USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1916 > Part 18
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APPENDIX D-DONORS.
American Jewish Commit- tee, New York, N. Y.
Association of American Portland cement manufac- turers, Philadelphia, Pa. Atlantic deeper waterways association, Philadelphia, Pa.
Boston shoe machinery co. Boston university.
Carnegie endowment for in- ternational peace.
Carnegie hero fund commis- sion.
Chronicle publishing co.
Church militant, Pub. of
First church of Christ, Scien- tist, Quincy, Mass.
Gendrot, Mr. and Mrs. Felix A.
Hart, Nellie F.
Hathaway, Dr. W. F.
Holland, Rev. J. B.
Home market club, Boston, Mass. Hunt, E. W.
Indian rights association, Philadelphia, Pa.
Iyenaga, Toyokichi.
Japan society, New York, N. Y.
King, Mrs. Mary Fifield
Lake Mohonk conference of friends of the Indians and
. other dependent peoples. Lake Mohonk conference on international arbitration. Loud, Joseph P. Massachusetts (Public docu- ments).
Massachusetts agricultural college, Amherst, Mass. Massachusetts civic league. Massachusetts institute of technology. Massachusetts nautical
school.
Massachusetts society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Massachusetts woman suf- frage association.
Maxim, Hudson Milton historical society, Milton, Mass.
Mission circle of the First Universalist church, Wey- mouth, Mass. Museum of fine arts, Boston, Mass.
National canners association, Washington, D. C.
Parker, Sir Gilbert Pierce, Mrs. E. C.
Rockefeller foundation, New York, N. Y.
Roge, Mme. Charlotte Fiske Bates, Estate of
359
Sargent, Porter E. Simmons college, Boston,
Mass.
Smithsonian institution, Washington, D. C.
Soldiers' home in Massachu- setts at Chelsea.
Thompson, Slason United shoe machinery Co., Boston, Mass.
United States (Public docu- ments). Vermont, University of
Watson, Thomas A.
Weeks, J. W., senator Wentworth Institute, Bos- ton, Mass. Western theological semi- nary, Chicago, Ill.
Weston, Mrs. Warren Weymouth gazette & trans- script co. Weymouth times, Pub. of Y. P. S. C. E. of the Congre- gational church, East Weymouth, Mass. Young, M. H. de
Libraries.
Albany, N. Y., New York State.
Andover, Mass., Memorial hall.
Baltimore, Md., Enoch Pratt.
Belmont, Mass.
Boston, Mass.
Brockton, Mass.
Brookline, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Canton, O.
Cleveland, O.
Gardner, Mass., Levi Hey- wood memorial.
Grand Rapids, Mich. Groton, Mass.
Hartford, Conn.
Haverhill, Mass.
Hopedale, Mass., Bancroft memorial.
Lynn, Mass. Malden, Mass. Massachusetts, Free public
library commission of Milford, N. H., Free. Milton, Mass.
Natick, Mass., Morse insti- tute.
Newton, Mass., Free.
Northampton, Mass., Forbes.
Omaha, Neb.
Pawtucket, R. I., Deborah Cook Sayles.
Providence, R. I.
Providence, R. I., Athenae- um. Quincy, Mass., Thomas Crane.
Salt Lake City, Utah.
Somerville, Mass.
Washington, D. C., Library of Congress. Waterbury, Conn., Bronson. Westford, Mass., J. B. Flet- cher. Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Oster-
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360
hout Free. Winchester, Mass.
Winthrop, Mass.
1
THE FINANCIAL REPORT OF THE TUFTS LIBRARY FOR THE YEAR ENDING DEC. 31, 1916.
Expenditures :
Abbie L. Loud, librarian $600 00
Alice B. Blanchard, assistant 475 00
Louisa C. Richards, assistant 400 00
Emma F. Thayer
67 72
Phyllis E. Palmer
38 80
Wallace Whittle 16 00
F. D. Sherman, janitor 425 00
A. J. Richards & Son, fuel 244 29
J. F. Sheppard & Sons, fuel 16 50
Water rent
60 37
Weymouth Light & Power Co., light- ing 186 84
Old Colony Gas Co.
12 06
N. E. Telephone & Telegraph Co ... 19 74
A. S. Jordan & Co., insurance .... Russell B. Worster, insurance ....
213 76
77 00
A. E. Barnes & Co., insurance .... Gazette Publishing Co., printing ..
25 28
J. Ross South, carting ashes
7 80
Adams Express Co.
