USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1893-1895 > Part 41
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Emerson street ( near depot),
425 00
Emerson street, East,
35 00
Emerson street, drain,
331 63
Essex street,
750 00
Foster street, East,
285 00
Foster street,
40 00
Franklin street,
25 00
Frances street,
85 00
General repairs,
2,407 49
Grove street,
243 75
Linwood avenue,
125 00
Lynde, Lebanon, and Grove streets (corner), 185 00
Main street, 510 50
Main street (macadamizing south end),
3,158 81
Amount carried forward,
$10,955 68
155
STREET SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
Amount brought forward,
$10,955 68
Myrtle street,
225 00
Melrose street,
110 00
Mystic avenue,
125 00
Pleasant street,
512 OI
Porter street,
120 00
School street,
112 00
Snow,
605 20
Sewall street,
180 00
Sewer,
26 13
Sylvan street,
84 38
Third street,
40 00
Tremont street,
150 00
Upham street,
21 25
Vine street,
50 00
Walton park,
50 00
Woodland avenue and Clifton park,
175 00
Whittier street,
40 00
Winter street,
135 00
Wyoming avenue,
75 00
Total amount of pay-rolls, $13,791 65
Macadamizing Main Street.
Labor, as per pay-roll,
$3,158 81
Bills paid for coal, oil, tools, etc.,
305 00
Superintendence,
166 66
Broken stone from breaker,
1,320 00
$4,950 47
REPORT
1
OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH
OF THE
TOWN OF MELROSE, MASS.,
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1895.
MELROSE : DUNTON & POTTER, PRINTERS, REPORTER OFFICE. 1896.
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH.
The board of health submits herewith its sixth annual report. At the first meeting of the year Dr. Sanborn was chosen chairman, and Dr. Warren, secretary. The member- ship of the board was changed early in the year. Frank L. Washburn, Esq., having resigned, May 7, the joint conven- tion of the board of selectmen and the board of health elected, June 14, Joseph W. Spaulding, Esq., to fill the unex- pired term.
In presenting this report, the board is pleased that it can offer so favorable a statement of the sanitary condition of our town. The number of cases of contagious disease during the past year have been much less than either of the two years immediately preceding, and are almost exactly those of the year 1892, when our population was about two thousand less than now, and the mortality of the town (26 less than in 1894) sustains precisely the same comparison. This is a subject for congratulation, and confirms our position among the very first of the most healthful towns of the state.
The service of the collection of swill and garbage has recently been changed, the contract of Mr. Thomas R. Hig- gins having expired with the past year. In response to a call for bids, a contract was made for two years with Mr. Levi Elms, whose service began on the Ist of January. The new contract requires collection oftener than heretofore, namely : Twice a week during nine months of the year, three times a week during July, August and September, and every day from about forty-five stores, boarding houses and hotels.
160
HEALTH REPORT.
The past year has brought the usual burden of nuisances to be obviated, overflowing cesspools, neglected drains, un- trapped fixtures, and other such results of shiftlessness and parsimony. The board of health, like lawyers, clergymen, and physicians, is kept active by the (sanitary) sins of the community. Our requirements to correct these nuisances have usually been promptly met. One person only has been brought to court and fined for offense, and he for not only emptying his cesspool himself without a permit, but for the gross misdemeanor of pouring the offensive material upon his neighbor's premises. A number of languid responses to our requirements have been wonderfully quickened by the impending resort to legal proceedings.
The year recently closed has been one of unusually ac- tive and responsible labor ; more so than any previous one. The increased range of duties attendant upon the opening of the sewer, and the execution of the law respecting plumbing, have made the field of our duties wider and more continuous.
The new plumbing law requires the chairman of the board of health to be chairman of the board of examiners of plumbers. This is a responsible duty, demanding most faithful and unbiased attention. The three members of the board of examiners have performed the task with a serious sense of its importance. During the year two journeymen have been examined for license as master plumbers, both successfully, and seven workmen have been examined for license as journeymen plumbers, six of whom passed, and one was conditioned on future study and improvement. It has been our constant endeavor to raise the standard of in- telligence in this important industry, to require the appli- cants to not merely know how to do their work, but to clearly understand the reason why for every step they take. The plumbers as a rule have endeavored to live up to the
161
HEALTH REPORT.
regulations, and there have been very few cases calling for discipline by the board.
