about this

building is the fact that the old limestone of the Lithopolis quar-

ries supplied the stone, while Lithopolis skill, sweat and brawn

piled the raw materials into a rugged symphony of beauty and

usefulness.

The building occupies a commanding position in the heart of

the village. Standing back considerably from the street, the Me-

morial occupies a large part of the spacious grounds. Lime-

stone flags provide a winding walk toward the main entrance.

while in the foreground a stone wellhouse shelters a dug well

into whose cool depths an "old oaken bucket" descends for the

pure waters collected in its limestone walls.

In the central foreground of the lawn is a giant block of lime-

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stone with an inscription which identifies the purposes and dates

of erection. Two trees, a locust, and a silver birch preside

gracefully over the front tower entrance. The building was

moved back from its originally planned location in order that

these natural features of the grounds be preserved, and full ad-

vantages secured from their happy location.

The exterior appearance of the Memorial is satisfying and

meets every demand of the period design followed. Symmetry,

with economy of line is completely achieved. The walls are of

native limestone, roof of heavy brown toned slate, and eaves and

spouting of copper sheathed material. Harmony of color is thus

secured, even in the external view.

Within the walls, however, is the greatest charm of the edi-

fice. The main hall, or rather the Memorial room, is a cham-

ber seating 450 people. The hall is equipped with comfortable

seats, a moving picture projection room being at the rear. Four

double door entrances, three from the portico and the other

through the tower, provide quick egress. The walls and ceil-

ing are decorated in the material and motif used throughout the

whole building. A Florentine effect is achieved with the use of

a deep toned brown and the walls are finished in the rough, giv-

ing these surfaces an exotic charm akin to an old world mon-

astery.

This room with its high ceiling and hewn timbers of oak is

one of the most interesting in the entire building, for around the

walls are hung autographed portraits of celebrities in the world

of art and letters, people who have been friends of the Wagnalls

family. Numerous original paintings of the covers of The Lit-

erary Digest are hung here and throughout the building.

The stage settings of the Memorial Hall are strikingly beauti-

ful. The rostrum is high, over-looking the console of the organ.

The proscenium arch is an artistic work of stucco, bearing in its

coloring every resemblance to carved oak. Each base of the

arch, rests in a beautiful effect of sculptural execution. The pan-

eling on either side of the stage, is of oak, the wood that is used

throughout the building, providing restful field for the eyes.

The stage itself it not large, but adequate. The back wall is

ornamented with a painting by John Ward Dunsmore, of "Mo-

zart at the Piano." To the right is the Welte-Mignon reproduc-

ing grand piano, while on the other side. hung on the wall is an

old magnificent tapestry. A silver screen, upon which to display

motion pictures is provided, which of course is concealed, only

to be unrolled as occasion demands.

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Dedication of the Wagnalls Memorial     255

 

 

THE DEDICATION

 

BY RUTH B. FULLER

In this memorial building, distinguished not alone for its

beauty of architecture and interior decorative treatment which

transport one to an Old World city, but more perhaps for its edu-

cational and aesthetic features, the distinctive library with its

thousands of volumes, the wonderful pipe-organ, the perfect

piano, the original paintings of John Ward Dunsmore and the

hand-written poems of Edwin Markham, Mabel Wagnalls Jones

has given to the present and coming generation of the Lithopolis

community and of all Ohio, the opportunity for study, for inti-

mate association with and knowledge of the best in literature,

art and music, denied her father and mother in their youth.

Two thousand people gathered in Lithopolis on Memorial

Day to witness the dedication, for which a perfect day in early

summer provided an ideal setting. Among the friends of Mr.

and Mrs. Jones who came from a distance for the service were

Dr. Frank H. Vizetelly, editor of the Standard Dictionary, and

one of the world's greatest lexicographers, and Mrs. Vizetelly;

Major John Ward Dunsmore, great historical painter and the

world's best authority on scenes and characters of colonial times,

and Mrs. Dunsmore; Edwin Markham, dean of American poets

--all of New York; Mrs. Edward Worcester, sister of Mr. Jones,

and Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Lehman, all of Pittsburgh, and Dr.

and Mrs. Porter of Westerville. In addition to these, there were

many former Lithopolis residents, from various parts of the

country, who returned to meet their old friends and celebrate

the day.

On the village square at 10 a. m., the monumental tablet,

erected by Richard J. Jones, was unveiled. Rev. Tufvander

opened the day's ceremonies with prayer, referring to the soldier

dead and asking God's blessing on what was to be done that day.

