USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Cincinnati, the Queen City, 1788-1912, Volume II > Part 36
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Arrangement was made for a soup house, "to be kept in operation as long as economy and circumstances warrant it."
As the city grew, the overseers' districts increased to twelve. A reduction to six was however made in 1880.
The City Infirmary is located near Hartwell, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, and the Dayton Short Line Railways. It is about one mile distant from the Hamilton County Infirmary.
The Cincinnati Infirmary farm consists of a quarter-section of land. It lies west of the Carthage turnpike. Its front is on the Springfield turnpike. It is about half a mile from Millcreek. This land was at one time owned by Major Daniel Gano. The farm work is done by the infirmary inmates. The land provides most of the food required for the table.
The inmates manufacture clothing, brooms, mops, etc., a large part of such things as are needed by the institution.
The original buildings of 1851 were added to in 1898. They have a frontage of 380 feet and each wing has a depth of 250 feet. These structures were erected at a cost of $350,000. There are three acres of flooring surface. Twelve hundred inmates can be accommodated.
The infirmary, at first dependent upon wells and cisterns, has now its own waterworks. It has also gas works. It has a new fifteen ton refrigerating and ice-making plant, considered one of the best in the state. It has a new dynamo and engine, and the whole institution is wired for electric lights.
So far as possible, some kind of employment is given all who are capable; the farm, garden, grounds, laundry, machine shops, kitchens, stables, dairy, etc., furnish work for men; and laundry work, ironing, sewing, kitchen and house- hold duties for the women. The large numbers of inmates have been maintained at a per capital rate of 20.86 per day.
Several years ago, the then Superintendent Bogen, gave a few interesting conclusions from experience with inmates. He found that the old adage is only too true that "One poor old mother can care for twelve children, but twelve children will not care for one mother." There is another class who live up to their salaries as employes, and when old age comes they find themselves dis- placed by the younger and better equipped in the race of life. There are others, also, who spend their money freely for the benefit of their children, perhaps in educating them, and have no savings; and when these are forced aside they have to seek the infirmary for shelter, and the children permit it.
In numberless cases he found that parents had been sent there to die and be buried without the presence of a sympathetic face, except that of strangers,
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while the child holds a life insurance policy collectable on the death of the un- fortunate parent. Ohio laws have long made it obligatory upon the parent to maintain a child up to a certain age; but there was not, until recent years, a scratch upon the statute books that the child should give support to the parent when it is most needed.
In asking whether pauperism can be avoided, the superintendent cited what the paternal governments of the old countries are doing. They have compelled by statute the compulsory life insurance of the working class of people, and this compels the laying away of a given amount of money which may support one in part at least in declining days. While this might not be possible. under the free institutions and conditions of this country, yet he thinks the problem will be solved even here some day, so that the immense burden of pauperism shall be transferred from the state to the individual.
THE BODMAN WIDOWS' HOME.
The Bodman German Protestant Widows' Home, Highland avenue and Stet- son street, Mt. Auburn, was founded in the summer of 1881 by Mrs. Lauretta Bodman Gibson. She was prompted by her own charitable disposition and by a desire to carry out her late father's wishes, to give the Germans of the city a home for their aged widows.
On the 9th of November, 1881, the home was opened with nine inmates, and the number has steadily grown, until it now reaches fifty-six, the full capacity of the house.
The home is under the management of twenty-eight ladies, constituting the board, whose earnest efforts have secured to the home an endowment of $65,000. The interest of this fund, as well as the dues of the associate members, the entrance fees of the new inmates, $300 each, and such sums as may be realized from fairs, luncheons, etc., go to pay for the maintenance of the house, the total cost of which averages $5,000. A board of fiscal trustees, seven gentlemen, help the ladies in managing the endowment fund. Mrs. Hartman has been for many years the efficient president of the lady managers.
The home has, in its limited way, done a great deal of good, giving home and shelter to many German widows, who, at their time of life, are unable to accus- tom themselves to the life in this country and find a congenial home among their own countrywomen.
