George Dennis Brantley
Educator-Civic Leader
Assistant Principal 1927-1929
Principal 1929-1968
(1972 Maroon and White)
To reminisce is a rare and beautiful indulgence. In order for me to write about my father, this ability was utilized to its fullest extent. How enjoyable! What fond memories were recalled!
Childhood with my father was a series of “events” or “projects.” There were either at home projects, many of which permit me today to do a reputable job of painting, repairing most electrical appliances, doing simple home electrical repairs and know the basics of automobile mechanics. If not “at home” projects, the “events ran that gamut of jaunts to St. Louis own stock yards, dairies, Santa Claus visits, museums, the zoo, shopping etc. all of which under the tutelage of my parents with Dad being among the most zealous member of the group. Summers were truly filled with events. My father’s greatest joy was to pack the entire family in the automobile and cross the country to the eastern coast or northern most point in the Midwest section of our country. These were pre-Turnpike, pre-Interstate Highway days which enabled us to actually see the natural countryside. If a particular area contained exciting points of interest, my father never hesitated to interrupt the trip to visit. My parents referred to this as “exposure.” When we were not on an American safari, my father spent many delightful hours attempting to catch the “big one.” He was an avid fisherman and indulged in this pastime in all types of waters and in many parts of the country.
We were seldom idle. Pre-television days resulted in much reading for pleasure, much conversation and a simple satisfaction of being together.
Our introduction to the arts via the Art Museum sessions (each Saturday morning for eight years) and student Symphony concerts provided a basis for a profound love of these arts which we shared with our father. At a later age, the Ballet concerts provided another dimension in love for another art form which we loved and which I adore today. To each event, my father served as a patient chauffeur, teacher and director.
School to my father, was as necessary as breathing for existence. Each parent had their favorite subject area in which they enjoyed answering questions and assisting in homework. My father’s academic balliwicks were the sciences and mathematics. It was great sport to attempt to stump him with a problem. This was seldom a successful venture. A study period was one of quite concentration. Radios were turned off and telephone calls postponed or diverted until this very important part of the day was concluded. A love of school and learning was considered a serious and necessary part of my father’s life. There was little tolerance for slipshod attitude or performance in manners pertaining to school. This continues in my own attitudes today.
My father’s regard for community responsibility by an individual was by today’s standard, gargantuan. How one individual, in his lifetime, belonged to, participated in, labored for, and contributed to some thirty plus organizations, was a substantial treatise. How I remember overhearing telephone conversations where he was attempting to right a social wrong, help another, inspire an individual or influence a group. Doing! Working! Creating! Counseling! These additional jobs of working with others always followed his working and helping his family. We were first in his heart and his time and we know it!
Religion was approached with a practicality I hope I have adopted. Quietly fervent-Yes; unreasonable in demands for what religion was supposed to do for one’s salvation-No; a true participant-Yes; a believer-Yes; a demander of miracles-No. I will always remember his booming, resonant baritone voice singing in church, his mini sermons and family directed prayers at Sunday dinner and his eloquent remarks made at Baccalaureate services. Practical religion, practiced implicitly was his mode.
His own, beloved Sumner was his true away from home devotion. There has never been a more sincere, honest or ardent creator of school spirit. Students, faculty, parents and citizens could not help but absorb and exude his love for Sumner High School. To see others develop a love for the institution which was instrumental in their maturation was among his greatest joys. A Sumnerite knew his school’s history, creed and alma mater. This was a natural, expected and normal following after entrance through the portals of 4248 West Cottage Avenue.
My father was an absolute giant. He was a giant in his love for his family, his people, his school and his country. An honest ability to love is rare and precious gift and my father possessed it.
Lucille Brantley Russell
