UC-NRLF 
 
 SB 32 
 
GIFT OF 
 
THE STORT OF THE 
 
 SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 
 
 1891-1916 
 
THE STORY OF THE 
 SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 
 
 AT BEACON, NEW YORK 
 
 1891-1916 
 
 TOLD BY 
 
 SARAH LOUISE ARNOLD 
 
 Dean of Simmons College, Boston 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE SCHOLARS 
 1917 
 

 
 
 D. B. UPDIKE THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS . BOSTON 
 
To see that all is fair and clean to cleanse and 
 purify wherever she goes to set disorderly things 
 in orderly array this is a woman's mission. RUSKIN 
 
 3645" 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FOREWORD xi 
 
 THE STORY OF THE SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 3 
 
 DOMESTIC SERVICE COURSE 29 
 
 MISS PEARSON, PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTOR, 1892-1917 42 
 
 SONG FOR THE SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 47 
 
 APPENDIX 55 
 
 ALUMNAE REPORT, 1900-1916 66 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Portrait of Mrs. Winthrop Sargent Facing page 3 
 
 The Sargent Industrial School 4 
 
 The Sun-Dial 8 
 
 Prize Winner 10 
 
 The Gymnasium 14 
 
 The Sunbonnet Babies 1 9 
 
 JL Cookery Class 22 
 
 The Bird Fountain 26 
 
 Six Domestic Pupils 39 
 
 Miss Jessie Elizabeth Pearson 42 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 THOSE who thoughtfully consider the 
 problem of education in our democracy 
 will not only take pride in the achievements 
 of our public schools, but will also discover 
 the indispensable contributions made through 
 individual initiative, by means of which the 
 common ideal is lifted and the common work 
 strengthened. These voluntary and individual 
 additions reinforce the typical education of the 
 day. New plans are freely tested because new 
 ideals are apprehended, or the ideals of the 
 past more clearly recognized. 
 
 For such experiments absolute freedom is 
 necessary, with sufficient time to work out and 
 to establish the plans which set forth the new 
 ideals. Ultimately the insight of the individual, 
 thus tested and approved, takes shape in our 
 system of education, and this individual expe- 
 rience is thus added to the common fund. 
 
 Marked examples of such vision and such 
 initiative, which have re-formed our concep- 
 tion of education, have been seen in the work 
 
xii FOREWORD 
 
 of Mrs. Quincy A. Shaw, who founded the 
 Kindergarten system of Boston as well as the 
 Manual Training schools, which were the pre- 
 cursors of Industrial Training ; and in that of 
 Mrs. Augustus Hemenway, to whose credit 
 belongs the introduction of Home Economics 
 into the schools of Boston. 
 
 Another contribution, less widely known 
 but no less significant, is that of Mrs. Win- 
 throp Sargent of Boston and of Beacon-on- 
 Hudson, who has for twenty-five years main- 
 tained and developed in the village of Mattea- 
 wan, New York (now incorporated into the 
 city of Beacon), an institution which clearly 
 expresses an essential ideal, the Sargent In- 
 dustrial School. Long before our federal gov- 
 ernment expressed by law its appreciation of 
 the importance of teaching and reinforcing the 
 American home, Mrs. Sargent was putting into 
 practice instruction which clearly expressed 
 the principles now accepted in the teaching of 
 Home Economics, working out in the vil- 
 lages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing the 
 
FOREWORD xiii 
 
 type of instruction which is now commended 
 throughout the country. 
 
 The story of Mrs. Sargent's work is briefly 
 told in the following pages, in response to 
 the earnest desire of friends who believe that 
 efforts like hers modify community ideals and 
 fulfill a most important mission, quite other 
 than that of the public schools. As far as possi- 
 ble, this intimate account is given in the words 
 of students, alumnae, neighbors, and other 
 near friends of the school. 
 
 Every life has its own gift to bring, adds 
 its own color to the web which we are weaving 
 together. The writer believes that the unique 
 work of Mrs. Sargent,which runs like a golden 
 thread through the fabric of the village ex- 
 perience of Mattea wan, clearly discernible in 
 hundreds of homes, will bring encouragement 
 to many who are likewise eager to share with 
 others, by some such means, their interpre- 
 tation of life. 
 
 SARAH LOUISE ARNOLD 
 Simmons College, Boston 
 August, 1916 
 
THE STORY OF THE 
 SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 
 
:*-. 
 
THE STORY OF 
 THE SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 1 
 
 IT was in 1878, thirty-eight years ago, that the 
 Sargent Industrial School really had its begin- 
 ning, when Mrs. Winthrop Sargent, a generous res- 
 ident of Fishkill-on-Hudson, with volunteer asso- 
 ciates, gathered together groups of children in St. 
 Luke's parish and there opened a sewing school. As 
 early as 1888, classes met in Mrs. Sargent's beau- 
 tiful home, Wodenethe, for elementary lessons in 
 cooking and housekeeping. Without interruption, 
 during the years which followed, Mrs. Sargent has 
 maintained and developed a school which has be- 
 come an integral part of the life of the villages to 
 which it ministered. To-day the school numbers 
 nearly ten thousand pupils who have received in- 
 struction ; it has taught children of three successive 
 generations, sending the influence of the school into 
 practically every home in the neighboring towns, and 
 reaching, through intimate and continuous courses 
 of lessons, literally thousands of women and girls. 
 From the beginning, the five villages adjacent 
 to Matteawan, Fishkill Landing, Fishkill Village, 
 Glenham, Tioronda, and Groville, have shared 
 
 1 Free use has been made of abstracts from an account of the school 
 which appeared in the Survey of April 2, 1910. 
 
4 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 together the advantages of the school. These com- 
 munities are busied with manufacturing, and sup- 
 port many profitable industries. At the present time 
 the manufacturing population gathered in these 
 centres contributing and relating to the mills num- 
 bers more than ten thousand people. In 1914 Mat- 
 tea wan and Fishkill Landing were united, becom- 
 ing the city of Beacon, New York. 
 
 The work of the Sargent School is carried on in 
 a group of school buildings situated almost on the 
 dividing line between the old villages of Matteawan 
 and Fishkill Landing. These buildings consist of 
 a fine old-fashioned country house set in the most 
 attractive grounds, which furnishes classrooms for 
 the various departments of the school, and apart- 
 ments for the residence of the head teachers and their 
 assistants, and with a large gymnasium, where in- 
 struction in physical training is given and where the 
 exhibitions of the school and all the school enter- 
 tainments are held. 
 
 The buildings are shaded by noble trees, and are 
 set in ample grounds, which form fine surround- 
 ings for the group. Among the chief attractions of 
 the place are a beautiful old-fashioned garden with 
 box-edged borders, and an apple orchard. The house 
 is large, hospitable, and commanding, with broad 
 white porches framed in wistaria. Across the well- 
 
. 
 ' 
 
 : * 
 
 '.- ': -.. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 5 
 
 keptgarden, gay with its perennial flowers, one looks 
 out upon Mount Beacon guarding the town with its 
 steadfast strength. The school has no institutional 
 aspect ; it presents instead all the attractiveness of a 
 home of culture and refinement. This appearance of 
 the school shows forth its real character, for the Sar- 
 gent School is first of alia home. Within its walls are 
 carried on all the household processes for the sake of 
 the family which lives there. Students coming and 
 going are received exactly as if they were in the home 
 of a friend. Every one is greeted as she enters and 
 speaks her "Good-by" as she goes. The ordinary 
 happenings of the ordinary home take place there. 
 There is no formal and separate building used at 
 specific hours merely for instruction, but, rather, the 
 teaching takes hold of all the interests of ordinary 
 life. 
 
 The founder intended the school to be not only 
 a home for the teachers, but also a second home for 
 the students who are welcomed there. These girls 
 are interested in everything that belongs to the estate 
 the maintenance of the house, the planting of the 
 garden, the blossoming of the apple trees, the care 
 of the grounds. It is their school home, and many 
 girls have been associated with it for years. Mrs. 
 Sargent's desire is apparent on every hand, for the 
 women and children who come there can share with 
 
6 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 her all the interests of the school home, and can 
 take into their lives the satisfactions which the finer 
 housekeeping and homekeeping assure. 
 
 As has been said, the house is first of all the home 
 in which the teachers of the school live. Here they 
 welcome the students, young girls from the public 
 schools in the afternoons, and in the evening teach- 
 ers, housekeepers, and workers from the factories. 
 Classes in sewing and in dressmaking, in cookery 
 and in laundry work, are in progress throughout 
 the afternoon and evening, while the gymnasium is 
 regularly occupied by classes in singing and in phys- 
 ical training, including games and dancing. These 
 last classes are held in the gymnasium, which was 
 built in 1905. The building, which was designed 
 by the distinguished architect, Francis Richmond 
 Allen of Boston, is most harmoniously related to the 
 original building. It is set among the overshadowing 
 trees on the western slope. Cypress wood, stained 
 a rich natural brown, is used for the exterior of the 
 building, with party- walls of brick, while heavy piers 
 of brick support the large hall within. The hall is fin- 
 ished in North Carolina pine, likewise stained, with 
 a finely grained floor of maple. Simplicity marks this 
 main hall. Its proportions 40x60 feet afford 
 ample room for marching and countermarching at 
 the drills and for the many indoor games. At one 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 7 
 
 end of the hall is a stage, where plays and concerts 
 take place ; at the other end are the dressing rooms 
 and a small room for club meetings. 
 
 Through the past year more than seven hundred 
 girls and young women have been in regular at- 
 tendance at the school. Think what this means to 
 the community! Into at least seven hundred homes 
 yearly goes wholesome instruction in household arts, 
 and all the conversation that attends the reports of 
 the various classes; for the tone of the incidental 
 instruction is uplifting, and many seeds are sown 
 in the friendly intercourse between teachers and 
 pupils. 
 
 The attendance is wholly voluntary ; the girls come 
 because they want to come, and because their par- 
 ents appreciate the opportunity which the school 
 .opens for them. The demand exceeds the capacity 
 of the school, as the long waiting list testifies. Great 
 emphasis is laid upon punctuality and regular at- 
 tendance. Day after day, week after week, the chil- 
 dren appear, rarely absent or tardy. They receive 
 on Prize Day, at the end of the year, the badge of 
 yellow ribbon which stands for regular attendance, 
 excellent deportment, and satisfactory achievement. 
 When, on Prize Day, a young girl appears, decked 
 with five, ten, or fifteen of these yellow badges, one 
 knows that she has secured an honorable record 
 
8 THE STORY OF THE 
 
 through class after class, year after year, for each 
 badge represents a completed year's work. 
 
