CLARENCE RAY AURNER

It was almost at the beginning of the Civil war when Clarence Ray Aurner was born in De Kalb county, Illinois, not far from the town of Sycamore, in the township of Kingston. His father, O. J. Aurner, has been a farmer throughout his entire life and was with his father when the latter came from Michigan in the ‘30s, settling in the vicinity of Chicago. About 1870 he removed to Iowa. The mother of Mr. Aurner bore the maiden name of Isabel J. Burchfield, and died at the age of twenty-eight years, when Mr. Aurner was five years of age, leaving three daughters as well as the little son. For four years they lived among relatives, being separated most of the time from the mother’s death until 1871, when the father married again and made a home on the Iowa prairies in which to rear his children. The grandparents of Mr. Aurner on both the paternal and maternal side came from the state of Pennsylvania and both grandfathers lived to pass the ninety-second milestone on life’s journey.

The country schools furnished the early training of Mr. Aurner and only so much time was allowed as the farm work could spare—three or four months in the year. He began teaching after eleven weeks of review in a private seminary in Waterloo, Iowa, and continued teaching in the winter classes for five years, during which period he spent one term at the State Normal school. He engaged in business for a short time, in 1887, and then disposed of his interest, returning to the normal school and completing the full course by graduation in the class of 1891. He obtained his life certificate in 1895 and since his graduation has been continuously connected with educational interests. He was principal of the high school at Waverly in 1892-93, and superintendent of schools at Adel and Avoca from that date until 1902, when he resigned to enter the State University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1903. He continued his studies during the summer seasons and privately, spending one summer at Harvard and securing the Master of Arts degree from the Iowa State University in 1909. For seven years he was superintendent of the Tipton schools, the longest service of any man among twenty-two incumbents in the office since the school was organized. He resigned in 1910 and is now pursuing graduate work at the State University for the Ph. D. degree.

In 1896, in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Aurner was married to Miss Nellie A. Slayton, a native of this state, who has been teacher before and since her marriage in schools with him. She won the Ph. B. degree at the same time as her husband and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa. Three sons were born to them but only one is now living, Robert, who is twelve years of age. Mr. Aurner is a republican in politics, with independent tendencies in local matters, where he supports the candidates best fitted for office, exercising his right of franchise without dictation. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and Masonic lodges, in both of which he has held office. During his student life he was active in the Young Men’s Christian Association, and was president of the organization of the State Normal School for two years. For many years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church but is a firm believer in the ultimate union of Christian people. He loves outdoor life, the freedom of the field and woods, and responds without effort to the call of nature. His profession, however, has confined him largely to the work of the schoolroom as instructor and pupil, for he has remained throughout life a student, utilizing summers and other periods to advance his own knowledge and render his labors more efficient in promoting the knowledge of others.