Richard Thomas Alexander, 1917.
Dr. Thomas Alexander was the driving force behind the inspiration and creation of the New College for the Education of Teachers, a progressive undergraduate college within the sphere of Teachers College at Columbia University in New York. Despite this accomplishment and his place among one of the most heralded university faculties of education, he is not well known to educational historians today, nor is the educational institution he founded. Dr. Alexander was described by his contemporaries as a hard-working, pragmatic man, and a common sense academic with a genius for organization and a love of education. So much of his experiences and accomplishments, like his true first name, have been hidden by the passages of time. To tell the story of New College is to tell the story of Thomas Alexander since it was his experiences, rural upbringing, travel, and the collaboration with some of the most insightful and accomplished educators of the day, in America and Germany, that led him to the creation of New College.
Very few people knew his real first name was Richard. Some of his closest friends, academic colleagues who had known him for decades, only knew him as Thomas. When asked why, Alexander’s son, Dr. Richard T. Alexander, Jr. replied, “I have no notion, but I can assure you that there were people who knew him very well, knew him for years as Thomas Alexander although his first name was Richard and I can’t tell you why he did that.”
His paternal grandfather was named Thomas, but it is unclear whether or not he had any kind of relationship with him. In all likelihood his mother, Mary, had called him Thomas ever since he was born and he never saw the reason to change as a matter of practicality. Even his earliest school documents, which presumably were done with his mother’s blessing, listed him as Thomas. It wasn’t until the end of the World War Two, when working on the staff of General Lucius D. Clay, commander of the Office of Military Government for Germany (OMGUS) in postwar Germany that he did have to officially declare himself as Richard Thomas Alexander for passport purposes. OMGUS was responsible for administering the U.S. zone of occupation. Because of his reputation, Alexander was asked to help resurrect the German educational system. On his very first passport he was self-identified as Thomas probably because there was no need for a birth certificate, as they were not yet considered a vital state record.
Richard Thomas Alexander was born on July 3, 1887, in Smicksburg, Pennsylvania, to Mary Elizabeth Wilhelm Alexander and William John Alexander, one of four children. He had two older brothers, John Wilhelm Alexander and Wallace P. Alexander, and a younger sister, Ethel M. Alexander. The move to Kirksville, Missouri was precipitated by a tenuous family situation that led to the separation of young Thomas’s parents when he was very young. According to Dr. Richard Alexander, Jr., the land in Missouri came from the Wilhelm Family, his mother’s side of the family, and had something to do with Revolutionary War or Civil War awards of property. The reason for the separation was not clear, but what is known is that William John Alexander, who was at one time President of Beaver College (now Arcadia University) in Beaver, Pennsylvania, ended up in San Francisco, California, where he died in 1926. The relationship Alexander had with is father is not known, as there was little contact between them. I do not think that even though William John Alexander was an educator, Thomas Alexander felt an obligation to go into the “family business.”
Kirksville was the home to a normal school so maybe its presence led Alexander to the decision to become an educator. At a young age he knew that to be successful in his career, he needed to set high standards for himself. So far, everything he set his mind to, he had accomplished. In his mind he knew he would not be satisfied to just teach in some rural one room schoolhouse.
Alexander thrived in rural Missouri, excelling as a student. An early official school record shows eight-year-old Thomas was enrolled in the Model Department at the First District Normal School in Kirksville, Missouri. The model school was part of the teacher training department and gave opportunities for practice teaching for the normal school students. Grade reports were sent home at the end of each month, showing high marks for core subjects such as arithmetic, spelling, and reading. The school had three departments: primary, intermediate and grammar. In 1896, Thomas was in an “intermediate” class excelling in most subjects.
Very few people knew his real first name was Richard. Some of his closest friends, academic colleagues who had known him for decades, only knew him as Thomas. When asked why, Alexander’s son, Dr. Richard T. Alexander, Jr. replied, “I have no notion, but I can assure you that there were people who knew him very well, knew him for years as Thomas Alexander although his first name was Richard and I can’t tell you why he did that.”
His paternal grandfather was named Thomas, but it is unclear whether or not he had any kind of relationship with him. In all likelihood his mother, Mary, had called him Thomas ever since he was born and he never saw the reason to change as a matter of practicality. Even his earliest school documents, which presumably were done with his mother’s blessing, listed him as Thomas. It wasn’t until the end of the World War Two, when working on the staff of General Lucius D. Clay, commander of the Office of Military Government for Germany (OMGUS) in postwar Germany that he did have to officially declare himself as Richard Thomas Alexander for passport purposes. OMGUS was responsible for administering the U.S. zone of occupation. Because of his reputation, Alexander was asked to help resurrect the German educational system. On his very first passport he was self-identified as Thomas probably because there was no need for a birth certificate, as they were not yet considered a vital state record.
