USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > West Bridgewater > Town annual reports of the selectmen, overseers of the poor, town clerk, and school committee of West Bridgewater for the year ending 1915-1919 > Part 24
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Star of Service, (Two copies) 355-S
JUVENILE FICTION
Alphabet of Famous Cities, (Gift)
For the Children's Hour, (First Reader) Bailey
For the Children's Hour, (Second Reader)
Bailey
For the Children's Hour, (Third Reader) Bailey
Bailey
Tale of Sandy Chipmunk, (Gift) Blowing Away of Mr. Bushy Tale, Brighton Boys in the Radio Service,
Davidson
Driscoll
Brighton Boys in the Trenches,
Driscoll
Brighton Boys With the Battle Fleet,
Driscoll
Brighton Boys With the Flying Corps,
Driscoll
Brighton Boys With the Submarine · Fleet,
Driscoll
A Cromwell of Virginia (Colonial Series), Ellis
An American King (Colonial Series),
Ellis
Cowmen and Rustlers, Ellis
Last Emperor of the Old Dominion (Colonial Series),
Ellis
Off the Reservation (Arizona Series),
Ellis
Trailing Geronimo (Arizona Series), Ellis
Ellis
The Round Up (Arizona Series), Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point (R. F. Series),
Emerson
Ruth Fielding at Silver Beach (R. F. Series),
Emerson
Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island (R. F. Series),
Emerson
Worth While Stories for Every Day
Evans
Winston's Primer,
Firman
Winston's First Reader,
Firman
Winston's Second Reader,
Firman
Our Home and Personal Duty,
Fryer
Miss Pat and Company Limited,
Ginter
Miss Pat at Artemus Lodge,
Ginter
Miss Pat at Beunos Ayres,
Ginter
I22
Miss Pat at School, Miss Pat's Career,
Miss Pat in the Old World,
Miss Pat's Holidays at Greycourt, Three Little Women,
Three Little Women as Wives,
Jackson Jackson
Three Little Women at Work,
Jackson
Three Little Women's Success,
Story Garden for Little Children, What Daddies' Do,
Boy Scouts and the Army Airships,
Boy Scouts at the Canadian Border,
Payson
Boy Scouts at the Panama Canal,
Payson
Boy Scouts for Uncle Sam,
Payson
Boy Scouts on the Belgium Battlefields, Belgium Towns,
Perkins
How Barbara Kept Her Promise,
Rhoades
Maizie's Merry Chrismas,
Rhoades
Our Next Door Neighbors,
Gold Cache (The),
Sarg Schultz Smith
Only a Dog,
Tale of Peter Rabbit,
Camp Fire Girls Behind the Lines,
Anne, Princess of Everything,
Vandercook Wade
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
Stories of Great Americans,
Lives of Our Presidents, Our Neighborhood, Young Peoples' Natural History Our Community,
Y920-H Hurlburt, Y920-H Hurlburt Y353-S Smith Y590-Y Y353-Z Zeigler
HATTIE E. CARY, Librarian.
Ginter Ginter Ginter Ginter
Jackson Lindsay Livingston Payson
Payson
Auditors' Report.
As auditors for the year 1918 we have audited and ap- proved the warrants for the year and have verified the cash and bank balances with the balance called for on the treasurer's books.
Inasmuch as the town has created the office of Town Accountant we recommend that the office of Auditor be abolished and that the town accounts be audited each year by the auditors from the office of the Bureau of Statistics.
ARTHUR E. RYDER, J. ALTON PAINE, Auditors.
List of Jurors As Appointed July 1, 1918.
,Name.