THE GLENN INDUSTRIAL HOME.
The Glenn Industrial Home, at 641 West Fourth street, is now in its twentieth year of usefulness. Every room is occupied by missionaries and workers, or by young women who have sought the shelter of a Christian home during their sojourn in the city. The Sunday School is held regularly every Sunday morning, with an enrollment of more than a hundred. Evangelistic services are held every Thursday evening. The educational department consists of three kinder- gartens; one at the home, another at the corner of Front and Fifth streets, and
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a third at Riverside. One hundred and fifty little ones have come under this loving training during the past year.
The industrial department provides a sewing school for younger girls, and the older girls are taught plain sewing. Forty young women have given their sewing class the name of The Young Ladies' Industry Club. These also do embroidering. There have been twenty-five boys in the technical class at the mission rooms at Fifth and Front streets, and their happiest hours are those spent in the "carpenter shop." A music class was opened in 1898. It prospered and was given to one of the young women domiciled at the home, and who has chosen music as her life work.
The ministry of work is believed in at the Glenn Home, and no one comes under its influence who is not given the joy of loving service for others. The Glenn Home auxiliary meets every week, and something is learned about mis- sionary work. The children call their missionary band "The Willing Hearts," and they put many of the children of wealthy homes to shame by their enthusiastic labors for the missionary cause. The church will never call in vain for mis- sionaries so long as such practical training is given the children. The mothers of the children of each of the kindergartens have been formed into Mothers' clubs, and while receiving help themselves, they give a helping hand. The social features are not forgotten, and there are entertainments, excursions and cele- brations at the holidays, notably Christmas and Washington's birthday. The Glenn Home is the special work of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal church.
HOME FOR DESTITUTE AND FORSAKEN FEMALE CHILDREN.
The Home for Destitute and Forsaken Female Children is in charge of the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy. The motherhouse, House of Mercy, is in Dublin, Ireland, and was founded by Catherine McAuley. In 1858, Mrs. Sarah Peter, of Cincinnati, went to the motherhouse and brought over eleven sisters to help found branches and continue the work here. There are branches also in Urbana, Bellefontaine, London, Piqua, Delaware and Hamilton, Ohio. They are all under the supervision of the archbishop. They are homes for girls of good character and destitute children, although pay is accepted from those who are in any way able. They are given instruction, and homes and occupa- tions are found for them as rapidly as possible. A laundry is in connection with the home and proves a source of revenue. Funds are raised for the work by contributions of citizens and by the teaching of the sisters in parochial schools.
ALTENHEIM.
The German Protestant Home for Aged Men, is one of the most elegant and modern of its kind in existence. In location it is superb, having an outlook of many miles in extent over the beautiful suburban hills of Cincinnati. It was opened in April, 1881. Forty-four are being cared for at the present time. An applicant must have attained the age of sixty years, and have been residing at least five years in Hamilton county, Ohio, or the cities of Covington and
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Newport in Kentucky. The admission fee is $150. Funds are supplied for its maintenance through the Society of the Deutsches Altenheim, the annual dues being $3. The society has at present a membership of 367. The mayor of the city is the president of the institution. This home was brought to reality through the united philanthrophic efforts of many of the city's wealthy and noble citizens. It is located at Burnet and Elland avenues.
WESLEY CHAPEL HOME.
This is the result of the Ladies' Aid Society, of Wesley Chapel, Methodist Episcopal church, to care for the helpless aged of its own congregation, and it has developed into a home for young working women, who pay $2 per week, which aids in a measure to keep it self-sustaining.
CONVENT OF ST. CLARE.
This institution is at Third and Lytle streets, and was formerly the home of Mrs. Sarah Peter, who deeded it to the sisters, reserving only rooms for her living, and as long as she lived she was its stay and support. This is a provincial house and novitiate of the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, the motherhouse being in Aachen, Germany. These sisters also have charge of the St. Mary's Hospital on Betts street, more familiarly known as the Betts Street Hospital. They are devoted too, to the care of the outdoor sick, and poor families are given aid.
