USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1905 > Part 5
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Each pupil who was able was asked to pay a nominal sum for materials used. This not only caused the children to more highly value their handi- work, but aided materially in meeting expenses.
The entire cost per pupil for the six weeks' term was $1.20.
We feel that the importance and need of such industrial training have been proved ; but it is work which cannot be carried on indefinitely by a band of women. For practical and lasting benefit it should be carried on at public expense and under the direction of the school department.
Yours respectfully, MARY P. HOLDEN, Chairman of Educational Committee
CONCLUSION.
While I am deeply conscious of much that I should like to have seen done during the year for the improvement of our schools that it has not been possible to accomplish, I am re- assured by the feeling that the work in general shows a degree of progress that compares favorably with that of previous years.
In closing, I desire to express my appreciation of the con- tinued confidence and support of the Committee in the dis- charge of my duties as Superintendent. Without such confi- dence and support successful work would hardly have been possible.
Respectfully submitted,
FRED H. NICKERSON, Superintendent of Schools.
April 6, 1906.
.
APPENDIX.
MELROSE HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATING EXERCISES.
CLASS OF 1905.
CITY HALL, EVENING OF JUNE TWENTY-SIXTH AT EIGHT O'CLOCK.
PROGRAM.
INVOCATION,
REV. C. H. STACKPOLE.
"GYPSEY LIFE"
Schumann GLEE CLUB.
ADDRESS, "Non-Academic Education" PROF. WILLIAM WALLACE FENN
"BON VOYAGE"
GLEE CLUB. Rich
AWARD OF PRIZES GIVEN BY THE FRANKLIN FRATERNITY. HIS HONOR, MAYOR SIDNEY H. BUTTRICK.
"CROON, CROON" Rich
GLEE CLUB.
PRESENTATION OF DIPLOMAS,
WILLIAM D. STEWART Chairman of School Board.
"A GONDOLIER'S SONG"
GLEE CLUB. Hoffman
74
SCHOOL REPORT.
CLASS OF 1905. "Vincit Qui Se Vincit "
Ackerman, Florence Elizabeth Adams, Marietta Beatrice Barnes, Marion
Boutwell, Florence Mary
Brown, Flora Elizabeth
Calkins, Charles Rendall Carleton, Guy Franklin
Clark, Egbert Greely
Cleveland, Bert Leroy
Cochrane, Albert Hayward
Copeland, Florence Elizabeth
Cooper, Florence Winifred Lewens
Curry, Florence Davis, Bertha Street
Day, Ethel Nellie
Doherty, Mary Ellsworth
Edwards, Agnes Bachelder
Fernald, Franklin Merrill
Folger, George Arthur
Fonda, Reginald Benedict
Forrest, Louisa
Frederick, Martha
Spinney, Alice May Converse
Furlong, Robert Gould Shaw
Gilbride, Howard Francis
Goodridge, Annie M.
Gower, William Harrison
Grant, John Charles Grundy, Elizabeth Mattie
Verge, Austin Leon Waltz, Myrtie Ada
Harris, Edwin Andrews
Hines, Herbert Waldo
White, Edwin Conrad
Holmes, Mark Staples
White, Frank Clarence
Irving, Olive Willis
Whittredge, Elmer Putnam
Willis, Luther George
Wilson, Charles Elmer, Jr.
CLASS HONORS.
Ester Blanche O'Brien
Annie Mabel Murray
HONOR LIST.
Herbert W. Hines
Johnson, Oscar Ludwig Lawrence, George Leonard, Jr. Libby, Harold Loring, Alfred Robert
Loring, Mary Marguerite Lovejoy, Beatrice Margaret
Merrill, Florence May Merry, Augustus Bradford
Murray, Annie Belle O'Brien, Esther Blanche Ormsby, Winslow Gilbert Pettengill, Russell Arthur Post, Wilfred Witham Provandie, Wadsworth George
Reeder, Violette Lucille
Roake, Claralu Vivien
Sherman, Harold Frederick
Slade, Anne Canedy
Slade, Margaret Learned
Smith, Rufus Winslow, Jr.
