Philanthropy Through the Generations
“Why do I give to Cortland?” My mother, a strong believer in education always taught me to give back to society. As a single, divorced parent, she went to Cortland State summer school and received her degree and New York State teaching certificate. My love for her and memory of her achievement make Cortland so special to me. If I can help, then that’s a win-win situation--for me and for the students who benefit.
The Crockers moved from Chicago to Cortland in 1913 when family patriarch, Glyndon H. Crocker Sr. established the Crescent Corset Company. As president and general manager, Glyndon was a prominent community leader, philanthropist and agriculturist in Cortland. Meanwhile, Glyndon’s daughter, Myrl Rose Crocker Howe, was destined to become a teacher.
She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. and the Lucy Wheelock School, now known as Wheelock College, in Boston, Mass. Upon completion of her training, she taught at the National Park School in New Jersey and at the Potomac School in Washington, D.C. She was asked to return to New York by McGraw Elementary Principal Leroy Baer. She returned to Cortland to earn her teaching certificate in 1961 and taught elementary school at McGraw until her retirement in 1972.
“Children and teaching children was her forté,” Robert Howe fondly remarked about his mother. My mother’s philosophy was that her first responsibility was to the child, not to the principal or the parent. Children always came first and she had very high standards. She frequently said that “the history of the race goes forth on the feet of little children, ” recalled Robert. Whether she was shopping at the Family Bargain Center to make Dick and Jane dolls for a reading lesson or sending Robert’s stuffed alligator home to give each child a responsibility and return with a story about the toy, Mryl Rose was always looking for teachable moments.
Before her passing, Myrl Rose talked to Robert about establishing a scholarship for students from McGraw. In 1998, Robert created two scholarships for those who wish to become elementary school teachers. The first is for McGraw High School graduates attending Cortland and the second recognizes Myrl Rose’s accomplishments as a working, single parent by extending scholarship opportunities to other divorced or widowed parents.
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