Osman C. Hooper: Columbus poet and journalist

I am sharing a wonderful poem by a great Ohioan, Osman Hooper, along with a short biography.

Osman C. Hooper was born in 1858 in Alexandria, a village in Licking County, near Columbus. He went to Denison and graduated in 1880. Hooper began working for the Columbus Dispatch (originally as a telegraph editor) and stayed there until 1938, having worked his way up to Literary Editor. That's right, he worked for the Dispatch for 58 years, until he was 80 years old.

Hooper also did some work for the Cincinnati Enquirer and taught Journalism at Ohio State. He published History of the City of Columbus, Ohio in 1920. He founded the OSU Journalism Hall of Fame in 1925. In 1932, Hooper became a Professor Emeritus at Ohio State. He published "The History of Ohio Journalism" in 1933. Hooper died in 1941. The Ohio Newspaper Association gives out the Osman C. Hooper Newspaper Award each year to the best weekly newspapers in Ohio.

This poem was published in an anthology in 1911, so the date of composition is unknown. I love it, and not just because it contains the phrase, "sturdy sons" when referring to Ohioans. The imagery is beautiful and Hooper's understanding of Ohio history is evident. The references to the Civil War are interesting, as we can see that Hooper takes pride in Ohio's role in preserving the Union and combating slavery. The great men he speaks of are William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James A. Garfield, among others.

Ohio Beautiful 

by Osman C. Hooper

In beauty Ohio stands cut from the forest,
     Early rough-hewn by the pioneer's blade, 
But chiseled at length to majestic completeness. 
     Glorious home-land in sun or in shade. 

Once clad in the green of the forest primeval, 
     The Indians trod o'er her hills and her vales, 
And sang in the rapturous joy of the morning 
     A song which the breeze taught the westering sails. 

O'er sea and o'er land to thy beautiful river, 
     E'er by the beckoning benison led, 
The home-seekers come, bringing virtue and vigor 
     Meet for the riches thy bounty had spread. 

They felled and they builded, they spun and they planted, 
     And lo! rose a State from the wild-wood austere,
A lake is her crown and her path-way a river, 
     And e'er as she walks she is scattering cheer. 

Her fire-sides have given new strength to the nation — 
     Men for the mightiest problems of peace, 
And war heroes, leading their armies to victory, 
     Giving to bond-men a gracious release. 

An empire within a vast empire of free-men, 
     Ohio stands binding the east and the west, 
Her sturdy sons striving and ever achieving 
     For God and our country the highest and best. 

CHORUS 

Ohio, Ohio! Fair home-land we love thee! 
     Millions of glad voices give thee acclaim ! 
Rich are thy fields and the sky blue above thee ! 
     Ohio, forever enduring thy fame.