Snow, Harry Elliote
Stevens, Helen A. Stone, William Henry
Torrey, Marion Evelyn
Twombly, Raymond Sidney
Van Riper, Mabel Adele
Houghton, Olive Margaret Keen, Harold Leslie
CLASS OF 1905. Alfred R. Loring
75
CITY OF MELROSE.
CLASS OF 1906.
Ruth A. Baker Emily D. Lord
Florence N. Folsom Hazel Holmes Harold G. Jenks Chester E. Kellogg Dora Perkins Helen A. Shapleigh
Marguerite Baker Helen K. Goss Agnes C. Johnson
Ralph W. Chadbourne Esta M. Farwell Kate Linfield
MELROSE WOMAN'S CLUB HONORS.
Violette L. Reeder
Annie M. Goodridge
FRANKLIN FRATERNITY PRIZES.
ENGLISH ( Senior Class ) Wadsworth G. Provandie
ENGLISH ( Junior Class ) Mabel A. Farnum.
ENGLISH ( Third Class ) Stella W. Jones.
ENGLISH ( Fourth Class ) Marguerite Baker.
ADVANCED GEOMETRY. Luther G. Willis.
ADVANCED ALGEBRA Ruth A. Baker.
GEOMETRY ( Third Class ) Dorothy E. Hodgkins
ALGEBRA ( Fourth Class ) Ralph W. Chadbourn Emily C. Gordon
Helen W. Munyan Zelma I. Stone
CLASS OF 1907.
Dorothy E. Hodgkins
Ruth P. Gilder
Mildred Jenks
Marion D, Lewis
Alice Scribner
Louise Sisson
Frances Spaulding
CLASS OF 1908.
76
SCHOOL REPORT.
PUPILS PROMOTED FROM THE NINTH GRADE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL, JUNE, 1905.
Abbott, Alfred Clinton
*Adams, Annie Louise
*Anderton, Herbert
*Ansell, Ruth Barker
*Axford, Maude Locket
*Badger, Louise Goodrich
*Bagley, Ralph E.
Barber, Harold Thomas
*Barnes, Phineas Bartlett, Nelson Andrew
*Beard, Marion L.
*Beckford, Bertha Alfreda
*Beeler, Myrton
*Benson, Frances Haviland Beshong, Gertrude Goss Bishop, George Edward
*Bolton, Arthur William *Boyd, Marion Gordon
*Bradford, John Whitmore
*Brown, Anna TheresÃ
*Brown, Mae Anna
*Buttrick, Sidney Homer, Jr.
*Calkins, Harold
*Cargill, Alice Frances
*Carruthers, John
*Casey, Julia Agnes
*Castle, Mildred
*Chapman, Walter Francis
*Cheissong, Ella Frances Church, Ethel May
*Clare, Lawrence
*Clare, Marion Tourville *Clark, Everett William
*Cleveland, Ralph Almstead
*Clisbee, Avery Howard
*Colman, Beatrice Annie *Copeland, Everett David *Copeland, Gladys *Corse, Madeline May
*Creedon, Gertrude T. *Cronin, Thomas Patrick
*Curry, Ethel Davison, May
*DeCecca, Elizabeth Theresa
*DeMar, Mabel Florence Dickinson, Edith Marguerite
*Dodge, Robert Lewis
*Doherty, Mary Alice
*Drown, Edna Viola
*Duffee, Mary
*Duren, Edith Hamilton
*Dutton, Doris
*Dyer, Annie Henrietta Fahy, John Francis Fallon, Reuben John Faust, Alice
*Fitchett, Ruth L.
*Fletcher, Ruth
*Flett, Pauline Telma
*Ford, Alice Edith
*Foster, Frank Irving
*Frost, Randall Heywood
*Furneaux, Edna Arline
*Gibbons, Arthur
*Gilman, Helen
*Gould, Rose Mills
*Gower, Helen Bartlett
*Hanson, Donald Rea
*Hartford, Cornelia Ann
*Haven, Ethel C.
*Henderson, Margaret *Hill, Charles C.
*Hogan, Phebe Evelyn
*Holden, Ruth Parsons
*Hornby, Lilla May
*Horner, Halsey Boardman
*Howard, Bessie Jeannette
*Howard, Ruby Viola
*Howie, Gordon G.