SACRED HEART WORKING GIRLS' HOME.
The Sacred Heart Working Girls' Home, at 414 Broadway, is for homeless working girls who are respectable and self-supporting, and also an abiding place for girls out of work. This is indeed a place for strange girls to go who have decided to earn their livelihood in the city. It is generally the first few days in a great city that are the most dangerous in temptation; but surrounded by the conditions of home, such as they will find here, they are the better equipped to find useful and honorable employment that will not only enable them to support themselves, but perhaps lend a helping hand to others.
LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR.
This work is carried on by Sisters of Charity. There is one branch of the work on the Montgomery road and another on Biddle street in Clifton. The aged of both sexes are cared for. The Home for the Aged Poor, Florence avenue, near Desmoines street, is also conducted by the Little Sisters of the Poor. There are 267 branch houses throughout the world.
THE ASSOCIATED CHARITIES.
The Associated Charities occupies a commodious building at No. 304 Broad- way, which was the generous gift of Mrs. Sarah W. Bullock in 1894. The or-
ORPHANS' HOME, MOUNT AUBURN
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BOYS' AND GIRLS' HOUSE OF REFUGE, 1910
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ganization was effected in 1879 through the efforts of the Woman's Christian Association. Its support is derived entirely from voluntary contributions.
As set forth in its constitution, the society endeavors to accomplish the fol- lowing objects :
I. The promotion of cooperation between public and private charitable in- stitutions, benevolent societies, churches and individuals. This includes a care- ful registry of the dependent, defective and delinquent persons of the city, and skilled agents for prompt and sympathetic examination of conditions.
2. The maintenance of a body of friendly visitors to the unfortunate.
3. The encouragement of thrift, independence and industry.
4. The provision for temporary employment, and industrial instruction.
5. The collection and diffusion of knowledge on all subjects connected with the relief of distress.
6. The prevention of imposition, and the diminution of vagrancy and pau- perism.
The work of the society is represented by the departments of the administra- tion, the Golden Book, the labor yard, the work room, the provident fund and the home lending libraries.
The department of administration includes :
I. The registry. This contains as far as obtainable the names and addresses of those members of the community who have applied for charitable aid, and a record of relief given them, together with such other facts as will be helpful to those who are trying to promote the welfare of the poor. The registry contains the facts learned by the agents of the society and by the corps of volunteer friendly visitors.
Since the organization of the society more than thirty years ago, something like a hundred thousand cases have been recorded, and a couple of thousand of new cases are added to the registry during each year.
The registry is open except on Sundays and holidays, from 8 a. m. to 6 p. m. and is accessible to other societies, to churches and to all individuals who desire information for the purpose of helping those in distress. Inquiries may be made by mail or telephone.
2. Investigation. When the information in the possession of the society concerning the applicant is not sufficient to enable a fair judgment to be formed, agents make careful investigation by visiting the home and by conferring with friends and relatives. The facilities of the society in this direction are cheer- fully placed at the disposal of other societies and of citizens who desire to obtain as complete a knowledge as possible of those whom they expect to help. Several thousands of investigations are made each year by the agents of the society.
3. Friendly Visiting. It is the desire of the society that families and in- dividuals whose misfortunes have compelled them to seek assistance, should have the benefit of friendly counsel. About 175 men and women have volunteered to visit one or two families each, under the direction of the society, for the pur- pose of helping them through the establishment of friendly relations.
The visitors are organized into six conferences that meet once in two weeks. The names of these conferences and their places of meeting during a recent year are as follows: The Walnut Hills Conference at the Widows' and Old Vol. II-19
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Men's Home, Walnut Hills : the Mt. Auburn Conference at Christ Hospital ; the Wesley Avenue Conference, at the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home; the West End Conference, at the Hotel St. Clair; the East End Conference, at the office of the Associated Charities; the Eastern Avenue Conference, at the homes of the members.
