History
A.O. Mathias, Success at a Young Age
At age 16, A. O. Mathias attended Miami University. (In those days if you passed a test in the 8th grade you could go to college and skip high school). He passed the test. Due to illness after two years he had to drop out and go back home where he started teaching in a one room schoolhouse at the age of 18.
He then became principal of Wayne Township High School in Adams County. From there he went on to become Superintendent of West Union schools in Adams County. In the fall of 1914, he went back to Ohio University to get his degree. He graduated Cum Laude.
Mathias moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and taught at Woodward high school downtown.
When Withrow high school opened its doors, he went there to teach. He was a math instructor and was head of the lunchroom for years. In 1946 he became Assistant Principal and then in 1948 Principal of Withrow. At that time Withrow was the largest high school in the state of Ohio. Withrow was home to three to four thousand students with only 126 teachers. His largest graduating class was over 700 due to Veterans returning to class at the end of WWII.
Mathias retired in 1956 after thirty-seven years at Withrow. Mathias was very proud of and loved Withrow High School.
Ohio University Honors A. O. Mathias, Alumnus
Ohio University conferred its high honor, a 1969 Certificate of Merit, upon A. 0. Mathias on Alumni Day, June 7. The presentation was made during a luncheon beginning at noon at the Baker Center Ballroom on the main campus at Athens. Alumni Day is part of week-end commencement activity.
The award to Mr. Mathias, according to William K. Loftus, Executive Director of Alumni Affairs, is based upon “outstanding leadership in the field of education through a devotion to the schools he has served and for dedicated efforts toward the welfare of educators on state and national levels.”
When the Hamilton County Chapter conferred its own Citation for Distinguished Service upon Mr. Mathias, April 28, 1966, it recognized his leadership as President of ORTA from 1956 through 1964; his constant helpfulness to Hamilton County as Southwestern Director; his success in liaison for ORTA with Blue Cross and Blue Shield; his cooperation with NRTA as Area Five Director; his appointment to the NRTA/ AARP Legislative Committee. It set forth other achievements: Work is the early 1920’s for teacher welfare even before the establishment of the State Teachers Retirement System; seventeen years on the Executive Committee of OEA and one year as its President; three years on the Legislative Commission of NEA. It paid tribute, to his organization for teachers of the first Group Health and Accident Policy in the U.S.A.