*Hoyt, Lawrence Brackett Ide, Katherine Maud
*Jenkins, Mary Rose
*Jones, Dettmar Wentworth
*Jones, Edna Sibley
*Johnson, Etta Mabel
*Keeney, Raymond E.
77
CITY OF MELROSE.
*Keiran, Alice Mary Kelliher, Mary Winnifred
*Kelso, Hugh Kilb, Gerald Francis Kilb, Marion Katherine
*King, Leona Nettie
*Kingston, Ralph Waldo
*Kinney, Ralph M.
*Kirk, George Harry Lamb, Albert Edwin
*Lang, Florence Louise
*Lavender, John A.
*Leisk, Hariette Marie
*Lewis, Ida Belle
*Lord, Herbert Alverdo
*Lovell, Doris
*Lutz, Brenton
*Lynde, Harold Alvin
*MacBride, Esther Louise Maxwell, Edith Mae
*McAnanny, James Raymond
*McCarrick, Edwin Lawrence
*McDaniel, James Sewall, Jr.
*McDonald, Chipman
*McGregor, Bertie Phare
*McGuinness, May Lauretta
*McKeil, Bertha
*McKinnon, Flora Louise
*McKinnon, Royal Harland *McLain, Chester Alden Meade, Marguerite Josephine
*Meegan, Agnes T.
*Mitchell, Wm. Howard Moreland, Hazel Kirk
*Murphy, Julia Mary
*Nickerson, Paul Sumner
*Norton, Lucie C. Nye, Grace L. Palin, Bernice
*Palmer, Albert H.
*Paul, Howard Chandler *Pendleton, Marion E.
*Perkins, Tom C.
*Poor, Mildred Ashton
*Prince, Sydney Carlton
*Putnam, Claude Adams
*Quimby, Earl Calno
*Rendall, Mary Louise *Riley, Francis Augustus *Roberts, Ethel Agnes
*Roberts, Raymond M. *Sanford, Ethel Field
*Sansom, Grace Annie *Scanlan, Nellie Monica
*Scott, Laura Amelia Selfridge, Earle M. *Shumway, Carl Elliott *Simpson, Esther Emeline
*Smith, Anna Durkee
*Smith, Gertrude Isabell *Smith, Harold Edward
*Stantial, Ralph Owens Stapleton, Charles Louis *Stillman, Fred Otis *Stone, Reba Madeline *Sullivan, Edith Stowell
*Swan, Florence May *Taylor, Julia Bernardette
*Thurber, Maud R.
*Thurston, Elizabeth
*Towle, Frank Elliott, *Upham, Gertrude *Wardwell, Gardner
*Webber, Lyle Kerr
*Wentworth, Benning Lewis
*Williams, Helen M.
*Winship, Kendall
*Woolford, Mason Hundley
*Young, Oliver Moore
ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL STAFF. December 31, 1905.
Superintendent of Schools, FRED H. NICKERSON, 77 Upham Street. Superintendent's Clerk, ROSETTA M. PENDLETON, 179 Trenton Street.
CORPS OF TEACHERS.
HIGH SCHOOL.
NAME
GRADE
WHERE EDUCATED
WHEN ELECTED
Wm. C. Whiting
Principal
Dartmouth College
1899
Alonzo G. Whitman
Principal Emeritus
Bowdoin College
1874
George A. Hutchins
. Sub-master
Bates College
. 1901
Kenneth Beal
. English Department
Dartmouth College
1902
C. Ross Appler
. Business Department
. Drexel Inst., Philadelphia, Pa.
1905
J. Thacher Sears
. English, Algebra
. Harvard University
1903
Adelma A. Ballou
. Latin
. Dean Academy
. 1887
Harriet C. Fairbanks
. Algebra, Latin
Natick High School
1880
Harriet G. Ricker
French
Lapham Institute
1884
Jennette Moulton
. English, Greek
Wellesley College.
1899
Lillian A. Bolster
. French, German
Partial Course Harvard & Chicago Univs. .
.1904
Sara Fisher. .
. Steongraphy .
Smith College.
