Armstrong – Table of Contents

campus provided a hospitable environment for students of both sexes. Dr. Armstrong
remained a lifelong enthusiastic and loyal alumnus of his College. In 1933, the College
bestowed upon him an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
With his attraction to the sciences and with the family precedent of his having a
grandfather who was a respected family physician, it was predictable that Charles
Armstrong might decide on a medical career. While he felt a strong desire to attend
medical school the year after graduation from college, he was in debt and lacked the
funds to start his medical education. Instead, for one year, he accepted a position as
Superintendent of the Greentown Ohio Special School District, employment that
combined administration with the teaching of high school science and mathematics. This
was a profitable experience for him. While he was in this job, he became better
acquainted with the woman, a college classmate, Miss Bess Rich, who taught with him,
and who later became his wife. As Dr. Armstrong described her, she was a congenial and
understanding helpmate. That same year he also accumulated enough money for the
entrance and annual tuition fee for Johns Hopkins University Medical School - $240.