 Thus the influence of this school has been stead- 
 ily pouring into these many homes through many 
 years. Think what it means for each and every child 
 to have developed to such a degree this power of reg- 
 ular attendance and persistent endeavor. Imagine 
 the many results of this continued association with 
 earnest teachers under this hospitable roof, and in 
 the atmosphere of this refined home. That so many 
 children eagerly desire to attend the school and to 
 share its advantages is in itself the finest tribute to 
 the school. 
 
 A visitor to the school on any day will find sev- 
 eral classes in progress. The programme provides a 
 five-years' course in sewing, a two-years' course in 
 dressmaking, and a one-year course in embroidery; a 
 two-years' course in cooking, one year in the house- 
 keeping class, one year in laundry work, four years 
 in physical training, with added courses in singing 
 and in drawing. Every group is small enough to 
 admit of intimate association and individual work. 
 Children are admitted to the first classes in sewing 
 and to the gymnasium when seven years of age. 
 The remaining classes consist of high school girls 
 and other girls or young women who have left school. 
 The intervening years are filled with graded courses 
 
The Sun-Dial 
 
 The Sun-Dial has for its motto : " Time is valuable " 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 9 
 
 in succession. The evening classes in dressmaking 
 are largely made up of members who are teaching, 
 keeping house, or at work in the factories during the 
 day. The courses are so coherent and so long con- 
 tinued that a girl may be under the influence of the 
 school for several years. 
 
 Although the possibility of continued instruction 
 extends over many years, Mrs. Sargent has from the 
 beginning provided short unit courses. She recog- 
 nized, as did Frederick W. Taylor in his masterly 
 programme of efficiency, that courage and endur- 
 ance will be assured if the worker sees the end from 
 the beginning. She therefore provided goals which 
 could be kept in view by the children, and gave 
 certain rewards of accomplishment to lure them on. 
 A prize of some sort was attached to the satisfactory 
 completion of every course. 
 
 So it came about that the year at the Sargent 
 School is crowned by i ' Prize Day, ' ' when the grad- 
 uates who are to receive certificates, the prize win- 
 ners, and the students who have received " hon- 
 orable mention ' ' assemble in the gymnasium with 
 their friends to receive the much coveted badge of 
 distinction and to hear their names read from the 
 honor roll. In the early days of the school through 
 ten years, in fact prizes were given for regular 
 attendance. It was Mrs. Sargent's hope, however, 
 
10 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 that the girls would grow into such an apprecia- 
 tion of their task that the material prize would not 
 be necessary. At the expiration of a decade she said : 
 ; i Now we are ten years old. Let us put away child- 
 ish things, and rejoice in our work because it is so 
 well worth doing." 
 
 Her hopes were fulfilled. Now the token of achieve- 
 ment, "the Prize," is simply a yellow ribbon bear- 
 ing the name of the school and department. Every 
 student may strive for this recognition, and all may 
 win it if they strive hard enough. The ribbons are 
 greatly prized by the students, and many a home in 
 Matteawan proudly exhibits a collection of tokens 
 which indicate long and faithful association with the 
 school. 
 
 Mrs. Sargent has felt that the recognition of good 
 work by means of prize-giving has been of great 
 value to the school. The courses in each department 
 have been carefully graded and the satisfactory com- 
 pletion of each course has been marked by the prize. 
 The pupils pledge themselves to regular attendance; 
 any pupil obliged to be absent must send an excuse 
 to her teacher. Two unexcused absences, or habitual 
 tardiness, necessitate withdrawal from the school. 
 Marks are based upon "attendance, punctuality, 
 courtesy, neatness, industry, attention, and excellent 
 work." The Year-book of the school says: 
 
This Student conceived the idea of presenting in this fashion the 
 prizes she had earned. She had followed every course and secured 
 every prize attainable. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 11 
 
 A prize will be given on Prize Day to a pupil who has 
 not been absent during the school year for her own plea- 
 sure, or above three times for a suitable reason, whose aver- 
 age is eighty-eight per cent, or more, who has satisfactorily 
 completed the year's work, and whose standing is excellent. 
 u Honorable Mention" will be given in addition to the prizes 
 to a pupil who has not been absent during the school year, 
 whose average is ninety-five per cent or more. A certificate 
 will be presented to each pupil who has, in the judgment of 
 her teacher, successfully completed a course in one of the 
 departments of the school. 
 
 These certificates are parchments bearing the sym- 
 bol of the school, the ' c beehive, ' ' and signed by Mrs. 
 Sargent and the teacher of the department. They 
 are almost invariably framed, and may be found" 
 hanging upon the walls of hundreds of homes in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 The gift of the school is two-fold. The young stu- 
 dent carries home with her a clearer idea of the task 
 which she is to perform there; but she also carries a 
 finer ideal which imperceptibly but assuredly affects 
 and determines her own standard of living. Mrs. 
 Sargent gives her personal attention to the school, 
 and its welfare has been her chief interest through 
 all these years. She has not merely supported it, but 
 she has always given herself without stint, not only 
 determining its general movement, but also know- 
 ing its smallest details. She has been much with the 
 
12 THE STORY OF THE 
 
 school, and the children always welcome her pres- 
 ence. One of the Alumnae in a recent letter says: 
 To me the S. I. S. has always been Mrs. Sargent. Once 
 in cooking class she patted my shoulder. That was a memo- 
 rable day. Then in gym exhibition, the thrills as we marched 
 by and saluted her ! Then to rise with the class when she enters 
 the room! These are my finest memories. 
 
 So without preaching, and through wholly genuine 
 and helpful practice, the girls grow up under this 
 beneficent influence. If their homes are happier and 
 better, it is not by virtue of perfunctory lessons, 
 but because they are following after the ideals which 
 are present always in the life as well as in the gift 
 of their beloved friend. 
 
 Of course Mrs. Sargent has gathered about her 
 teachers who are similarly devoted to their task and 
 whose influence is likewise most helpful. Miss Pear- 
 son, who is now immediately in charge of the work, 
 has been for twenty-four years connected with the 
 school. She welcomes the daughter or the younger 
 sister of the older student, and builds her every les- 
 son upon the foundation of the earlier training which 
 the school has provided for their home. One of the 
 teachers of sewing, Miss Alice Taylor, received her 
 training in the school entering in 1891 when only 
 seven years old. As student and teacher she has been 
 associated with the school for twenty-five years. Her 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 13 
 
 presence is a valuable connecting link, for she is well 
 prepared to serve as an interpreter. The stability 
 and continuity of the enterprise have assured per- 
 manence of ideals and have secured the complete 
 confidence of the community, where it has been for 
 so many years a source of satisfaction and pride to 
 the residents. 
 
 The relation of the community to the school is 
 strengthened and continued by means of the Alum- 
 nae Association. All who have been students at the 
 Sargent School may become members of the Alum- 
 nae Association. The latchstring is always out for 
 the Alumnae. Correspondence is maintained with 
 them after they leave the school. At the present time, 
 as the summary in the Appendix shows, the Alum- 
 nae are distributed through eleven states, and are 
 found in Canada and even in China. Since at the 
 present time the total enrollment numbers nearly ten 
 thousand (9820), it is evident that the influence of 
 the school is widely felt. The Alumnae meet regu- 
 larly at the school, nursing some course of study or 
 arranging some programme for the entertainment 
 of the students. They wear a badge whose design 
 (made by one of the students) includes the symbolic 
 1 ' beehive." One year, under a competent instruc- 
 tor, they pursued travel courses with associated read- 
 ing. Hawthorne's ' ' Marble Faun, ' ' illustrated with 
 
14 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 areflectorscope, claimed their attention another year. 
 Recently they gave their evenings to the study of 
 Dickens. After the Hudson-Fulton celebration they 
 united with the school in presenting an evening 
 pageant which represented scenes in the early his- 
 tory of the town. It is evident that the influence 
 which begins in the school-home does not end there. 
 
 These selfsame ' ( Alumnae ' ' are leaders in every 
 advance. Mrs. Sargent often alludes to the older 
 group as the "Old Guard." They established at 
 Tioronda, a village centred about a brickyard, a 
 sewing school which they themselves taught. They 
 organized the first classes in physical training in the 
 Sargent School, using the classrooms on the vacant 
 evenings of the week, until the full and regular 
 attendance attested the demand and Mrs. Sargent 
 met the evident desire thus expressed by building 
 the beautiful gymnasium. Here again the demand 
 not only proved the need, but exceeded the capacity. 
 
 This illustrates one of Mrs. Sargent's principles 
 of action. The school has always grown from within 
 outward. The five years' experience with the early 
 sewing groups, then the successful classes in the 
 kitchen of her own house, demonstrated the need 
 which she met by providing a cottage which Mr. 
 Sargent named ' ' The Beehive. ' ' The overflow of the 
 Beehive and the plea for more classes led to the buy- 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 15 
 
 ing and fitting up of the Rothery house, the present 
 home of the school. Then again the overflow called 
 for the gymnasium. Every advance has been neces- 
 sitated by the growth of sentiment, of desire, of the 
 common recognition of a public need. This organic 
 growth is very different from the erection of a build- 
 ing with the hope that the demand will follow. It is 
 evident that the method of the Sargent School ex- 
 presses a much more vital relation to the community. 
 
 The following outline indicates the steps in the 
 development of the institution. One reads between 
 the lines something of the courage and faith, the 
 patience and persistence, which have attended the 
 enterprise from the beginning : 
 
 1878. Mrs. Sargent opened the sewing school in 
 the schoolhouse on St. Luke's grounds. It was called 
 St. Luke's Sewing School. This was conducted by 
 Mrs. Sargent with volunteer teachers until the end 
 of 1889. 
 
 1883. With the help of Miss Emily Huntington, 
 the kitchen garden was inaugurated. Mrs. Sargent 
 and ladies in the neighborhood who were instructed, 
 in turn became teachers of the kitchen garden. 
 
 1884. Two classes in kitchen garden Wednes- 
 days and Fridays. Mrs. Sargent and other teachers. 
 This experiment was carried on five years. 
 
16 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 1888. Cooking school started at Wodenethe, Mrs. 
 Sargent's country home, taught by Mrs. Sargent's 
 cook. Weekly lessons for three months and class of 
 thirteen girls. 
 
 1889. The cooking school course repeated at 
 Wodenethe. 
 
 1891. "The Beehive" House on Washington 
 street, Matteawan, leased by Mrs. Sargent and con- 
 ducted by resident teachers. The cooking school 
 started with twenty-eight pupils and ended its first 
 season with fifty-three. The second year's classes 
 opened with twenty-nine students and closed with 
 seventy-six. Classes in cooking and sewing. 
 
 1893. Laundry work added. One hundred pu- 
 pils in the Beehive. 
 
 1893-4. One hundred and eighty-one attended 
 the opening classes. 
 
