USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1919 > Part 2
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There is no red tape in the administration of relief in this city and first aid is always immediate. Long and excellent service by the Overseers of the Poor has given them an intimate knowledge of almost every case and needy family in the community.
State Aid for the families of the soldiers of the present war has been promptly arranged for with fidelity and kindness by Miss Mary A. Kenah, who is the State Agent for Soldiers' Relief and State Aid.
The amount expended the past year for families of the soldiers of the present war has been about $1,000 a month, and this work has been performed by Miss Kenah along with her services for soldiers' families of the Civil War.
This State Aid, while paid in the first instance through our City Treasury, is reimbursed by the Commonwealth.
The Fire Department has answered 203 alarms during the year and the fire losses have been $20,000. During the year many call firemen have found employment outside the city and were unable to respond to alarms during the day.
I recommend the gradual elimination of call firemen and the addition of permanent men.
I urge the complete motorization of the department and the elimination of horses. We have much of this modern apparatus already. The change is both for economy and efficiency. We paid last year for gasolene only $100 and for grain for horses $1,000. More than this, it takes at least one man at every fire to care for the horses.
We need to add a new pumping engine which I hope we may secure when such apparatus is in the market at reasonable cost.
We must look forward to the improvement of the Fire House at the Highlands as well as on the East Side. These small, inconvenient buildings are not creditable to our type of city. We should have buildings which could be used not only for fire apparatus, but as ward rooms, voting places, and for the various purposes of municipal buildings, with small halls, which may be used for public gatherings which have to do with the questions of public interest and welfare.
The Police Department needs new headquarters. The present office cell room and guard room, are about the worst to be found in any city in the State. The cell room has been condemned by health authorities.
We should have a separate building for our Police with space for the ambulance and automobile, there should be cell room, suitable for men or
13
MAYOR'S ADDRESS
women, an accident room, a suitable guard room for recreation, and for the increasing public service rendered by the police.
We need an additional man as a traffic officer.
The work of the department in ambulance service has greatly increased and the ambulance now drawn by a horse should have motor equipment. In a modern city like this to see the ambulance drawn by the old gray horse, makes one think of the Deacon's One Horse Shay.
This Memorial Building has become indispensable in the social activities of the city. This year it has required an expenditure of about $2,000 for repairs in addition to the income, but with renewed local activ- ities the income will increase. No investment has ever paid better dividends.
The building has received a gift from Mr. and Mrs. John C. F. Slayton of a great oil painting of the Jungfrau now hung in the Grand Army Hall. We hope the plans once made for a great organ may be taken up now that war is over.
It must gratify our people to learn of many communities who are now considering the erection of a building of this type as a memorial to the soldiers of the present war.
The old auditorium in the City Hall building has been in constant use since the war began for patriotic work of many kinds, and has had a larger use than for many years.
I recommend a reasonable appropriation for painting and improving the old auditorium.
To the list of fine institutions in this city has been added a Home for Aged Persons known as the Fitch Home on Lake Avenue, established with funds bequeathed by Mrs. Reuben Fitch.
This splendid gift is administered by a Board of Trustees, composed of Wallace R. Lovett, Frank M. Hoyt and Edward J. Kitching.
I count it as one of the institutions belonging to the city itself, estab- lished and maintained by private funds. It was long needed, but its coming was unexpected, and it has assumed its work almost without public notice. It is already a thoroughly equipped and firmly established institution of the community.
If women are to continue in industry and mothers are to continu to work in factories and away from home, there should be established a Day Nursery for the care of children who otherwise must grow up in the streets. This is a condition and not a theory.
A Day Nursery is especially essential in a manufacturing community, but here in Melrose are at least 100 families that need the services of such a home.
14
CITY OF MELROSE
In Brookline is a plan for the appointment of a Town Dietitian and the Legislature has been asked to confer the authority upon the town to appoint such an officer.
It is along the line of a Public Health Nurse, and a Visiting House- keeper, and the complex problem of living.
Here we have a Community House conducted by the Community Associates, who have led the work of food conservation.