As it seems some citizens are not yet fully informed of the plain requirements as to the connection of the house plumbing with the sewer, it is thought best to give here a brief summary of what needs to be done. In every case of proposed connection of the house plumbing with the sewer, a registered plumber must be employed. This rule does not admit of any exception. Before the plumber begins his work he obtains a permit from the board of health. He then takes care that the soil pipe shall extend, if not so done before, undiminished in size, up through the roof and two feet above, or more than that, in such cases as the board may direct. He sees that the ten-foot iron soil pipe re- quired to be placed through the cellar wall shall be connect- ed with the house drain with a Y, the connection being made with a branch, and a brass clean-out placed in the end of the Y. The house drain shall have a running trap placed be- yond all house connections and have a brass clean-out. This running trap may be omitted by permission of the board. Then these connections with the sewer must in every case be inspected and the plumber shall, in the presence of the inspector, apply the water test up to the lowest fix- ture. Every part of the plumbing of each building must be connected with the sewer, and this done, all cesspools must be abolished by emptying and filling with clean material, as fresh earth or ashes. No new cesspools can be constructed to serve any building on a street through which the sewer has been completed. These precautions render the plumb- ing of a house presumably safe. They are necessary for the protection of the family, and if the law does anything at all it can hardly furnish any less efficient safeguard for the san- itary condition of our dwellings.
II
162
HEALTH REPORT.
A concise summary of the labors of the inspector of plumbing during the past year is as follows:
Number of permits granted to do plumbing, 492
" permits for sewer connection, . 166 .
" visits made by inspector,
. 833
66 " water tests made,
. 424
66 " sewer connections tested, . 129
There is still need that families be compelled to exercise more caution in isolating cases of contagious diseases. While we think we have succeeded measurably in establish- ing a social quarantine in these cases, restraining free com- munication between affected families and the community, yet complaints have been brought to us of some offences seemingly worse than careless. The community must be protected. To this end, if appeals are of no avail, the board may be driven to the decision that those who wilfully violate so salutary a law must be made to suffer the legal penalty they invoke.
The fumigation of infected premises has, during the past year, been taken in hand by the board, and placed in the charge of Dr. Warren, who has given it his personal atten- tion.
163
HEALTH REPORT.
The usual tables of contagious diseases and of mortality are annexed.
Report of Contagious Diseases during the Year 1895.
Scar. Fever.
Diph.
Measles.
Typhoid. Total.
January
2
4
I
I
8
February
5
4
O
I IO
March
4
7
2
I
14
April
2
3
I
O
6
May
4
6
0
0
IO
June
3
5
0
O
8
July .
O
I
2
O
3
August.
4
0
5
I
IO
September
2
O
0
·
5 7
October.
3
2
O
O
5
November
3
2
O
8
13
December
I
7
O
I
9
Total
33
4I
II
18
IO3
Report of monthly mortality for the year 1895 :
January,
7
August,
I8
February,
24
September,
12
March,
IO
October,
April, .
November, .
9
May,
IO
December, .
8
June,
15
July,
12
Total,
164
-
-
15
24
164
HEALTH REPORT.
The mortality report for year 1895 is as follows :
Consumption,
I3
Erysipelas, .
I
Pneumonia,
7
Cerebral hemorrhage,
I
Stillborn,
12
Neurasthenia, ·
I
Apoplexy, .
7
Hydrocephalus, .
I
Heart disease,
14
Gangrene, .
I
Paralysis,
7
Pericarditis,
I
Bright's disease, .
6
Abscess of neck,
I
Natural causes, .
2
Intestinal obstruction,
I
Diphtheria,
6
Umbilical hernia,
I 2 I
Typhoid fever,
4
Disease of stomach, .
Diabetes,
I Tubercular meningitis,
I 2 3
La Grippe, .
I
Acute tuberculosis,
I
Pyæmia,
2 Rheumatism,
I
Weakness and exposure,
I
Puerperal peritonitis,
I
Cardiac thrombus,
I
Convulsions,
I
Hernia,
I Senile dementia,
I
Sciatica,
I
General debility,
I
Asthma,
Cholera morbus,
I
Exhaustion,
2
Cholera infantum,
5
Paresis,
2
Chronic meningitis,
I
Old age,
5
Scarlet fever,
2
Hemorrhage of bowels, I
Peritonitis,
I
Fracture of skull, ·
I Anemia,
I
Tumor of bowels,
I Dysentery, .