 18945. Beehive continued. Two hundred and 
 eighteen students enrolled. 
 
 1897-8. In 1898 the school removed to its new 
 house, the Roth ery Homestead. June 16, celebration 
 of Founder's Day. Reunion of the alumnae. Two 
 hundred and twenty students. 
 
 1905. Gymnasium erected. Five hundred and 
 sixty-six students. 
 
 1916. Seven hundred and nineteen students. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 17 
 
 Founder's Day, June 6. Twenty-fifth anniversary 
 of the founding of the school. Total enrollment, 
 9820. 
 
 On Founder's Day in June, a public exhibition is 
 given, with a garden party open to all the friends 
 of the school. June 16 is Mrs. Sargent's birthday 
 and so the celebration is a double one. The grounds 
 are thronged with visitors, and the children, only less 
 proud than their parents, act as hosts. This is the 
 day of days at the Sargent School and affords some 
 measure of the harvest of the years. This year, 1916, 
 celebration was held on June 6, and marked the 
 completion of the twenty -fifth year of the school. 
 The people of Beacon, in expression of their appre- 
 ciation of the school, made the day a holiday for all 
 the children of Beacon, closing the public and paro- 
 chial schools. Over two thousand people gathered 
 at the school to join in the festivities. The work of 
 the year was exhibited as usual ; the pupils, as in 
 previous years, formed in line and marched through 
 the garden to the grounds, singing as they went. 
 They passed Mrs. Sargent, each receiving recogni- 
 tion from her, and then escorted her to the gymna- 
 sium, whose door she unlocked, thus opening the 
 exhibit to the assembled guests. An added feature of 
 the day, a gratifying surprise to the founder of the 
 
18 
 
 school, was the presentation of a silver loving cup 
 by the townspeople, who had assembled to do honor 
 to the founder of their beloved school. 
 
 Nothing could have been more significant than 
 the good feeling expressed everywhere on this day 
 the happy gift of the holiday to the children and 
 the graceful presentation of the loving cup. Every 
 one felt the warmth and glow of feeling which was 
 everywhere present, and which showed that the resi- 
 dents of the city of Beacon appreciated the gift which 
 had been bestowed upon them through these many 
 patient years. 
 
 A marked feature of the Sargent School has always 
 been the children's devotion to the school and their 
 evident delight in their work. Their faces are radi- 
 ant as they stand in line waiting for the places of the 
 outgoing class, or share the little feast which they 
 themselves have prepared in the cooking class, as- 
 semble to compare their exhibits in sewing, or join 
 in the marches and dances in the gymnasium. Noth- 
 ing seems a bore, a mere routine. Since every girl 
 comes because she wants to come, allurement takes 
 the place of compulsion. The students accept loyally 
 the ideals of the school, and its every appeal meets 
 with their full cooperation. 
 
 The school has appealed to a fine group in the 
 

 The Sunbonnet Babies 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 19 
 
 community self-respecting, ambitious, and able to 
 appreciate the purpose of the founder. The long wait- 
 ing list shows that parents have confidence in the en- 
 terprise. "My girl's name has been on the list three 
 years," one mother says. "Can't you take her in 
 this year? " The home cooperates with the children 
 in securing regular attendance and full compliance 
 with the school requirements. The mothers come 
 to explain absences and to obtain directions for the 
 work of the children. One little girl recently fell into 
 the creek on her way to her lesson. She refused to go 
 home for dry clothing and instead presented herself 
 dripping wet at the school, where she was properly 
 dried a messenger being sent home for dry cloth- 
 ing. Whatever happened, she could not " miss " the 
 lesson. 
 
 Graduates frequently report their indebtedness to 
 the instruction received at the school. The class in 
 housekeeping studies the requirements of site, drain- 
 age, sanitation, and furnishing, and prepares simple 
 plans for every room in the house. A recent gradu- 
 ate, who married and established a home, followed 
 with great exactness the plans which the class had 
 approved. Many of the furnishings had been pro- 
 vided with her own hand, and all were in accord with 
 the instruction which the class in home-making had 
 received . Another wrote : 
 
20 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 Of course, in my mind is the appreciation of what the 
 school is to the community; and now that the educational 
 world is giving so much time to Domestic Science, I am glad 
 the words calorie, protein, carbohydrates, and their relation 
 to every day life are not mysteries to me. Also that I have 
 a working basis for intelligent cooking and housekeeping in 
 my own home. 
 
 The letters received by Mrs. Sargent from former 
 students are interesting and genuine : 
 
 It is so good for the young girls to learn while they have 
 a chance, for I expect some day to be a housewife. I am now 
 a servant and am getting along beautifully with my cooking. 
 I expect some day to make dresses for myself and also for 
 my children. 
 
 I have been going to sewing school more than two terms. 
 I wanted to go at first so I could learn to make doll clothes. 
 Mamma hopes that I can go until I learn to be a dressmaker. 
 
 I think the school is grand. I take great pleasure in at- 
 tending it. I also think it very kind of you to interest yourself 
 in us children. It ought to make good wives and mothers of 
 us. I am learning to sew patches on. I am nine years old. 
 
 I have always wished to learn to make my own clothes, 
 but never had the opportunity until now, having to work 
 in the shop all day. Last year I finished the cooking class. 
 I shall never forget the pleasant and useful hours in the dear 
 old Beehive. 
 
 I have come five years to sewing class and have only 
 missed one day. Edna has come three years and has missed 
 no days. 
 
 One of the graduates of the Sargent School (in 1899), 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 21 
 
 Alice M. Crosby, now a member of the New York 
 Bar, has written as follows concerning the school : 
 
 For hundreds of years philanthropists have been attempt- 
 ing to ameliorate in some degree the condition of the very 
 poor by giving some slight attention to their material needs, 
 but until very recently, self-supporting people who do not re- 
 quire charity were not supposed to have any problems. Bea- 
 con, a city of about 10,OOO inhabitants, offers factory employ- 
 ment to approximately 1180 women, who for the most part 
 are well paid. We have no child labor, no strikes, no lack of 
 work in normal times, no overcrowded tenement houses, and 
 no peculiar moral conditions confronting us. Recently we have 
 been told these things about ourselves. Twenty-five years ago 
 neither individually nor as a community were conditions sup- 
 posed by most people to be other than extremely satisfactory. 
 What more could a girl desire than to have well-paid labor 
 here in town ? 
 
 Mrs. Sargent was far in advance of her time in realizing 
 that people who will never desire material things given them 
 may nevertheless lead impoverished lives because of lack of 
 ideals. At the time of the founding of the Sargent School, 
 the tangent had swung far away from the home and taken 
 hundreds of girls into the factories. Moreover, homekeeping 
 did not then occupy its present dignified position as a science, 
 and the earning of money outside the home was considered 
 a superior occupation. One cannot even attempt to estimate 
 the value to this community of the Sargent School. There is 
 nothing of the same age in a similar locality with which to 
 compare it. How can one state in definite terms an intangible 
 asset like furnishing full development of womanly instincts ? 
 We can see many motherless girls providing homes for the 
 father and smaller children because of knowledge gained at 
 the Sargent School. We know that many women founding 
 
22 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 homes of their own are saved the annoyance and discomfort 
 of learning everything about the home at first hand. We 
 can see that the taxpayers are annually saved large sums of 
 money because they are spared the necessity of being required 
 to supply domestic science courses in our public schools. 
 
 It is natural, however, to take things for granted and not 
 to realize all that has been done for us through this fine in- 
 stitution. Women have been for the last twenty-five years in 
 a transition stage and it is extremely hard to estimate what 
 their future position will be. The modern woman has the diffi- 
 cult duty of having to be twofold prepared, both to gain her 
 livelihood and to manage a home properly. It takes time to 
 get the proper perspective, but future years may show that 
 the most valuable contribution to the community from the 
 Sargent School has been the striking of the proper balance, 
 the counteracting the one-sided development, which the ex- 
 tensive industrial life gives us. 
 
 A graduate of the school and of Cornell University 
 in 1900, now a physician, writes from Ithaca: 
 
 So far as being a bright and shining exam pie of the work of 
 the Sargent Industrial School, I surely would not be a credit, 
 but when it comes to appreciating the work and realizing its 
 possibilities, I could write a great deal. I have never seen a 
 school like it anywhere, so do not know how to compare 
 it, but I am very sure that the value it is to a community 
 cannot be overestimated. Here in Ithaca we need very much 
 a woman's building, but there is no Mrs. Sargent to support 
 it consequently we do not get the building or the work. 
 There is a splendid course in the University in Domestic 
 Economy, but that is available only for the girls who can 
 spend four years and have plenty of money to take it. 
 
 Does Mrs. Salman come for the "gym" work now? I so 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 23 
 
 often think of the way she conducted those classes and wish 
 we might have such an inspiring instructor here. 
 
 A graduate in 1894 writes from Toronto, Canada: 
 The subject of your letter interests me exceedingly as 
 Mrs. Sargent's philanthropic work is different from any other 
 that I have seen. Of course there are the Technical Schools 
 in cities that are large enough to support such institutions but 
 Mrs. Sargent brought to a small place what such a place per- 
 haps never thought of, and it was done in such a way that no- 
 good girl was excluded. Her work is to my mind the only 
 kind of philanthropic work worth while, as it does not bring 
 help to a few in a way to make that few more helpless and 
 dependent on others, as is often the case with charities, but 
 it does bring real help to all who wish to learn to help them- 
 selves. This school has not only taught the girl, who has her 
 living to earn, how to earn it, but it has fitted other girls to 
 take up their own households in a more intelligent and sys- 
 tematic way. I remember hearing Mrs. Sargent say that there 
 is no place where intelligence counts more than in the per- 
 formance of household duties. She is absolutely correct, as one 
 can testify who employs any person or persons in household 
 tasks. The S. I. S.has a lasting influence in forming the highest 
 ideals among its students partially because Mrs. Sargent has 
 not only given of her thought and of her means but of herself. 
 Her frequent visits to the school with her charming person- 
 ality are, I am sure, an incentive to many of the girls. This, 
 combined with the efficient staff with which she has always sur- 
 rounded the school, has made the school a wonderful success. 
 You know it is a long time since I have visited the school 
 but many dear and pleasant memories are always with me 
 in connection with the lovely school on the hill. I look back 
 often and consider my association with the Saturday morning 
 class as having been not only pleasant but a great help to me. 
 
