The Nation: Harvard Harvest

Perhaps the popular myth of virtue triumphing over adversity persists be cause it is true. Angus Mack Gaither, 18, of Thompsonville, Ill., lost his father in 1968. Angus, his mother and his elder brother Jewell took over the management of the family's 400-acre farm. In 1971 Angus' brother had a stroke, leaving him a semi-invalid, and the burden of running the farm fell to Angus and his mother. Angus rose at 5:00 a.m. to do his chores, and some times worked in the fields—raising soy beans, corn, cattle and hogs—until midnight. During the day, he maintained an almost-straight-A average at the...