The best means of helping the different families, assigned to the visitors, are .discussed at these conferences. Several hundreds of families are taken up for visitation by these volunteers each year.
4. Employment Bureau. A list is kept of those individuals who are seek- ing employment. An effort is made to secure a knowledge of the character and trustworthiness of each applicant. Through the officers, the corps of friendly visitors and the friends of the society, an effort is made to find employment for all who need it. Temporary employment is found each year for several hundreds of persons and many permanent positions are also found.
5. Advice and Legal Aid. It frequently happens that poor people need nothing so much as counsel and advice. The officers of the society are ready at all times to do what they can to protect the interests and promote the welfare of those who are helpless. Assistance is readily given in maintaining or defend- ing their rights or in directing them to the sources from which such aid as they need can be procured. Judicious service of this kind is often far more effective than more material aid.
The Golden Book is a fund for providing temporary relief until some per- manent disposition of the case can be made. The purpose of the society is to make the applicant self-supporting, or to put him in touch with some institution, church, relative or friend, or other natural source of assistance. During each year the amount expended from this fund reaches from three to five thousand dollars. This includes moneys placed in the hands of the society for special families and for specific purposes.
The Labor Yard was established in 1893 for the purpose of providing employ- ment for destitute married men and to furnish homeless men with the means of earning meals and lodgings.
I. Married men. The married men are employed at making kindling wood and at tearing down old buildings for which the society takes contracts. It is not the purpose to give men steady employment but enable them to earn enough to meet their pressing needs until other work can be found. Orders for kind- ling wood and for wrecking are earnestly solicited. During each year several thousands of days' work are given to married men. It is the desire so far as possible to find regular work for these men, and a special effort is made to supply workmen on short notice to any who need their services.
2. Homeless men. The labor yard undertakes, in the second place, to give homeless men an opportunity to earn meals and lodging and thus obviate the necessity of begging on the streets and elsewhere. They are employed at making kindling and in helping about the house. They receive no money. Their com- pensation is in meals, lodging and clothing. Each lodger is required to take a warm shower bath before retiring and have his clothing thoroughly sterilized. Tickets entitling their holders to the privileges of the labor yard may be had for distribution by citizens upon application to the general secretary. About a
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thousand homeless men are cared for in the labor yard annually. The number of· meals reaches yearly toward ten thousand, and the number of lodgings from two to four thousand.
The work room for women was established in 1890 to give employment to destitute women who are the breadwinners for their families. They are em- ployed at sewing carpet rags, weaving carpets and rugs, at all kinds of plain sewing, repairing garments, at cleaning, at laundry work, etc.
The women are paid in groceries and clothing and are given a luncheon at noontime. Family washings are done in the laundry and the rugs and carpets are sold, thus realizing some returns upon the labor.
Several hundreds of women each year work in the work room a total of several thousand days.
A creche is maintained in connection with the work room so that mothers who have children too small to be left at home can bring them along and. have them cared for. In the neighborhood of three hundred days' care is given to children each year.
Women can usually be obtained at short notice through the work room to do housecleaning, washing, cooking, sewing, etc.
There is a provident fund to promote thrift among those who can save only in small sums. For this end, stamps have been provided, ranging in denomina- tions from one cent to one dollar, which are sold to depositors and pasted in books which are given them for that purpose, with the understanding that the stamps will be redeemed at the pleasure of the depositor upon the surrender of the book.
Savings stations have been established in a number of free kindergartens, in sewing schools, and the social settlement, and the effect is believed to be very beneficial. Children are encouraged to save for specific purposes. The number of depositors during the year is usually above three hundred dollars, and the amount deposited above six hundred.
There is a home lending library. To develop the love of good literature among people in the tenement houses, libraries of ten volumes each, selected with the purpose of suiting different ages and tastes, are placed in neat cases and put in charge of reliable women in tenement houses where visitors regu- larly meet the children of the neighborhoods and by reading to them and telling them the stories in the books arouse a desire to know more of their contents. The books are then loaned to them to be read in their own homes. Much good has been accomplished in this way. Few things exercise a greater influence over young lives than the books they read.
