Sumner Graduate Received PhD

Born in Richland County, Illinois on March 8, 1908, Virgil Henry was the son of E Clinton and Rosa Shick Henry. He came from a family of schoolteachers; his father was a teacher; his brother Omar taught in schools in Lawrence County and his sister Fern was a teacher at Sumner High School.

While a student in 1924, Virgil Henry of Sumner was awarded the prize in the home lighting contest conducted by the Central Illinois Public Service Company. The prize was a radio outfit with a loudspeaker. Each contestant was required to write an essay of not more than 600 words telling what changes he would make in the lighting of his own home if he wanted to have it lit properly. The contest was open to all children 10 years old and over who were enrolled in a public school.

After graduating from Sumner Township High School in 1926, he started his teaching career in the rural schools of Lawrence County. For two years he taught at Fyffe School encouraging his students to enter the county spelling bee by offering $5 to the winner.  If 200 words were spelled correctly, he would give that student $1.00 and if 500 were spelled correctly, the student would receive $2.00. The next three years he taught at Pleasant View. 

Virgil Henry of Sumner and Miss Ruby Worrell of Red Lick Mississippi were united in marriage on Easter morning in April 1931 at 8:00 am in Carbondale. The bride's gown was a powder blue silk crepe made simply with a long flounce skirt contrasted with a cream-colored embroidered yolk. She carried Easter lilies. Her attendants wore corsages of sweet peas.

The bride and groom left immediately for Sumner where the wedding dinner was served at the home of the groom's parents Mr. and Mrs. E C Henry. The bride was a graduate of Hines Junior College of Raymond Mississippi and attended Southern Illinois Teachers College (SITC). The groom had completed two years of college at SITC at Carbondale.

Virgil was a particular favorite of E C Cunningham, the County Superintendent, and was frequently mentioned in Cunningham’s school newspaper column.  Virgil returned frequently to speak at the County Teacher’s Institute presented by Cunningham.

In 1932 just before graduating with a Bachelor of Education degree at Southern Illinois State Teachers College with high honors, Virgil Henry became the winner of a prize of $200 for an essay of 10,000 words on the subject, “National Prohibition: What its Moral Effect Has Been, and What Can Be Done to Make it More Effective.” Students from many different schools and colleges were among the contestants. Being newly married, and college students during the Depression, this cash prize must have been particularly well received by young married couple.

He returned to teach at Sumner High School but resigned his position in 1934 to teach at Jerseyville High School for next year. He continued his education by attending summer school at University of Illinois.

By 1936, Virgil was the principal of the Seymour Public School in Seymour Illinois.  The summer term of 1937 he attended Columbia University in New York City where he was took a course in public speaking and human relations under Dale Carnegie, author of the book, How to win Friends and Influence People, an instant best seller in a population hungry for self-improvement.

By 1938 Virgil Henry was the City Superintendent of Schools at Indianola, but in 1942, he left his duties as a teacher and entered World War II. Two years into the war he was a Sergeant stationed at Aberdeen Maryland.  At the close of World War II, he was assigned to the overseas unit of the United Nations Relief Agency. In June 1948, Virgil received his Doctor of Education degree from Teachers College Columbia University.

Virgil Henry, 68, died in Indianapolis Indiana on Saturday March 19th, 1977. His home was in Greenwood Indiana. He was survived by his widow Ruby Worrell Henry; one brother, Omar Henry of Silver Springs Maryland; and two sisters, Fern Henry of Sumner and Mrs. Hazel Lathrop of Onarga Illinois. Burial was in the Sumner Cemetery.