Lambert, Daniel F.

LAMBERT

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 7/1/2019 at 13:16:52

Obituary ~ Daniel Freeman Lambert

Lamoni's Passing Parade
by Joseph H. Anthony. Blair Printing Co. ca. 1948

Lamoni is deeply indebted to D. F. Lambert for the high standard of its early educational program, as it was he who lifted our school system from the level of the old-time country school, introduced the first grading system as far back as 1887 and graduated the first class in June of 1888.

Like some of the great pioneers recorded in American history who wereborn with an indefinable craving for learning, D. F. Lambert secured an education by dint of his own efforts. The opportunities offered him for schooling were almost nothing compared to those offered the youth of today, and so far as actual schooling was concerned he had only what the high school or academy of his day had to offer, yet through out his whole life his activities were along educational lines and wherever he was known he was considered one of the best educated men of his time.

While he was just a boy, a friend made him a present of a dictionary and he studied it until he knew every word it contained, along with its definition and proper use; whenever he rested, it was with a book in his hand, which he never deserted until he had thoroughly assimilated its contents; he took fourteen lessons in shorthand when a young man, and with no further help he made of himself an expert at shorthand, who could take down with accuracy 150 words a minute. As a court reported he followed the courts of Iowa for a number of years prior to coming to Lamoni where he purpose was to assume the duties of church recorder. Here he was associated actively with Joseph Smith and the other church leaders in editorial work upon the church papers, and in 1887 he took up the publishing of the Lamoni Gazette, the name of which he later changed to the Independent Patriot. He found many opportunities open to one of his ability in this new community but in addition to all of these he filled the post of editor and manger of this paper continuously until the year 1910.

He was acting superintendent of the schools when I moved to Lamoni, and the day I entered my class at the old West Side school he walked over from the east side just to see that I was properly enrolled. I will never forget that day, and I will never forget that interview with him in one of the cloakrooms on the second floor. I have wondered many times since, if it was necessary for a new pupil to go before the superintendent to become enrolled why the pupil did not go to his office, surely he did not have time to make that trip clear across town every time a new pupil sought enrollment. But what I actually think to this: he knew the feeling of a young lad entering a new school in a strange town and he felt he could more effectively overcome that feeling of shyness and lonesomeness if he met the pupil in his new environment and helped him to make the adjustment. The memory of that interview will always remain a pleasant one, for he not only helped me to make the readjustment but he gave me the feeling that I had met a friend, and as such I will always remember him. I know of no man who gave more encouragement in many of my youthful endeavors that D. F. Lambert, and the memory I retain of him and of the ideals he stood for, as well the things he accomplished are still a great source of inspiration. I can heartily agree with the statement of one of his former pupils, who in speaking of his success as an educator said: "The memorable thing of him was his sense of absolute justice and his theory that he poorest pupil was just as worth while and worth of consideration as the one of noble birth."

As a newspaper editor and publisher the position of D. F. Lambert was unique, especially among small-town newspaper men. First he was an editor with an editorial program - he had a message he felt would benefit mankind, and all the equipment and other physical elements necessary to the publishing of a paper were essential principally because without them his message could not be distributed. The printing of a paper in those days was a decidedly different proposition from what it is today. The type was all set and distributed by hand and unless the plant was large enough to justify the installation of steam power, the presses were operated by either foot or hand power, which made the work of producing a paper a tedious as well as a laborious procedure. In spite of these difficulties the Independent Patriot as a weekly paper was widely read, both locally and abroad for better than a fourth of a century, and should be credited with having influenced the thinking of many individuals and also proved a moal uplift to the new community. Standards and ideals establish in those early days have played a major part in the building of Lamoni and have made it a community that holds a unique place in history.

I remember at one time when a certain individual came into our town with the idea of setting up a business and finally opened up a restaurant on Linden street. He was a stranger to practically all the inhabitants; no one seemed to know much about him or where he had come from, but he had not been in business long before many realized that he was conducting a business that was anything but reputable, and decidedly beneath the standards established by the community. In fact, current reports indicated that many of the activities in connection with the place were positively illegal.

Of course, rumors flew thick and fast, but the owner of the place was hardened and experienced in his line, and was clever enough to cover up the true station of his business. This made of it a very difficult situation to handle for a lack of incriminating evidence forestalled the advisability of legal action. So while the town fathers and the local officers of the law worried and contemplated the proper course of procedure, D. F. Lambert sat down to his editorial desk and took his trusty pencil in hand: he wrote in his own fearless and capable style an article which brought to light the questionable operations of the concern in question. The paper was printed and went into the mails that evening and when the sun rose over the bank building the next morning its rays flowed unobstructedly through the windows which previously had been so tightly curtained; and now, early passersby had no difficulty in obtaining a complete view of the entire room. To their amazement they found it completely empty. The ink was hardly dry on the paper when the proprietor of the institution had seen the editorial, and under the cover of night had taken the opportunity to clear out, which he did - bag and baggage.

I like to think of D. F. Lambert in the role of a public speaker. His ideals were high, he was a deep thinker and he possessed the virility and eloquence as well as the sincerity and simplicity of delivery to bring his bearers up to his plane of thought. I well remember one instance during a patriotic celebration. The band sat upon the speakers' stand and he was the orator of the day. His speech was a masterpiece on patriotism and at its conclusion it was apparent that his audience was deeply impressed. I arose to conduct the band through the closing number of the program and from the sounding of the first chord of the composition I sensed that a change had come over the players. They had played that composition many times but never like that. They, too, had become inspired by the words they had heard, and I realized they had caught a portion of the spirit of pioneer patriotism which had inspired the builders of our great country; they played as I had never heard them play before, and I shared with them the thrill of that experience-proud to be an American.

Many times I have wondered about some of Lamoni's outstanding characters and endeavored to understand just what factor provided the balance of power in their reasoning and which influenced them to spend their lives in a small place when larger places might have offered them opportunities that were unobtainable here. D. F. Lambert was one of those men. With his ability and qualifications the possibilities were limitless. He would have been outstanding in any community, city, state or even in the nation. However, he chose to cast his lot with the people of Lamoni, and Lamoni can claim him with pride. He was in educator, editor, orator and an outstanding citizen in every sense of the word - a man with the bearing and qualifications of a statesman - a dominating, capable character in Lamoni's passing parade.

Transcription by Jean Belzer