February 18, 2008
Bob Haefner
Posted for Jim Bowles Class of 1949
From Jim Bowles;
What can I say about Charles Thoss and not sound like I was the teachers pet. - - - Well I guess that was one of his many traits. He made every student feel that he was the teachers pet.
I had two classes with Mr. Thoss, also many conversations with him after school and between classes. He genuinely had an interest in me and in all his students. Not only was he concerned about the math he was teaching, but he was concerned about "ME" and my character development. He would never tell me what I was doing was wrong, but he would very clearly tell me what I should be doing right.
Who will ever forget " There are no short cuts to Big Bend road" There were many other sayings, but the one that I can clearly remember to this day. I was taking a test one day and I did very well on the test and finished early. Instead of keeping my mouth shut like I should have been doing, I was talking to the guy in front of me. Mr Thoss walked down the aisle and snatched up my test. The next day when I received the test back, it had a big "F" as a grade. In red on the paper was written "Character is won by a combination of many acts, but it can be lost by one."
In my opinion, Mr Thoss was the best teacher. I will never forget him.
Jim Bowles Class of 1949 - Wellston High, St. Louis Co., MO
February 18, 2008
Bob Haefner
For Bob Duffy Student
(From Bob Duffy)
" Beyond my parents, Mr. Thoss was truly the most influential person in my life, and I really only knew him from being in two classes. He was kind and wise, but he was "tough as nails" when necessary.
There is never a year goes by (hardly ever a month) that I don't think of Charles Thoss at length, or speak of him to others when a situation arises relating to one of the many lessons learned from him. I honestly feel, and I have often said, that the most important things that I learned in High School were in Algebra and Physics class, but they had absolutely nothing to do with Algebra or Physics. They were the lessons-of-life spoken by him in those classes.
I am sure you have heard the following words:
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool.
Mr. Thoss spent much time attempting to motivate students in this category - the smart alecks who thought they knew it all. He did not ignore them or brush them aside. He spent much time trying to change their destructive path in life.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is ignorant - teach him.
Any teacher can do well with a class full of willing students, eager to learn, but Mr. Thoss excelled at including all students and tried to pull them into the learning experience and into a moral lifestyle, with relevant stories from down on the farm, or an outright stern lecture in many cases. I was a cigarette smoker at the time, so some of his lectures hit very hard and close to home.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise.
This was Charles W. Thoss. Sure, he knew Algebra, and he knew Physics, but more and most importantly, he knew God in his heart and in his everyday life and he was proud to say so. It is really sad to think about the many vital lessons he taught us in "class", that he would never be allowed to speak in a public school today. The children today, and the country tomorrow, will suffer from not being exposed to the moral lessons in school by teachers like Charles Thoss. It seemed like he had a "farm story" for every occasion."
Bob Duffy, Class of 1966 - Wellston High School, St. Louis, MO
February 14, 2008
National Hall of Records
On Behalf of the National Hall of Records we extend our condolences to the Thoss family for their loss.