12/1/99
Editors:A photo of Bigham can be downloaded at http//:www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/bigham.jpg
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University's College of Education recognized a 101-year-old Lancaster woman today for a sacrifice she made to help the nation during World War I.
Marie Creiglow Bigham was forced to leave Ohio University in the fall of 1919 to teach in a one-room schoolhouse, replacing a male teacher who had been drafted. Bigham had attended classes in Athens for two semesters on money her brother earned while serving in the war. At the time, enrollment was just over 1,000 students and tuition was $18 a semester.
"I hated to leave, but I loved the children, and I knew they needed me," says Bigham, who has lived in the same Lancaster farmhouse for 70 years. "Since then, I've always gone by my Ohio University education. I thought it was a wonderful experience."
After teaching for a year, Bigham married and started a family, never finding a chance to finish her education degree. Today, more than 80 years after she left Ohio University, Bigham was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation at her Lancaster home by College of Education Assistant Dean Bonnie Beach and Coordinator of Public Affairs Michelle Wilson.
Bigham's long-ago sacrifice is admirable, says College of Education Dean James Heap.
"It must have been a very difficult time, and the fact that Marie put the needs of those children before her own exemplifies what a special person she is," Heap says. "We are lucky to have someone of Marie's character associated with the College of Education."
Bigham was surprised to receive the award, which also included a framed copy of her student transcripts. "I can't believe it," she says. "This brings me back to that time. I love to think about these things."
Although her time at Ohio University was brief, Bigham has fond memories of campus. She remembers taking that first train to Athens from her hometown of Amanda and becoming friends with a group of young women she lived with in the two-story house they rented. She also recalls observing teachers in local classrooms, a practice that was part of the education curriculum. "We had to go once a week to the schools and see how a teacher taught," she says. "I learned so much from them."