24 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 Another graduate of the same year, writing from 
 Los Angeles, California, says: 
 
 I have been trying to think since receiving jour letter 
 what I could say in a few words about the Sargent Indus- 
 trial School. It means so much to its members, its influence 
 has been so widespread. Starting as it did in a small way and 
 gradually growing until it has reached its present state of com- 
 pleteness. To me it stands for progress, usefulness and refine- 
 ment in all branches which go to make good home-makers 
 of our girls. Any girl who has ever been a student in the Sar- 
 gent Industrial School can never shake off the influence of the 
 refining environment which surrounds her in whatever branch 
 of the school she takes up, be it cooking, sewing, laundry 
 work or in the finer arts of embroidery, painting and physical 
 training. And the thought which conceived it all coming from 
 Mrs. Sargent, she chose the highest philanthropy of all which 
 is To help others to help themselves. 
 
 Another graduate, afterwards of Vassar, 1912, 
 writes from New York: 
 
 I feel that Mrs. Sargent is doing a very worth while work. 
 My educational experience has shown me the great impor- 
 tance to the growing boy or girl of hand work or industrial 
 work. Ideally it ought to be linked up with work of the day 
 school and provide problems which the student would bring 
 to the classroom to solve, but as this is not yet done in the 
 majority of our schools altho the attempt is being made 
 here and there it remains for a few wise-minded citizens to 
 provide that which the state ought to provide. Great credit, 
 I think, is due Mrs. Sargent for her school, which is correct- 
 ing in its field, the one-sidedness of our present education. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 25 
 
 The Matteawan Journal in an editorial comments 
 thus on the work of the school : 
 
 Thanks to the Sargent Industrial School, the young women 
 of the town are learning the art of home-making and learn- 
 ing it as it should be learned not through the medium of 
 necessity. When education comes through necessity it is fre- 
 quently irksome, and the element of joy being thus removed, 
 beauty soon follows it. Girls go to the Sargent Industrial 
 School to learn housewifery, not because they are obliged to, 
 but because they want to; there the subject is made interest- 
 ing to them and through friendly rivalry they are spurred on 
 to real creative work of their own. 
 
 A business man writes concerning the school: 
 
 Not long ago I heard a young woman say, u I would n't 
 have missed my classes at the Sargent School for anything. 
 They were fine. I may never have a home of my own, but 
 if I ever do, I '11 know exactly what I want in it thanks to 
 my lessons there." I could mention several who have told me 
 of the benefit received from the Sewing and Dressmaking 
 Classes. As one married woman expressed it, " Why, just 
 the little things I learned how to put on a collar the easiest 
 way, and things of that sort just those things were worth 
 all I put into it and more." I have heard several mothers 
 speak of the benefit the Physical Culture Class has been to 
 their daughters, and right here I would add a word of ap- 
 preciation for what that particular class meant to my own 
 daughter. Quite recently I heard a mother say that since 
 her daughter had joined the Cooking Class at the Sargent 
 School, the daughter had been willing to do her share of the 
 cooking, and so the home work was adjusting itself without 
 friction. These are but a few of the words of appreciation 
 which I hear from day to day concerning the work of the 
 
26 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 Sargent Industrial School. And when one considers how 
 much the happiness of newly formed homes depends upon 
 the wife's ability to cook and sew, etc., one begins to realize 
 how much the Sargent Industrial School means to the city 
 of Beacon. 
 
 Another merchant of Beacon writes : 
 
 I firmly believe that it is the best institution for young girls 
 that has ever been established in the neighborhood of Fishkill. 
 As you know, the writer has been familiar with the Sargent 
 School since its foundation, when it was called u The Bee- 
 hive." During the twenty-five years of retail business expe- 
 rience in Fishkill, the writer had occasion to meet the young 
 women who were pupils of the school, also their mothers. 
 Many times have I remembered a girl as she first entered the 
 school and noticed, two or three years later, the marked dif- 
 ference for the better in these young women in the way of 
 selecting materials and styles for their clothes. The manners 
 of most of the young people who were associated with the 
 faculty and environment of this industrial school were much 
 improved and there was an air of refinement about these 
 girls which they did not possess when they first entered the 
 school. I feel that Mrs. Sargent has done a most wonderful 
 work and I know how the parents of the girls themselves feel 
 about it. 
 
 Still another business man says: 
 
 In the activities of life one generation frequently forgets 
 what it owes to those who have gone before, and we must 
 not forget the benefits conferred upon a generation of young 
 women by a noble-hearted woman's work of practical phi- 
 lanthropy in founding and sustaining the Sargent Industrial 
 School in the city of Beacon, N. Y. The old village of Mat- 
 teawan was eminently a factory village; ia 1814 here was 
 
The Bird Fountain 
 
 Presented to Mrs. Sargent on the Twentieth 
 Anniversary of the Founding of the School 
 

SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 27 
 
 erected one of the earliest cotton mills built in America, and 
 this was gradually followed by other industries employing 
 girls and women by scores and hundreds. Unless some effort 
 is made to overcome the tendency, a factory town is apt to 
 annul the development of the better social environment, and 
 with this foresight of conditions, Mrs. Winthrop Sargent 
 several years ago devoted her time and means to providing 
 attractions of most serviceable character for the young wo- 
 men of the community in industrial and home artistic work. 
 And there is no doubt but scores of young women have been 
 greatly benefited, and homes, in many an instance, thereby 
 made the better. The Sargent Industrial Institute to-day is 
 one of the social centres of the young city, taken advantage 
 of by girls still in school as well as by those of older growth 
 engaged in business duties. Year after year . . . Mrs. Sargent 
 has followed up the work, providing teachers and special in- 
 structors to meet any and all lines of domestic science. Every 
 year in June graduating and exhibition exercises are held at 
 which Mrs. Sargent personally, with the whole-souled gra- 
 ciousness of a lady to the manner born, gives prizes to those 
 most proficient. When work of this kind is done it is a life's 
 work well spent in upbuilding and strengthening the better 
 part of individual ability, which, without such an opportu- 
 nity would not have been developed. It is safe to say that 
 hundreds of families, whose members have been benefited by 
 this excellent, kindly provision of Mrs. Sargent, have her like- 
 ness engraved upon their hearts in grateful remembrance 
 of her disinterested provision for the welfare of the young 
 women of her home town on the Hudson River. 
 
 Mr. Everett P. Wheeler, in a letter to the Editor of 
 the New York Evening Post, writes : 
 
28 SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 
 
 The Sargent Industrial School at Beacon, N. Y., has just 
 celebrated its twenty- fifth anniversary. It was founded, and 
 has been continued under the direct supervision of Mrs. Win- 
 throp Sargent. She opened the school in 1891 with 53 schol- 
 ars. During the twenty-five years, 9820 pupils have been en- 
 rolled. There were 719 during the past year. They have been 
 taught sewing, dressmaking, embroidery, cooking, singing, 
 the care of little children in a word, " home-making." To 
 use Mrs. Sargent's own happy phrase, " It has been normal 
 growth, like trees and plants, and simple work based on ideals, 
 common-sense and discipline and persistent endeavor to make 
 a sound body, a trained mind and hands and a true heart." 
 It was a beautiful sight, that of the many children marching 
 in procession with flowers and garlands of maple leaves, sing- 
 ing melodious songs and showing not only in their handi- 
 work which was exhibited in the gymnasium, but in their 
 appearance, dress and manner, the results of the intelligent 
 and sympathetic training of the school. The citizens of Bea- 
 con showed their appreciation of Mrs. Sargent's leadership 
 by presenting her with a loving cup. The teachers and pupils 
 showed theirs by presenting a silver beehive, which is the 
 emblem of the school. It has been said that the young people 
 who are taught at Hampton and Tuskegee have greater 
 advantages in their training than the pupils of most of our 
 public schools in the North. In the case of this industrial 
 school, which we owe to a large-hearted Northern woman, 
 we see that as good work can be done here as anywhere. 
 Let us hope that the example will be followed in every city 
 in America. 
 
DOMESTIC SERVICE COURSE 
 
 THE record of the Sargent Industrial School 
 would not be complete without an account of 
 the sixteen years' experiment in the training for do- 
 mestic service. 
 
 Mrs. Sargent had for many years felt that the 
 problem of Domestic Service could be solved only by 
 appropriate training of both mistress and servant. 
 She felt that an experiment might reasonably be 
 made in connection with the Sargent School, inas- 
 much as it offered all the conditions of the private 
 home in addition to the opportunities for instruc- 
 tion. She therefore announced in 1894 a School of 
 Domestic Training for students, to accompany the 
 instruction hitherto described. The announcement 
 reads as follows: 
 
 DOMESTIC TRAINING 
 SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, MATTEAWAN, N. Y. 
 
 Programme of Work 
 
 The Course of Instruction will cover a period of not less than 
 nine months and will consist of a thorough training in all the 
 departments of House Service. 
 
 Every pupil will be taught: 
 
 the care of a range or stove ; 
 the care of sinks and drains ; 
 the care of a kitchen, ice chest and cellar. 
 
30 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 She will be taught: 
 
 to make bread, biscuits, muffins and plain cake; 
 
 to make soup stock ; 
 
 to roast, boil and broil meats; 
 
 to dress poultry ; 
 
 to cook eggs, fish and oysters; 
 
 to cook vegetables, fresh and canned ; 
 
 to make tea and coffee and plain desserts. 
 
 She will be taught: 
 to wash and iron ; 
 to care for bed and table linen ; 
 to sweep and dust ; 
 to take care of toilet and bath rooms. 
 
 She will be taught: 
 
 to take care of a dining-room and its furnishings ; 
 
 to take care of silver, glass and china ; 
 
 to set a table correctly and to wait upon the table; 
 
 to take care of the parlors and halls ; 
 
 to take care of hard wood and painted floors ; 
 
 to answer the door-bell properly. 
 
 Rules 
 
 Careful instruction will be given by the teachers in these 
 branches of housework and certificates will be awarded to 
 those graduates who do the work required of them in a man- 
 ner that satisfies both the Director and the Teachers. 
 
 No Domestic Pupil will be received under fifteen or over 
 twenty years of age. 
 
 Only those who intend to adopt Domestic Service as a 
 profession will be received at the School. 
 
 References as to character and general intelligence will be 
 required and also a signed certificate from a physician stating 
 that the applicant is in good health. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 31 
 
 Domestic Pupils will receive board, clothing and tuition 
 free with the comforts of a pleasant country home. 
 
 In exchange for these advantages they will be required to 
 give their services and to do the work of the House without 
 receiving wages. 
 
 Travelling expenses will be paid when necessary, but if 
 a pupil returns home for any reason during the School Year 
 it must be at the expense of herself or her friends. 
 
 No applicant will be enrolled as a regular pupil until she 
 has satisfactorily served a probation of one month. 
 
