A. Leslie Smith

A. Leslie Smith was the chemistry instructor at the then Brainerd Junior College from 1946-1959. In 1958, he suffered a broken neck in a car accident and was a quadriplegic until his death in October 1969.

He was born in Willis, Texas in 1906. He graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX later earning a Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota. He married Imogene Sutton in 1931. His daughter Dorace Jeanne (Goodwin) was born in 1932. After teaching at several West Texas schools, he became Vocational Principal at the Texas School for the Deaf. He was deaf in one ear because of an oil field accident one summer and wore a hearing aid in that ear. After Pearl Harbor, he was unable to volunteer for service, so he became a civilian government employee stationed in Sioux Falls, SD. Here he was the Coordinator of Instruction for the Radio Communications School at the Airbase. In 1946, he purchased Portage Camp Resort in Backus, MN. He continued managing the resort until selling it in 1964.

He began teaching at Brainerd Junior College the fall of 1946. During his years there, he also coached football. He was instrumental in helping many of his students continue their education. In his last year of life, he and President John Chalberg talked about “Smitty’s” desire to establish a scholarship upon his death. The Brainerd Community College Foundation was just beginning and thus his wish was granted in 1970, becoming the first scholarship.