Show WAY BACK no e e cl WHEN py GENERAL WAS SCHOOL TEACHER one small incident S SOMETIMES hanges changes e a whole lifes trend and leads to prominence beyond all previous dreams we all recall one or two unexpected happenings in our own lives which changed their whole course john J pershing who rose to be general of all the united states army might have had an entirely different life had he not taken advantage of a lucky opportunity he was born in 1860 at laclede mo his father was boss of a railroad gang and later a farmer john quit school when he be was thirteen to work on the farm digging fence holes herding sheep planting corn all the usual jobs that are the lot of a farm boy ambitious to be a lawyer he studied night after night in 1879 he got a job as teacher in prairie mount mo and saved most of the 40 per month he re to study law at kirksville Kirks ville normal school then came the incident which changed his whole life jack pershing saw an advertisement announcing competitive examinations for west point he had only two weeks to prepare but he won the appointment at west point he won prominence as president of his class and as first captain of the corps of ca bets possessing the characteristics of a perfect soldier his assignments after graduation into the army were marked with success while a military instructor at the university of nebraska he resumed his law studies and took his degree since the army conducts its own military courts this gave pershing an opportunity to combine his bus business love with his soldierly success when the world war broke out he was made general of the U S army FAXED FAMED TENOR MIGHT HAVE BEEN A CLERK S SOMETIMES parents despair unnecessarily about their children just because a youngster shows no aptitude tor for the job his parents may choose for him is no indication that failure awaits him I 1 if john mccormack had followed the plans of his father he might have been a catholic priest the famous tenor was born in athlone At blone ireland in 1884 fourth of eleven children his father worked in the woolen mills of the town and the family was very poor john attended the catholic schools and was an excellent student winning a scholarship to college there he studied for the priesthood at an early age john macks voice showed promise and at the age of 0 nine he sang in a school entertainment music was not one of the subjects offered at college and so john had no opportunity to receive training for his voice it did not occur to him at that time that singing would be his profession however he did decide against becoming a priest which must have been a hard blow for his father but the man did not lack understanding and he be encouraged the boy in his desire to become a civil service clerk when john failed it il the entrance examinations at the school where he would receive his training and when given T 1 F a second chance forgot the appointment his bis father must have truly despaired then it began to dawn on john mccormack that singing was his true vocation he had loved to sing all his life he went to dublin and got a job in the marlborough street cathedral choir at a year he began to gain more and more recognition 0 tion sang for recordings ef cf the edison and gramophone Gram aphone companies and eventually became a star of opera today he is known the world over for his golden tenor service |