21 87
Fogg's Express
1 55
Charles Skoglund, State Inspector boilers 2 00
Library Art Club, dues 6 00
American Library Ass'n, dues. ... 5 00
$2,938 33
Amount carried forward $2,938 33
15 75
361
Amount brought forward $$2,938 33
Repairs :
The Berger Mfg. Co., metal ceiling $100 00
J. E. Ludden 92 25
Godfred Rondeau 49 40
P. F. Landrey, electrical work 48 05
Robert Gibson 31 50
F. W. Stewart 19 98
Water Department 3 80
F. D. Sherman, on awnings 3 00
P. P. Caproni & Bro. 2 50
The H. R. Huntting Co.
2 40
Frank S. Hobart 85
$353 73
Supplies :
Library Bureau $26 25
Post Office
12 87
West Disinfecting Co. 10 50
Librarian of Congress
10 00
C. C. Jordan
9 50
C. H. Smith
7 85
Gaylord Bros. 4.25
E. W. Hunt
2 13
F. S. Webster Co.
2 00
G. R. Kempl 45
Sundries 1 84
$87 64
Transportation of Books:
J. W. Bartlett & Co. $52.00
W. J. Sladen 43 00
Marion F. French 52 00
Bates & Humphrey 25 00
Walter W. Pratt 55 00
Joseph H. Franks 17 00
Marshall P. Sprague
25 00
$269 00
Amount carried forward $3,648 70
.
362
Amount brought forward $3,648 70
Books :
W. B. Clarke Co. $992 44
George H. Hunt & Co. 190 70
The H. W. Wilson Co. 46 00
Thomas Nelson & Sons 10 00
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh ... 9 05
R. R. Bowker Co.
8 00
Dodd, Mead & Co.
4 86
A. L. A. Publishing Board
2 00
Library Bureau 2 00
The Boston Book Co. 2 00
Union Publishing Co. 2 00
Porter E. Sargent
1 80
G. F. Brooks, Treas.
1 25
F. J. Barnard & Co., binding books. .
$1,272 10 $207 14
Total expended
$5,127 94
Balance to Treasury
8 23
$5,136 17
Appropriated for Tufts Library :
Appropriation March 6, 1916. $2,600 00
One-half dog license money 655 11.
George R. Kempl, rent 400 01
Post-office, rent 650 00
Income, Tufts fund 106 25
Income, Tufts reading-room fund .. 106 25
Income, Augustus J. Richards fund 167 99
Income, Joseph E. Trask fund. .. 150 40
Income, Tirrell donation
67 99
Income, Susannah Hunt Stetson
fund
56 25
Abbie L. Loud, librarian, fines, etc. 174 43
Francis M. Drown 1 49
$5,136 17
363
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
Town of Weymouth, Mass.
1916
THE CRAWFORD PRESS, South Weymouth, Mass.
1
365
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
To the Citizens of Weymouth :
At the town meeting in March, 1915, the sum of $43,000 was provided by the town for the construction and equip- ment of a new eight room school house in Ward three. At the time of the annual town meeting of March, 1916, the new Hunt School, as the same has been called, was completed, accepted and was occupied.
In the report at the end of the town book for 1915 is a condensed statement showing payments and contractual obligations, since paid, which at the time of writing such report had been recorded in the books of the Committee on such building account.
The following is a statement of all other payments since made or recorded on the construction and equipment 'ac- count :
H. J. Harwood's Sons, teachers' desks, chairs and other furniture $252 00
A. J. Richards & Son, additional coal. 71 06
Burditt & Williams, additional hardware. 4 00
Chandler & Barber Co., manual training equip- ment 213 60
P. F. Landry, electric fixtures 155 00
Allen Shade Holder Co., shades and fixtures .
137 00
Daniel Pratt's Son, eight clocks
56 00
Rhines Lumber Co., floor material for manual training room 36 82
J. O. Page, fireproofing closet door 5 00
T. Raymond, carting logs 2 25
John J. McSweeney, labor .
1 88
366
$934 61
Amount of former statement
$42,062 71
Total
$42,997 32
Balance of appropriation
2 68
$43,000 00
The New Hunt School is in a sense a departure from the type of eight room school house which has hitherto been built in this vicinity, being so laid out that no school rooms are on opposite sides of the same corridor, the corridors themselves having direct light from the outside throughout their length. The result is a building which is much better lighted in all its parts than the conventional type of build- ing, and it is a plan that would be well worth considering in cases where the size of the lot will permit a building of somewhat more than ordinary length.
