had to be consulted by mail, or the Board appealed to by the lady in distress in an effort to resolve her difficulties. Much was expected of her, yet little authority given her.
DR. HENRY S. METCALF, TRUSTEE, 1896-1913.
Since Miss Gardner was somewhat inexperienced as an executive, unable to speak with authority, and hampered in carrying out her duties, it is no wonder that confidence in the school and faith in its future sank to an all-time low, that patronage fell off alarmingly. How to get the school back on a sound basis and to restore public confidence in its excellence and stability was the paramount problem. So when Ida M. Gardner bowed herself out of a difficult, if not impossible, situation in April, 1897, Dr. Harper recommended his esteemed friend, William Parker McKee, as his choice for a new directing head of the school, to be clothed with authority to function on the ground in his own right, not by remote control from Chicago. Mr. McKee, a successful pastor for many years of Olivet Baptist Church in Minneapolis, had studied Hebrew under Dr. Harper at Morgan Park Theological Seminary and they had once toured Europe together.
One stipulation made with Dr. Harper by Mrs. Shimer had been that the school, although closely connected educationally with the University of Chicago, should be entirely independent and distinct in management. Dr. Harper believed that Mr. McKee was just the man to exercise this independence in management. His opinion carried great weight, the Board agreed, and Mr. McKee was elected and accepted the appointment.
Miss Harriet G. Blaine, a capable faculty member, temporarily assumed the Principal's duties until the close of the school year, continuing to serve as Lady Principal until 1902.
Mr. McKee, given the University title of Dean, assumed his new responsibilities in August, 1897. Coming to Mount Carroll a widower, who had lost his wife some years before, he was accompanied by his mother, Mrs. Hattie Parker McKee, and his little son, Harper, named for Dr. Harper. His mother, a robust, strong-minded woman with clear-cut opinions expressed with forthrightness, was a strong character, resembling one in "David Copperfield," called the "old soldier." She had been a tower of strength to her son from his infancy and had passed on to him many of her strong traits.
When the new Dean took office the outlook was anything but encouraging -- old buildings with run-down equipment, antiquated plumbing -- none in the oldest building and no money to pay current bills. Only a few students showed up in September. After the school went out of the hands of Mrs. Shimer, considered by many a kind of miracle-woman, there were some who looked upon the change from a six-year Seminary curriculum to a four-year preparatory course as a decidedly backward step. With the school finances in a precarious state, Dean McKee was faced with great difficulties and serious problems. But he tackled them with a will. Dr. Harper's confident trust in him buoyed him up. Forthwith, the affairs of the Academy took an upturn;
