Ardelle Mary Tozier
Birth: Jan. 2, 1862 Easton, Aroostook County, Maine, USA
Death: Jan. 5, 1943 South Gardiner, Kennebec County, Maine, USA
Early history
Known as Mary Tozier during her girlhood, she was one of 12 children growing up on a farm in rural Aroostook County, Maine. Her father, Anthony R. Tozier, was a Canadian, whose family emigrated to Aroostook in the 1840s. Shortly before the Civil War he moved to the area later incorporated as Easton. From there he enlisted in the Union Army at the outbreak of the conflict. His obituary described him as "a wide reader and deep thinker on the civic issues of his times." [i] Her mother was Hulda Bolster, who resided on a pioneer farm in Easton at the time of her marriage.
The teacher
At the age of 18 Tozier was working as a teacher, as there were no rigid requirements at the time. The State Normal School at Farmington had opened in 1864, and it was there-- as Ardelle Tozier--she obtained most of her training. Prior to that, however, she attended the Hebron Academy and the Edward Little High School at Auburn. [ii] She was evidently quite successful--working as a special teacher before her graduation and appointed as an assistant at Farmington when she completed the 2-year program in 1887. She knew the principal of the school, George Purington, as he acknowledged her work in his comprehensive History of the State Normal School, which documented all of the Farmington graduates, in addition to the institution itself. [iii]
By the mid-1890s Ardelle Tozier had returned home to work as a teacher in a "village school." In 1896 she was elected Superintendent of the Presque Isle schools. “It would be difficult to secure a person better qualified by experience and familiarity in school-work for this responsible position,” reported the Star-Herald.[iv] When a vacancy appeared on the school board, she was elected. Motivated and ambitious, she next accepted a position as superintendent of schools in Oldtown, Maine.
Aroostook State Normal School
Public agitation for a new teaching Academy culminated in the founding of the Aroostook State Normal School. It opened in 1903 with Irving O. Bragg as principal, and two teachers who were called "assistants": Alonzo J. Knowlton and Ardelle Tozier. Tozier was hired to teach rhetoric, grammar, English literature, and reading. Her starting salary was $500, increased to $625 two years later. Mr. Knowlton was paid $800.
In spring 1914 Ardell Tozier was appointed acting head of the Madawaska Training School at Fort Kent, when its director became ill. She returned to Presque Isle, and three years later the newspaper reported that she spent part of her summer taking English courses at Harvard University.
In the early 1920s science teacher Ida Folsom renounced her library duties. Ardelle Tozier accepted the addition to her teaching and was soon president of the Northern Maine Library Association. [v] When she retired from ASNS in 1935, the campus library was named for her and the very first graduating class (1905) presented a brass plaque with the new name of the library. The local newspaper noted "it was instrumental in having the library at a A.S.N.S. named for one of its most beloved instructors, Miss Ardelle M. Tozier.[vi]
Professional and Community organizations
Ardelle Tozier was an active member of various community and professional organizations. She was long active in the Presque Isle Congregational Church. She joined the Pierian Club, a national organization devoted to the promotion of women's intellectual culture. Presque Isle established a chapter in 1900, which grew to 63 members by 1913. Ardelle Tozier was frequently noted as a speaker or officer. She was active in the Maine Federation of Women's Clubs.
Her professional involvement included the Maine Pedagogical Association, the Aroostook County Teachers Association, and the National Educational Association.
Retirement
In spring of 1935 Ardelle Tozier and her longtime colleague Ida Folsom retired from the Aroostook State Normal School. An elaborate banquet was held at a downtown hotel, and Miss Tozier was presented with bronze bookends signifying her colleagues’ "esteem and goodwill."[vii] Mrs. Preble chaired the event and commented, “You may leave Aroostook State Normal, but you will not be forgotten.”[viii]
In her late 70s, Ardelle Tozier decided to move down state at the invitation of her sister Myrtie Tozier Wilder. Tozier passed away on January 5, 1943 and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in South Gardiner.
Her colleague, Principal San Lorenzo Merriman, with whom she worked for 25 years, retired in 1940. Two more presidents followed. The second of these supervised the construction of a fine new library building, which, sadly, was no longer named “The Ardelle M. Tozier Library.” [ix]
[i] Obituary, Star-Herald, 24 September 1914.
[ii] Purington, George C. 1889. History of the State Normal School, Farmington, Maine: With Sketches of the Teachers and Graduates. Press of Knowlton, McLeary & Company.
[iii] Purington, George C. 1889. History of the State Normal School, Farmington, Maine.
[iv] Star-Herald, July 23, 1896
[v] Presque Isle Star-Herald, October 8, 1925
[vi] Presque Isle Star-Herald, September 12, 1935
[vii] Presque Isle Star-Herald, June 6, 1935.
[viii] Presque Isle Star-Herald, June 13, 1935
[ix] A Brief History of the University of Maine at Presque Isle 1903-Present. 2002. Presque Isle, ME: University of Maine at Presque Isle.