The structure is placed with the idea of a future exten- sion up the line of Stetson Street, and when such addition shall have been built, some disposition, by removal or other- wise, should be made of the old Hunt school. This build- ing was put in good repair in the year 1915, and is a fairly satisfactory four room school of its type, although the rooms are larger than necessary for one grade classes, the lighting could be much improved, and the heating, by reason of the design of its system and the size of the rooms, is dispro- portionately expensive.
It has been suggested that if the old Hunt school is to be permanently retained, the town might acquire sufficient land on the opposite side of Broad Street and remove the building to such site. This would undoubtedly improve present appearances, although it is questionable if the resi- dents of Ward 3 would be thoroughly satisfied with such arrangement. An unfortunate accident to the boiler at the old Hunt school has added considerably to the repair ac- count of this building.
The Committee is glad to say that the expense of repair- ing the damage caused by the fire at the James Humphrey
367
School has proved to be much less than it was originally expected to be. The building is now in better condition than before the fire, and the items of expense, which appear in detail in the Town Accountant's report, a total sum of $1865.08, include repairs to the building and equipment.
School house fires are not common, and if there were con- stant and perfect vigilance, foresight and care in the con- struction and management of school buildings, such fires would never occur except by vis major, general conflagra- tion or criminal intent.
The most frequent causes are accumulated rubbish in dark corners, a state of things likely to exist so long as human nature, as it is, is governed largely by the principle that "What is not seen does not exist." If human nature cannot immediately be changed, dark corners can be abolished.
At the Humphrey School it was not a rubbish fire. There' was insufficient light, a wooden step near the boiler, bin boards laid up against the wall near an interior window alongside the wooden step, a wooden window frame and above it girder bars with no sufficient fire stop, and prob- ably, an accidental live coal taking lodgment against the wooden step or a bin board.
The conditions then prevailing at the Humphrey School in this particular have since been remedied so far as the building will allow, but artificial light will always need to be used in the boiler room, which as it is, is all too small.
No future school house should be built without the assur- ance of ample space and abundant natural light in the boiler room, together with all the fireproofing in construction that conditions demand. The building regulations of the Com- monwealth, applicable to new buildings of some size, are considered by most to be sufficiently stringent to insure safety in this regard.
As a measure of precaution changes should be made as soon as may be in the basements of some of our older schools looking to further protection from fire. Much, however, depends upon the janitor in charge, and his ability and will- ingness to dispose of all rubbish.
Considerable work has been done at the High School in
368
the way of improvement. The old gymnasium, by carrying out a plan previously conceived, has been divided into three rooms which are satisfactory for their purpose. Classes in typewriting, bookkeeping, drawing, sewing and dressmak- ing, both day and evening, are here accommodated.
On the first floor a partition has been set in the large east room, providing a place for the agricultural class.
The expense of making these changes, together with the needed permanent equipment, was considerable.
With all this, the building is becoming more and more crowded. Continuous use is made of the assembly hall for a study room, and it is difficult to see how the present build- ing can accommodate many more students, although we face yearly increasing numbers.
Beginning the year 1917, a trial is being made of prepar- ing and serving school lunches by the members of the Cook- ing Class. To be successful, it must be self-supporting, and the outlook is that it will be.
More equipment is needed, some is now being purchased, and more will be acquired if the adventure proves to be successful. When established, the enterprise will be under the control of the Domestic Science Supervisor, with an accounting system to be kept in order by members of the Business Class.
Even now, it is being proved that exceptional meals can be prepared at a very small cost. Granolithic floors through- out the lunch room basement will be put in, if possible, together with suitable lunch benches.
Both the High and Shaw schools use the cremation sys- tem for sanitation. At the High School it is not only a dis- agreeable system, but is getting to be inadequate.
Other problems of sanitation are met in some of the smaller schools. It is hoped that at some near time condi- tions will be such that no source of possible disease or infec- tion can be found in any of our school premises. In some schools, the Franklin, in particular, conditions should be immediately remedied. The construction of a new building in South Weymouth will do away with two of our worst cases.
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369
The Athens School is now filled to capacity; and certain classes there are subject to disturbance due to crowding. Conditions will be improved as far as may be and at no great expense. The new fence is completed, and the building is generally in excellent condition.