Richard Thomas Alexander was born on July 3, 1887, in Smicksburg, Pennsylvania, to Mary Elizabeth Wilhelm Alexander and William John Alexander, one of four children. He had two older brothers, John Wilhelm Alexander and Wallace P. Alexander, and a younger sister, Ethel M. Alexander. The move to Kirksville, Missouri was precipitated by a tenuous family situation that led to the separation of young Thomas’s parents when he was very young. According to Dr. Richard Alexander, Jr., the land in Missouri came from the Wilhelm Family, his mother’s side of the family, and had something to do with Revolutionary War or Civil War awards of property. The reason for the separation was not clear, but what is known is that William John Alexander, who was at one time President of Beaver College (now Arcadia University) in Beaver, Pennsylvania, ended up in San Francisco, California, where he died in 1926. The relationship Alexander had with is father is not known, as there was little contact between them. I do not think that even though William John Alexander was an educator, Thomas Alexander felt an obligation to go into the “family business.”
Kirksville was the home to a normal school so maybe its presence led Alexander to the decision to become an educator. At a young age he knew that to be successful in his career, he needed to set high standards for himself. So far, everything he set his mind to, he had accomplished. In his mind he knew he would not be satisfied to just teach in some rural one room schoolhouse.
Alexander thrived in rural Missouri, excelling as a student. An early official school record shows eight-year-old Thomas was enrolled in the Model Department at the First District Normal School in Kirksville, Missouri. The model school was part of the teacher training department and gave opportunities for practice teaching for the normal school students. Grade reports were sent home at the end of each month, showing high marks for core subjects such as arithmetic, spelling, and reading. The school had three departments: primary, intermediate and grammar. In 1896, Thomas was in an “intermediate” class excelling in most subjects.
Willard School, Kirksville, MO., c.1900
By the age of 14, he was enrolled in the Kirksville Public School system graduating from Kirksville Public High School at the age of 16 in 1903. He attended the First District Normal School (later, Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri, graduating with a Bachelor of Pedagogy (Pd.B.) in 1905 and later receiving a Master of Pedagogy (M.Pd) in 1907. While working on his master’s degree, he taught in Kirksville, rising to the role of principal by 1906.
Thomas Alexander was 19-years-old and a principal of a public school in a town which also had a well-known normal school. In 1906, the average annual salary of a teacher was $325.00 while the annual salary of an average worker was approximately $670.00 ($12.98 per week for 59 hours). He knew that this would not be the pinnacle of his career and that he needed more education to get financially ahead. With a determination to further his academic career and become fiscally secure he resolved to go to Columbia, just not the one in New York. Alexander applied to the University of Missouri in the city of Columbia only to find disappointment when he was told he would not be given credit for the work he had done at the normal school. Alexander felt slighted because not only had he already graduated from the normal school in Kirksville with high marks; he had two years of teaching under his belt. Alexander was even experienced as a principal yet the university admissions office was going to make him start all over again as a beginning freshman. If the University of Missouri did not have the wisdom to allow him entry with advanced standing he reasonably vowed he would go to a university that would recognize the work he had already accomplished. Alexander said thanks, but no thanks, instead deciding to make some money to further widen his educational career choices.
He knew that it would cost money wherever he went and his family was not wealthy. Whether or not he had decided on moving to New York at this point is unknown, but he was no stranger to work and was very goal-oriented. It seems as if he had always worked, even as a youth. According to his son, one job he enjoyed the most was as a proofreader for the local Kirksville newspaper, The Editor, while he was still in high school. He was very bright, literate and was a good speller so on that basis he was hired by the editor-in-chief to read the handset type from bottom to top, right to left to eliminate spelling and grammatical errors derived by misread context clues.
Spring of 1907 found 20-year-old Thomas Alexander traveling the Missouri countryside selling tickets for the traveling Kirksville Chautauqua Association. "Circuit Chautauquas" or “Tent Chautauquas” were an itinerant manifestation of the Chautauqua movement of the early part of the century. Much like minstrel shows of ages past, these revival-type assemblies brought entertainment and culture to a rural community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers and politicians of the day. The program would be presented in tents pitched on a well-drained field near a town. After several days, the Chautauqua would fold its tents and move on.