 Concerning the Domestic Service Course, Mrs. Sar- 
 gent writes : 
 
 Six girls received instruction at one time under 
 two resident teachers and a matron who had per- 
 sonal supervision over the girls. The work was di- 
 vided into four divisions, namely: kitchen, laundry, 
 dining-room and bedrooms two in the kitchen (a 
 cook and a helper), two in the laundry, one wait- 
 ress, and one house-maid. The girls were changed 
 from one division to the other once a month; the 
 day was divided into periods for housework, sew- 
 ing, recreation and exercise. Each girl was assigned 
 to a place in the Industrial Classes of the school. 
 Report cards with marks based upon the following 
 points: Christian duties, obedience, thoroughness, 
 economy, promptness and carefulness, were made 
 up once a week. The girls were required to have 
 a uniform as follows : Two uniforms of blue and 
 
32 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 white striped gingham for mornings with dark ging- 
 ham aprons, two uniforms of light blue chambray 
 for afternoons with white aprons and waitresses' 
 collars and cuffs. 
 
 The pupils who were received the first nine years 
 were largely from Orphan Homes. In a number of 
 cases the girls, whose standing was considered ex- 
 cellent, were dismissed later by their employers. As 
 soon as the restraint and routine were taken away 
 as a controlling factor, and they were given indi- 
 vidual initiative and an opportunity to choose for 
 themselves, they became lax in their work and un- 
 manageable. As a consequence of these conditions an 
 effort was made to secure girls from village homes 
 and farmers' daughters and foreigners who had 
 recently come to America. 
 
 Beginning the year 1904, the above change was 
 made, also the following change in the system of 
 training. An effort was employed to overcome the 
 failures brought to the attention by the criticisms 
 of the ladies who employed the girls. The outline of 
 the new method was this : the girls were not given 
 a uniform until they had satisfactorily served a 
 month's probation. If accepted at the expiration of 
 that time, they were paid $4.00 per month, and were 
 required to wear the school uniform which they paid 
 for themselves. Extra money was sometimes given 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 33 
 
 as areward for improvement or good work, but on die 
 other hand they had to forfeit money for demerits. 
 Report cards were abandoned and everything done 
 to make the training as near like the life of service as 
 possible. Instruction was systematically given to each 
 girl in the work to which she was assigned at the 
 time, cooking, laundry, waiting, or chamber- work. 
 This method brought out the personality of the girl. 
 If she could carry responsibility, if she were efficient, 
 if she could be depended upon, it was soon known. 
 Then she was allowed to specialize in the work for 
 which she was best suited. 
 
 A graduate was retained with wages; her work was 
 to fill in wherever a trained girl was needed : as cook 
 until another was capable, as laundress, as house- 
 maid, etc. In this way the management of the house 
 was kept up to a greater standard of efficiency. This 
 graduate wore a black uniform and on some occa- 
 sions she wore a white one. Their pride in the uni- 
 forms was stimulated by the contrasts the pro- 
 bationer in a hit-or-miss sort of dress, the accepted 
 pupil in a trim uniform of blue, while the graduate 
 wore black or white. Also the privilege of spend- 
 ing their allowance ($4.00) was an incentive and 
 inspiration that was helpful. At the end of the year 
 a testimonial was given, and after a year in service, 
 if good reports were received from the employer, 
 
34 THE STORY OF THE 
 
 a certificate was presented. This, too, was found to 
 be a point gained. 
 
 Nevertheless, after sixteen years under different 
 conditions and different instructors, this department 
 was closed largely from lack of girls of the ability 
 and character who cared to take the year's train- 
 ing. The type of girl who would make a good ser- 
 vant could always find employment and good wages 
 without training. A letter from a friend says : 
 
 I am seeking a nice girl, and in this large city [Boston] 
 one would expect many to present themselves, but they do 
 not want to be trained for the reason that they can find situ- 
 ations whenever they want to do housework. 
 
 Apropos of the right material and the failure of people 
 to tell the truth through lack of insight into char- 
 acter: the young girl in question was sent to us 
 with the best of references, but she proved most 
 untrustworthy and irresponsible. When the report 
 was sent back to the person who had sent her to us, 
 this letter was received from the person in charge 
 of a "New York Home, Shelter for Respectable 
 Girls:" 
 
 You spoke of dishonesty. Will you please make that charge 
 to and give her a chance to disprove it ? Her charac- 
 ter, as far as I know, was well spoken of before she went to 
 Matteawan. I feel the truth of the charge you make should 
 be established or withdrawn. I certainly cannot recommend 
 her anywhere until the matter is settled. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 35 
 
 The foregoing shows that the writer still believes in 
 the girl and questions the discipline of the school. 
 Because of these conditions we could do nothing 
 for the girl and were obliged to let her go. In strik- 
 ing contrast a girl was sent here by the matron of 
 a hospital, and she frankly says that she hesitates to 
 ask us to take the candidate because of her under- 
 standing that we expect to teach the girl housework, 
 sewing, etc., and not the " self-restraint and ear- 
 nestness required in the work." She goes on to say: 
 She is poorly balanced and very selfish, but it seems a pity 
 for her to learn no more. She is only eighteen and bright 
 in many ways, but she will sink into the ranks of the incapa- 
 bles without training. I cannot recommend her as first-class 
 material, but she might learn. 
 
 At this lady 's request the girl was given a trial. After 
 six days she was dismissed. A letter brought the 
 following criticism: 
 
 She is a very strange combination of brightness and stu- 
 pidity. I hate to give her up and say she may become a crim- 
 inal for all I care, but it looks as if it is all there is to do. I 
 thank you very much for the trial. It seems to me as if there 
 ought to be girls glad of such a chance. 
 
 The following is a letter of application : 
 
 I write to make some inquiries about the work of your 
 school, what the terms are, and what the age of the pupils. 
 There is a young girl, about fourteen years old, the daughter 
 of the janitress of our building, who is much in need of such 
 education, influence, and wholesome surroundings as will 
 
36 THE STORY OF THE 
 
 awaken her interest, and direct her energies, and properly dis- 
 cipline her. Her mother feels the need of such things for the 
 child, who she says is now simply wasting her time over her 
 school-books and making no progress, as she will sit by the 
 hour studying and then not know her lessons, but remains 
 several grades behind her brother who is two years younger. 
 The mother feels that boarding-school life might be just the 
 thing for the child, if she had industrial training, with just a 
 little school work, and I think she is right; especially would 
 it be good if the school were in the country, for the child is 
 far from strong. Also the child needs a stimulating example. 
 
 Of course, there were other applicants who presented 
 more encouraging phases. To quote another letter 
 from a woman making application : 
 
 This girl is fifteen years old but she looks like eighteen. Her 
 parents are in reduced circumstances and to a large extent 
 dependent upon their children for support. Before going to 
 
 you had a position where she was earning $14.OO per 
 
 month, but when her parents heard of the benefit a friend of 
 ours had derived from your training, they decided to do with- 
 out her help for a while and give her a chance of earning 
 a certificate which they rightly judged would admit her to a 
 higher position in the future. 
 
 The girls who were willing to take the training were 
 very young and really not capable of the responsi- 
 bility that the duties entailed. A letter received from 
 one woman says: 
 
 " is an extremely nice little girl and has been oblig- 
 ing in every way but she is too young and I have told 
 her so. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 37 
 
 To show that employers make a great many de- 
 mands but are not willing to pay accordingly, the 
 following is quoted : 
 
 I have submitted the matter to my mother and she is of 
 the opinion that while the work required is such as would be 
 required in a household of four plain people, and far from 
 being laborious and of a wearing character, it would help 
 some girls to improve conditions in life. At the same time 
 she is reluctant to urge a girl to come lest she be disappointed. 
 Furthermore, my mother does not consider the work involved 
 worth twelve dollars a month. 
 
 Also: 
 
 I understand it is your practice to place at small wages 
 with respectable families young girls who have been given 
 some training in light housework. Would you kindly send 
 me some details of your plan ? I would like to get such a girl 
 to come to live with me. I would give her a pleasant home 
 and treat her well in every way. My family is small, con- 
 sisting of myself and husband and two-year-old child. I can 
 give you the best of references as to my character, etc. Kindly 
 let me know what one is expected to pay for a girl, and how 
 to proceed toward getting one from your institution. 
 
 Another letter says : 
 
 I understand that it is possible to secure good competent 
 house-workers who are graduates of your institution. I am 
 in need of a servant for general housework in an apartment 
 of eight rooms. My family consists of my husband, myself 
 and a three-year-old child. We have a nurse for the little girl. 
 
 Another obstacle hard to overcome was the diffi- 
 culty to train for other persons. For instance, any 
 
38 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 other work that has to do with the up-keep of the 
 house is handed over to the plumber, carpenter, or 
 painter, perhaps, whose method is never questioned, 
 but the work of the domestic depends upon the per- 
 sonality of the mistress. Every mistress has her own 
 idea of the management of the household. That 
 homes may have individual charm, this must always 
 be essentially true. For that reason alone, the domes- 
 tic problem is a hard one. 
 
 has been in my employ most of a year. When she 
 
 first came, I found her deficient in many things a cook should 
 know and requiring frequent telling as to the way of doing 
 things. She has improved, she makes very good bread, cooks 
 meat and fish well and is always obliging and tries to do her 
 best. I find her judgment often at fault but experience will 
 teach her as she gets older and more used to the work so that 
 in time she may make a good cook. 
 
 The girl of whom the woman wTites was one of the 
 most satisfactory girls ever trained at the school ; her 
 standing was excellent. 
 
 A few words of appreciation from some of the girls 
 and their employers follow . A sister writes : 
 
 I know she is in good hands with you and has a good 
 home. I know I shall not forget what you have done for me. 
 
 A mother writes: 
 
 I know how enthusiastic Bernice is about the school and 
 feel that any girl going into your care will receive all the 
 training that she is capable of assimilating. 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 39 
 
 Mrs. Sargent adds these statistics: 
 
 Domestic Pupils 
 
 from Institutions 21 
 
 from their own homes 34 
 
 Immigrants 4 
 
 Total 59 
 
 Domestic Pupils 
 
 from the Neighborhood 7 
 
 (Out of 59 pupils the standing of 28 was considered most 
 satisfactory.) 
 