Mr. Jones gave a short talk, while Mrs. Ida L. Edwards, "The

Little Mother of Lithopolis," lifted the flag which revealed the

names of the twenty-five boys, who enlisted for service during

the World War. They were Walter R. Behrens, William S.

Bowen, Charles W. Brobst, LeRoy Carpenter, Dan Cohagen,

Charles Dearduff, Harley V. Faler, George R. Hedrick, Ralph

Hickle, who died in service, Walter D. Peer, George C. Schultz,

Roy G. Schultz, Charles H. Snyder, Dolph E. Stevenson, J.

Glenn Stoody, Budd Thrash, Charles L. Thrash, E. Ellsworth

Walker, C. Arden Wernert, Edgar W. Wernert, Russell G. Wil-

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liamson, Carl Zangmaster, Harvey Zangmaster, Austin L.

Zwayer and Leroy Zwayer.

School children sang during the ceremony and later, after

Rev. J. C. Jackson had pronounced the benediction, carried the

flowers to the cemetery, where the graves of old soldiers were

decorated.

Outstanding on the afternoon program was the address of

Edwin Markham, whose summary of the world's greatest litera-

ture and advice on the reading of books, was one of the most

inspirational and momentous ever given to both young people and

adults. A constant reader of books during his life time and pos-

sessing a private library of 12,000 books. Mr. Markham, with his

heroic and authoritative background, opened the minds and hearts

of his audience as no one else could have done to the priceless

treasures which the memorial library holds.

ADDRESS

BY DR. FRANK II. VIZETELLY

 

"Kind hearts are more than coronets,

And simple faith than Norman blood."

There is an axiom which runs--"What you put into life you

get out of it". As I entered this building, I was reminded of

three of the men who, a short time ago. were working upon it.

A stranger--need I say from    New York--approached and

asked the first man what he was doing. That man replied,

"Working for six dollars a day." The Gothamite moved over

to the second man and, repeating his question, got for answer,

"Dressing this stone." Then, Father Knickerbocker walked over

to the third man, and put the same question to him--the reply

he received was a very different one--"I -- I'm building a me-

morial--the Wagnalls Memorial." Which of these men do you

think was getting the most out of life? Which of them realized

to the full--the dignity of labor and what true labor means?

Passing through the entrance of this beautiful structure--

ay, and wonderful, too, for in these days we rarely hear of the

building of such memorials as this to our beloved dead--I

thought that nothing that our accomplished friends, Mabel Willis

Wagnalls and her good husband, Richard J. Jones, could do to

commemorate the lives of their dear ones, could have been done in

a more permanent or a more fitting manner. True, they might

have established a foundation in some institution, and that might

have served the purpose of occasionally reminding this or that

person that at one time there lived so gentle a woman as Anna

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258       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

Willis, or so kindly a man as Adam Willis Wagnalls, but such

a foundation at best would have been merely of transient dur-

ation.

This practical memorial is of a different kind. It is symbolic

of the man and of the woman whom it commemorates. Built

stone by stone, until a stately edifice has been raised, it reflects

the lives of the two loved ones laid to rest, beneath the rugged

elm and the yew tree's shade, nearby.

Grant me your patience and I will speak of the careers of

Anna Willis and Adam Willis Wagnalls. Both were born in a

world of sorrows destined to find happiness, and they found it;

for, whenever they plucked the thorns of life they sought the

blossoms that adorn them. Physically, neither was robust, for

neither had been cast in the coarse mold of brute strength, but

in that finer and more delicate mold of the thoroughbred. Each

was endowed with the one quality that makes for the benefit of

humanity in a world like ours--Perseverance. To this quality

we owe their success. Perseverance was the golden key that

they used to open the doors of opportunity. That key has spread

fertility over the barren landscape; it has caused the choicest

fruits and flowers to spring up and flourish even in arid lands,

and it has opened the world's wealth to poverty. Perseverance

is all-powerful, and it was the best friend and ally of Adam

Willis Wagnalls, and of his beloved wife, Anna Willis, both of

whom used their opportunities with sound judgment, and the

same may be said of those who originated and designed this me-

morial. Not by strength alone but by perseverance was this

structure raised. Built on a lowly but sound foundation, it

stands symbolic of their lives; it stands as a loving tribute to

an eminent son and loyal daughter of the State.