. 1900
Clara A. Snell
. English, Mathematics . Bates College
1904
Christine D. Ross
. Modern Language Dept. . Partial Course, Elgin Academy, Scotland .. 1904
Mary J. Bourne
. History Department
. Vassar College and Brown College . 1905
Mary W. Kingsley .
. History, English .
. Tufts College and Byrn Mawr. 1905
78
SCHOOL REPORT.
FRANKLIN SCHOOL, COR. FRANKLIN AND MAIN STREETS.
NAME
GRADE
WHERE EDUCATED
WHEN ELECTED
Alton C. Churbuck
. Principal
. Bridgewater Normal School
1907
Rose D. Lanphear
.IX
. Boston University
1903
Linnie M. DeMeritt.
. VIII
. New Hampton Institute
1904
Lillian G. Runnells
. VIII
. Bridgewater Normal School
1905
Louise G. White
. VII
. Salem Normal School.
1895
Lydia Page Foss
. VII
. Colby College, Boston Universtiy
1905
Grace L. Pomeroy
. VI.
New Haven (Conn.) Normal School
1905
Nora P. Nason.
. VI
. Gorham (Me.) Normal School
.1899
Alma J. Guptill
. V .
. Girls' High School, Boston
1884
Evelyn A. Pike
. V
. Newburyport Training School
. 1904
WASHINGTON SCHOOL, COR. LEBANON AND LYNDE STREETS.
Eva R. Crane.
Principal
Coburn Classical Institute 1899
M. Blanche Fogg
.IX
. Boston University.
1904
Mabel A. Burlingham
VIII
. Providence (R. I.) Normal School
.1905
Etta J. Call
VI
. Ellsworth (Kan.) Normal Institute .1890
Edith M. Maxwell
. V
. Farmington (Me.) Normal School 1902
Mary L. Loring
. IV
. Salem Normal School 1897
Mary Corcoran .
. III
. Salem Normal School 1905
Mary E. Tupper
. II
. Framingham Normal School 1892
- Mary A. Bailey
.1
. Miss Wheelock's Kind. Train. Class
1896
Helen M. Hocking . .I
. Miss Wheelock's Kind. Train. Class
1904
CITY OF MELROSE.
79
LINCOLN SCHOOL, WYOMING AVENUE.
NAME
GRADE .
WHERE EDUCATED
WHEN ELECTED
Augustus O. Burke
. Principal
. Bridgewater Normal School
.1898
Edith S. Blake.
IX
. Bates College
.1903
Grace M. Carpenter
. IX
. Boston University .
.1905
Alice G. Drake.
. VIII
. Salem Normal School
1904
Marguerite E. Hill
. VII
. Bridgewater Normal School
.1905
Mary S. Haley
. VI
. Framingham Normal School
. 1901
Mary R. Clarke . V
. Franklin Academy .
.1894
Harriet H. Dowe
. IV
. Mt. Holyoke College
1894
Harriet A. Saunders
. III
. Malden High School
.1898
Jeannette A. Doane
. II
Templeton High School
1895
Grace A. Lynde.
. I
. Miss Page's Kindergarten Class 1897
Grace C. Albee . I
. Wellesley College. .1898
D. W. GOOCH SCHOOL, COR. FOSTER AND FLORENCE STREETS.
Augustus O. Burke
. Principal
. Bridgewater Normal School .1898
Lydia Mendum
. VIII
. Salem Normal School
.1874
Harriet E. Benson
. VII
. Gorham (Me.) Normal School
.1902
Edith A. Maxwell
.VI
Farmington (Me.) Normal School . 1905
Alice H. Long .
. V
. Boston Normal School .1877
Minnie C. Snow
.IV
. Orono (Me.) High School. 1892
Annie P. Long
. III
. Melrose High School 1894
Amelia F. Trowbridge
.II
Melrose High School 1889
Mary E. Deans
. I
. Miss Wheelock's Kind. Train. Class
. .1902
Mabel Price . .I
. Miss Symonds' Kind. Train, Class
.1897
80
SCHOOL REPORT.
CITY OF MELROSE.
HORACE MANN SCHOOL, COR. GROVE AND MYRTLE STREETS.
NAME.
GRADE.
WHERE EDUCATED.