 History at Present Date: 
 
 In service 16 
 
 Married 21 
 
 Dismissed, incapable or unsuited to training, physically 
 
 or mentally weak 15 
 
 Whereabouts unknown 5 
 
 Died __2 
 
 Total 59 
 
 Placed in service 
 
 as waitresses 16 
 
 general helpers 15 
 
 cooks 7 
 
 nursery maids 4 
 
 chamber-maid 1 
 
 Returned after graduation to relatives 1 
 
 Left or were dismissed 15 
 
 Total ^9 
 
 Maximum wages (received by nursery maid) $25 per 
 
 month 
 Minimum wages (received by general helper) $8 per 
 
 month 
 
40 THE STORT OF THE 
 
 This frank account throws a clear light upon the 
 problems of domestic service to-day. Is it not time to 
 establish another school of housekeeping? Has not 
 the experiment of the sixteen years proved as ser- 
 viceable as the continuous work which maintains in- 
 struction for independent homes ? Are there no means 
 by which both employer and employed may meet on 
 common ground and come to understand reasonable 
 and feasible conditions for domestic service? 
 
 The foregoing record of the Sargent School clearly 
 points to the great value of the personal contribution, 
 carefully studied and patiently continued. Mrs. Sar- 
 gent has been able to teach the children of Beacon 
 many a lesson which the schools could not provide, 
 and which the homes evidently desired. It seems 
 clear that the intervention of a devoted and helpful 
 personality is necessary for this mission, and that 
 the institution alone does not suffice. If the home as 
 a centre is to be the laboratory in which the children 
 become familiar with the finer ideals of home-mak- 
 ing, we must for all time depend in large measure 
 upon gifts like that of Mrs. Sargent. 
 
 Her own contribution has been of worth, not only 
 because of the necessary financial gift involved, but 
 chiefly because of the personal thought, attention, and 
 sacrifice. Mrs. Sargent says that it is her firm belief 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 41 
 
 that work of this kind can be done only as women 
 who have a desire to serve in this way give their own 
 time and their own service in the place where their 
 lot is fixed. She believes that every community has 
 its own needs, which can best be met by residents who 
 are in sympathy with it and who understand its 
 interests. Cooperation and consequent growth can 
 be won only through personal and devoted service. If 
 Mrs. Sargent's ideal were expressed in a similar way 
 in every community, we should have come near solv- 
 ing the problem of vocational training for girls. 
 
MISS PEARSON 
 
 PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTOR, 1892-1917 
 
 THE Sargent School has been most fortunate 
 in one abiding and controlling influence, the 
 presence of Miss Jessie Pearson, who has been as- 
 sociated with the school for more than twenty-four 
 years. Miss Pearson entered the Sargent School in 
 September, 1892. Her twenty-fifth year will be com- 
 pleted on September 12, 1917. For the past twelve 
 years she has been the principal of the school. 
 
 In October, 1912, a jubilee was held in the Sar- 
 gent gymnasium to celebrate the completion of Miss 
 Pearson's twentieth year in the school. Miss Pear- 
 son was the centre of the occasion. The gymnasium 
 was decorated with flowers. Miss Laura Roosa com- 
 posed and read a poetical account of the progress of 
 the school during these years. As the poem was re- 
 cited, the various plans of the school and the attain- 
 ments of the students, the change from the prize 
 to the badge and the distinction of the Honorable 
 Mention were noted. Miss Pearson was then asked 
 to come forward to receive from the hands of Mrs. 
 Sargent the coveted prize of Honorable Mention 
 bestowed upon one who has not been absent during 
 twenty school years and whose average is one hun- 
 dred per cent. ' ' The graduates and undergraduates 
 

 Miss Jessie Elizabeth Pearson 
 
SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 43 
 
 presented Miss Pearson with a coffee and tea silver 
 service as a reminder of their ' ' grateful appreciation 
 and admiration. ' ' On every side was evidence of her 
 devoted and continued service. The founder of the 
 school in most fitting- words recounted the various 
 gifts which Miss Pearson had bestowed upon the 
 school, in token of which she bestowed a "glow- 
 ing topaz, a beehive cut in intaglio, emblem of 
 the home of many busy bees, about which flit the 
 bees going forth to gather honey from the opening 
 flowers and returning to the hive with their burden 
 of sweetness." 
 
 The "spirit of the hive" has assuredly been 
 maintained by Miss Pearson, who has steadily in- 
 terpreted in the school the thought of the founder. 
 Through her own insight, sympathy, and broad 
 human experience, she has directed in both prin- 
 ciple and detail the progress of the school, keep- 
 ing close to all the interests of the community, and 
 knowing intimately both the desires and the needs 
 of the students and the alumnae. The school has 
 never been formal and arbitrary, nor has the letter 
 of the law ever triumphed over the spirit. In Miss 
 Pearson the director and founder has had an able 
 coadjutor, and to her cooperation the success of the 
 school will in a large degree be attributed. 
 
SONG FOR THE 
 SARGENT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 
 
SONG 
 
 FOR THE SdRGEJVT INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 
 
 Allegretto. 
 
 ET.TSE FELLOWS WHITE 
 
 b - &- 
 
 The - ri - die sings as she 
 
 Thanks to the giv - er of 
 
 A a , . 
 
 
 
 
 fr J " J J J) ' 
 
 builds her nest In the 
 
 crest of the flower - ing 
 
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 e 
 
 all good gifts For this 
 
 hope of the com - ing 
 
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 wis - dom guides and 
 
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 i 
 
 
 sea The r Bees 
 
 cheers To the S. 
 
 hum low as they gath - er sweet From the 
 
 I. S, right loy - al we May we 
 
 Copyright, 1915, by the Sargent Industrial School 
 
y pi rt 9 
 
 hearts c 
 faith - f 
 
 f the open - ing 
 ul - ly keep each 
 
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 flowers And with 
 rule Dear 
 
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 Al - ma Ma - ter lor 
 
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 fly - ing feet Of girl - hood's hap - pi - est hours, 
 life to thee The Sargent In - dus - tri - al School. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Work and sing, work and sing Hear the joy - ful cho - rus sing - ing 
 
 fefc 
 
 
 
 
 Glad and gay all the day Health and hap- pi-ness bring 
 
 
 colla voce 
 
-ing. 
 
 
 rit 
 
 2nd Verse, not slowly 
 
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 heart and a hope an 
 
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 in the hive Our homewith good 
 
 Chorus, for 2nd Verse. 
 
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 Work and sing, work and sing Hear the joy - ful cho - rus ring - ing 
 
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 Glad and gay 
 
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 all the day Health and hapipi-ness bring 
 
 LJJ 
 
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 ing 
 
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 ChorUS. for 3rd Verat 
 
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 Work and sing, work and sing Hear the joy - ful cho - rus ring - ing 
 
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 Glad and ga> all the day Health and hap-pi-ness bring 
 
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 ' ' ' ' k 
 
APPENDIX 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 THE lists and tables which are appended are in part for 
 the students of the school, both past and present, who 
 will wish to keep these definite records of the Sargent School. 
 They are also intended for the use of those readers who will 
 study the plan and the natural extension of this school, con- 
 sidering its experiences as typical and therefore likely to fore- 
 cast the progress of similar experiments that others may wish 
 to make. 
 
 Total Enrollment 
 
 189 1- June- September 53 1903-1904 295 
 
 1891-1892 76 1904-1905 457 
 
 1892-1893 100 1905-1906 566 
 
 1893-1894 181 1906-1907 563 
 
 1894-1895 218 1907-1908 510 
 
 1895-1896 233 1908-1909 533 
 
 1896-1897 . 257 1909-1910 562 
 
 1897-1898 188 1910-1911 590 
 
 1898-1899 220 1911-1912 613 
 
 1899-1900 220 1912-1913 584 
 
 1900-1901 212 1913-1914 687 
 
 1901-1902 221 1914-1915 714 
 
 1902-1903 248 1915-1916 719 
 
 Total 9820 
 
 1894-1915 
 
 Total number of graduates 68 1 
 
 1891-1906 
 (15 years) 40% of graduates Married 
 
 1906-1911 
 (5 years) 20% of graduates Married 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 Graduates have gone into eleven states : 
 California New Jersey 
 
 Connecticut New York 
 
 Massachusetts Oregon 
 
 Missouri Pennsylvania 
 
 and also to Ontario, Canada, and China. 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Virginia 
 
 In the second ten years of the school 25% more of the pupils 
 sought higher education than in the first ten years of the school ; 
 28 girls have entered college and normal school, 10 girls have 
 trained for nurses since the establishment of the school. 
 
 Certificates given, 1894-1915: 
 Cookery 
 Laundry 
 Sewing 
 Dressmaking 
 Physical Training 
 Housekeeping 
 
 II 
 
 486 
 73 
 
 271 
 
 93 
 
 24 
 
 27 
 
 Total 974 
 
 Various Statistics 
 
 Seven Departments, year ending June, 1914. 
 Nine Departments, year ending June, 1915. 
 Two new Departments, Drawing and Dancing, added 
 1914-1915. 
 
 1915-1916 
 
 CLASSES 
 
 Cookery, 6 classes 83 
 
 Sewing, 12 classes 282 
 
 Laundry, 2 classes 16 
 
 Dressmaking, 10 classes 68 
 
 Physical Training, 2 classes 99 
 
 Basket Ball, 1 class 19 
 
 Embroidery, 1 class 10 
 
 Singing, 1 class 37 
 
 Housekeeping, 1 class 14 
 
 
APPENDIX 57 
 
 CLASSES 
 
 Drawing and Painting, 1 class 1 8 
 
 Dancing, 2 classes 73 
 
 Total r\9 
 OCCUPATIONS 
 
 Cookery 
 Home 
 
 Teachers 1 
 
 Factory 27 
 
 Clerk 2 
 
 School 42 83 
 
 Sewing 
 
 School 259 
 
 Factory 23 282 
 
 Laundry 
 
 School 7 
 
 Factory 9 1 6 
 
 Dressmaking 
 
 School 4 
 
 Factory 28 
 
 Home 30 
 
 Teachers 6 68 
 
 Physical Training 
 
 School 72 
 
 Clerk 1 
 
 Teachers 4 
 
 Factory 20 
 
 Dressmaker 1 
 
 Home __1 99 
 
 Basket Ball 
 
 School 19 
 
 Embroidery 
 
 Home 3 
 
 Teachers 2 
 
 School 1 
 
 Clerk , 1 
 
 Factory 3 10 
 
58 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 OCCUPATIONS 
 Singing 
 School 
 
 Housekeeping 
 School 
 Saleswoman 
 Teachers 
 Operators 
 Factory 
 Home 
 Stenographer 
 
 Drawing and Painting 
 School 
 
 Dancing 
 Clerk 
 School 
 Home 
 Factory 
 
 RESIDENCE OF PUPILS 
 (Matteawan, 327; Fishkill Landing, 324) 
 Total in New City of Beacon 
 Glenham 
 Tioronda 
 Fishkill Village 
 Groville 
 Wicopee 
 Newburgh 
 