Loring, M. Bates,
John H. Blackmer,
William F. Bosworth,
Edward E. Browne,
Heman A. Buck,
Arthur M. Burgess, William B. Call, Albert R. Chapman, Everett Clark,
George F. Cobb,
Charles E. Cowell,
Millard O. Dalton, Hervey Dunham, George S. Drake, Frederic E. Foye, George H. Holmes,
Frank L. Howard, Joseph C. Howard, Frank L. Howland, David L. Johnson, Sydney P. Kimball, Morton A. Kingman, Charles A. Lapworth, Thomas Luddy, Donald McDonald, Andrew M. Mills, Arthur C. Peckham, Fred A. Perkins,
Address
North Main Street, North Elm Street, Walnut Street, West Centre Street, Pleasant Street, North Elm Street, Walnut Street,
Charles Street, West Street, Plain Street,
North Main Street,
North Main Street,
Howard Street,
Central Square, East Street,
North Main Street,
Prospect Street,
Howard Street, East Street,
Sunset Avenue,
Sunset Avenue,
South Street,
Howard Street, Bedford Street, Commonwealth Ave.,. West Street, North Main Street, Walnut Street,
Occupation
Postal Clerk Salesman Shoeworker Grocery Clerk Farmer Garage Supt. Printer Manager Farmer Motorman Weaver Shoeworker Shoe Foreman
Retired Lastmaker Grocer Farmer
Farmer Shoeworker Insurance Age Carpenter Poultry Fancie Manufacturer Machinist Shoeworker Farmer Farmer Shoeworker
125
Robert C. Pike, Edwin L. Pratt, Christopher Read, Arthur E. Ryder, Nathaniel G. Shaw,
Gustus W. Swanson, Henry F. Thayer, Joseph E. Thayer,
Copeland Street, East Street, Matfield Street, Charles Street, North Elm Street,
Ellis Avenue,
Union Street,
Union Street,
Shoe Foreman
Shoeworker
Shoeworker
Office Clerk Patternmaker Musician
Retired Machinist
JURORS DRAWN IN 1918.
Joseph H. Bismore,
Andrew E. Chase,
Charles E. Cowell,
Fred T. Congdon,
Clinton P. Howard, Robert C. Pike,
Edwin L. Pratt,
William N. Shipman.
Town Clerk's Report.
BIRTHS RECORDED IN WEST BRIDGEWATER IN 1918
Date
Name
Name of Parent
1917
Oct. 10 John Raymond Samuels
1918 Jan.
13 Charles Leon Pelland
17 Betty Josephine Pope
18 Beth Kendall Chase
22 Herbert William Alexander Feb.
12 Warren Dunbar Johnson
16 Willard Irving Soule March
5 Eleanor Hatchfield
10 Amelia Nunes
19 Charles Warren Gardner
24 Ida Polus
27 Herbert Maine Hazelton
28 James Chaves
30 John Dutra Goncalves
30 Joseph Chaves
April
1 Gladys Elizabeth Parker
10 Stuart Weller Roberts
16 Thomas Joseph Hayes
17 Lucille Evelyn Broughton
18 Helen Lorraine Murray
20 Pearl Adeline Nichols
24 Axel Iva Sellstone
29 Ruth Annas Turner
May
1 Alfred Joseph Langdon
5 Stillborn
10 Lelia Mae Finch
23 Glyndon Turner Golder
25 Simon Eugene Johnson, Jr.
John M. and Irene Weatherbee
Leon O. and Carrie S. Foster A. Allan and Bessie M. Sanford Harold B. and Helen M. Churchill Alexander G. and Elenor C, Brown
William D. and Mary E. Wilds Basil M. and Lena L. Wright
William G. and Annie M. Baldwin Philip G. and Mary Rago Charles E. and Lulu B. Penpraese George and Libby Moses Harry R. and Mary Goodwin Joseph F. and Mary L. Soares John D. and Mary A. Enos Antoni A. and Philimeno Chaves
Tom and Margaret Laird Ernest Marion and Alice Orr John T. and Margaret E. Murphy Richard S. and Evelyn L. Lyon James R. and Bernice Richardson Otis and Ruth E. Miller
Carl I. and Grace E. Nelson Edward E. and Mary E. Moon
Alfred M. and Julia L. George
James C. and Lelia M. Holyoke Lester J. and Pearl E. Turner Simon E. and Ruth C. Stetson