The Adams School has been thoroughly repaired and painted, inside and out, and with better floors, would be quite as good a building as the Lincoln School. The lower room has not been used for many years, but it will prob- ably need to be reopened shortly in order to relieve pressure at the Athens School.
The furnaces at the Washington School, after many years of service, are giving out. One was replaced last summer, and at the time of writing this report, it has been found necessary to replace another.
The Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Shaw schools all need painting on the outside, and the Franklin needs considerable renovation within.
The large experiment in evening schools has proved suc- cessful, both in results obtained by the students and in low cost of instruction. The Superintendent's report gives at length more detailed information concerning the Evening Schools.
The following is a summary of expenditures during the past year and estimates for the coming year :
Expended 1916
Estimated for 1917
Superintendent
$2,258 34
$2,300 00
Instructors
56,221 00
59,000 00
Janitors
5,577 39
6,000 00
Fuel
5,710 91
6,000 00
Repairs
7,611 06
5,000 00
Water Rent
417 00
450 00
Supplies
5,130 81
4,500 00
Miscellaneous
1,213 09
1,200 00
Transportation
2,870 00
3,300 00
Evening School
680 60
1,250 00
Totals
$87,690 20
$89,000 00
.
370
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR H. ALDEN, SARAH S. HOWE, ELMER E. LEONARD, FREDERICK D. NICHOLS, THERON L. TIRRELL, PRINCE H. TIRRELL.
371
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
Members of the School Committee :
I herewith submit my eighth annual report, the same being the thirty-first in the series of annual reports of the superintendents of this town.
It may be well to consider the financial condition of the school department at the beginning of this report as the rapidly increasing cost of every phase of world activity is the theme which dominates all others in interest at the present time. It is a pleasure to report that the school department has been able to keep within the appropriation granted by the town although the changes made necessary in the High School by the increase in the number of pupils together with the replacement of expensive heating equip- ment in the Hunt and Jefferson schools made a heavy drain on its resources.
The changes in the High School costing about one thou- sand dollars, the replacement of the heaters in the Hunt and Jefferson schools costing about twelve hundred dollars, and the fire escape, erected at the Franklin, by order of the District Police, costing about two hundred dollars, should not be considered as part of the regular repair ac- count.
.
By purchasing the school supplies in January, as soon as the money for the new year became available, the increase in the cost of materials which seriously affected many other towns in the state was almost wholly avoided. If the sup- plies had been purchased in the summer as usual the cost would have been nearly doubled.
I should like to call attention also to another fact which
372
is probably little known-the fire at the James Humphrey did as much damage in value to the books and supplies in the building as it did to the building itself. In two of the rooms the books were entirely destroyed by fire. The water which leaked through the ceilings and the dampness of the building during the drying out period ruined a large propor- tion of the books in the rest of the building . The cost of replacing these books has been met from the regular appro- priation for books and supplies without calling upon the town for extra money.
Fire Prevention and Fire Drills.
For several years fire drills have regularly been held in the Weymouth schools. Ordinarily these drills are held weekly, but in cold weather they are sometimes held only once in two weeks. Nearly every school building can be emptied in about one minute.
Parents have frequently asked teachers to excuse their children from these drills. While the James Humphrey School was burning, one little girl asked her teacher to excuse her from going out; her mother had instructed her not to leave the building if there were a fire drill during the day.
As a result of frequent fire drills, the pupils of the James Humphrey School got out of the building without panic or injury in less than one minute. Much credit should be given the principal and teachers for the orderly way in which the drill was conducted under real fire conditions.
At this fire the members of the fire department did excel- lent work. Through their efficient management and the presence of the new fire truck the building was saved from being a total loss. The building would not have been dam- aged to such a degree if it had not been for the fact that no telephone lay within easy reach, by which the fire de- partment could be notified.
Accordingly I would suggest that telephones be installed in the larger buildings. Each school could be supplied with a coin-box instrument at a cost of twenty dollars.
After the James Humphrey fire, regulations were passed making it obligatory for janitors to stay in their buildings
373
during school hours. These regulations are being followed in the larger buildings, though in case of one janitor hav- ing two small buildings to care for, it is obviously impos- sible for him to be in two places at once.
School Lunches.
The number of pupils in the High School has reached nearly four hundred. Many of the pupils have brought their lunches from home, but a large proportion have bought sandwiches, ice cream, or candy from the lunch counter maintained in the basement by the janitor. This method of furnishing food to the children has proved very unsatisfactory.
