Until relatively recently, instruction in penmanship was an
important part of the curriculum in schools and colleges. At the
Southern Normal School, the Bowling Green Business University
and the Western Kentucky State Normal School (predecessors of
Western Kentucky University), students were trained in the
latest handwriting techniques as they copied out sayings and
aphorisms which inculcated the values of hard work and good
character. Western’s first president, Henry Hardin Cherry, was
an accomplished penman. Niedermeier, Lynn E., "Western's
Heritage of Penmanship" (2007). WKU History. Paper 2.