WHEN ELECTED.
Alice M. Swett
. Principal VIII
Plymouth (N. H.) Normal School 1882
Mary S. Wentworth
. Principal's Assistant
. Wakefield (N. H.) Academy
. 1896
Marguerite Pierce
. VII
. Farmington (Me.) Normal School 1903
A. Louise McCormick
. VI
. Wheaton Seminary
. 1891
Martha Bartlett
. Farmington (Me.) Normal School . 1905
Anna M. Atkins.
. IV
Provincetown High School
. 1897
Nellie C. Dempsey
. III
. Salem Normal School
. 1891
Anastatia G. Riley
II
. Salem Normal School .1898
Annie G. Balch .
I
Wakefield High School. . 1900
Lillian M. Tufts .I
. Miss Symonds' Kindergarten Class . 1901
MARY A. LIVERMORE SCHOOL, MAIN STREET.
Annie M. Washburn
Principal
. Wellesley College .'. 1900
Mary S. Wentworth
. Principal's Ass't VII, VIII. . Wakefield (N. H.) Academy .1896
Mabel G. Drake
VII
. Framingham Normal School
.1905
Bertha C. Hatch
. VI
. Gorham (Me.) Normal School .1904
Lucy E. Shute
V
. Pinkerton Academy
1895
JOSEPH WARREN SCHOOL, WARREN STREET.
Alice J. Coffin
Principal IV
. Gorham (Me.) Normal School .1895
Helen L. Patten
III
. Salem Normal School
.1903
Ruth M. Knowles
II
. Mt. Holyoke College . 1894
Margaret E. Grady
.I
. Salem Normal School 1896
G. Rose McConnell
.I
. Miss Symonds' Kind. Train. School .1903
81
WINTHROP SCHOOL, COR. ELEVENTH AND FIRST STREETS.
NAME
GRADE
WHERE EDUCATED
WHEN ELECTED
Edith S. Dermot
. Principal IV
. Framingham Normal School
1896
Annie Dinnie
. III
. Quincy Training School
.1900
Mabel G. Gilbride
.II
. Quincy Training School
1900
Laura G. Lamprey
.I
. Newburyport Training School 1905
Jennie S. Prescott
I
. Miss Symonds' Kinder. Train. Class
.1903
SEWALL SCHOOL, UPHAM STREET.
Etta M. Wilcox
. Acting Principal III
. Miss Page's Kind. Train. School . 1905
Lena D. Marshall
.IV
Salem Normal School
. 1900
Mary A. Chisholm
II
. Salem Normal School
.1896
Claribel P. Fisher
.I.
. Gorham (Me.) Normal School .1905
Emma C. French.
.I
. Miss Symonds' Kind. Class
. 1902
WHITTIER SCHOOL, FRANKLIN STREET.
Alton C. Churbuck
Principal
. Bridgewater Normal School 1905
Isabelle L. Atwood
IV
. Robinson Seminary
. 1892
Katherine L. Locke
.III
. Newburyport Training School
. 1904
Gertrude B. Stewart
.II
. Melrose High School
.1894
Annie M. Jenness . ..
.I
. Froebel Kind. Train. School . 1903
Marion P. Goodwin . . 1
. Miss Symonds' Kindergarten Training Class .1901
82
SCHOOL REPORT.
CONVERSE SCHOOL, FELLS.
Nellie W. Riley . .
I, II, III
. . Salem Normal School
.1903
RIPLEY SCHOOL, SWAIN'S POND AVENUE.
.1903
Dora F. Whittredge . .I, II, III
GENERAL ASSISTANT. -
Olive M. Lermond . . . Bridgewater Normal School 1905
JANITORS.
NAME AND RESIDENCE
SCHOOL
Charles J. Crichett, 180 Whitman Avenue
. Livermore and Sewall
George E. Fogg, 24 Stevens Place
High .. .
James Fahey 62 School Street
. Warren and Whittier
John Hitchins, Waite Street
. Winthrop . .
Samuel Lear, 931 Main Street
. Franklin
F. S. Boardman, 106 Grove Street.
. Washington
William P. Hunter, 5 Brazil Street
. Converse
John Thyng, 43 Winthrop Street
D. W Gooch, Horace Mann
Archie McIlwraith, 5 Allen Place
. Lincoln
Elmer P. Whittredge, 317 E. Foster Street .
