Colonel Lester Bascom Wikoff (1893–1978) served as the fifth

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: * Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exe ...

Wentworth Military Academy Wentworth Military Academy and College was a private two-year military college and high school in Lexington, Missouri. Wentworth was one of six total military junior colleges in the United States. The institution was founded in 1880 and closed in ...

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropo ...

, from 1960 to 1971. Lester B. Wikoff was born in

West Union, Ohio West Union is a village in Adams County, Ohio, United States, about southeast of Cincinnati. The population was 3,241 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. West Union is served by West Union High School, the Adams Count ...

, on December 9, 1893. From 1911 to 1915, he attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

, where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

, and earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in education. He arrived at Wentworth fresh out of college, teaching

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ing football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

. Over the next 56 years, he would occupy almost every position and play a key role in catapulting the Academy to national prominence. He became

Athletic Director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...

in 1917, and added the duties of Director of Enrollment and Quartermaster in 1928. He served as Business Manager, Secretary and Treasurer from 1935 to 1960, running the school in partnership with Superintendent

James M. Sellers Colonel James McBrayer Sellers (June 20, 1895 – September 3, 1990) was a highly decorated Marine in World War I, and served as commandant, superintendent and president of Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, from 1920 to 1990. Biog ...

. Sellers and Wikoff were co-owners of Wentworth from 1935 to 1951, when Wikoff oversaw the school's re-organization as a non-profit institution. From 1960 to 1971, he served as Superintendent, a period during which the school had unparalleled enrollment, averaging over 600 students a year. It was under his guidance that the Scholastic Building, Chapel, Sandford Sellers Hall, and the Field House were constructed. Beyond Wentworth, Wikoff served as president of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce, as district governor of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

, and as an elder in the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

. He was a district chairman of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth partici ...

, receiving the

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Upon nomination by their local Scout council and with the approval of the National Court of Honor, recipients of this award are registered adu ...

and being named Chieftain of the Mic-O-Say Tribe. He was In 1949-50, he served as president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, in 1960-61, he served as Vice President of the National

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

Centennial Association, and in 1963-64, as president of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States. He also organized one of the first Civil War re-enactments in the United States, when the Wentworth Cadet Corps re-fought the

Battle of the Hemp Bales The siege of Lexington, also known as the First Battle of Lexington or the Battle of the Hemp Bales, was a minor conflict of the American Civil War. The siege took place from September 13 to 20, 1861 between the Union Army and the pro- Confedera ...

before a huge crowd in Lexington in 1955. Wikoff died on January 4, 1978, in Lexington.

References

* The Story of Wentworth, by Raymond W. Settle, 1950, Spencer Printing Co., Kansas City. * History of Wentworth Military Academy, by James M. Sellers, Jr., 1984. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wikoff, Lester B. 1894 births 1978 deaths People from West Union, Ohio Missouri Tigers football players Presidents of Wentworth Military Academy and College 20th-century American academics