This was the kind of job that suited Alexander. The harder he worked, the more money he could make, the sooner he would have enough for the university. The added bonus was the traveling and the opportunity to meet all sorts of different people. Alexander worked on a commission basis as an advance man where he would travel to a community, advertise the event, sell tickets, and leave the town two days before the closing of the show so as to be in the next town for the new opening. This was a lot of responsibility for Alexander, but he wasn’t alone. He worked with Robert Kirk, the son of the First District Normal School president and Kirksville Chautauqua Association president, John R. Kirk, who knew Alexander from graduating with his Master of Pedagogy that year. Kirksville was a small town and as it is in most small towns, everyone knows everyone else’s business, history, and family.
Robert Kirk would stay back, settle up and then move on to the new town and meet up later with Alexander. In a letter to reassure his mother, Alexander wrote from Kahoka, Missouri, that he was in good health, walking about 15 miles a day. He also relates an amusing anecdote about calling upon an elderly lady who didn’t seem to know what a Chautauqua was and wanted to know if it was “one of those things that you wind up with a crank and then it talks for itself.”
As evidence of the burgeoning pragmatic nature of Alexander, he relates to his mother of a time when he was having trouble obtaining money owed him at a chautauqua event in Chillicothe, Missouri, from the association’s secretary. The superintendent of the association, Mr. John R. Howey, had told Alexander to come and receive his money, but the secretary refused to pay him for some reason. Alexander was selling reserved seat tickets for the shows at the time and every night had approximately $20.00 of the association’s money. He reasoned that until the secretary settled with him for his work, he wouldn’t settle for the tickets he sold. The issue of fairness won over the lesser transgression of blackmail and the secretary quickly settled.
By this time, with money saved, Alexander knew that to make education a career he needed to go to the best college in America, something beyond his Normal School experience. He went home in mid-August for a brief period and left for New York City arriving in the beginning of September. Alexander stayed first with his brother, Wallace, in New Jersey and then in a boarding house at 142 E. 19th Street in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. The story behind Alexander’s arrival at the doorsteps of Columbia University involves his older brother Wallace who shared an adventurous gene or two with his brother. As a young teenager, Wallace disappeared with a circus that had come to Kirksville, eventually ending up in San Francisco. There he signed on as a seaman on a French cargo ship traveling to Europe. Wallace finally decided he wanted to come home and he jumped ship in France and found his way back to the United States. He turned up at the family house in Kirksville, Missouri just out of the blue. His mother, Mary Alexander, had not heard a word from him for three years and had given him up for lost (Thomas was a prolific writer to his mother during all of his travels and perhaps it was because of his older brother’s negligence and the worry that it surely caused his mother he did write so much). After his return, Wallace went to school, and ended up working for an oil company in New Jersey. It was Wallace that urged Thomas to come to New York. The timing was right. He had money from his chautauqua work in Missouri and the bitter taste of his experience with the University of Missouri so he decided to apply at the other Columbia and this time was accepted on favorable terms.
Thomas Alexander was 19-years-old and a principal of a public school in a town which also had a well-known normal school. In 1906, the average annual salary of a teacher was $325.00 while the annual salary of an average worker was approximately $670.00 ($12.98 per week for 59 hours). He knew that this would not be the pinnacle of his career and that he needed more education to get financially ahead. With a determination to further his academic career and become fiscally secure he resolved to go to Columbia, just not the one in New York. Alexander applied to the University of Missouri in the city of Columbia only to find disappointment when he was told he would not be given credit for the work he had done at the normal school. Alexander felt slighted because not only had he already graduated from the normal school in Kirksville with high marks; he had two years of teaching under his belt. Alexander was even experienced as a principal yet the university admissions office was going to make him start all over again as a beginning freshman. If the University of Missouri did not have the wisdom to allow him entry with advanced standing he reasonably vowed he would go to a university that would recognize the work he had already accomplished. Alexander said thanks, but no thanks, instead deciding to make some money to further widen his educational career choices.
He knew that it would cost money wherever he went and his family was not wealthy. Whether or not he had decided on moving to New York at this point is unknown, but he was no stranger to work and was very goal-oriented. It seems as if he had always worked, even as a youth. According to his son, one job he enjoyed the most was as a proofreader for the local Kirksville newspaper, The Editor, while he was still in high school. He was very bright, literate and was a good speller so on that basis he was hired by the editor-in-chief to read the handset type from bottom to top, right to left to eliminate spelling and grammatical errors derived by misread context clues.