Plans are now being made to operate a lunch counter under the management of the Domestic Science Depart- ment. Nourishing soups, sandwiches, fruits, milk, cocoa and, other foods of dietary value will be served to the pupils at cost. The work of preparing the food and serving it will, be done by the students in the cooking department. The keeping of the accounts, the buying of supplies, and the selling of the food to be served will be in charge of the business department. This arrangement should offer prac- tical work of great value to the students. The girls in the culinary department will get experience in cooking in large quantities, and the pupils in the business department will get experience in actual business transactions.
It is planned to make the lunch counter self-supporting outside of the original cost of installing equipment. In many places where the school lunches have been introduced, they have proved not only self-supporting, but also very pop-, ular. A majority of the parents find that it is more economi- cal to purchase lunches at the school than to prepare them at home.
Evening Schools.
The Weymouth Evening Schools have been organized for the purpose of increasing the usefulness of the school sys- tem to the people of the town. They reach an entirely
374
different class of people from that which attends the day schools, people who have either failed to complete the regular work of the public schools, or who wish to extend the knowledge which they already possess. If they make a contribution toward increasing the efficiency of those whom they serve the cost incurred in running them may well be justified.
In addition to the courses described in last year's report, several interesting courses have been offered, among which may be mentioned those conducted by the Department of University Extension consisting of a class in College Eng- lish under the direction of Mr. Long of the Harvard Faculty and a course in Commercial Spanish under Dr. J. H. Worman, an author of several text-books in German, French. and Spanish and a man of wide teaching experience.
The work in English under Mr. Long has proved very helpful particularly to the teachers of the upper grammar grades who have constituted a large proportion of the class. The work in Spanish under Dr. Worman has made rapid progress. Its particular object has been to give the student familiarity with the words and phrases used in commercial correspondence.
The classes in cooking and sewing were placed under the jurisdiction of the State the first of March in accordance with an act of the Legislature which provides that Practical Arts Industrial Classes may be maintained in cities and towns of the Commonwealth. Half of the expense of the classes is borne by the State.
In addition to the above courses a practical business course has been offered consisting of elementary and advanced book-keeping, stenography, and typewriting. As this course is expensive to maintain a deposit of five dollars has been required from each student to insure good attendance. The money to be returned at the close of the term if the work of the student proves satisfactory. Twenty-eight have en- rolled in this course.
The High School.
The recommendations given in last year's report for in-
·
375
creasing the seating capacity of the building have been car- ried out with the result that practically every square foot of floor space is now being used to full capacity. I submit the following excerpts taken from this year's report of the principal :
"The regular work in the school has gone on with very few changes. The teaching force is practically the same as last year. The teachers and the students have shown an excellent spirit in attempting to do their best.
"Miss Mary L. Sheehy who served the school long and faithfully decided to accept a position in the Dorchester High School. Her place has been taken by Miss Mary Humphrey who has wide experience in school work.
"I mention again the fact that the building is full even beyond its real capacity and that it is possible to handle the present number of pupils only by having the classes larger than they should be to get the best results. Ex- tremely large classes are apt to cause a large number of failures. The teachers do not have the time to give to in- dividual pupils who need urging to do passing work.
"Recent pamphlets from the State Board indicate that it will be necessary to provide one teacher for every twenty- five students taking regular work in the school. We wish to make the conditions as favorable as possible, and it seems that we can hardly do less than meet the requirements set by the Board of Education. The fact that we have no addi- tional recitation rooms where it would be possible to use extra teachers points again to a pressing need for enlarging our present building.
"The successful season in football deserves mention. We are glad to take this opportunity to congratulate the boys upon their good work and to thank the people of the town for the loyal way in which they supported the team. Through the efforts of Mr. Foley and Mr. Bartlett, the coach and manager of the team, the subscription papers circulated through the different parts of the town met with a ready response and for the first time in the history of the school a real football equipment was provided."
376
Agricultural Course in the High School.
The Trustees of the Norfolk County Agricultural School have voted to purchase land and establish the main school in Walpole, but in order to better accommodate the students living in the eastern part of the county a branch of the central school has been opened in the Weymouth High School. Students from other towns in the vicinity may attend the local branch without incurring any expense be- yond what may be necessary for transportation. The Trus- tees furnish the instructor, text-books, and all equipment ; the Town furnishes the room and immovable furnishings.
There is equipment in the local branch for twelve stu- dents. Nine are attending at the present time. Two years' work may be done here, but the work of the last two years must be done in the central school.
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