127
June
7 Maria Alves
21 George Ellis Andrews
21 Marian Phoebe Dunbar July
1 7 Roy Stanley Swanson 8 Harry Eldon Fuller
14 Leonard Arnold Winberg
18 George Franklin Adams, Jr.
22 Virginia Winona Smith
25 Manuel J. Freitas
29 Maybelle Gertrude Vosmus Aug.
2 Roger Nelson Weatherbee 3 Cornelius Francis Crowley
16 Edmund DiSalle
25 George Howard Penpraese Sept. 2 Walter Everett Erickson
2 Arlene Keenan
18 Illegitimate
23 William Everett Blanchard, Jr
27 Roberta Anna Emeline Mac- Kenzie
Oct. 5 Arthur Rego Tavares
6 William White Emery
18 Barbara Elizabeth Bruce
Nov. 18 Charles Lorenzo Madan 22 Irene Loraine Phillips Dec. 26 Harold Linwood Hall 29 Donald Wesley Smith
30 Johnson
Jose V. and Maris A. E. Santos Henry E. and Margaret C. Mc- Donald Walter C. and Alice M. Fuller
Oscar and Ellen J. Birath Harry C. and Grace H. Aldrich George A. and Annie E. Risberg George F. and Anna D. Adams Adelbert E. and Girlie V. Swanson Joseph and Isabell Borges Merton J. and Jeanette M. Ingalls
Charles E and Ada L. Brown Daniel and Delia M. Duggan Hugo and Amelia Garbriele John A. and Lottie E. Bryant
Lawrence T. and Ellen M. Lund- quist
Bernard F. and Annie A. Nee
William E. and Elizabeth C. Green Robert W. A. and Stella E. Turner
Frank R. and Lena Chaves Stephen E. and Alice F. White Malcolm L. and Hattie A. Holt
John L. and Ethel M. Hardy William W. and Grace G. Smith
Harold P. and Laura M. Cyr Ola F. and Martha L. Forbes Samuel C. and Esther E. Johnson
Number of Births recorded, 55.
128
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN WEST BRIDGEWATER IN 1918
Jan. 1. Homer E. Phinney of Brockton and Anna F. Hefler of West Bridgewater.
1. Robert A. Roberts and Alice M. Atwood both Brockton.
Mar. 16. Clarence E. Bolinder of Brockton and Bessie E. Hemenway of West Bridgewater.
Apr. 20. Joseph M. Salvador and Maria Soares both of West Bridgewater.
" 24. Francis W. Wood and Clarissa W. Sweet both of West Bridgewater.
May 29. John Peterson and Keziah D. (Cameron) Bates both of West Bridgewater.
June 8. Joseph S. Chaves of West Bridgewater and Veigie C. Silvia of Brockton.
9. Harold S. Sturgis of East Bridgewater and Grace W. Cyr of West Bridgewater.
" 11. Allan T. Fuller of East Bridgewater and Marie W. Pratt of West Bridgewater.
" 25. Ray A. Hemenway of West Bridgewater and Inez H. (Bent) Smith of Avon.
July 18. William W. Phillips and Grace G. Smith both of West Bridgewater.
" 18. Jospeh J. Andre of West Bridgewater and Lil- lian M. Fongeallaz of Brockton.
" 22. Herbert P. Eburn of Brockton and Ethel M. Cowell of West Bridgewater.
Aug. 10. Carl L. Hunt of West Bridgewater and Ethel M. Rich of Whitman.
12. David Dailey and Nellie M. (Durgin) Sawyer both of West Bridgewater.
I29
Sept. 3. Clarence C. Mason of Brockton and Sadie M. MacPherson of West Bridgewater.