This organization of splendid women who delight to work, with their convenient building on Emerson Street, may well serve the public in all these lines.
Since the cost of every necessary thing continues to advance, and especially since the government has ceased to control prices, we may anticipate an increased tax rate.
The co-operation of our fine public-spirited citizens and many organ- izations, and the patience and forbearance of our tax payers will make possible the continued growth, development, and improvement of our fine city.
GOVERNMENT of the City of Melrose, 1919
Mayor CHARLES H. ADAMS
President of the Board of Aldermen ALBERT M. TIBBETTS
Clerk W. DeHAVEN JONES
Aldermen-at-Large
Ward
William A. Carrie, 22 York Terrace
1
Thomas H. Gilman, 110 Crescent Avenue
5
Fred W. Sellers, 226 Main Street
5
Angier L. Goodwin, 33 Reading Hill Avenue
2
Leslie F. Keene, 146 Wyoming Avenue, West
5
Arthur L. Marr, 236 Foster Street, East
6
Albert M. Tibbetts, 109 Meridian Street
7
Ward Aldermen
Henry N. Andrews, 54 York Terrace .
1
Ralph G. Harmon, 19 Belmont Place .
1
Carl A. Raymond, 48 Batchelder Street
2
Frank P. Sturgess, 991 Main Street
2
Edwin C. Kirk, 23 Cedar Park, South .
3
Frederick W. Patten, 54 Cottage Street
3
Nelson C. Clement, 56 Emerson Street, East John Dike, 112 Emerson Street, West .
4
4
John W. Huse, 255 Washington Street
5
Llewellyn H. McLain, 76 Wyoming Avenue, East
5
Arthur A. Hayden, 148 Foster Street, West .
6
Merle Newman, 284 Foster Street, East
6
Edgar W. Mansfield, 283 Grove Street
7
Nelson J. Sanford, 379 Swain's Pond Avenue
7
.
16
CITY OF MELROSE
MELROSE BOARD OF ALDERMEN STANDING COMMITTEE FOR 1919
Appropriations Chairman Dike, Keene, Goodwin, Marr, Gilman, Sellers, Newman, McLain, Sanford
Education, Health and Charity Chairman Goodwin, McLain, Carrie, Hayden, Kirk, Mansfield, Patten
Finance Chairman Dike, Sellers, Marr, Gilman, Huse, Harmon, Raymond
Highways Chairman Keene, Clement, McLain, Dike, Newman, Patten, Sturges
Protection and Licenses Chairman Gilman, Keene, Newman, Sellers, Sanford, Clement, Mansfield
Public Service Chairman Marr, Kirk, Sanford, Harmon, Hayden, Sturges, Andrews
Legal and Legislative Matters Chairman President Albert M. Tibbetts, Goodwin, Carrie, Huse, Kirki Andrews, Raymond
Clerk of Committees VICTOR C. KIRMES
City Officers
City Clerk W. DeHAVEN JONES
Assistant City Clerk and Clerk of Committees
Victor C. Kirmes -
City Treasurer William R. Lavender
City Collector James W. Murray
City Auditor Edwin C. Gould
Assistant City Auditor William T. Wolley
Engineer and Superintendent of Public Works George O. W. Servis
Mayor's Clerk Blanche E. Nickerson
City Solicitor Arthur S. Davis
Chief of Fire Department Joseph Edwards
Chief of Police George E. Kerr
Inspector of Buildings William S. Allen
18
CITY OF MELROSE
Inspector of Plumbing Andrew J. Burnett
Inspector of Food David O. Parker
Inspectors of Slaughtering
David O. Parker Calvert H. Playdon
Inspector of Milk and Vinegar
H. E. Berger, Jr.
Collector of Milk Samples Thomas F. Harris
Inspector of Animals Calvert H. Playdon
Sealer of Weights and Measures Frederick G. Storey
Superintendent Brown Tail and Gypsy Moth John J. Mccullough
Agent State Military Aid and Soldiers' Relief
Mary A. Kenah
Burial Agent Mary A. Kenah
Assessors
Frank R. Upham, term expires 1922 Joshua Nowell, term expires 1920 Charles C. Swett, term expires 1921
Assistant Assessors
Alden B. Smith
Charles M. Field
Charles Roeder
19
CITY OFFICERS
Inspector of Wires Fred A. Edwards
Board of Health Clarence P. Holden, M.D., Chairman William A. Tomer Ralph R. Stratton Verna L. Vinton, Clerk
City Physician Clarence P. Holden, M. D.