I
Pulmonary hemorrhage,
I Rheumatic endocarditis, Septicœmia,
I
Angina pectoris,
I Open foramen ovale, ..
I
Meningitis,
4
Bronchitis, . ·
I
Marasmus, .
8
Disease of liver, ·
I
Senile gangrene,
I
164
Total,
.
JOHN E. SANBORN, M. D., EPHRAIM L. WARREN, M. D., JOHN W. SPAULDING.
Cancer,
4
Railroad accident,
Burns, .
I Concussion of brain, .
Appendicitis,
I Fracture of hip,
I
I
Premature birth,
3
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
AND THE
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
OF THE
TOWN OF MELROSE,
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1895,
MELROSE : DUNTON & POTTER, PRINTERS, REPORTER OFFICE.
1896.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
JOHN O. NORRIS, Chairman,
Term expires 1896
MRS. GEO. H. DEARBORN, .
66
1896
MRS. JOHN F. VALENTINE, .
1898
MR. WM. D. STEWART,
1898
MRS. WM. H. FLANDERS,
66
1897
DR. JOHN DIKE,
16
1897
Superintendent of Schools and Secretary of Committee,
B. F. ROBINSON.
SUB-COMMITTEES.
On Accounts.
MR. STEWART,
MR. NORRIS, MRS. DEARBORN.
Highlands District. MR. STEWART, MRS. VALENTINE, MRS. FLANDERS.
On High School.
Centre District.
MR. NORRIS,
MR. STEWART,
MRS. DEARBORN,
MRS. FLANDERS,
DR. DIKE,
MRS. VALENTINE.
DR. DIKE, MRS. FLANDERS, MR. STEWART. Wyoming District. MRS. DEARBORN,
DR. DIKE, MR. NORRIS.
Texts Books and Course of Study.
Mr. NORRIS,
DR. DIKE, MRS. VALENTINE.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the School Committee :
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
The report of the schools for the current year which I herewith submit to you forms the sixth of the series of annual reports of the Superintendent of Schools of this town.
The table of statistics on the last page of this report shows the maximum number enrolled since September, 1895, to be 2,159, the ratio of increase being about the same as for several years past.
In the matter of punctuality I am compelled to say that . our standard is far below what it should be, and this is due, in a great measure, to the carelessness and laxity of a few who persist in absenting themselves when it is not neces- sary, and in being tardy when the exercise of a little fore- thought would prevent it. No pupil can do satisfactory work in school who is habitually absent or tardy and unless some marked improvement is made by a few families, prose- cutions according to law will have to be resorted to. No person can plead ignorance of the law as an excuse, for we published many of the school laws in our last report and the most important ones are inserted again this year.
SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS.
Two years ago there were three unused rooms in the War- ren street school; the old West school was not in use and but one room at the old Green street school was used; there
I68
SCHOOL REPORT.
were two unused rooms at the D. W. Gooch school and there was no call for outside accommodations in that section, where we now have a school in a house on Cottage street; at the Upham Hill school there was also plenty of room, while now we have seventy-five children in one room, with two teachers in charge and other rooms are very much crowded.
All of the rooms in the new school houses are now in use and all of the old, once abandoned houses are full with the exception of one room at the Lynde street school.
The constant presentation of these facts to the citizens of the town, by the committee and superintendent through their annual reports and personal interviews, have aroused them to a realizing sense of the condition of affairs and to the needs of the different sections in the way of additional school accommodations, and at the last town meeting an ar- ticle was inserted in the warrant to see what action the town would take regarding additional school accommodations, and as a result the following vote was passed: "That a committee consisting of the three gentlemen of the school committee and nine others, to be named by the moderator, be appointed to consider what additional school accommo- dations are needed and to report at a subsequent town meet- ing."
In accordance with the vote, the following gentle- men were named by the moderator to serve on that com- mittee : John O. Norris, Dr. John Dike, William D. Stewart, Rufus S. Carpenter, B. Marvin Fernald, Oliver A. Roberts, Charles H. Adams, Charles H. Lang, Jr., Louis E. Lovejoy, F. J. Glynn, Curtis C. Goss and George R. Jones.
This committee has held meetings weekly since its organi- zation, and have, by close investigation, acquired a great amount of information which they will formulate into a re- port and present to the town, at an early date, and I pre-
169
SCHOOL REPORT.
sume it will have been presented and acted upon before this report appears. Without attempting to predict in any way what the report of this committee will be, we can safely say they will find the facts substantially as they have been pre- sented to the town for the last two or three years in the re- port of this department, save that there is now a more press- ing need of additional room to accommodate the lower grade children than ever before, and at the High School the conditions are certainly no better, and never can be, as things are now arranged.
