Posted on Thursday, June 7, 2001
Written by M. Thomas Taylor, Development Officer at ¾¨Ó㴫ý
Betty Norris '43 has spent nearly 60 years in Connecticut, but still thinks of Pennsylvania as home.
"My children and friends kid me about it, but there's something special about Pennsylvania and its small towns," she said. "The people are so friendly, helpful, and nice. Growing up in Reynoldsville in Jefferson County and then attending ¾¨Ó㴫ý taught me that was the way life should be."
Mrs. Norris's love of her home state and its small town life is also reflected in the endowed scholarship that she recently established in memory of her brother, Charles M. Johnson '41. The Charles M. Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund will benefit an academically promising student with financial need from rural Jefferson County with a preference for students studying business, education, and science. Students from adjacent Clearfield and Clarion counties may be considered for the scholarship if a suitable candidate is not available from Jefferson County.
"I realize that many of our small rural towns have declined over the years, and I wanted to help deserving young people experience the kind of high-quality education that my brother and I both enjoyed at ¾¨Ó㴫ý," she said. "I also wanted to honor his work as an educator."
Charles M. Johnson graduated from ¾¨Ó㴫ý in 1941, and joined the Army immediately after Pearl Harbor. He was part of the first group of 19 Jefferson County men to volunteer, served for four years in the 9th Armored Division in Europe, and was the only one to return home.
After the war he earned a master's degree in education at Bucknell University, and worked for over 30 years as a teacher, basketball coach, and principal in Somerset and Jefferson County schools including Sandy Township, Brookville and Brockway. He retired as principal of the Brockway School District in the mid-1970s, and passed away in 1998.
Education, however, runs in the Johnson family.
"My father, Charles G. Johnson, also spent his life as a teacher," Mrs. Norris recalled. "He graduated from Clarion, and taught in Tionesta in Forest County before going to teach high school at Reynoldsville. In the 1930s, he became principal of Reynoldsville High School and then area Superintendent of Schools. The new middle school in Reynoldsville is named for him."
"One thing I remember very fondly was our father organized the area's first high school band during the Depression," she added. "He taught most of us how to play our instruments, and the mothers made all of the uniforms. My brother and I were both in the band, and we played at all of the sporting events, parades, and political rallies in the area. We had to make our own fun, and we had a lot of it. Those origins have always been special to me. I hope that young people in small towns today have similar experiences."
Betty Norris also served as a teacher and librarian in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. During World War II, she taught in Clarion for several years while her husband, James Norris (whom she married in 1944), served in the Army. After the war he completed an engineering degree at Penn State, and the couple moved to Bolton, Connecticut, where he helped design aircraft engines for Pratt and Whitney.
"We had two sons, and after they were grown I returned to work as a teacher and librarian in the Tolland Middle School," she said. "I enjoyed it very much, and retired in 1980."
Today, Mrs. Norris enjoys tennis, bowling, exercising at a gymnasium, attending church, tending her yard and gardens, and visiting her two nearby sons and three granddaughters. She is also learning to use a computer, and hopes to take piano lessons to improve her playing.
"When we found we had more money than we needed, my husband and I discussed how we might use it," she concluded. "He was very helpful and thoughtful, and I have wanted to use it in ways he would have liked. Pennsylvania and ¾¨Ó㴫ý have always been very special to me. I had a $100 scholarship when I was in college-which wasn't bad in 1939. Through this scholarship honoring my brother, I hope to help other young people with limited means receive the kind of education that meant so much to me."
Information on memorial scholarships and other planned gifts may be obtained from Gloria Cagigas, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, ¾¨Ó㴫ý, New Wilmington, PA 16172 or call (724) 946-7370.