YOUNG WOMEN'S IMPROVEMENT CLUB.
This association was organized under the auspices of the Cincinnati section of the Council of Jewish Women, May 1, 1897, its object being to raise girls out of the sphere of factory life by organizing for them classes of instruction which will make them independent and useful women in the broader walks of life.
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The task of procuring members was, in the beginning, a very difficult one, but the club has grown and is self-supporting. Each member is taxed fifteen the vestry rooms of the Plum street temple, and a social meeting occurs at the cents per month. Meetings are held every Monday night from 7:30 to 9:30 in same place on the first Sunday afternoon of each month.
The work is divided into six classes of English and literature, grammar, spelling and conversation. There is a class in dressmaking, where instructions in cutting, fitting and sewing are given; there is also a class in embroidery.
The first twenty minutes of the evening are devoted to talks, which alternate each week, from the topic of the Bible to that of hygiene. Gymnastic exercises are a part of the evening's work, in which exercises for walking, standing and breathing properly are given. At the social meetings a business meeting is held and dues are collected, the rest of the afternoon being devoted to pleasure.
The officers consist of a president, chosen from the 'working girls, a vice president, usually a member of the committee, a secretary and treasurer. All officers are elected by ballot, the object being to give the girls a knowledge of parliamentary proceedings. The working year begins in October and ends in June.
THE WORKING BOYS' HOME.
The Boys' Home of Cincinnati was founded in 1885, and incorporated in 1895, to protect, educate and shelter newsboys, working boys and homeless boys generally. The above few words record the object of an institution which oc- cupies a unique place among the charities of the Queen City. The work is one of common humanity and as such should appeal to all men. Differences of religion are lost sight of in realizing the duty all have toward childish innocence.
The first impulse on beholding wretchedness is to alleviate it for God's and humanity's sake, and any thought that seeks to ,narrow this prompting may well be banished when the touching appeals of the young and unhappy break upon our ears. Christ himself, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, placed no bounds to compassion and love of the helpless and friendless. We should not, therefore, place any conditions or limit to charity.
The Working Boys' Home should be heartily supported by the charity of the people of Cincinnati-
I. Because no share is given it from any collection or orphans' fund. Charity from individuals alone sustains it.
2. Because its work is to prevent crime by saving our poor boys from the streets and evil company.
3. Because we must provide for these boys, or else they come to be inmates of the state reformatories.
Entirely dependent on the charity of the public, this institution gets no state aid. It has no connection with any other institution, here or elsewhere.
YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
The Young Women's Christian Association of Cincinnati was founded in 1868 to meet a demand which was even then beginning to be strongly felt, and
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.Y. W. C.A.)
YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION BUILDING ON WEST EIGHTH STREET
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which has become more imperative with every year. Regret, denounce, deride the fact as we may, the number of detached girls, girls often impelled by noble purposes and controlled by sterling principles, deprived either by poverty or death of the safe shelter of a home, and forced to assume the full respon- sibility of their own acts, increases constantly.
For such as these the boarding home of the association was established, first in two rented houses, and afterwards in a building purchased and fitted up for the purpose at No. 100 Broadway. Here more than forty young women could be accommodated at one time, and during the twenty-three years of its occupancy many hundreds found in it the best available substitute for a real home.
In the attempt to supply the elemental need for food, shelter and protection, demands for other kindly efforts soon became apparent. A summer resting place for working girls was provided in 1880 at Epworth Heights, through the gift of building lots from the Cincinnati Camp Meeting Association, and of money from Mrs. Gibson of Mount Auburn.
At a cost of only three dollars per week, some seventy-five girls have en- joyed, in the course of each summer, a fortnight's outing, with pleasant views of the windings of the Miami, and the healthful air of groves and open spaces. The effort to find work for the unemployed brought early to notice the neces- sity for industrial training. The yearly reports of the association show from the very beginning a determination not merely to deal with symptoms of distress but to master the whole problem of woman's work.
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