School Physicians
Joseph H. Fay Elizabeth Hirst
Public Health Nurse
Mrs. Myrtle S. Meriam
Overseers of the Poor
Adaline G. Reed, Chairman
Thomas F. Troy Bertram E. Lovejoy
Verna L. Vinton, Clerk
Pratt Farm Closed November 1, 1918
Park Commission
Addison L. Winship, Chairman. Term expires 1922
Andrew F. Evers
1924
Robert A. Perkins
60 1923
Harry N. Vaughn
66 1921
George J. Foster
66 66 1920
20
CITY OF MELROSE
School Committee
Lowell F. Wentworth, Chairman
Term expires 1921
F. Janet Habberley.
66
1922
Isabelle Stantial.
1922
Paul H. Provandie.
1922
Wallace R. Lovett.
66
1920
Sarah A. Day.
66
66
1920
Harry A. George
66
66
1920
Harry F. Sears.
66
1921
William Coggeshall.
66
66
1921
Sinking Fund Commissioners
Edward J. Kitching, Chairman.
Term expires 1922
Franklin P. Shumway.
66 1920
Everett L. Fuller.
66
66 1921
Trustees of Public Library
Rev. Paul Sterling, Chairman
Term expires 1921
Clara G. Muldoon.
66 1922
Neil Divver
66
66 1922
Frank W. Campbell
66
66 1920
Mary C. Barton
66
1920
Charles E. French
66
1921
Cemetery Committee Willis C. Goss, Chairman
J. Thomas Foster
J. Henry Kunhardt Edwin C. Gould, Clerk Roscoe A. Leavitt, Supt. Wyoming Cemetery John T. Russell, Inspector of Graves
Registrars of Voters
Edwin L. Cragin, Chairman.
Term expires 1922
John J. Keating. 66
1920
Edwin J. Tirrell. 66 66 1921
W. DeHaven Jones, City Clerk, Ex-Officio
21
CITY OFFICERS
Engineers of Fire Department Joseph Edwards, Chief Charles F. Woodward, Deputy Chief
Measurers of Wood and Bark, Weighers of Hay and Grain
Fred H. Goss Grace F. Gilbert
Charles B. Goss
Flora M. Harris
Patrick V. Kerwin James G. Stiles
Public Weighers of Merchandise
J. Osborn Leisk
Elmer D. Swain
Edward M. Caldwell
Charles F. Woodward
Glenna B. Towner
Nathaniel J. Glover
Patrick G. DeCourcy
Mrs. M. A. McDonough
Angus W. Thompson
Herbert M. Wade
Leroy H. Gray Isaac L. Slocomb
Albert J. Waghorn
Josiah Gims
Robert A. Dickson
David Levy James McTiernan John Mulligan
James A. Goudrey
Bliss Steeves
Field Driver M. James Hanley
Pound Keeper M. James Hanley
Fence Viewers
Charles H. Everson
Constables
Daniel K. Collamore Louis B. Heaton Charles Roeder
M. James Hanley George E. Kerr George E. Burke
Daniel J. Lucey
Edward P. Mclaughlin
22
CITY OF MELROSE
Dog Officer M. James Hanley
Keeper of the Lock-up
George E. Kerr
Police Officers
George E. Kerr, Chief
Louis B. Heaton, Captain
Redford M. Rand
Allston H. Pineo
George E. Fuller
Frank N. Pierce
Wallace B. Eaton
Michael Reardon
Garfield Carpenter
Albert A. McBeth
Daniel J. Foley
William A. Riley
Frederick M. Kirmes
William T. Fahy, Inspector
Michael J. Brennan
Joseph V. Curran
Patrick H. O'Leary
Reserve Officers
Robert A. Lloyd John W. Holden
William J. Crowley Edwin E. Spraker
Harold S. Walley
Special Officers
M. James Hanley Edgar Sherburne
Burgess W. Grover Joseph A. Lavin
Special Officers to Serve Without Pay
Edward P. Mclaughlin
George H. Cray
Arthur S. Moreland
O. S. Davenport
Roscoe A. Leavitt F. C. Newman
Harry H. Thompson
Charles J. Wing
Archie B. McIlwraith
George W. Higgins
Charles W. Burnham
Harvey McGilley
23
CITY OFFICERS
Planning Board
Howard C. Morse
Term expires 1920
Chester S. Patten
66
66 1920
Agnes L. Dodge.
