Dodge City Daily Globe, The (KS) - June 23, 2011
Deceased Name: The Scroggins Legacy
The Arthur E. and Cornelia C. Scroggins Foundation was established for the benefit of the Dodge City community. Their will, as read in 1977, began a trust fund to be directed by six trustees. The will called for "the use of funds to support building a mausoleum to memorialize the Scroggins family name, to promote teaching as an honorable profession; and encourage world travel as an invaluable tool for education." The trustees are instructed to distribute the income from the estate for "charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational purposes." The checks written in 2011 to 32 non-profit organizations in southwest Kansas total $138,280 to recipients. The Foundation has also been giving $5,000 annually to the city of Dodge City for the upkeep of the mausoleum. By agreement with the City, the foundation gave title of the mausoleum to Dodge City in 2004. Its value at the time was approximately $1.5 million. When the Scroggins Foundation was chartered by the State of Kansas, the assets totaled $1.5 million. By the close of 2010, not including the mausoleum, the assets had grown to $2 million. During its existence, the foundation has given over $1.5 million to the community. Maple Grove Cemetery's Avenue of Flags is enhanced by the beauty of the mausoleum which provides additional choices for internment. The interior of the mausoleum provides an ideal space for funeral services, an added benefit during inclement weather. The interior stone is red Lavanto marble from Italy. The exterior stone is Marina pearl granite from Norway. The mausoleum was constructed in 1981 by McClesky Mausoleum Corp. of Atlanta, Ga. The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. is made of the same Norwegian granite.
Who was Arthur Scroggins?
Arthur Scroggins was born on a farm seven miles south of Salisbury, Mo., on May 13, 1899. His family moved several times during his youth. He graduated from Warrensburg Missouri High School in 1916. The family lived in Lewis, Kan., briefly before moving to Dodge City. Arthur inherited his conservative discipline standards of behavior from training from his mother. He often credited his character and his achievements to his mother, stating, "The hands that rock the cradle, shape the world." Scroggins also credited another lady, an aunt, who influenced his life. Her husband, a physician, found his nephew, Arthur, a job in a drugstore. Student Arthur worked at the drug store to make money to further his career. He long remembered the aunt telling him he did not have what it took to be a professional, that he should be content to be a laborer like his father. That experience spurred Scroggins to become an advocate for education. In 1919, following two years of college, Scroggins entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. He left after a few months.
A letter to his mother to explain his departure stated, "A military life is not for me." In 1921-22, Arthur was principal of the High School in Center, Mo. The following year, he attended Fort Hays State where he pursued a graduate degree in education. In Dodge City, Arthur taught one year at Lincoln Elementary. At the time, the Dodge City School system administration had a policy that granted a higher salary to married teachers than to single teachers. Scroggins disagreed with this policy, thinking it was unfair. He chose instead to teach at the Santa Fe Railroad's school for worker's children in Mexican Village, called Coronado School. He was the principal of Coronado School when it was closed in 1942. Scroggins' enthusiastic love of learning was transferred to those he taught. He became interested in world travel because it helped him to influence Hispanic education with geography and history. The knowledge he acquired during travel added interest in the classroom. He took hundreds of pictures and made colored slides that he used in his teaching. During 14 summers, he visited 57 countries. Scroggins appropriated Mark Twain's quote, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, racism, and bigotry." Scroggins met Cornelia, the lady who would become his wife, on an around-the-world tour in 1953. He and his wife Cornelia each accumulated savings from their teaching salaries. Their initial investments were in real estate. Cornelia purchased a sizable metropolitan apartment building in California. She also acquired 60-irrigated acres near Tulelake, Calif. Scroggins bought low-cost housing on Dodge City's eastside for rentals. After Pearl Harbor, being subject to the draft and concerned about caring for his property, he converted to farm land. Being a student of human behavior, his next investing was in tobacco and liquor company stocks. Cornelia also purchased a large house for her residence and offered sleeping rooms for students. As soon as the Army Air Base was finished at Dodge City, Scroggins was hired to be a civilian instructor. Cornelia began teaching in a one-room country school and retired from a large metropolitan school district in California. After the war years, they each resumed their pattern of traveling. Following their 1953 meeting during a cruise and subsequent courtship and marriage, they divided their retirement years between California and Dodge City. Their Dodge City apartment was at the Miller home, 905 Avenue A.
Near the end of their lives, Mr. and Mrs. Scroggins often expressed concern about their perceived changes to the character of American society. They were convinced that the cure for our economic and political ills would only be solved by education. That's why they structured their will to leave their estate in a foundation that would benefit the community, with an emphasis on education and support for those organizations that develop humanity. Following his 2002 nomination by the Scroggins Foundation trustees, Arthur Scroggins was inducted into the Kansas Teachers Hall of Fame. Editors Note: Two of the nurses who cared for Arthur Scroggins during his last weeks of life were his former students.
Dodge City Daily Globe, The (KS)
Date: June 23, 2011
Page: A4
Record Number: 438b84659f3dd16b48cbf36b7d271cb5
Copyright 2011, The Dodge City Daily Globe, All Rights Reserved.
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