. Ripley
ENGINEER IN HIGH SCHOOL.
Charles Brown, 50 Porter Street
83
CITY OF MELROSE
.
. .
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH
OF THE
CITY OF MELROSE
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING JANUARY 31, 1906,
MELROSE : DUNTON PRINTING COMPANY
1906
Report of the Board of Health.
TO THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN, CITY OF MELROSE.
GENTLEMEN :- The board of health respectfully submits herewith the annual report for the year ending December 31, 1905.
MEMBERSHIP.
The vacancy in the membership of the board caused by the resignation of G. Houston Smith, Esq., was filled by the appoint- ment of Arthur A. Hayden, Esq., the two other members, viz .: Dr. Clarence P. Holden and Mr. E. L. Grundy continuing as during the previous year.
ORGANIZATION.
The present organization is Clarence P. Holden, M. D., Chairman, Miss Grace A. Colby, clerk; Mr. John T. Barker, Inspector of Plumbing and Sanitary Inspector; Dr. F. P.Sturges, V. S., Inspector of Animals and Food Products; W. S. Briry, Ph., G., Inspector of Milk and Vinegar; Dr. M. J. Dalton and Dr. R. R. Stratton, Medical Inspectors of Schools.
MEETINGS.
The board has held regular meetings every Tuesday evening and special meetings when the work of the board required the same.
87
HEALTH REPORT.
REGULATIONS.
There has been one change in the regulations during the year. Sec. 1, Chap. 1, of the Rules and Regulations was amended as follows, viz. By adding the words "Cerebro-spinal meningitis" after the word "tuberculosis" in the sixth line, the effect of this amendment being to class cerebro-spinal meningitis as a disease to be reported to the board of health.
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES.
The year has been a constant fight with scarlet fever with a total of sixty-one cases. The first group of fifteen cases in the early part of the year could not be traced to any common source of infection. The second group of cases, mostly in June and July were very mild, in many cases no physician was called, and in some cases the disease was so mild as to have entirely escaped notice. In many cases the rash was supposed to have been caused by the brown tail moth which was so prevalent at this time. The third group of cases, beginning in November and continuing through December, presented one fact of interest in that out of nineteen cases eighteen obtained milk from the same milkman. A thorough examination of the premises and the dairies involved did not disclose any history of sickness on the part of the employees whatsoever. The only probable source of the infection was that of milk bottles being taken from infected houses.
It was found that in two instances bottles had been taken from houses in quarantine with the approval of the attending physician. In other instances bottles were taken from placard- ed houses for some days before the men learned of the presence of a card on the house. In two other instances in cases which occurred in a neighboring town near the Melrose line, the houses were not placarded by the board of health although notice had been given by the attending physician.
The most obvious lesson drawn from this experience was, first to ascertain in every case of the more serious communicable diseases the milk supply. Second, to give immediate notice to
-
88
CITY OF MELROSE.
the milkmen of the presence of a case of communicable disease at the house of one of his customers. Third, to send a type- written notice to the householder of a house in quarantine that milk cans or other receptacles for milk must not be taken from the house while under quarantine.
The efficiency of isolation and quarantine is often gauged by the number of known secondary cases. There were ten of these during the year and in every instance the secondary cases were in the same family. In one instance the second case probably resulted in the too early discharge of the first case. In two other cases the first case was so mild as not to have been recog- nized. It may not be out of place to call attention here to the fact that mild cases of scarlet fever present one of the most difficult problems ever presented to the board of health in the performance of their duties in the suppression of contagious diseases.
