It is a pleasure to be invited to participate in the Dedication Ceremonies of the Warren Center for Physical Education and Recreation. As a student in Boston Bouvé College, I speak for all of my colleagues in thanking Mrs. Warren for giving us this beautiful site which I understand was in accordance with her late husband's wishes.
In dedicating this Center, we are honoring two people, whom most students will never know. And yet, in retrospect we know them well. How is this so? Allow me to illustrate.
First of all, we know Mr. and Mrs. Warren through their life work. We know Mr. Warren as an inventor – the first person to develop a practical and accurate electric clock. We know him as an innovator in the development of gear systems. We know him as a business man — as founder of the Warren Clock Company and the Warren Gear Works. And we know him as a man who was recognized by his contemporaries as evidenced by his being the recipient of such honors as the John Price Wetherill Medal from the Franklin Institute, the Lamme Medal from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Science bestowed upon him by Rutgers University.
We know Mrs. Warren through her many years of fruitful activity as well. We know her first as a high school teacher of French, Latin and English literature. We know her next as a devoted young bride who settled with her husband on this very land in 1907, when this was farming country far removed from the social and cultural atmosphere of her previous upbringing in Newton Center and Radcliffe College.
We also know Mrs. Warren as an astute helpmate of her husband, caring for his personal correspondence and accounts for 34 years.
We also know Mr. and Mrs. Warren through their many acts of service to youth, the church, and the community at large.
Mr. Warren was at various times in his career, President of the County extension Service, Founder of a 4-H Camp in Ashby, President of the Wellesley Summer Institute for Social Progress, and a vigorous supporter of the Boy Scouts. He also served as Chairman of the Ashland Town Water Board in which capacity he aided in the transferal of the local water supply from individual wells to a town water system.
Mrs. Warren gave of her time and efforts as Secretary, for over 18 years, of the Ashland Chapter of the American Red Cross. She later served as Chapter Vice Chairman. In further pursuit of her interest in public health, Mrs. Warren served as Secretary of the Ashland Public Health Nurse Board for 15 years, and as vice president, Director, and Honorary Vice President of the Middlesex Public Health Association.
Finally, in retrospect, we know Mr. and Mrs . Warren as dedicated Sunday School teachers in the Ashland Federated Church. Thus, through their individual and joint interests, they led a life of service to youth and their community.
Those of us who are students in Boston Bouvé College, will always know the Warrens best, however, through this land which they have so graciously donated to our use. To them, this land was a symbol of peace and productivity. It was once a very successful dairy farm, but it was also a much-loved home. The care that they bestowed upon this land has given it the beauty we are now privileged to enjoy.
It was once a rocky land, but much of that rock was moved and given a new purpose in the form of one of New England's characteristic stone walls. Those stone walls will always be a reminder of the early purpose given the farm by Mr. and Mrs. Warren. As for the woods — we know that we shall love them as Mr. Warren loved them, for we're told that he often took walks in the woods in the evening, returning to the house just in time to stop and survey the evening stars. Those of us in the Boston Bouvé program are out-door oriented, as Mr. Warren was, and will, I am sure, derive much pleasure from the peacefulness of these wooded lands. I have even learned of the lady-slippers that bloom each year in these woods, and I, and others to follow me, will find the same delight in their discovery as filled Mr. Warren each year when springtime rolled around.
Mr. Warren once wrote a poem, a copy of which is inscribed on the inside cover of today's program. although I am sure he did not forsee it thusly, the last stanza typifies Northeastern’s gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Warren who “Blazed Trails” on our behalf.
In coming into possession of this land, with all the care and planning they have previously given it,
“We reach their goal and pass beyond, thanks to the
strength we’ve saved.
A debt to them we owe, when at the end we can scan the
way o’er which we passed.
Our silent prayer is uttered there
God bless the men who blazed the trail.”
As all of us assembled here today will realize, Northeastern University has many worthwhile plans for the utilization of this richly endowed acreage. The woods, the fields, the lake, and the beautiful lodge and cabins now erected will be a source of many rich experiences for many generations to come.
We are indeed grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Warren for making this all possible. Although most of those who will benefit from this gift will never have had the privilege of knowing the benefactors in person, they will always know them through these woods, these fields, this land.
On behalf of the students of Northeastern University, Mrs. Warren, I thank you.
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