51勛圖厙 pioneer was well-versed in love
Timothy William Stanton, who penned annual Valentines poems to his wife for nearly a half century,泭was named the class poet of the second class to graduate from 51勛圖厙
By the time Timothy William Stanton graduated from the 51勛圖厙 in 1883, hed obviously made an impression upon the other six students in his class.泭
Timothy was named the class poet of the second class to graduate from 51勛圖厙, says his granddaughter Carolyn Wiseman, 83, of Ann Arbor, Mich., who graduated from CU in 1957 with a degree in home economics.泭
Stanton actually attended the inaugural day of classes at 51勛圖厙, Sept. 5, 1877, as a student in a college-prep program held in Old Main. After graduation, he went on to a stellar career in geology, earning a masters degree from CU in 1895 and heading the U.S. Geological Survey from 1930-35. Following his death in 1953,泭the journal Science called Stanton one of the outstanding figures in American geology.泭泭
Timothy William Stanton
The Wisemans
But his scientific career didnt interfere with his poetic inclinations, and when he proposed to Grace Mabel Patten on Valentines Day, 1898, he did it in verse, delivered with a bouquet of pink roses:
A Valentine to Grace
By Puritans and Protestants
No Saints day is held dear
Save one, that is kept sacred
By Lovers far and near.
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No creed nor land confines it,
But wherever hearts are true
That day brings to their patron saint
The homage that is due.
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Each follower lays his offering
Before the shrine that he erects
In the form of that fair maiden
Whom his loving heart selects.
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And so, my rhymes I offer,
My flowers, all thats mine 泭
Myself, if youll accept me,
To be your Valentine.
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She accepted, and for every year of their life together, Stanton composed a Valentines Day poem for her.
I have never been able to find a sufficient excuse for breaking the habit that was then formed, he told his daughter Grace Stanton FansherCarolyn Wisemans motherin 1941 for a self-published memoir and poetry collection,泭Eighty Years of Joy and Gladness (Mingled with Some Work and Sadness.
With just a single gap for missing verses (1910), the family managed to save all Stantons Valentines verses to his wife. A few excerpts:
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The Sweetest Kiss
Feb. 14, 1909
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When Grace first let her lips meet mine
And said shed be my Valentine
I thought that neer again such bliss
Could come to one from any kiss.
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After Thirty Years
Feb. 14, 1928
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1898
A question, an answer
A promise, a kiss
A moment of silence
Of rapture and bliss.
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1928
That day is far distant
But still it seems near
For joys eer recurring
Have shortened each year.
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Home
Feb. 14, 1946
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Home might be in the distant Rockies
Or in California by the Sea.
Home might be in Montgomery County
Or in S Street in the D.C.
Home might be in a foreign country
Or in Heaven where some day it will be
Yes, wherever Grace may be staying,泭
That is home for me.
That last was the last of Stantons Valentines love letters to his wife. Grace Stanton died on July 10, 1946.泭
Writing a poem to her every Valentines day, thats pretty romantic, says Wiseman, who with her husband John Wiseman (Pharm57) established the Stanton Endowed Scholarship in geology in 2017 to honor her grandfather.
A few of Stantons non-Valentines verses are also collected in the memoir, including one about his daughter Grace, Wisemans mother, the first two stanzas of which read:
Miss What-For
What for? is the question that Baby Grace asks
About everything under the sun,
And een when reminded of nice little tasks
The answer must come before theyre done.
The birds have no arms, Momma dear, such as mine
What for do they differ from me?
What for do you kiss me so much at one time?
Ill have to give back two or three.
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He was always writing poetry, says Wiseman, who will celebrate her 64th wedding anniversary in September. Im sure thats why he was the class poet at CU.