TEACHERS.
Quite a number of changes in our teaching force have been necessary during the year, for various reasons. Two teachers, Miss Mitchell of the Warren Street School and Miss Chadbourne of the Upham Hill School have been married, their places being filled by Miss Lucy E. Shute and Miss Mary A. Young, both teachers of experience.
Miss Esther M. Davies, principal of the Franklin Street School resigned to accept a position in Boston, and Miss Alice J. Coffin of Farmington, Me., was put in her place. During the spring term the second and first grades at Frank- lin street were separated, Miss Bertha M. Lawrence being transferred from Upham Hill and put in charge of the first grade, where she remained until the first of December when she resigned to accept a position in Medford, and Miss Jeannette A. Doane of Athol, was elected to the place. Miss Kate Landon of Norwich, Conn., took Miss Law- rance's place at Upham Hill and is now in charge, with Miss Grace Rhodes as assistant. Miss Isabelle Chapin, who for several years had charge of the first grade at the Centre School, resigned to accept a much more lucrative position as principal of the training school at Beverly and Miss
170
SCHOOL REPORT.
Cecelia Coyle was transferred from Upham Hill to her school, Miss Mary C. Flagg being put in charge of the first grade at Upham Hill.
Miss Mary R. Clarke was transferred from the D. W. Gooch School to the fourth grade at the Centre and made principal of the building, Miss Susan D. Melcher going to the Green street to take charge of the third and fourth grades in the upper room of that building.
To fill Mrs. Clarke's place, Miss Ethel Burke, a young lady from Quincy, Mass., was chosen, and continued her work in a very satisfactory manner until the Thanksgiving vacation, when she went to her home for the holiday week, and her acquaintances were shocked to learn of her death only a day or two after, She was universally liked by all of her pupils and was a young lady of more than ordinary ability .
Miss J. A. Bunker was placed in charge of the school temporarily and remained until the first of February, when Miss Louise G. White, who was elected teacher, took charge.
Mrs. Dermot's room at the D. W. Gooch school was full to overflowing at the beginning of the year, and it was neces- sary to make a division. There being no vacant rooms in the school houses, the committee began a search for one out- side, and after considerable investigation, it was decided that the most available place was the house at 101 Cottage street, owned by A. H. Heath, which was leased, and a room fitted in it to accommodate thirty pupils, and this number were transferred from Mrs. Dermot's room and placed in charge of Caroline L. Hollis of Medford.
Sickness has compelled several teachers to be absent for longer or shorter times, and their places have been filled by substitutes, but with one exception, the regular teachers are now in their schools.
I71
SCHOOL REPORT.
It is a cause of sincere regret that so many of our old teachers have felt compelled to resign for one reason or another, but in filling their places great care has been taken to get well-trained teachers, strong in discipline and up to the times in methods of teaching, and without detracting in the least from the credit due those teachers who have left us, I think the force is being materially strengthened on the whole.
One of the leading educational men in this country, Supt. Balliet of Springfield, sums up the matter of trained teach- ers in these few lines:
"Experience of years has shown very clearly that good schools cannot be created by resolutions of school commit- tees or edicts of superintendents. The character of the school and the merit of its work depend upon the character and ability of the teacher. The school will never be better than the teacher who is placed in charge of it. If they are all trained and fitted for their work the schools will be good; if the schools are in charge of apprentices no amount of lec- turing by the superintendent, and no minuteness of detail in the requirements of the course of study can supply the de- ficiency. All the supervision that can be provided or de- vised will not make a good school where the teacher is in- competent, for the incompetency is always present in the school room, while at best the supervisory influence can be felt only periodically."
The truth of this statement ought to be self-evident, yet we find many of our most intelligent citizens who cling to the belief that anyone can "keep school" if he has had the advantages of a common school education. A broad edu- cation will not make a successful teacher; add to this a pro- fessional training and you may still have very poor material for a successful teacher, but good natural talent, well trained, is what is needed. A successful teacher is one who is able
172
SCHOOL REPORT.
to excite and stimulate his pupils and to draw forth the best there is in them. A person having these qualifications, to- gether with a love for his work, is bound to succeed, and will succeed, in time, with or without training, but the question arises, have the numerous applicants for positions in our schools these qualifications. The parties themselves cannot tell, in fact many of them care but little whether they have or not, providing they can secure and retain positions, and no committee or superintendent can tell until they have demonstrated the fact by actual work.