Spring of 1907 found 20-year-old Thomas Alexander traveling the Missouri countryside selling tickets for the traveling Kirksville Chautauqua Association. "Circuit Chautauquas" or “Tent Chautauquas” were an itinerant manifestation of the Chautauqua movement of the early part of the century. Much like minstrel shows of ages past, these revival-type assemblies brought entertainment and culture to a rural community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers and politicians of the day. The program would be presented in tents pitched on a well-drained field near a town. After several days, the Chautauqua would fold its tents and move on.
This was the kind of job that suited Alexander. The harder he worked, the more money he could make, the sooner he would have enough for the university. The added bonus was the traveling and the opportunity to meet all sorts of different people. Alexander worked on a commission basis as an advance man where he would travel to a community, advertise the event, sell tickets, and leave the town two days before the closing of the show so as to be in the next town for the new opening. This was a lot of responsibility for Alexander, but he wasn’t alone. He worked with Robert Kirk, the son of the First District Normal School president and Kirksville Chautauqua Association president, John R. Kirk, who knew Alexander from graduating with his Master of Pedagogy that year. Kirksville was a small town and as it is in most small towns, everyone knows everyone else’s business, history, and family.
Robert Kirk would stay back, settle up and then move on to the new town and meet up later with Alexander. In a letter to reassure his mother, Alexander wrote from Kahoka, Missouri, that he was in good health, walking about 15 miles a day. He also relates an amusing anecdote about calling upon an elderly lady who didn’t seem to know what a Chautauqua was and wanted to know if it was “one of those things that you wind up with a crank and then it talks for itself.”
As evidence of the burgeoning pragmatic nature of Alexander, he relates to his mother of a time when he was having trouble obtaining money owed him at a chautauqua event in Chillicothe, Missouri, from the association’s secretary. The superintendent of the association, Mr. John R. Howey, had told Alexander to come and receive his money, but the secretary refused to pay him for some reason. Alexander was selling reserved seat tickets for the shows at the time and every night had approximately $20.00 of the association’s money. He reasoned that until the secretary settled with him for his work, he wouldn’t settle for the tickets he sold. The issue of fairness won over the lesser transgression of blackmail and the secretary quickly settled.
By this time, with money saved, Alexander knew that to make education a career he needed to go to the best college in America, something beyond his Normal School experience. He went home in mid-August for a brief period and left for New York City arriving in the beginning of September. Alexander stayed first with his brother, Wallace, in New Jersey and then in a boarding house at 142 E. 19th Street in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. The story behind Alexander’s arrival at the doorsteps of Columbia University involves his older brother Wallace who shared an adventurous gene or two with his brother. As a young teenager, Wallace disappeared with a circus that had come to Kirksville, eventually ending up in San Francisco. There he signed on as a seaman on a French cargo ship traveling to Europe. Wallace finally decided he wanted to come home and he jumped ship in France and found his way back to the United States. He turned up at the family house in Kirksville, Missouri just out of the blue. His mother, Mary Alexander, had not heard a word from him for three years and had given him up for lost (Thomas was a prolific writer to his mother during all of his travels and perhaps it was because of his older brother’s negligence and the worry that it surely caused his mother he did write so much). After his return, Wallace went to school, and ended up working for an oil company in New Jersey. It was Wallace that urged Thomas to come to New York. The timing was right. He had money from his chautauqua work in Missouri and the bitter taste of his experience with the University of Missouri so he decided to apply at the other Columbia and this time was accepted on favorable terms.
Columbia University 1907. View from
west.
Thomas Alexander started Columbia University studying German on September 25, 1907 on a trial basis. His heritage was German, on his mother’s side. Alexander’s maternal grandfather was born in Germany, so it is likely that his mother could speak the language. At the admissions office they looked favorably at his record and experience promising some sort of advanced standing on the quality of his work, the caveat being his standing would not be determined until he had completed some work at the university. They wanted to see how well the farm boy from Missouri handled the academics coming from a normal school background.
At this point, in a comment written to his mother, it is evident Alexander had some second thoughts about a career in education. Perhaps it was a reaction to the big city or reaching back to his rural roots he writes, “I believe I could make more money on the farm than I could at most anything else and then get more enjoyment out of life than I could living and working in a city.” In later correspondence he always was concerned about the operations of the family farm, perhaps planning a future as a prosperous land owner. Moving from Kirksville, Missouri (1907 population of about 5800) to New York City (1907 population of about 2 million) and the ensuing cultural and social shock might have been overwhelming for someone less prepared. Fortunately, in addition to determination and desire, Alexander had a strong support structure already in place.
