Allie Luse Dick (, Luse; June 2, 1859 - June 10, 1933) was an American music educator who identified with various religious, social, philanthropic and educational activities. Among the positions she held, Dick served as director of music at
Hedding College
Hedding College was a college in Abingdon, Illinois, that operated from 1855 to 1927. The school was named after Methodist Bishop Elizah Hedding. Merged with Illinois Wesleyan University in 1930. The campus was used by the Roosevelt Military Academ ...
, 1887-88, and again at
Missouri Wesleyan College
Missouri Wesleyan College was a college in Cameron, Missouri, from 1883 until 1930.
Early life and education
Alviola (
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
s: "Allie", or less often, "Alice") May Luse was born at
Clyde, Ohio
Clyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, located eight miles southeast of Fremont. The population was 6,325 at the time of the 2010 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA.
The town is known for hav ...
, June 2, 1859. Her parents were John Wylie Luse, M. D., and Elizabeth Patterson Luse. She had three younger siblings: Luella Gertrude Luse, Minnie Marion Luse, and Llewellyn Fay Luse.
She graduated from Clyde high school, 1875, before becoming a student at Oberlin College and
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...
(1876-78). In voice, she was a pupil of Emma Diruf Seiler (1821-1887),
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In piano, she studied with William Hall Sherwood. She was also a student in art at
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014.
They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...
,
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
, and the
Worcester Art Museum
The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ranks among th ...
, as well as studying under private teachers. Dick was awarded an M. A. degree from Howard Female College, 1886.
Career
Dick was a teacher of voice at the
Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
History
The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Ge ...
, Macon, Georgia, 1882-85. She served as director of music at
Hedding College
Hedding College was a college in Abingdon, Illinois, that operated from 1855 to 1927. The school was named after Methodist Bishop Elizah Hedding. Merged with Illinois Wesleyan University in 1930. The campus was used by the Roosevelt Military Academ ...
, 1887-88, and at
Missouri Wesleyan College
Missouri Wesleyan College was a college in Cameron, Missouri, from 1883 until 1930.
Dick was a member of the
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
Woman's club,
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
; Worcester Woman's club;
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
Woman's club; vice president, Thursday Musicale, Buchanan Bible Study club; president, Ladies' Shakespeare club; vice president, Lynnhurst Travel club; Republican Women's club; Colonial chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (D. A. R.); vice regent, Minnesota D. A. R.; district president,
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (WFMS of the MEC) was one of three Methodist organizations in the United States focused on women's foreign missionary services, the others being the WFMS of the Free Methodist C ...
; conference president, Woman's Home Missionary society,
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
. She was active in the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and as organizer and director, Blue Cross Young Woman's society for work among orphans in France. Dick was also active in church work leadership.
Personal life
On June 28, 1888, at Clyde, Ohio, she married Rev. Samuel Medary Dick, Methodist Episcopal clergyman.
In religion, she was Methodist. Dick favored
woman suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...