66
66
1920
Harold Marshall
66
66 1919
Denis W. Fitzpatrick.
66 1919
E. Gertrude Copeland.
66
66
1919
Richard H. Sircom
66
66
1921
Victor A. Friend .
66
1921
Louisa S. Hunt
66
66
1921
Advisory Committee on Memorial Building
John C. F. Slayton
Frances D. Mont
Harold Marshall
Nellie N. Sawyer
Rufus D. Kilgore
H. T. Gerrish
Ernest S. Jack
Frederick P. Bowden
Gertrude D. Cox
Board of Survey
Term expires 1920
E Copeland Lang. William N. Folsom William E. Waterhouse
1922
66
66 1921
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
CITY OF MELROSE 1919
School Committee for 1919
Name
Residence
Term Expires
Mrs. Sarah A. Day
45 Ashland Street
1920
Wallace R. Lovett
63 Stratford Road 1920
Harry F. Sears
44 Orris Street
1920
William Coggeshall
158 E. Foster Street
1921
Harry A. George
69 Laurel Street
1921
Dr. Lowell F. Wentworth
19 Bartlett Street
1921
Mrs. Isabelle Stantial
146 Florence Street
1922
Mrs. F. Janet Habberley
17 Bellevue Avenue .
1922
Dr. Paul H. Provandie
88 W. Emerson Street
1922
Dr. Lowell F. Wentworth, Chairman Mrs. Isabelle Stantial, Secretary
Meetings of the Committee
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held in the Committee Room, High School Building, on the second and fourth Mondays of every month, except during July and August, at 7.30 p.m.
Superintendent of Schools
John Anthony
26 Hillside Ave. Office: High School Building-Tel. Melrose 55
Secretary
Ruth C. Wells
5 Carney Terrace
Tel. Melrose 1574-W
STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance and Supplies
Mr. Lovett
Mr. Coggeshall Dr. Provandie
Mr. Sears
Schoolhouses and Janitors
Mr. George
Mr. Coggeshall Dr. Provandie
Mr. Sears
Teachers and Salaries
Mrs. Day Mrs. Stantial
Mrs. Habberley
Mr. Lovett
Text Books and Courses of Study
Mrs. Stantial
Mrs. Day Mrs. Habberley
Mr. George
The Chairman of the School Committee is a member, ex-officio, of all standing committees.
27
SCHOOL REPORT
SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Dr. Wentworth
Legislative Mr. Coggeshall
Mr. Lovett
VISITING COMMITTEES
High School School Committee
Franklin and Whittier Schools Mrs. Day
D. W. Gooch Schools Mrs. Stantial
Mary A. Livermore School Mr. Lovett
Washington School Mr. George
Lincoln School .Mr. Coggeshall
Winthrop School.
Mrs. Habberley
Joseph Warren School
Mr. Sears
Sewall and Ripley Schools Dr. Provandie
SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR 1920
WINTER TERM 1920
Opens December 29, 1919 and closes February 27
SPRING TERM 1920
First Half :- Opens March 8 and closes April 30
Second Half: Opens May 10 and closes June 23.