"All the performances of human art at which we look to-

day, and gaze at with wonder, are instances of that resistless

force--perseverance." So said the great Samuel Johnson two

centuries ago, and the words apply fittingly to the great enter-

prise undertaken by Adam Willis Wagnalls, at the initiative of

his friend and partner, Isaac Kauffman Funk,--the Standard

Dictionary of the English Language.  Parenthetically, let me

say that to build this literary memorial alone a million dollars

were needed, but at the time it was projected neither Isaac Kauff-

man Funk nor Adam Willis Wagnalls controlled that sum of

money. Yet in their association was one of those unusual men

who say little but do much--that man it was who found the

means to bring this masterpiece to successful completion.

Monuments like this in which we are gathered to-day are

the reward of Perseverance, and that which was mere sand, mud,

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Dedication of the Wagnalls Memorial        259

 

cement, and stone, has become an enduring memorial to those

in whose honor it is erected.

Patience in adversity discloses man and woman's worth, for

without patience, both are like a lamp without oil--a flameless

fuse. Any one can be happy when prosperity smiles upon him,

but to face those odds of life that spell losses, defeat, and mis-

ery with a smile--and to win success despite them all--this

shows character. Patient plodding, sometimes sorrow's balm,

leads many of us to work and to wait for that blessing which can

be obtained only at the price of bitter sacrifice--traveling Via

Dolorosa and through Purgatory till we reach our only Para-

dise on earth--Happiness. The great highway of human ac-

tivity sometimes leads us to success but always by the sweat of

the brow, for success treads on the heels of every right effort.

All that has endured, and that shall live through the Ages, was

built on Truth with Faith, Love, and Hope, by Toil. Labor is

a blessing. Toil leads the craftsman and the craftswoman to

competence, as well as the scholar to eminence in his profession.

If a man or woman be fit for His work--God appoints the field.

He it is who shapes our ends no matter how hard we hew, and

there is no such thing as misplaced genius. It was work, per-

severing work in the face of bitter discouragement, that enabled

the Light of the Valley--Anna Willis--as her talented daugh-

ter, Mabel Wagnalls-Jones, so properly calls her, to accomplish

what she did. She whom I would describe as the Lily of Litho-

polis--ever gentle, sweet, patient, and persevering--diffused

the spirit of her benign influence over all with whom or with

which she came in contact. No matter what obstacles stood in

the way, she knew how to overcome them. The man with

whom she chose to link her fate, might not have become the great

man that he became, without the guiding influence of her gentle

hand, her calm counsel, or her comforting solace in times of

stress.

You have but to read her daughter's touching tribute to a

Mother whose name shall ever be blessed--the record of a beau-

tiful life--to glean once more the great truth breathed in the

lines, "Love's strength standeth in love's sacrifice, and whoso suf-

fers most hath most to give."

To have known Anna Willis and her honored husband, Adam

Willis Wagnalls, personally, I cherish as a happy memory. Of

the woman, let me add to the tributes already paid--gentle in

ways, simple in life, modest to the full extent that that word

conveys in these days of emanicipation, she was the embodiment

of all that motherhood could possibly be, and for once Frank-

lin's maxim that "whoever takes a wife takes care" failed. To

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the end she was the inspiration, the very life, of the man she

married. Her frailties were her chief virtues -- she was indus-

trious and frugal, vigilant and economical, and so she made the

cares of the world sit lightly, for her whole life was bound up

in her husband, her child, and her home.

Of the man, let me say he was one of marked intellectual

development, a master of his calling, a lover of music and the

arts, a typical representative of the American culture of our time.

Of him it may be fittingly be said that if manners and modesty

had not existed where he lived, he would have created them.

Gentle, kind, and modest almost to a fault, Adam Willis Wag-

nalls not only had the respect but he had, in addition, the price-

less love of all who knew him. In his many activities he kept

always an open mind. He had at his command a peculiar genius

that he exercised in his profession, no matter whether in the mis-

sionary field, in the political world, or in the broader walks of

literary culture that he traveled as President of the Funk & Wag-

nalls Company. By one with whom he was in almost daily as-

sociation for more than forty years--the silent man who, to my

knowledge, for thirty of these years went about the world quietly

doing good--it has been said that to Adam Willis Wagnalls

the chief duty of life was not to give pain. Could a nobler tribute

be paid to any man? He helped to develop the firm that he had

helped to found. He helped to pilot every great undertaking in

which that firm engaged, with the result that the world was made

better for all that he helped to plan and to carry forward to ulti-

mate success. His was the belief that we should--

". . . all be up and, doing,

With a heart for any fate,

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait,"

and these words apply equally well as the creed of his beloved

wife. Toil brought them both, fame, honor, and glory.

