1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



27 



continued throughout the year, excepting for about a 

 month in the sunnner. 



As ofien as possible we give them light refresh- 

 ments, consisting usually of coffee and graham bread, 

 of which they are very fond. They say they would 

 rather have it than cake, and it is much easier and 

 cheaper to make. 



WOOD-CARVING AND MANUAL TRAINING FOR GIRLS. 



Two years ago we tried the experiment of having a 

 manual-training class for the girls. As we had tools 

 for only eighteen, the others who wanted "to be" in 

 it wereoblTged to wait until .some one dropped out, 

 but no one seemed to want to drop out. They were 

 given the .same course of instruction as the boys had 

 the year before, geometrical drawing, knife-work, and 

 the use of tools in making small articles. The girls 

 took great interest in this cla.ss, and s jme of them 

 liked it even belter than sewing, which is saying a 

 good deal. 



During the past winter the cla.ss was given instruc- 

 tion in wood-carving, which has been very fascinating 

 to some of them, and they have made some very pretty 

 articles. 



SEWING-SCHOOL. 



The sewing-school is divided into two departments, 

 one for the older children and the other for the chil- 

 dren too young to sew, from seven years old down to six 

 months or younger, for, of course, every little girl 

 must bring the baby. 



The.se little children, of whom there are about 125 

 p eseni each week, are in charge of some young ladies 

 from the Central High School, who have been very 

 faithful in their work of love, and the children are all 

 very fond of their teachers. They have divided their 

 department into two classes, one for the very little 

 ones who are entertained and taught little songs and 

 games, while the others are taken into another room 

 and taught kindergarten sewing. 



In the main room the children are first taught the 

 stitches, and, after they can do them nicely, are given 

 a sliirt and then an apron to make They have done 

 verj' good work. Many of the children have not been 

 absent during the whole year It is very amusing to 

 go to the homes and see some of the little girls making 

 aprons for their mothers or showing them how to do 

 it At one place a little girl brought forward a gar- 

 ment and asked how to gather it and put on a band ; 

 and when she was told she turned to her mother with, 

 "There, I told you that was the way teacher said put 

 it on." The mother said she had to do so much other 

 work she did not knoiv much about sewing 



The women on the streei have said to us many times, 

 that, if there had been any such placr as this for them 

 to have gone when they were little, and they could 

 have been taught as these children are, they would 

 never have gotten where they are now. 



PENNY SAVINGS BANK. 



When the bank was first established, the people 

 were careful not to put in very much money till they 

 had tried drawing some of it out. in order to be sure 

 they could get it. This feeling soon wore off, and 

 they began to increase their deposits. We have now 

 248 depositors. 



Some of the boys, who black shoes and sell papers, 

 have saved as much as twenty dollars each. Often 

 when they get ten or twelve dollars in the bank they 

 have to draw it out to help at home — pay rent, buy 

 coal, etc. Several of the girls who are working have 

 also saved quite a good deal. 



The very little girls and boys have saved quite large 

 sums by depositing just the pennies that they would 

 otherwise have spent for candy and cigarettes. .Some 

 of the youngest of these have bought .shoes with what 

 they saved. 



The rule is that they must give at least one day's no- 

 tice if they wish to withdraw any money. A child 

 sometimes thinks he would like to have a little extra 

 candy, or go to a five-cent show, and starts for the 

 bank ; but when he can not get his pennies till the 

 next day the desire is gone by that time and the money 

 is still in the bank 



The women of the Mother's Meeting are .saving for 

 coal, flour, etc., and during the past year have bought 

 186 barrels of flour and 290 tons of coal with money 

 they have saved in the Penny Savings Bank. 



A FEW INCIDENTS IN THE WORK. 