16. Harry A. Dietrich of Portland, Me., and Sadie E. Hanscom of West Bridgewater.
66 29. Loring M. Bates of West Bridgewater and Har- riet E. (Burrill) Richardson of Cambridge. Oct. 24. Ellis S. LeLacheur and Anna Gertrude Keith both of West Bridgewater.
Nov. 19. Charles H. Leonard and Anna E. Kirkpatrick both of West Bridgewaer.
28. Nelson T. Frank and Mildred L. Knapp, both of West Bridgewater.
29. Wilmer H. Taylor and Gladys M. Hunt both of West Bridgewater.
Dec. 25. Harry Cronbeck and Augusta (Anderson) San- dell both of West Bridgewater.
" 25. Theophil Chassey, Jr., of West Bridgewater and Mary C. Perrault of Brockton.
Number of marriages recorded, 24.
EDWARD H. CROCKER,
Town Clerk.
I30
DEATHS RECORDED IN WEST BRIDGEWATER IN 1918
Date
Name
Age
Cause of Death
Jan.
6 Mary J. Shaw
58
3
6
Myocarditis-nephritis
9 Mary Wages
39
4
10
Pneumonia
10 Andrew Brunda
33
Fractured Skull
19 Jacob Atwood .
71
11
15
Chronic Interstitial neph- ritis
George F. Lunn Feb.
48
11
8
Diabetes Mellitus
3 Ira A. Johnson
21
0
5
Acute lobar pneumonia
10 Elsie M. Finch
53
6
26
Chronic Interstitial neph- ritis
11 Harry S. Anderson
10
7
Lobar pneumonia
14 William H. Madden
60
9
13
Lobar pneumonia
18 George W. Ellis
67
4
Chronic Endocarditis
25 Lizzie B. Packard
71
10
25
Chronic Myocarditis
May
8 George Boice Titus
68
5
4
Diabetes Mellitus
13 Alfred Sylvia
23
11
16
Cerebral Oedema
27 Samuel L. Gardner
64
3
19 Valvular disease of heart
29 Frank B. Edlund
26
3
18
Pulmonary Tuberculosis
31 Hattie M. Keith
64
5
19
Cerebral hemorrhage
June
1 William H. Jenks
65
9
8
Apoplexy
9 Isaac Howard
22
29
July
20 Sebastiano Scolaro
19
Drowning
24 Sarah E. Mathison
67
1
18
Carcinoma Bladder and rectum
24 Alice Donahue
88
Mitral Insufficiency
Aug.
1 H. Melinda Howard
79
7
25
Anaemia
1 Mary Johnson
58
15
Chronic nephritis
21 John T. Clark
69
11
19
Diabetes
Sept.
7 Emily M. Bly
75
11
6
Cholecystitis and Chole- lithiasis
23
Arthur N. Johnson
29
7
14
Influenza
24 Charles A. Hackett
30
2
5
Broncho-pneumonia
29 Everett C. Staples
44
2
13
Influenza and Pleurisy Grippe
Oct.
1 Annie M. Rydell
72
Carcinoma of Liver
4 Rosemay Ely
14
4
7
Broncho-pneumonia
5 Villah A. Bradstreet
15
10
24
Broncho-pneumonia
6 Gilbert M. Turner
17
1
23
Influenza
21
Emeline A. Chandler
76
3
12
Myocarditis
23 Carrie E. Fish
57
6
10
Cerebral hemorrhage
1
Y
M
D
22
-
30 Mary Chaves
25
1
Gunshot Wound left temple
.
130
Dec.
3 Lucius Gurney
87
5
20
Chronic Myocarditis Carcinoma of Liver
4 Harriet F. Howard
58
6
5 Winthrop Howard
65
5
8 Cerebral hemorrhage
7 Albertina L. Edlund
66
4
10
Broncho-pneumonia Acute Bronchitis
10 Edith M. Jordling
26
4
15
Mary Josephine Ryder
60
4
21
Isabella A. Nichols
58
4
4 Interstitial nephritis
30 Aristo Brugnoti
29
11
1 Broncho-pneumonia
9 Arthur Tavares
1
2
16
4 Bronchial pneumonia Diabetes Mellitus
Number of Deaths Recorded, 44.
