Gustav G. Wenzlaff Biography This file contains the biography of Gustav G. Wenzlaff from "Who's Who in South Dakota" by O. W. Coursey (1913) Scanning by John Rigdon , final editing by Joy Fisher from a book in the possession of Joy Fisher. This file may be freely copied for non-profit purposes; all other rights, including the right to publish this file in any format is reserved. POET PHILOSOPHER He's "all wool and a yard wide." Who? Our poet phil- osopher, Who's he? Now, don't get in a hurry; wait till we have had time to whisper to you in a deep undertone, Gustav G. Wenzlaff. Doesn't that sound philosophical? Yes, but not altogether Yankefied. Wenzlaff is president of the Springfield (S. D.) State Normal. He represents the old school of thought and the new. If You multiply the old school by the new, and then extract the square root of the product, You will have a mean proportional - you will have Wenzlaff-a man of poise and forbearance, of culture and refinement, of dignity and justice, of courage and faith, of hope and truth, of kindness and honor. What a renovation at the Springfield normal when he took charge, a few years since. How the cobwebs fairly tumbled from the walls. How the pigeonholes gave up their mildewed con- tents. How the loose ends of fluttering thought were tied to- gether in an organized whole and made into a cable of strength. With what unanimity the train of thought pulled in off the sid- ing onto the main track and started toward and upward. How soon the school began to take its merited place among the edu- cational institutions of the state. Germany frequently lays claim to the fact that she is largely directing the educational thought of America. Pointing to her native-born sons whom she is constantly sending to us, as teach- ers, and to our American-born lads whom we send over there to be educated, it is easy to prove her contentions. President Wenz- laff was born in Europe. True, he got his education mostly in this country, but we had to let him go back home to finish it. Very well! He got it just the same, and South Dakota is profiting by it. His early education was begun in the old country, and was received at the hands of his father who was a successful German teacher. Then he came to America and settled in Yankton county, South Dakota. Here's his educational record in a nut- shell, but it's a good one: Graduated from Yankton high school, 1884. Graduated from Yankton college, 1888. Studied in Chicago, 1888-9. Instructor in Yankton college, 1889-92. Student, Berlin University and University of Leipzig, Ger- many, 1892. Professor of philosophy and German in Yankton college, 1893-on. Student University of Chicago 1897-8. Recuperating in California, 1899-1900. Superintendent Yankton county, 1905-8. President Springfield normal, 1908-to date. How's that? Go back and run it over again. "'Who's Who?" We guess Wenzlaff is. Here's a record as a stud- ent and as an educator that any man might well be proud of. (Later.-Since the above was written, Yankton College has honored him with his LL. D.) PHILOSOPHER But it is in the field of philosophical thought that Wenzlaff excels. The whole bent of his nature is toward Philosophy. He loves to rea- son - and he does it sponta- neously at times. When the ethical committee met in [photo - G. G. WENZLAFF] Mitchell few years since, the discussion over the advisabil- ity of making the ethical out- line for the schools of the state dove-tail into the Bible was grow- ing "warm" when Wenzlaff piped out: "Gentlemen, the Bible did not give us religion; religion gave us the Bible." This hard philosophical morsel, placed on the tongues of some of the the- ological members of the committee, took some time to melt. Here was a concept-clearly, positively, definitely formed. It stood. PROSE WRITER President Wenzlaff has acquired a style of English prose composition that is polished, smooth, clear and captivating. We regard his diction as the most perfect of any writer in the state. This is saying considerable for it, but we believe we are right. Think of it! He reads and writes prose and poetry in two dif- ferent languages, and he can read at least three of four more tongues. It is but natural that such an able linguist should be- come literary inclined. He is the author of one of the best psychologies on the mar- ket. In addition to its exceptionally fine analysis of the mind and its operations. practically every critic who has commented on it has also referred to its charming diction. He is also the author of "Sketches and Legends of the West." Last year President Wenzlaff and a friend made a trip down to the old historic settlement of Bon Homme. Upon his return he wrote a sketch for publication in "The Normal Pulse," a paper issued monthly by the students of the Springfield Normal, which it has been our privilege to preserve, and which we should love to publish herein in full, did space permit. We regard it as one of the tastiest pieces of faultless English composition that we have ever read. We invite attention to only a few paragraphs of it which we cull out and sandwich together: "It was a fall day. No frost had yet blighted the vegeta- tion, but already the yellow corn showed through the wilting husks. A longing to get away from the humdrum of routine work and to dream a day-dream took us out toward old Bon Homme on the Missouri. "Eight miles to the east of the dingy stone walls of the Springfield Normal we look down upon a fair plain dotted with farm buildings in the midst of clustering trees. To the east a white church spire catches our eye, and farther to the south a group of buildings rather too large to be a collection of farm buildings. A little cemetery, well kept after a fashion, enclosed by a weather-beaten fence, overlooks the Bon Homme valley and the wide stretches of the wild Missouri granite blocks and mar- ble shafts rise above the stubble of the prairie grass. Yes, we read some of the inscribed names and remember those who years ago responded to them. "A well-traveled road leads to where years ago stood the fair little town of Bon Homme. At one place a few buildings are on either side of the road, once a street of the town, and a little farther on the little white school house, once the village school, the