At a training school the good qualities and faults of each trainer are carefully noted, and if training is needed in any particular line it is given to them, and if, after a sufficient trial, it is found that certain candidates are not adapted to the profession of teaching they are so informed and advised to adopt some other line of work.
It is a disagreeable and often a difficult task for school committees to rid themselves of just this class of teachers if once they are elected, as they often live in town, and their friends and acquaintances stand back of them because they are of good moral character, have received a fair education and are pleasant and agreeable to meet, not knowing whether their actual work in the school room is satisfactory or not. In no other line of business is it considered good judgment to place or retain a person in a position unless he is fitted for the place and does the best kind of work; why, then, should it be done in school work, where the wel- fare of our children is at stake, knowing, as we do, that the teacher's example and influence have much to do with building their characters for good or bad.
It gives me pleasure to testify to the good work done by most of the teachers of this town. As a whole they are a hard working and conscientious body of teachers, and the
173
SCHOOL REPORT.
result of their work is their best recommendation, but there are a few who not having laid the proper foundation, or from lack of natural fitness for the work, find it irksome, and unsatisfactory to themselves, and it cannot be otherwise to those in charge of the schools.
A teacher to be successful must first of all be able to con- trol himself then he can the more successfully control others. He must be able to influence others, both pupils and parents, to believe his ways are right, even though they may not be pleasant ways for the time being, and then prove to them by good results that they are right, He must be willing to work hard and not think that his duties cease when he steps outside the school room door, and per- sons, who, upon self-examination, find that they are lacking in these respects, should, in justice to themselves and to the public whom they serve, seek some other occupation.
NATURE STUDY.
As we stated in our report of last year, Mr. A. C. Boyden of the Bridgewater Normal School has come here every month during the year and planned the work of the differ- ent grades and held teachers' meetings, giving detailed in- structions as to how to carry on the work.
The outline followed has had to be planned, so as to allow the teachers to obtain material to work with as the season would permit. The outline followed is substantially as follows :
Early Fall .- Wild Flowers, Grasses and Grains, Insects and Pet Animals.
Late Fall .- Deciduous Trees and Fruits.
Early Winter .- Forms of Water, Evergreen Trees.
Late Winter .- Building Stones, Metals, Elements of Physics.
I74
SCHOOL REPORT.
Early Spring .- Buds, Growth of Buds and Seeds.
Late Spring .- Wild Flowers, Insects.
It is hoped to have an exhibit in connection with some other school work some time in the early summer of some of the work done in this line.
PHYSICAL TRAINING.
Miss Clara E. Sheppard carried on the work in physical culture through the year up to first of December, when she felt compelled to give up the work on account of poor health, and Miss Helen F. May was chosen to succeed her. Miss Sheppard was remarkably successful in her conduct of the work, being able to so handle teachers and pupils that there was little friction, and they took hold of the work and tried to excel in it because they loved it, and it was with deep regret that the committee accepted her resignation.
Miss May is taking up the work where Miss Sheppard left it and is meeting with good success all along the line. Teachers' meetings for the instruction of the teachers in the work have been held every two or four weeks, as they have been needed. All teachers are expected to attend these meetings and take an active part unless excused, and in this way the teachers get a practical insight into the work, and actual experience and practice show them wherein the pu- pils need special help and instruction. Two days of each week are devoted to the work by Miss May and each school is visited regularly.
The good effects of the work are already noticeable among our children in the schools, as they carry themselves better, assume better positions when standing and walking, and give closer attention when spoken to, so that it can be pronounced a success.
During a part of the year the young ladies of the High
175
SCHOOL REPORT.
School have held their drills in the Town Hall on Mondays and Wednesdays from twelve to one o'clock, and all citizens are cordially invited to attend and observe the work.
Nothing has been done to change the condition of affairs at the Ripley school, the number of pupils who attend school there and the number who attend the Malden schools as tuition scholars being about the same as last year.
The city of Malden has raised its tuition rate from twenty- five to thirty dollars for each pupil.
TRUANCY.
The report of the truant officer which is appended, shows quite a large list of pupils looked up by the officer, but this number represents only a small proportion of the unneces- sary absences against which the teachers have to contend.
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