 NATIONALITIES 
 American born 
 Irish 
 Slavic 
 Jewish 
 Italian 
 French 
 
 37 
 
 2 
 32 
 
 4 
 35 
 
 Total 
 
 Total 
 
 14 
 18 
 
 73 
 7T9 
 
 651 
 
 40 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 719 
 
 378 
 
 224 
 
 33 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 6 
 
 
APPENDIX 59 
 
 NATIONALITIES 
 
 German 3 1 
 
 Hungarian 1 1 
 
 Polish 8 
 
 Scotch 5 
 
 English 1 
 
 Swiss 1 
 
 Total 7T9 
 
 RELIGION 
 
 Protestants 374 
 
 Roman Catholics 341 
 
 Jewish 4 
 
 Total ~T19 
 
 Programme of Classes for the Year 
 at the Sargent Industrial School 
 
 1915-1916 
 MONDAY 
 
 10.0O-12.0O a.m. Dressmaking (Special) Miss Straney 
 1.3O- 3.30 p.m. Dressmaking (Special) Miss Straney 
 4.OO- 6.0O p.m. Cooking Miss Sutherland 
 
 4.OO- 6.OO p.m. Sewing (5th year) Miss Alice Taylor 
 7.3O- 9.30 p.m. Dressmaking Miss Alice Taylor 
 
 7.3O 9.3O p.m. Sewing prepara- 
 tory to Dressmaking Miss Agnes Taylor 
 7.3O- 9.3O p.m. Cooking Miss Sutherland 
 
 TUESDAY 
 
 4.00- 6.00 p.m. Sewing (4>th year) Miss Alice Taylor 
 
 4.00 6.OO p.m. Sewing (4th year) Miss Agnes Taylor 
 
 4.00- 6.00 p.m. Cooking Miss Sutherland 
 
 7.30- 9.30 p.m. Dressmaking Miss Alice Taylor 
 
 7.3O- 9.30 p.m. Cooking Miss Sutherland 
 
 7.3O- 9.30 p.m. Housekeeping Miss Pearson 
 
60 
 
 \PPENDIX 
 
 WEDNESDAY 
 10:00-12.00 a.m. 
 4.0O- 6.00p.m. 
 4.OO- 6.OO p.m. 
 7.3O- 9.3Op.m. 
 7.3O- 9.30p.m. 
 7.30- 9.30p.m. 
 
 THURSDAY 
 
 4.OO- 6.0O p.m. 
 4.OO- 6.0Op.m. 
 4.0O- 6.OOp.m. 
 7.3O- 9.30p.m. 
 tory 
 7.30- 9.30p.m. 
 
 FRIDAY 
 
 10.OO-12.0O a.m. 
 1.30- 3.30 p.m. 
 4.0O- 6.OOp.m. 
 4.0O- 6.OOp.m. 
 7.3O- 9.30p.m. 
 
 SATURDAY 
 
 9.0O-10.3O a.m. 
 10.3O-12.0O a.m. 
 
 Embroidery 
 
 Sewing 
 
 Cooking 
 
 Dressmaking 
 
 Embroidery 
 
 Cooking 
 
 Laundry 
 
 Sewing (3d year) 
 Sewing (3d year) 
 Sewing prepara- 
 to Dressmaking 
 Laundry 
 
 Miss Pearson 
 
 Miss Alice Taylor 
 
 Miss Sutherland 
 
 Miss Alice Taylor 
 
 Miss Pearson 
 
 Miss Sutherland 
 
 Miss Sutherland 
 Miss Alice Taylor 
 Miss Agnes Taylor 
 
 Miss Alice Taylor 
 Miss Sutherland 
 
 Dressmaking (Special) Miss Straney 
 Dressmaking (Special) Miss Straney 
 Dressmaking ( Teachers} Miss Straney 
 Sewing (3d year) Miss Alice Taylor 
 Dressmaking (Special) Miss Straney 
 
 Sewing (2 classes) Miss Alice Taylor 
 Sewing (2 classes) Miss Agnes Taylor 
 
 Programme of Classes for the Year 
 at the Sargent Gymnasium 
 
 1915-1916 
 MONDAY 
 
 4.00- 6.00 p.m. Singing Class Miss Straney 
 
 7.3O- 9.3O p.m. Basket Ball Practice 
 
APPENDIX 61 
 
 TUESDAY 
 
 4.0O- 6.0O p.m. Dancing Class (chil- 
 dren) Miss Cantwell 
 7.30- 9.30 p.m. Dancing Class (1st year) Miss Cantwell 
 
 WEDNESDAY 
 
 4.0O- 6.OO p.m. Coaching in Basket Ball Mrs. Salman 
 
 THURSDAY 
 
 4.0O- 5.0O p.m. Physical Training (chil- 
 dren) Mrs. Salman 
 5.0O- 6.00 p.m. Coaching in Basket Ball Mrs. Salman 
 7.30- 9.30 p.m. Physical Training (adults) Mrs. Salman 
 
 FRIDAY AND SATURDAY EVENINGS 
 Dances and Basket Ball Games 
 
 {Miss Caroline Hunter 
 Miss Eliza Scofield 
 Miss Cecelia St. John 
 SATURDAY 
 
 9.OO-12.OO a.m. Drawing Miss Jane Judson 
 
 Entertain ments 
 1915-1916 
 
 OCTOBER 30. Hallowe'en Party. 
 
 Informal reception, three hundred in costume. Prizes offered 
 for prettiest, most original, and most amusing costumes. Com- 
 mittee of judges selected from visitors. Dancing and games. 
 
 NOVEMBER 3. Annual Meeting of Alumnae Association. 
 Mrs. Sargent presided, election of officers. Inauguration of 
 Red Cross Branch under Dutchess County, N. Y. 
 
 NOVEMBER 5. Formal Opening. 
 
 Address by Mrs. Sargent. Programme, recitations, music, 
 etc. 
 
62 APPENDIX 
 
 NOVEMBER 22. Basket Ball Game. 
 
 Thursday Evening Class vs. Wednesday afternoon Basket Ball 
 Team. 
 
 DECEMBER 3, 4. Exchange Sale. 
 Conducted by Alumnae Association. 
 
 DECEMBER 6. Basket Ball Game. 
 Class games. 
 
 JANUARY 18. Children's Party. 
 Afternoon Dancing Class. 
 
 FEBRUARY 4. Basket Ball Game. 
 
 FEBRUARY 12. Reception and Dance. 
 
 Evening Dancing Class under the direction of Miss Alice M. 
 Cantwell. 
 
 MARCH 4. Children's Party. 
 Afternoon Dancing Class. 
 
 MARCH 6. Concert. 
 
 By the Singing Class under the direction of Miss Sallie E. 
 Straney. Song groups. English, Irish, Scotch, and American 
 songs enacted by different members of the class. Appropriate 
 costumes. 
 
 MARCH 7. Reception and Dance. 
 Evening Dancing Class. 
 
 APRIL 11. Children's Party. 
 Afternoon Dancing Class. 
 
 MAY 6. Reception and Dance. 
 Evening Dancing Class. 
 
 MAY 16. 16th Annual Physical Training Exhibition. 
 Marches, drills, folk dances in costume, and apparatus work. 
 
 MAY 19. Entertainment by Singing Class. 
 
 Songs illustrated by children in costume arranged in large 
 frames to represent pictures. 
 
APPENDIX 63 
 
 MAY 20. Reception and Dance. 
 Evening Dancing Class. 
 
 JUNE 6. Founder's Day. 
 
 Twenty-fifth Celebration of the founding of the School. Gar- 
 den Party. Exhibition of work in the gymnasium. 
 
 JUNE 8. Prize Day. 
 
 Distribution of prizes. 
 
 Principals and Teachers 
 
 Miss McNEAR, June-September, 1891. First summer. 
 Miss LITTLE, September, 1891- July, 1894. Three years. 
 Miss Cox, 1894-1897. Three years. 
 Miss STANLEY, 1897-1904. Seven years. 
 Miss PEARSON, September 12, 1904-1916. 
 
 Teachers 
 
 BARLOW, Miss EFFIE J. 
 
 Dressmaking, 1906-1912; Dressmaking, Special, 1907- 
 1912. 
 
 BRETT, Miss EMMA J. 
 
 Singing, 1908-1910. 
 CANTWELL, Miss ALICE M. 
 
 Dancing, 1911-1916. 
 DIETRICH, Mrs. LOUISE C. 
 
 Singing, 1910-1911. 
 HOWARD, Miss KATHERINE. 
 
 Cooking, January, 1911 -June, 1911. 
 JUDSON, Miss JANE E. 
 
 Drawing and Painting, 1911-1916. 
 SALMAN, Mrs. GERTRUDE S. 
 
 Physical Training, 1901-1916. 
 
64 APPENDIX 
 
 SODERBURY, Mrs. SADIE H. 
 
 Special Dressmaking, 1904-1907. 
 SUTHERLAND, Miss HELEN C. 
 
 Cooking, September, 1904- January, 1911; November, 
 1915-1916. 
 
 STRANEY, Miss SALLIE E. 
 
 Singing, February, 1913-1916. 
 STRANEY, Miss SALLIE E. 
 
 Dressmaking, Special, 1912-1916. 
 
 TABOR, Mrs. H. M. 
 
 Dancing, 1905-1907. 
 TAYLOR, Miss ALICE A. 
 
 Sewing Department, 1904-1916. 
 TAYLOR, Miss ALICE A. 
 
 Sewing and Dressmaking jointly, 1912-1916. 
 TOLMIE, Miss MARTHA. 
 
 Singing, October, 1911 -February, 1913. 
 WHITEHOUSE, Miss FLORENCE E. 
 
 Cooking, September, 1911 -June, 1915. 
 WILLIAMS, Professor GORDON. 
 
 Singing, January, 1907-June, 1908. 
 ROOSA, Miss LAURA. 
 
 Literary Class, 1 907- 1911. 
 
 Assistant Teachers 
 
 BLACKBURN, Miss MAY L. (Mrs. Robert Marshall) . 
 
 Sewing, September, 1899-February, 1900. 
 CONKLIN, Miss GRACE. 
 
 Sewing, 1900-1907. 
 KLANKA, Miss NELLIE L. 
 
 Sewing, 1894-1897. 
 
APPENDIX 65 
 
 MCDONALD, Miss AGNES G. 1 
 
 Sewing, 1906-1907. 
 REILLY, Miss MARY P. 
 
 Sewing, 1904-1906. 
 
 STUDLEY, Miss EMMA (graduate Sewing), 2 1904-1906. 
 SYPHER, Miss VIOLA (graduate Sewing), 2 19O4-19O6. 
 TAYLOR, Miss AGNES L. 
 
 Sewing, December, 1906-1916. 
 
 TAYLOR, Miss ALICE A. 
 
