“Tripping the light fantastic” for a Teacher

It’s time for the September edition of the SJ Historical Society’s History Column…

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With school back in session, we’re thinking of teachers and students from times past, as well. Mark Rosler’s sweet note, pictured here, was found written inside a textbook now preserved in the San Juan Historical Society & Museum’s archives. Mark wrote this to his teacher Miss Ada Mahon in 1899, when he had just turned 18 and his world as an adult was before him.

Mark, born and raised on the island, was a son of Christopher Rosler and Anna Pike. He continued his education on the mainland, becoming a dentist. But what about his teacher? Ada Jane Mahon, born in New Brunswick, Canada, was 24 years old at the time Mark wrote the note to her and apparently was quite a popular teacher at Schoolhouse #1. The island’s newspaper, the San Juan Islander, reported the following in its August 23, 1900 issue, upon Miss Mahon’s move to Seattle to continue her career in education:

“The young people of Argyle gave a farewell dance to Miss Ada Mahon, Tuesday night. Everybody had a pleasant time tripping the light fantastic until an early hour Wednesday morning”.

We don’t have a photograph of Ada, but a large portrait of Mark and other members of the Rosler family grace the parlor of the King Farmhouse. To see them, visit our website for open hours and admission rates.

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