EDWARD H. CROCKER,
Town Clerk.
F
132
ABSTRACT FROM CHAPTER 99 OF THE REVISED LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS
Sec. 3. Physicians and midwives shall, within forty- eight hours after the birth of every child in cases of which they were in charge, mail or deliver to the clerk or regis- trar of the city or town in which the birth occurred a notice stating the date and place of the birth, giving the street number if any, color and the family name. They shall within fifteen days after the birth, mail or deliver to the clerk or registrar of the city or town in which the birth occurred a report of the birth, stating the date and place, the name, if any of the child, its sex and color, and the names, ages, places of birth, occupations and resi- dences of the parents, giving the street number, if there be any, and the number of the ward in a city, the maiden name of the mother, if the full return is not made within the forty-eight hours.
The fee of the physician or midwife shall be twenty- five cents for each birth so reported. A physician or mid- wife who neglects to report each birth within forty-eight hours or fifteen days thereafter, shall for each offence for- feit a sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars.
Sec. 6. Parents within forty days after the birth of a child and every householder within forty days after a birth in his house, shall cause notice thereof to be given to the clerk of the city or town in which such child is born.
The facts required for record, as stated in section 3, shall so far as known or obtainable, be included in every notice given under the provision of this section.
Sec. 8. A parent, or other persons, who by section 6 iş required to give, or cause to be given, notice of a birth or death, who neglects to do so for ten days after the time
133
limited therefor, shall forfeit not more than five dollars for each offence.
Sec. 24. The Town Clerk will furnish blanks for re- turns of births to parents, householders, physicians and midwives who apply therefor.
Citizens' Caucus.
A caucus for the nomination of Town officers, required by law to be chosen by ballot, to be elected at the Annual Town Meeting in West Bridgewater, will be held at the Town Hall, Wednesday evening, Feb. 12, 1919, at 7:30 p. m. The meeting will be called to order by the Chair- man of the Caucus Committee.
Town Meeting.
The Annual Town Meeting shall be held on the first Monday in March in each year for the election of such officers and the determination of such matters as by law are required to be elected or determined by ballot ; and all required to be elected or determined by ballot; and all other business shall be considered by adjournment to the second Monday in March at 7:30 p. m. (By-Laws: Art. I, Sec. 2.)
ELLIS S. LeLACHEUR, ORVIS F. KINNEY, JAMES A. HEMENWAY, Selectmen.
REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
AND
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
OF THE TOWN OF
WEST BRIDGEWATER
FOR THE YEAR 1918.
A. H. Willis, Printer, Bridgewater, Mass. 1919.
/
Report of School Committee.
CALENDAR FOR 1919.
First Term-December 30, 1918 to February 14. Seven weeks. Vacation, one week.
Second Term-February 24 to April 11. Seven weeks. Vacation, one week.
Third Term-April 21 to June 27. Ten weeks. Vacation, ten weeks.
Fourth Term-September 8 to December 19. Fifteen weeks. Vacation, two weeks.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Frank L. Howard, term expires 1919. Mrs. Corelli C. Alger, term expires 1919.
Mrs. A. S. LeLacheur, term expires 1920. Clinton P. Howard, term expires 1920. . Edwin Thayer, term expires 1921. Lester M. Fairbanks, term expires 1921.
4
ORGANIZATION
Chairman, Mrs. A. S. LeLacheur.
Secretary, Frank L. Howard.
Supply Agent, Supt. E. H. Grout.
Truant officers, J. C. Howard, E. H. Grout, Edwin H. Thayer and H. O. Davenport.
Superintendent of schools, E. H. Grout.
Office at High School building, East Bridgewater.