Besides his brother in New Jersey, the family of Dr. Thomas Spence, who were good friends of the Alexander family in Kirksville, lived in the New York area. The Kirksville connection was the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri which was considered the founding institution of osteopathic medicine in the United States. Dr. Spence, who was an osteopath, lived near "Doctors' Row" (West 122nd Street), on Mount Morris Park West, near Harlem and close to Columbia University. Dr. Spence and his wife, Alice (who also was an osteopath), had a very good medical practice in New York. Alexander was also a friend with Dr. Spence’s son, Philip, who was three years younger than Alexander (and also destined to become an osteopath) and a younger daughter, Evelyn. Young Alexander frequently visited the family, particularly 17-year-old Philip who was more of a social animal than he was. Letters home to his mother mention that Philip would invite Thomas to local dances or traveling to Brooklyn, “to see a girl.” Thomas knew the seriousness of his studies during this probationary period at Columbia and would dutifully report to his mother that he passed on Phillip’s invitations to enjoy the New York social scene. Alexander spent his first Thanksgiving in New York with the Spence family. Staying at the boarding house was not always boring for Alexander, who would sometimes play tricks on the landlords. Alexander writes,
These people I stay with are “Jonah’s.” I have to laugh at them sometimes. I have an old olive bottle that I throw it around to hear it rattle and then they’ll come chasing in to see what I have broken. Wallace had some bed-bug medicine that he gave me as a safeguard and I spread it around every so often and then you ought to see them sniff and smell.
Besides visiting with the Spence’s and fooling the proprietors of the boarding house, Alexander did not let himself be bored in the big city. He obtained employment during the week downtown as an usher in the theater district, including the Metropolitan Opera House. It was very good pay, however most of the performances were at night which ordinarily might interfere with studies. Alexander sensibly saw an advantage to the situation. Reminiscing years later to his son, Alexander said there wasn’t much work to do as an usher. He went down to the theater every night at a certain time, showed people to their seats, and after the first act started, he was basically finished. After seeing the show a few times he then took a book to study and read. Later in his life he would tell students that if you must get a job, try to get one where you would have the opportunity to learn something. Alexander knew that every experience could be a learning moment. In finding employment, even part-time, one should seek a position where the brain is challenged rather than numbed in robotic drudgery. Alexander always advocated pedagogy of “lifelong learning” and lived it as an example of a positive life choice. This praxis of educational philosophy helped Alexander escape from the boredom of being alone in the big city and strengthened his studies. Even with his support system in place there was always something to work on, be it either school or ushering the well-to-do to their opera house seats.
Despite limited finances, Alexander fully enjoyed what New York City had to offer. The metropolitan bustle of such a huge city was something he had never experienced before. There was so much to do, to see, and to learn and Alexander didn’t leave much of the five boroughs unexplored. He discovered the Metropolitan Museum of Art, heard Enrico Caruso sing at the Metropolitan Opera House, presumably for free, and on weekends went to various churches to hear famous orators and preachers of the day like Newell Dwight Hillis, a Congregationalist minister, writer, and philosopher from the historic Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn and Dr. L. Mason Clarke, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. He had heard many speakers on the chautauqua circuit and so he appreciated a good oration.
Christmas and New Years came and found Alexander studying hard. During this time, the people in the boarding house had been sick with “la grippe” (influenza) so Alexander found himself doing a few errands for them. This allowed them to overlook Alexander’s admitted foolishness and he was considered in good standing with them. He was rewarded with mince pie, apples, and oranges. On December 31, 1907, Alexander went to downtown New York to experience bringing in the New Year. He wrote to his mother at 1:15 that night that he was just back from the revelry. He told her that she could not imagine how fine the chimes and bells were at midnight. The crowd was so large that it was hard to get a good place to stand and hear. The comparison to New Year’s Eve in Kirksville, Missouri, to the young student must have been startling.
He warned his mother that he might not be able to write as much during the month of January, since final exams were upon him. He passed on dinner invitations, presumably some from Philip, and devoted the time to school. He knew the importance of his first semester at Columbia and how it would affect his standing. Prophetically, he wrote to his mother saying, “Everything depends on the finals here.”