When we took the hou^e every room in it needed pa- 

 pering and painting, as they were in dreadful co di- 

 tion, but we did not have the monev to do it. A little 

 over a year ago a gentleman gave fifty dollars to help 

 along the work in any way needed, so we thought it 

 could not be used to better "advantage than to clean up 



the house a little. I told the tenants if they would 

 tear off all the old i)aper, clean the windows and 

 paint, and kill all the bugs. I would have the rooms 

 papered and painted for them. It was fun to see them 

 work. When they were througli they came to me, 

 each woman anxious to have me take hers first, and 

 each had .some good reason why hers should be the 

 first to be done. One had a daughter who was to be 

 married, another was to christen the baby, etc I told 

 them I would give them a few days more and then I 

 would take the cleanest place first. Well, the way 

 they cleaned first was no compari.son to the way they 

 cleaned after that. 



After waiting about a week I went around to see the 

 rooms, and as soon as I started I had a crowd after me 

 to hear what I would .say. Every room was cleaned 

 up in good shape, and I praised them all about alike, 

 and when I got through I turned to one woman and 

 said, " Which place do you think is the cleanest?" 

 vShe shrugged her shoulders and said she did not 

 know. I tried several, but none could tell. Probably 

 each one wanted to say her own, but could not do that 

 very well. 



" Well, you can not tell and I can not tell," .said I, 

 "so we will begin at the top and come right down 

 through and take you all in turn, and will have it all 

 done quickly." This was satisfactory, so we went to 

 work The fifty dollars cleaned the two top floors, on 

 which there are twenty two families. The rest of the 

 money came from other sources. I he house has never 

 been so dirty since, and one more cleaning will put it 

 in very good shape. 



One small kerosene-lamp in each large hall did not 

 furnish a very brilliant light. In fact, a straiger 

 would not have cared to try to find any one in the eve- 

 ning. We thought that, ifthe halls were lighter, they 

 could be kept cleaner. On making inquiry we found 

 that electric lights would be cheaper than gas, 

 although the cost of either would be about forty dol- 

 lars, and the question was, how could that much be 

 spared from the work? 



A lady in Medina, Ohio, knowing that we wished to 

 do this, said that she would give five dollars, and that 

 her father said that, when it was all provided except 

 the last five dollars, he would give that. A gentleman 

 here in the city said he would give the next to the last 

 five dollars. One and another gave a dollar till we 

 finally had the money in hand, and the whole place 

 was soon brightly lighted with electricity. When the 

 men were putting in the lights several of the women 

 were frightened, and wanted us to take them right 

 out ; but in a day or tw ) after the lights were turned 

 on, they came again and wanted us to put them in 

 their rooms. It has had the desired effect, to make 

 them keep the places clean. A light in a dark place 

 has a wonderful effect. 



A great many people say that one thing that keeps 

 people poor is that they do not know how to manage. 



While we will admit that this is the case a great 

 many times, still there are exceptions, and here is one 

 of them. One of the women at one of the sales bought 

 an old. ragged, rusty coat and a toboggan cap. A few 

 days after she came in to see about getting work, and 

 brought her little boy and girl with her. The little 

 boy had on a coat made from the old coat, which had 

 been washed and pre.ssed and turned, and a little 

 sweater, wliich she had made from the toboggan by 

 cutting off the top and binding it, andcuttingout some 

 arm-holes and binding them. To be sure, it had no 

 sleeves, but with his little coat on it looked very well. 

 The little girl had on the top of the old toboggan for a 

 cap 



This shows only one of the many ways that the wo- 

 men u.se the things which they get in the .sales Noth- 

 ing ever goes to waste. They are very proud to come 

 and show us what they have made out of some old 

 tlii ;g that it did not seem possible could be of any use. 

 We have been able to have these sales, during the last 

 year, about once a month. 



In the spring and fall we have a hat sale, and our 

 friends send us their old hats and trimmings, and then 

 all who can come and help trim do so. and we sell the 

 hats at from one cent to twenty five cents each. .Sev- 

 eral of the milliners have sent trimmings and hats, 

 and some of them have also given their services to 

 help trim for the sales 



As the receipts from the Mothers' Meeting are only 

 four-fifths the actual cost of the material, these sales 

 make up the deficit. 



In closing-, permit me to state that Miss 

 Reming:ton has undertaken to ptirchase out- 

 right the great building she occtipies. It 

 was fitted originally for a hotel. Before 



