Ralph Leslie Mason

My paternal grandfather Ralph Leslie Mason (RLM) was a graduate of Carlton College in Minnesota. By all accounts he was a brilliant scholar. His main field of study was physics and after graduation he went into teaching, but I am not sure at what level. He eventually married “his best student,” Nellie Harriet Sly, and the cap and gown he used at graduation has subsequently been used by following generations — a tradition that I hope will continue.

Ralph Leslie Mason

Ralph Leslie Mason

This signature from a rubber stamp is quite close to my own. We shared the same initials.

This signature from a rubber stamp is quite close to my own. We share the same initials.

My sister, Irene, wearing the cap and gown at her graduation from San Jose State University in 1962

My sister, Irene, wearing the cap and gown at her graduation from San Jose State University in 1962

At age forty RLM took the position of Superintendent of Schools for the town of Ada, Minnesota. Ada is located in the northwest corner of the State, and his first year coincided with the great flu epidemic of 1918.

During the summer of 1919 the family and some friends went for a picnic at a nearby park. While the picnic supper was being prepared RLM took son Donald (my father) into waist deep water for a swimming lesson. Suddenly RLM gasped and sank into the water. He was apparently the victim of a heart attack that was swift and fatal as almost no water was found in his lungs. Dad once told me that his last contact was with his father below him reaching up and trying to push him toward shore.

It is a very sad story and is covered in greater detail in the July 31, 1919 issue of The Aitkin Republican (see  header below — a copy can be provided). Looking back from the perspective of many years, I now see that the legacy of RLM is a very strong emphasis on education among his descendents.

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Saturday, May 1st, 2010 Ralph Leslie Mason

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