At this point, in a comment written to his mother, it is evident Alexander had some second thoughts about a career in education. Perhaps it was a reaction to the big city or reaching back to his rural roots he writes, “I believe I could make more money on the farm than I could at most anything else and then get more enjoyment out of life than I could living and working in a city.” In later correspondence he always was concerned about the operations of the family farm, perhaps planning a future as a prosperous land owner. Moving from Kirksville, Missouri (1907 population of about 5800) to New York City (1907 population of about 2 million) and the ensuing cultural and social shock might have been overwhelming for someone less prepared. Fortunately, in addition to determination and desire, Alexander had a strong support structure already in place.
Besides his brother in New Jersey, the family of Dr. Thomas Spence, who were good friends of the Alexander family in Kirksville, lived in the New York area. The Kirksville connection was the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri which was considered the founding institution of osteopathic medicine in the United States. Dr. Spence, who was an osteopath, lived near "Doctors' Row" (West 122nd Street), on Mount Morris Park West, near Harlem and close to Columbia University. Dr. Spence and his wife, Alice (who also was an osteopath), had a very good medical practice in New York. Alexander was also a friend with Dr. Spence’s son, Philip, who was three years younger than Alexander (and also destined to become an osteopath) and a younger daughter, Evelyn. Young Alexander frequently visited the family, particularly 17-year-old Philip who was more of a social animal than he was. Letters home to his mother mention that Philip would invite Thomas to local dances or traveling to Brooklyn, “to see a girl.” Thomas knew the seriousness of his studies during this probationary period at Columbia and would dutifully report to his mother that he passed on Phillip’s invitations to enjoy the New York social scene. Alexander spent his first Thanksgiving in New York with the Spence family. Staying at the boarding house was not always boring for Alexander, who would sometimes play tricks on the landlords. Alexander writes,
These people I stay with are “Jonah’s.” I have to laugh at them sometimes. I have an old olive bottle that I throw it around to hear it rattle and then they’ll come chasing in to see what I have broken. Wallace had some bed-bug medicine that he gave me as a safeguard and I spread it around every so often and then you ought to see them sniff and smell.
Besides visiting with the Spence’s and fooling the proprietors of the boarding house, Alexander did not let himself be bored in the big city. He obtained employment during the week downtown as an usher in the theater district, including the Metropolitan Opera House. It was very good pay, however most of the performances were at night which ordinarily might interfere with studies. Alexander sensibly saw an advantage to the situation. Reminiscing years later to his son, Alexander said there wasn’t much work to do as an usher. He went down to the theater every night at a certain time, showed people to their seats, and after the first act started, he was basically finished. After seeing the show a few times he then took a book to study and read. Later in his life he would tell students that if you must get a job, try to get one where you would have the opportunity to learn something. Alexander knew that every experience could be a learning moment. In finding employment, even part-time, one should seek a position where the brain is challenged rather than numbed in robotic drudgery. Alexander always advocated pedagogy of “lifelong learning” and lived it as an example of a positive life choice. This praxis of educational philosophy helped Alexander escape from the boredom of being alone in the big city and strengthened his studies. Even with his support system in place there was always something to work on, be it either school or ushering the well-to-do to their opera house seats.
Despite limited finances, Alexander fully enjoyed what New York City had to offer. The metropolitan bustle of such a huge city was something he had never experienced before. There was so much to do, to see, and to learn and Alexander didn’t leave much of the five boroughs unexplored. He discovered the Metropolitan Museum of Art, heard Enrico Caruso sing at the Metropolitan Opera House, presumably for free, and on weekends went to various churches to hear famous orators and preachers of the day like Newell Dwight Hillis, a Congregationalist minister, writer, and philosopher from the historic Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn and Dr. L. Mason Clarke, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. He had heard many speakers on the chautauqua circuit and so he appreciated a good oration.
Christmas and New Years came and found Alexander studying hard. During this time, the people in the boarding house had been sick with “la grippe” (influenza) so Alexander found himself doing a few errands for them. This allowed them to overlook Alexander’s admitted foolishness and he was considered in good standing with them. He was rewarded with mince pie, apples, and oranges. On December 31, 1907, Alexander went to downtown New York to experience bringing in the New Year. He wrote to his mother at 1:15 that night that he was just back from the revelry. He told her that she could not imagine how fine the chimes and bells were at midnight. The crowd was so large that it was hard to get a good place to stand and hear. The comparison to New Year’s Eve in Kirksville, Missouri, to the young student must have been startling.
He warned his mother that he might not be able to write as much during the month of January, since final exams were upon him. He passed on dinner invitations, presumably some from Philip, and devoted the time to school. He knew the importance of his first semester at Columbia and how it would affect his standing. Prophetically, he wrote to his mother saying, “Everything depends on the finals here.”