The epidemic of measles, beginning in November 1904, reached its height during January when there had been reported 308 cases. Numerous instances coming to the board of health of failure on the part of householders and some physicians to report their cases, notice was published in the Free Press that in future failure would be followed by prosecution. The effect seemed apparent in the fact that during February the number of reported cases fell to 84 and during March to 32, with 2S in April, practically closing the epidemic, although some cases were reported in the subsequent three months. This epidemic con- sisting of a total of 450 cases was virtually ended in four months although the schools remained still in session. In 1901 and 1902 there were reported 513 cases which continued epidemic for eight months. During the last epidemic there occurred seven deaths. This is more than from any other contagious disease, in fact from all others except tuberculosis. For the first time since 1899 there were no deaths from diphtheria nor were there any deaths during the year from typhoid fever and only fourteen cases reported to the board of health. In 1895 there were four deaths reported from typhoid fever which probably means that there were from forty to fifty cases of the disease in that year.
Since the general sanitation of a community is determined
89
HEALTH REPORT.
largely by the number of cases of typhoid fever it seems that Melrose may congratulate herself.
CONSUMPTION.
The usual number of deaths from consumption were reported during the year. It is somewhat gratifying that a larger num- ber of cases were reported by the physicians than in any previous year although the reports are very far from what they should be. During the year the board circulated through the schools 3000 copies of a circular obtained from the Boston Association for the Relief of Tuberculosis with an addendum by the local board, giving in brief what the board desires in cases of con- sumption. During the latter part of the year an exhibition of immence importance and interest was given under the auspices of the State Board of Health in Boston. One of the most strik- ing illustrations of the exhibition was how a room in a tenement might be made into a perfectly safe and cheerful place for a con- sumptive, simply by removing rugs and draperies which hold filth and may convey infection. The abominable cotton lined comforter was exchanged for washable blankets. The white enameled furniture, two chairs, a table and bed, a light washable paper upon the walls, white-washed ceiling, bare floors and white cotton window curtains was a remarkable effective object lesson. If one was disheartened by the great fatality of ad- vanced cases of consumption certainly patients and their friends should be cheered by the large number of cures in the earlier stages.
SORE EYES OF INFANTS.
At the last session of the legislature an act was passed requir- ing all cases of sore eyes in an infant under two weeks of age to be reported to the board of health. This act is unique from the fact that it not only places upon the board of health the responsi- bility of determining the nature of the disease but also that of the treatment of the case. In this connection the following notice was published and a notice sent to physicians and nurses informing them that the board was prepared to make the neces- sary cultures as required for the determination of these cases.
90
CITY OF MELROSE.
"The attention of all parents and others is respectfully called to Chapter 251 of the Acts of 1905. Under this act, 'Should one or both eyes of an infant become inflamed, swollen and red and show any unnatural discharge at any time within two weeks after its birth, it shall be the duty of the nurse, relative or other attendant having charge of such infant to report in writing within six hours thereafter to the Board of Health of the city or town in which the parents of the infant reside, the fact that such inflam- mation, swelling and redness of the eyes and unnatural discharge exist." The Act further provides for a penalty of a fine of not more than $100 for failure on the part of the nurse, relative or other attendant so to report. Attention is also called to the regulations of the Board of Health requiring the householder to report any case of consumption in his household.
Per order of Board of Health,
CLARENCE P. HOLDEN, Chairman.
ISOLATION HOSPITAL.
The hospital was open 246 days during the year 1905, caring for 16 patients. There were no fatalities. It is the judg- ment of the board that the Isolation Hospital was of immense value in the care of contagious diseases during the year. It may be looked upon as a sort of insurance for the rest of the com- munity which is to be measured largely for its general protection and not wholly by the comparatively few cases that it cares for. It has been the policy of the board to care for all cases when in the opinion of the attending physician the case could not be properly isolated at home. It has also been the policy of the board to take care of as many cases as possible at the hospital when the mother of a family was the sole nurse. Another class of cases that should be cared for at the hospital are those where more than one family occupy a house and the family or families not having any cases are subject to the annoyances and expense of quarantine.
MEDICAL INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS.
With the beginning of the school year in September the board of health began a regular medical inspection of the schools of the city. The number of cases of communicable diseases discovered in the schools and excluded therefrom is as follows, viz: Im- petigo contagiosa, 7; scabies, 7; ring-worm, 11; pediculosis, 11;
91
HEALTH REPORT.
offensive discharge from the ear, 2; ophthalmia, 1; chicken pc x, 2 ; scarlet fever, 1; mumps, 3. Of this number, nineteen cases were treated at the office of the board of health, some of them several times.
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