FALL TERM 1920
Opens September 8
HOLIDAYS DURING TERM TIME
Every Saturday, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Patriots' Day, Memorial Day, October 12 and Thanksgiving Day with the half day preceding and the day following it.
"NO SCHOOL" SIGNAL
Notice of "no school" will be given by striking the number 22 four times upon the fire alarm, and by sounding the whistle at Factory No. 2 of the Boston Rubber Shoe Company.
The signal will be sounded at 7.15 a.m. for no session in the High School, and at 8.15 for no morning session in all grades below the High School. In case there is to be no afternoon session, the signal will be sounded at 12.45.
Report of Superintendent of Schools
To the School Committee of Melrose Ladies and Gentlemen :-
I herewith submit my annual report as Superintendent of Melrose Public Schools. This is the thirtieth in the series and the eleventh by the present Superintendent.
To-day, perhaps the most prolific subject of popular discussion is the Public School. Even World Peace and Bolshevism are scarcely more considered in ordinary conversation. This is because the people realize that without an efficient educational system, World Peace and the fight against Bolshevism will alike be hopeless. Whether the institutions founded by our forbears, whether democracy, whether civilization itself has power to endure, is about to be tested. They cannot stand unless supported by an intelligent citizenship. This the people understand and their demand is for better schools, for a popular education which will better fit the youth of to-day to conquer the problems of to-day and of to-morrow.
Much of the discussion is naturally critical. This is encouraging. Only as the people come to realize the deficiencies and needs, as school authorities have long faced them, will the remedy be found. Some discussion is based on what the critics remember of the schools of twenty- five years ago, without the knowledge that they have greatly improved since that time. Some is based on a lack of information of what our schools are actually accomplishing. We are often criticised for not doing what we actually are doing, and doing well. Some of the criticism is because we are not doing certain things which we have long advocated and hoped to do, but for which the public has not provided funds. Much of the criticism, however, is well founded. This, none are more willing to acknowledge than those in charge. But all of this discussion and criticism, fair or not, has behind it a deep desire and determination that our public schools should more adequately than ever before carry the tremendous responsibility committed to them.
The teachers and those to whom are confided the conduct and control of our schools, should be held responsible for results. But they should not be held responsible for more than can reasonably be accomplished with the money intrusted to them. This is where the responsibility of the public enters. The larger responsibility for the successful conduct of our public schools does not rest upon the School Committee, or the Super- intendent of Schools, or upon the teachers. It rests upon the entire community, and unless the people, and their representatives in the appro- priating bodies, provide adequately for their support, then the failure of the schools rests squarely upon the citizens. The old plaint of the children of Israel in their bondage is true to-day,-we cannot make bricks without straw. It is to-day, as never before, the duty of the public to make
29
SCHOOL REPORT
generous provision for the education of its children, and then to demand that the public schools give full measure in return.
The school authorities face many immediate and serious problems. To solve them, they need the intelligent interest and moral and financial support of the entire community.
The most important of these are:
I. The Teacher Problem
2. Overcrowded Schools.
3. Maintenance of Buildings.
4. Equipment.
The Shortage of Teachers is nation-wide and promises to become even more acute; 143,000 teachers left the profession last year, a loss of over twenty-two per cent. Out of 20,000,000 school children in the United States, 10,000,000 are without teachers, or are taught by teachers below the usual standard. As to the source of supply, the normal schools and teacher training schools of the country show a decrease in their graduates of more than thirty per cent in the last four years. In the normal schools of Massachusetts alone there are one thousand fewer students than three years ago. The normal schools of Vermont are to close entirely at the end of this year on account of lack of attendance. Naturally, the deficiency is felt first and most keenly in rural communities. There are 50,000 such schools in the country to-day without teachers of any kind. In our own city we have not only kept all our schools open, but we have at present a particularly well prepared, experienced, loyal body of teachers. We must not on this account, however, deceive ourselves into the belief that this is to continue without effort on our part. Unless Melrose im- mediately agrees to pay at least as much as is now paid or promised by other cities, we shall lose our best teachers, and we cannot secure even poor teachers to take their places. In the past two years we have lost fifty per cent of our entire corps. We have been especially fortunate in their replacement, but we cannot afford to lose more. The fact that teachers have always been underpaid; that any industry now pays more than teaching; that the teacher is the most important worker in the nation to-day; that she deserves a return commensurate with her services; and that her present meagre salary has been cut in two by living condi- tions of to-day ;- these are all sound, fair, and just arguments for large increases. But the fact that touches us as a community most closely is that if such provision is not made, and made at once, our children, Melrose children, will either be without teachers, or taught by teachers without preparation and without experience.