Office hours, Mondays and Thursdays,, from 3:30 to 4:30 p. m.
From year to year it is most gratifying to note a contin- uous improvement in the general status of our public schools. Much in the way of improvement of school buildings has been accomplished throughout the year.
We have a corps of teachers, industrious and conscien- tious, in whose work we take pride.
The organization of school work has received the un- stinted attention of superintendent and committee, and we trust a promise of greater efficiency will be realized in the coming year.
Parents are especially invited to visit schools. The relation between parent and teacher should be most inti- mate, affording a mutual assistance in the work of the schoolroom and a corresponding better development of child life in the home.
We respectfully suggest the following appropriations for the coming year:
APPROPRIATIONS RECOMMENDED
Teachers,
Text books and supplies,
1,000.00
$11,252.00
5
General control, Janitors and supplies, Repairs, Fuel,
1,200.00
1,500.00
1,500.00
1,200.00
Transportation,
2,500.00
Miscellaneous,
400.00
ANNA S. LELACHEUR,
FRANK L. HOWARD, CLINTON P. HOWARD,
CORELLI B. ALGER,
LESTER FAIRBANKS,
EDWIN H. THAYER,
School Committee.
Twenty-seventh Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools.
To the School Committee of West Bridgewater, Mass .:
Your attention is called to the following table of school records :
Year ending June 1917
Year ending June 1918
Number of schools,
17
15
Number of regular teachers required,
17
15
Number of different regular teachers employed,
17
17
Number of special teachers,
2
2
Number of pupils enrolled,
523
478
Aggregate attendance, in days,
81,187
76,518
Average membership,
496
466
Average attendance,
458
429
Per cent of attendance,
92
92
Average number of days the schools
were actually in session,
177
179
The figures given in the preceding table are taken from annual reports made to the State Board of Education and 1
show at a glance the comparative standing of our schools
7
in two successive years. While there was a decided drop in membership for the school year ending in June, 1918, the per cent of attendance was the same as for the pre- ceding year. It is especially noteworthy, however, that in spite of the unusually cold and stormy weather of last winter, our schools were actually in session two days longer than in the preceding year. A study of the table giving the membership by grades as of January 1, 1918 and 1919, shows that the total membership for the two dates is practically the same. The data available at present would seem to indicate no great increase in mem- bership during the next year or two.
In preparing this report for the consideration of the citizens of the town, the thought uppermost in mind cen- ters about the schools in their relation to the great world war and the effect this war has had upon them. The demands made by the government upon all kinds of indus- tries, the shortage of labor and the consequent increase in wages, has opened to our boys and girls opportunities for immediate profit too strong for them and their parents to resist. During the past year seventy-four working cer- tificates have been issued to fifty different boys and girls between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, most of whom have thus early closed their school careers. A few de- lude themselves with the thought that attendance upon night-school will supply the educational advantage they have voluntarily surrended. The fact remains, however, that the voluntary membership of the night-school is made up largely of those who have been deprived of early opportunities rather than of those who preferred the shop to the school.
To a still larger group, those between sixteen and twenty-one, 179 employment certificates have been issued to 115 different boys and girls, many of whom should be in High school preparing for a life of greater usefulness and individual profit. An analysis of the figures given
MEMBERSHIP BY GRADES, JANUARY 1, 1919.
High
Totals
SCHOOLS
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
10
11
12
13
36
23
20
20
99
High Center IX
18
18
VIII
33
33
VII
32
32
VI
45
I-III
13
15
15
43
Cochesett Intermediate
4
5
5
6
Cochesett Primary
12
9
8
5
34
Sunset Ave. Intermediate
19
20
39
Sunset Ave. Primary
17
14
14 .