Last September on this very spot, one of our sweetest of

singers -- the noble Edwin Markham -- told his audience that in

his philosophy life beyond death is not incredible. The thing

that to him is incredible he declared to be life itself. When

Charles Frohman stood upon the deck of the Lusitania just

fifteen minutes before he faced his Maker, he said to the beau-

tiful woman by his side, "Why fear death? It is the most beau-

tiful adventure in life." If any of you believe in fairies some

of you have heard of Peter Pan, and may remember how he felt

that "to die would be an awfully big adventure." Well, after all,

death is nothing but an awakening from life's dream, or as I

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Dedication of the Wagnalls Memorial         261

 

prefer to think of it, life's adventure. Sometimes we speak

rather disparagingly of the adventurer. Who has not undertaken

strange adventures to accomplish some lofty object wherein per-

chance the heart fails, and the feet falter, before the hazards to

be taken. It is true that the spirit of adventure sometimes brings

us face to face with the horrors of life, but we are all adventurers

in this world of care.

In treading our paths it is only by the help of Faith, with

Love, and Hope, that we can face the great adventure--be it

Life or Death. Such was the faith of Anna Willis in the man

with whom she linked her life; such was the love of Anna Willis

for the poor young theological student who asked her to share his

lot; such was the hope of Anna Willis in the ultimate success of

the career of her missionary-publicist, lawyer-publisher husband,

and he made good use of the life that was given him. He lived a

life of reality -- the surest way to live with honor in this world.

There was no pose in his make-up--he was always himself --

honor personified. How pleasant life is when inspired and en-

couraged by one we love. Then it is a glorious sunbeam or a

brilliant rainbow, reflecting all the beauties of heaven and of the

earth. But life is given to us for use. It is ours as a loan with-

out interest, but the coloring of our lives is entrusted to our own

hands. We are all

 

"  . architects of Fate,

Working in these walls of Time;

Some with massive deeds and great,

Some with ornaments of rime."

Life thrives on success -- the measure of success depending

on the character of the achievement. To some of us life is a

beautiful iridescent but fragile bubble; to others, a volatile, eva-

nescent, and fleeting shadow. To such laborers in the vineyard

of human activity as Anna Willis and Adam Willis Wagnalls,

life was a mission, a sphere of manifold allotment in which the

men and women who did most good ranked far above those who

accumulated most wealth or lived most years.

Man himself is but a shuttle in the loom of life, which in the

hands of the poet and dreamer, weaves a fairy-tale inspired

by the love of God; in those of the thinker, this shuttle

models a human comedy out of the foibles of man and the frail-

ties of woman -- perchance a most lamentable comedy, redeemed

only by a Paradise regained, for no life is so lowly that it has

not suffered one great tragedy of its own, and we all have to face

stern duty--live and let live. The true hero is he who sacri-

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fices all to duty, for he can face the storms of life with a calm

spirit. Such a man was Adam Willis Wagnalls.

Woman is a great enthusiast, man perhaps not so great.

Enthusiasm is a word that signifies "God within us"--it is the

magnetic force that impels to great deeds, and such was the en-

thusiasm that dominated Mabel Willis Wagnalls-Jones and her

beloved husband, Richard J. Jones, when they determined to plan

this edifice and carried it through to such magnificent accom-

plishment. Long may it stand to the glory of the noble man and

of the noble woman whose memory it commemorates, for--

"Kind hearts are more than coronets,

And simple faith than Norman blood."

In a previous issue of the QUARTERLY was published

in full the address of Edwin Markham at the funeral of

Adam Willis Wagnalls.   Mr. Markham     was a great

favorite with the audience at the dedication. His ad-

dress was on the subject of libraries and should find a

permanent place in a library publication. It was in-

forming and deeply interesting.

It is pleasing to know that the donor of this building,

Mabel Wagnalls Jones, not only furnished the money

for the memorial but has amply endowed it. She has

thus manifested a truly unselfish and generous public

spirit. She has made this gift, prompted by filial de-

votion, a benefaction. It imposes no burden upon the

community. There will be neither tax levies nor ap-

propriations of public money for its support. It is a

free gift to the community, to the entire state and to any

citizen who desires to visit this literary shrine which

will henceforth be an attractive spot to Ohio tourists

and visitors from beyond the borders of our state.

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