At the request of the School Committee, the Teachers' Council, representing the various groups of teachers, made an exhaustive study of local conditions, as well as of what is being done elsewhere in Massa- chusetts. Much of this material has been published in the local Free Press. After a meeting with the Council, other meetings with a committee
30
CITY OF MELROSE
of the Council, and very careful consideration of the whole subject, the School Committee unanimously voted to recommend a flat increase of $400, for all teachers, supervisors, and principals, to date from January 1, 1920. If this is secured, it is hoped that it will be possible to retain our present corps of teachers for the present year. We fully realize, however, that this amount does not guarantee the future, but that further increases must be assured. Lack of preparedness has cost the nation vast sums of money and thousands of lives in the past three years. Let us not forget the lesson as it applies to our children and their education.
Our Schools are Overcrowded in four sections. At the Joseph Warren, the Whittier, the Mary A. Livermore, and the Washington Schools, we have two or more rooms with from fifty-one to sixty-two children. This condition will be worse in September and should be relieved at once. After a careful survey, the School Committee feel that it may be unwise to enter just yet upon a permanent building program, with present labor conditions, and scarcity of material. They have therefore requested an appropriation for the purchase of three portable buildings of two rooms each. It is fully realized that this is a temporary expedient for the immediate relief of present conditions, and that a permanent building program should be planned and carried out as soon as possible. If these buildings are not then needed, they may be used for other purposes, or sold.
A Permanent Building Program should, however, be given immediate consideration. In this program, it is possible that the first step should be the erection of a Junior High School. By taking the seventh and eighth grades out of the grammar schools, and the Freshmen class out of the High School, this will provide ample room for growth in the elementary schools and in the Senior High School for several years. The building for this purpose should be located as near the present High School as possible, not only that it may geographically accommodate the pupils of various sections of the city, but also that it may be properly correlated and co-ordinated with the courses and management of the Senior High School. This building should contain an auditorium large enough to seat the entire school, and so situated that it could be used for general community purposes. It should have a gymnasium that would serve both High Schools. It should provide facilities for cooking, sewing and millinery for the girls, and printing and such other lines of manual work for the boys as would give the fundamental principles of several trades.
Such a school, however, is not at all a Trades or Industrial School. It gives as careful consideration to those pupils preparing for college or commercial life, as to those who desire to make a home, or to enter indus- trial pursuits. The following definition of such a school and of its advan- tages is taken from the "Report of a Committee on the Junior High School Presented to the High School Masters' Club of Massachusetts."
"A Junior High School means a grouping of grades seven, eight and nine (first year High School) to form a new educational unit in which there shall be some freedom in choice of studies by the pupils, a consider-
31
SCHOOL REPORT
able change in the traditional content of the subjects and methods of instruction, departmental teaching, promotion by subject, and prevo- cational work.
The Advantages Claimed are-
1. The aptitudes and abilities of the pupils are more easily discovered and provided for, owing to the greater freedom in choice of work which is allowed.
2. The uncertainty of the pupil as to what he really desires to do is met by the use of prevocational work.
3. Departmental instruction. The advantage of having a teacher present one subject, or two at most, makes for thoroughness and accuracy of scholarship, better methods of teaching, and saves the energy of both teacher and pupil.
4. Promotion by subject. The pupil who fails in one subject is not required as a consequence to repeat other subjects which he has already passed satisfactorily. The increased flexibility of organization makes possible the introduction of this desirable reform.
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