successor of the first school house in Dakota Territory. I have seen some of the pupils that were gathered in that first school house in Dakota - not as ruddy-faced youngsters, but as serious men and women past middle life. * * * * * * Yes, this settlement, like others of its kind and persuasion, possesses fields, and mills and barns and machinery and all that goes to make a model farm, and something else - some ancient manuscripts. The young teacher soon brought in several of them for inspection. They are books containing the doctrines of the founder of the Brotherhood, all written by some of the brothers in the days of old, in German 'print,' with the most pleasing exactness. The initial letters would do credit to a Medieval professional scribe. The paper used in these volumes is soft rag paper, such as one finds nowadays only in fancy-priced editions de luxe. The title pages show the dates 1509 and 1520. As we sat there waiting for a fall shower to pass by, our host expounded some features of the ancient, priceless volumes. "Before the day closed we were retracing our way, leaving behind old Bon Homme, but carrying back with us a feeling that we had peered into the past and heard voices of long ago." POET What peculiar strains of melody must be concealed in the intellect of a man who can write such ideal prose and who can, in the next instant, transfer himself into another mood and mould his thoughts into perfect rhythm. Only once in a great while - only now and then at great intervals - do you find a man who can burrow into the depths of philosophy and paint his conclusions in deep-colored prosaic images, and who can climb "Jacob's ladder" and sing beautiful lullabys to the stars. Wenz- laff can. He is an adept at it. Some poets hibernate in the fall and come back to in the spring to sing with the opening of the buds and the return of our winged warblers. Not so with Wenzlaff. He sings through the season. His heart is ever attune with nature. Springtime extracts the poetic nectar from his soul; summer awakens in him a melodious response; fall wells up his great heart until it bursts with joy; and winter's falling snow causes him to become en rapport with nature's God. We should like to publish the long list of his poems which we have at various times collected, but lack of space absolutely forbids. We shall use but a few of the shorter ones. To those who would possess themselves of more address to the Educator School Supply Company, Mitchell, S, D., a card asking for term, on the new volume of "Dakota Rhymes " compiled and partially written by President Wenzlaff. It is now completed. IN THE SPRING-TIME One name-when spring winds whisper softly- I hear amidst the green boughs' leaves; The creek's low song, the wild dove's crooning- That name to me all nature breathes. One face I see in every blossom, That meekly hides within the grass; The evening clouds in hues of sunset Reflect that face before they pass. One dream so vague, so dreamy, vivid, Like music of a sylvan stream, Like fragrance from the prairie roses-- My loved one is my constant dream. AUTUMN REVERY Cold are the winds that waft The faded leaves about; Chill are the days that laughed Once through the summer cloud. Far flies the, pinioned fowl To other cheerier lands Touched not by Winter's scowl Nor by his chilling hands. Ah me! Could I but rise And from chill moods retreat, Dwell would I, too, 'neath skies Where only warm hearts beat. THE MEADOW-LARK Before the last of winter's drift has thawed And run in rills to swell the creek, that glides Among the rushes drear and willows gray, The meadow-lark, the herald of the spring, Comes piping in the drowsy life that hides From grim, all-devastating frosts away. And when the first bold flower-the violet, Or 'tis th' anemone-wide opes its eyes Upon the quiet meads to greet the morn, The prairie's homely bird sings matin lays, That clear and sweet mount swelling to the skies And then on ether wings are softly borne. When twilight shades come o'er this prairie world In summer's garb, and thousand eyes then close Upon the waning splendor of the evening sky, The meadow-lark's clear roundelay resounds And lulls sun-sated life to cool repose-- Ne'er heard the flowers a sweeter lullaby! At last the fields, once gay, stand sad and sear, And silent is the cricket's chorus song. The weary blossom drooping on the stem, Now sleeps its long, long sleep, and weary looks The sun. The meadow-lark, of all the throng Of birds, remains to pipe the requiem. THE BLIND PIPER Good piper of the Spree, Why pipe so mournfully When brightly smiles the summer day, And sunbeams on the river's way Are dancing lightly to and fro And casting glances from below, Caressing warm the bridge's span, While zephyrs cool your temples fan?- A mist is gath'ring in my eye,- Good piper, I must hasten by. Ah! piper of the Spree, Why pipe so merrily When lowering clouds are sailing fast, The swallow, too, is hastening past And scowling looks the rushing tide, Upon whose crest the foam doth ride, And whips the bridge's pillar-stays? How merrily sound your oaten lays! I can, thus drawn, not hasten by- But what! is blind my piper's eye? Many men can translate prose from various languages into our own with ease, but few have ever lived who could success- fully translate poetry and maintain the metre and rhythm. President Wenzlaff has done this repeatedly, and he has given over to us for culture and for pastime some musical translations of foreign ballads that still retain their original charm. Follow- ing is one translated from Uhland: THE CHAPLET Yonder stand: the mountain chaplet Looking quietly down the vale; There below by mead and brooklet Sings the shepherd boy so hale. Mournful tolls the bell from yonder, Awful sounds the funeral lay, Hushed is now the merry singer By the chanting far away. They are borne to graves up yonder Who enjoyed themselves below. Shepherd boy, ah! list young shepherd, 'Twill be sung for thee just so! Having revealed to the readers of the Argus-Leader, through our theme, the greatness of our SUBJECT, and having in a meas- ure proven our contentions that he is a true poet, a linguist, a translator, a philosopher, a teacher, a man - we are willing to let his case go to the jury - public opinion.