LUCIA WALLACE

Lucia Wallace School - February 2016

When you hear the name “Lucia Wallace,” what (or who) do you think of?  For me that name instantly calls to mind a school building owned by the Algona Community Schools located at 729 East Kennedy Street.  Built several years before I was born, it has always been the definition of Lucia Wallace to me.  I recently drove by the school and started wondering who the real Lucia Wallace was.  I knew there must be more to the story of the woman who had a school named after her.  Perhaps you have wondered too. 

WHO WAS LUCIA WALLACE?

Born just two years after the end of the Civil War on a farm near Algona, Lucia was the daughter of John and Nancy (Reed) Wallace.  One of five daughters, she also had a brother, Donald.  Her father was a veteran of the war, having served in Company A of the 1^st Wisconsin Cavalry.  Lucia was educated locally and was a member of the second graduating class of Algona High School in 1885.  The young lady then went on to higher education.  Although she attended classes at both the University of Minnesota and Columbia University, Lucia never received a college degree.

That did not stop her from achieving her goal of becoming a teacher.  She began teaching in 1890 in Bancroft and after several years transferred to Parker, South Dakota.  Lucia came back to Algona in 1907 and began teaching at Bryant where she would remain teaching primary grades until her retirement 32 years later.

At the time of her return she found a room at the home of the Bert Palmers where she would remain for some years.  Eventually the teacher purchased a stucco house right on the edge of the Bryant property.  Lucia belonged to many local organizations and was very active in the community.  Her home would become one of her greatest joys as she frequently entertained and welcomed friends and acquaintances there. 

One of the founders of the Candlelight Bridge Club, she often hosted the meetings at her home, serving dinner to the members.  Sometimes the club members would start with dinner at one of the downtown restaurants such as the Algona Hotel and then retire to one of their homes for a lively game of bridge.

Lucia was also active in P.E.O., Bel Canto, and the Congregational Church.  An enthusiastic supporter of organizations she belonged to, she often headed or helped with various fundraising activities.  In November of 1922 the Women’s Library Aid Society held a large white elephant sale which was followed by a dinner and program.  As part of the performance, Dr. Rist and Lucia sang several vocal selections including the Star Spangled Banner. 

She was a well–loved teacher and even spent time with young people outside of school hours.  In the summer of 1920 Miss Lucia Wallace was a guest at several different camps—one for the Allwoo Campfire Girls and one for the Iwaloga Campfire Girls.  Years later those now grown women stayed in touch with her and would often visit at her home.  In fact, she was still in contact with many of her students long after she had retired.

Lucia loved to travel.  In 1912 she took a boat trip down the Mississippi from St. Paul to St. Louis and then to New Orleans.  From there she traveled to Bay Minette, Alabama, to visit her parents.  When she retired in May of 1932, she rented out her home for a year to E.C. and Frances McMahon who were newlyweds.  She spent that entire year traveling.  First she went to visit a sister who lived in Wisconsin.  She then traveled to spend the winter with a sister in Florida.  En route she took in the Chicago World’s Fair which she found to be “interesting and educational.”  Many local fraternal organizations featured Lucia as a speaker telling of her travels.

During the second World War, Lucia found new purpose as the county chairman of the Committee of School Stamp and Bond Sales – sometimes known as the “Schools at War” program.  The committee worked with the local schools to raise funds to purchase stamps and bonds to support the war effort.  This united two of her loves—raising funds for a good cause and allowing her to interact with students once again.

Lucia Wallace pictured in her home (Photo from Ancestry.com)

After many years, Lucia sold her beloved house to the Algona Community School District so that the Bryant property could be enlarged.  The school district allowed her to continue living in the house rent free until her death.

Dedication program

Perhaps the greatest accolade she received during her lifetime, though, was the naming of a school building in her honor.  Built at a cost of $266,300, it was the first public elementary building to be constructed in Algona since 1898.  Classes began in September of 1952, but the formal dedication did not occur until December 9^th of that year.  Lucia was of course the honored guest and she spoke briefly of her teaching career and the honor bestowed upon her.  She did mention to her friends as they were leaving that night that she was very tired.  Just a few days later, right before Christmas, she suffered a stroke which would take her life on January 8, 1953, at the age of 85.

CHRISCHILLES TRIBUTE

In a stirring tribute following her death which was published in the January 13, 1953 edition of the Kossuth County Advance, T.H. Chrischilles wrote the following:

        “Lucia Wallace possessed to a remarkable degree a quality which, for lack of a better phrase, we may call the “Zest for Living.”  Her interests, up until almost the very hour she passed away, were as varied as to include membership in the Bel Canto, League of Women Voters, and interests in everything musical and cultural in the community.  Hers was a lively, stimulating world, and no subject, political to religious, civic to cultural, escaped her attention.

        When her eyes failed she maintained her mental sprightliness by listening to worthwhile programs on the radio and by constant communication with neighbors and friends.  Her home was a convenient meeting place for friends and intimates, whose views and opinions kept her constantly in touch with affairs local, national, and international.  She was spoken of most often by those close to her (which included a wide circle of intimates) as “Auntie Lou,” and she had that faculty of drawing to her fireside friends of various views, opinions, and creeds, thus continually broadening her outlook on life and maintaining fresh and stimulating impressions.

        Her long and devoted service in the Algona public school system is a debt this community can never repay, nor can her contribution to the cultural growth of Algona be estimated.

        She taxed mental and physical powers to the utmost, especially during the last year, but her “Zest for Living” never lagged, and her continued attendance on school functions—be they concerts, class plays, or hot lunches—was astounding, considering the endurance handicaps they involved.  One of her last public appearances was on the occasion of a garage opening, which she insisted on attending despite the fact that it taxed her frail strength.

        It almost seems, as we look back, that she lived this past year by some superhuman effort in order to participate personally in her greatest triumph—the opening of Algona’s newest and most beautiful grade school named in her honor.  The Lucia Wallace School.

        But hers was a world of the spirit and the mind much more than the material.  Kind and sympathetic, cheerful and always optimistic, stimulating and refreshing to visit with, a gracious hostess, a loyal friend, and a truly remarkable woman, Lucia Wallace left her imprint on this community which even the passing of the years will fail to obliterate.  She is truly an Immortal.”

I will no longer think of “just” a building when I hear the name Lucia Wallace.  I hope you won’t either.

Until next time,

KC History Buff

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