22
Matfield Primary
10
7
8
5
30
North
6
5
10
6
1
3
4
4
18
Jerusalem
2
1
4
3
5
4
19
465
Enrolment. Jan. 1, 1919
66
52
62
57
66
61
44
39
18
564
Enrolment Jan. 1, 1918
47
58
51
58
71
46
50
45
34
27
30
24
20
561
46
46
IV-V
21
24
20
45
Matfield Intermediate
9
6
7
21
South
9
above reveals an almost startling amount of shifting em- ployment. Of the 165 persons to whom certificates were issued, more than one-third came back for a second cer- tificate within the year, while more than one-seventh of these people obtained three or more certificates during the same period. Part of this shifting employment means better wages or better working conditions, but no incon- siderable part is due to failure to make good on the job. An intimate acquaintance with the facts for a consider- able period of years convinces me that there is a very close connection between success or failure in school work and the ability or inability to retain even the commonest kind of a job. To those who have had a vision of the future and have had the courage to stay in school the re- ward is sure to come; it may not be this year or next, but some day in the years to come they will look back upon the decisions made at this time as among the most mo- mentous of their lives.
In my last report reference was made to the shortage of trained and experienced teachers. Conditions have not improved during the year and there is little prospect for any great improvement for perhaps years to come. Some withdrawals from the profession will be only temporary, but many have left the work never to return. The short- age of teachers has been met in part by drawing upon those formerly in the profession for regular work, but this policy has reduced the number of available substitutes so much needed in times of sickness.
Writers and public speakers have paid glowing tributes to the part teachers and pupils have played in helping to win the war. Red Cross work, the sale of liberty bonds and thrift stamps, the great war work drive, all have made heavy demands upon both teacher and pupil, in addition to the regular work of the school. Our own schools have had no inconsiderable part in this work and have every reason to be proud of the record they have
1
10
made. They have, on many occasions, served as public- ity agents, have had their full share in selling and buying thrift stamps; they have been active in Red Cross work and have contributed their part in food production in- crease so essential to wining the war.
A noted writer once said. that teaching is the poorest paid and best rewarded of all professions. The rewards, however, are of too intangible a nature to be of much service in meeting obligations promptly and without worry. In recent years there has been a country-wide movement to remove from the profession this stigma of underpay, a movement that has resulted in salaries more nearly commensurate with the increased cost of living. In Massachusetts it has taken the form of state legislation providing a minimum salary of $550 per year for all teachers in communities not exempt from the applica- tion of the law. The committee of this town have risen to the opportunity presented by this new law and has estab- lished a new schedule of salaries forgradeteachers. Start- ing with the minimum established by law, deservingteach- ers may expect to pass by yearly increments of fifty dollars to a maximum salary of $800. This action of the commit- tee should in a large measure help to solve the teachers' problem of meeting obligations promptly and so give us a more contented and more loyal corps of workers. It should enable teachers to avail themselves of opportunities for professional reading and study that they may become more proficient in their chosen occupation. There is every reason to believe that we should have speedily tangible evidence of this increased proficiency in the form of bet- ter teaching and more satisfactory results.
As another step forward the committee of this town have united with the committee of East Bridgewater in employing a supervisor of sewing, who gives one-half of her time to the schools of each town. Miss Ida D. Runnels, until this year a teacher in our grade schools, has been
.
selected as supervisor of this newly introduced subject. Miss Runnels takes up this work after special preparation following successful teaching of the subject to limited groups of girls in our own schools. The course as out- lined for the present year differs in aim and accomplish- ment from the courses usually offered in the public schools. Through a study of color harmony the pupil is gradually led to acquire good taste in selecting materials for her garment and in choosing a pattern adapted to her form and to the material selected. The different steps of adjusting the pattern, cutting out the garment, basting, sewing and finishing are taken up in order, until at the end of the year each girl taking the course has a finished dress as her product for the year. In addition to this, the girl is taught how to care for the dress after finishing and how to repair the garment. Mothers of the girls taking this course are requested to visit the classes and to confer with Miss Runnels who will be only to glad to explain to them any part of the plan not thoroughly understood.
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