 Sewing, December, 1 907-19 1 6; Sewing Department, 1 904 ; 
 Dressmaking, 1912. 
 
 TAYLOR, Miss ALICE A. 
 
 Received certificate Sewing, 1891-1893; Dressmaking, 
 1893-1895. 
 
 TILLMAN, Miss ETTA (Mrs. William A. P. Schorman). 
 Sewing, 1896-1900. 
 
 1 Died 1914. 
 Offered services Thursday Afternoon Class. 
 
ALUMNAE REPORT, 190O-1916 
 MISS LAMONT'S REPORT, 1900-1905 
 
 1900 
 A MEETING was held March 17, 19OO, for the pur- 
 
 pose of forming an Alumnae Association, there being 
 forty-seven graduates present. Miss Emily Stanley, princi- 
 pal of the school, presiding, spoke of the purpose for which the 
 meeting was called, and the work such an association might 
 do. It would be the means of keeping the graduates in touch 
 with the school, and not only enlarge its influence, but afford 
 opportunities for the development of individual work among 
 the members. Much interest was manifested by those present, 
 and all entered heartily into the plan. Two committees were 
 appointed, one to draw up a constitution and the by-laws, 
 consisting of Mrs. Eleanor Moss, Chairman, Miss Emily 
 Stanley, Miss Jessie Pearson, Miss Grace J. Russell, and 
 Miss Charlotte Baxter. The other, a membership committee, 
 was to see that all graduates of the Sargent Industrial School, 
 who were not in attendance, were notified of the organiza- 
 tion of the Alumnae Association, its purpose be explained to 
 them, and their help and interest solicited. 
 
 The following officers were elected for one year: 
 
 President, Miss Nancy M. Lament. 
 
 Vice- President, Miss May Baxter. 
 
 Secretary, Miss A. Helena Pralatowska. 
 
 Treasurer, Miss Frances Barhyte. 
 
 At a meeting held June 1, 19OO, the constitution, which 
 had been drawn up by the committee and approved by Mrs. 
 Sargent, was read by the secretary, and heartily endorsed by 
 all present, there being fifty-one members who signed it at 
 that time. 
 
 The first work that was planned was the preparation for 
 
APPENDIX 67 
 
 the Founder's Day exercises, held June 16, 190O. This work 
 was carried through very successfully, and as the complete 
 programme was printed in connection with the by-laws and 
 constitution in the booklets, which were so kindly presented 
 to us by Mrs. Sargent, it is not necessary to give a detailed 
 account of it. 
 
 In going over the record of the five years' work of the 
 association, it was found that the preparation for the exer- 
 cises for Founder's Day has been the first work of each new 
 executive committee, and the pleasing programmes we have 
 had at each return of the day are an evidence of the untiring 
 work of the officers and their assistants. 
 
 The members have also had an opportunity to help in the 
 Prize Day exercises by furnishing cake, acting as waitresses, 
 or helping in any way where they could be of use. 
 
 At the following meeting, held June 26, 19OO, it was 
 decided that the association hold a regular monthly meeting, 
 the third Thursday of each month. 
 
 As an association we felt that the sooner some definite 
 work was planned, the better it would be for us. The ques- 
 tion of cooperating with the Village Improvement Associ- 
 ation was discussed. This seemed to us a wide field for work, 
 and one that should appeal to each member. At the request 
 of our director, Mrs. Sargent, the Village Improvement As- 
 sociation appointed the Alumnae a Vigilance Committee to 
 work in connection with them, especially in the matter of 
 "keeping the poles about the villages free from advertise- 
 ments and the streets clear of papers." The Village Improve- 
 ment Association also expressed a need for more cans to be 
 placed about the streets, and the Alumnae planned to help 
 them in this matter by giving an entertainment, the proceeds 
 of which were to be used for that purpose. 
 
 Work then began in earnest : a minstrel performance was 
 
68 APPENDIX 
 
 planned, the preparation of which required a great deal of 
 time and hard work, but when the performance was given on 
 the evening of April 1, 1901, I am sure that not one mem- 
 ber felt that their labor had been in vain, but were fully repaid 
 for the winter's work. The Academy not being large enough 
 to accommodate in one evening all those who wished to at- 
 tend, the performance was repeated the following Saturday. 
 
 The receipts for both nights were $559.75; total expendi- 
 tures, $225.14; leaving a balance of $334.61. 
 
 The sum of $151.11 was given to the Village Improve- 
 ment Association. 
 
 The treasurer's report at the end of the first year showed 
 a balance of $13.96 in the treasury. 
 
 1901 
 
 At a meeting held April 25, 1901, the officers elected for the 
 ensuing year were the following: 
 
 President, Miss A. Helena Pralatowska. 
 
 Vice-President, Miss Alice Taylor. 
 
 Secretary, Miss Grace J. Russell. 
 
 Treasurer, Miss Charlotte Baxter. 
 
 The Alumnae Association was allowed the privilege of 
 using the school grounds, to have games or anything that 
 might add to its pleasure while there. A lawn swing, a ham- 
 mock, and a set of croquet being placed there by them, also 
 lawn seats that were given to us by Mrs. Sargent. 
 
 After careful consideration it was voted to buy a piano, and 
 a committee consisting of Mrs. Sargent, Miss Helena Prala- 
 towska, Miss E. Pearl Van Voorhis, and Miss Josephine 
 Badeau (now Mrs. Terwilliger) , was appointed to make the 
 selection. The price of the piano was $325.OO. 
 
 The amount in the treasury not being sufficient to purchase 
 it outright, a second minstrel performance was planned to raise 
 
APPENDIX 69 
 
 the necessary sum. This also proved a great success, so that the 
 fame of the S. I. S. Minstrels reached our neighbors across 
 the river, who sent such urgent requests to have the perform- 
 ance repeated in the Academy of that place, that the mem- 
 bers thought it advisable to do so. The proceeds for that 
 night's performance were divided between the hospitals of our 
 two villages, each institution receiving $30. The total receipts 
 for the two nights' performances at Fishkill Landing were 
 $523.35; expenses, $233.14, leaving a balance of $290.21. 
 
 During this year the physical culture classes were organ- 
 ized, the association being very fortunate in securing Mrs. 
 Salman, of Newburgh, as teacher, and too much cannot be 
 said in praise of her most excellent work. Miss Charlotte Bax- 
 ter was appointed a committee to take charge of the finances 
 and arrangements of the classes, and served in this capacity 
 for two years, being succeeded by Miss Anna McEvoy, who 
 served one year, she in turn being succeeded by Miss Anna 
 Keating. A great deal of credit is due these girls, as there is 
 a vast amount of work for them to do. 
 
 The evening classes have to a large extent been self-sup- 
 porting, Mrs. Sargent paying one-half of the expenses of the 
 afternoon classes until this year; since then she has paid 
 one-half of the rent for the hall. These classes have shown 
 remarkable progress each year. We felt that they had made 
 great strides when they gave an exhibition in connection with 
 the minstrels the first year, but each year has shown the same 
 splendid progress. The exhibitions of the second and third 
 years were given in Metropolitan Hall, and were very delight- 
 ful occasions. The one given last year was repeated on the 
 evening of Mrs. Sargent's birthday as a gift to her from the 
 girls. 
 
 This year the advanced classes reached the time when the 
 gymnasium apparatus was needed, and the association de- 
 
70 APPENDIX 
 
 cided to buy part of the necessary outfit. The amount spent 
 was $50.0O. 
 
 At the close of the second year the treasurer reported a 
 balance of $31.56 in the treasury. 
 
 1902 
 
 The third annual meeting for election of officers was held on 
 May 13, 1902. Those elected were the following: 
 
 President, Mrs. Eleanor Moss. 
 
 Vice- President, Miss Louise Toohey. 
 
 Secretary, Miss Margaret Keating. 
 
 Treasurer, Miss May Baxter. 
 
 As the beginning of the school year in September, 19O2, 
 was the tenth anniversary of Miss Pearson's connection with 
 the school, the association felt that it did not want to let it 
 pass without some recognition. 
 
 Much may be said in favor of all the teachers that have 
 been in the school at any time, but I am sure that I am voic- 
 ing the sentiment not only of the girls who have been under 
 her direct supervision, but of all who have come in contact 
 with her, in the school and the Alumnae work, when I say 
 that Miss .Pearson has always held and still holds a large 
 place in our hearts. At all times she has been most kind and 
 patient, and we owe much of our success to her wise coun- 
 sels. When the proposal was made that a reception be given 
 her on her return to school, it met with a most enthusiastic 
 response, and every one did her best to make it a thoroughly 
 enjoyable and memorable occasion. 
 
 As a children's playground had been fitted up at the cor- 
 ner of South and Newburgh avenues by the Village Improve- 
 ment Association with the money given them by the Alum- 
 nae, the care of it was undertaken by the association, a com- 
 mittee being appointed for that work. 
 
APPENDIX 71 
 
 Two cake sales were held during this year, the committee 
 in charge soliciting from members not only cake, but bread, 
 biscuit, or anything in that line that they cared to contribute. 
 
 One interesting feature during this and the following year 
 was the social held in connection with the monthly meet- 
 ing, an entertainment committee being appointed for each 
 month. 
 
 The balance in the treasury at the close of this year was 
 $115.49. 
 
 1903 
 
 The officers elected at the annual meeting in 1903 were as 
 follows : 
 
 President, Mrs. Sadie Soderbury. 
 
 Vice- President, Miss Anna Keating. 
 
 Secretary, Miss Jane Judson. 
 
 Treasurer,-Miss Nettie Fitzsimmons. 
 
 The association knowing of Mrs. Sargent's interest in the 
 Highland Hospital, the plan was suggested that each member 
 earn a dollar, or as much as she could, and give it to Mrs. 
 Sargent on her birthday, to be given by her to the hospital. 
 This they decided to do, the pupils of the school also joining 
 in the work. It was also suggested that they earn the money 
 by making practical use of the knowledge acquired by them at 
 the school, and I feel sure that a great many chapters might 
 be written regarding the ways by which the dollars were 
 earned, and the amount received is an evidence of the earnest- 
 ness of the effort. 
 
 A sterilizer was purchased with this money, and on the 
 plate is this inscription : " Given by the Sargent Industrial 
 School, June 16, 1903." 
 
 A new department was made in the work of the associ- 
 ation this year. A Glee Club was organized, and Professor 
 Wilkinson chosen for the instructor. A meeting was held on 
 
72 APPENDIX 
 
 Saturday of each week. The membership was not confined 
 to the Alumnae alone, but included the pupils of the school, 
 and some girls not connected with either. 
 
 A very pleasing concert was given by the club in June, 
 1904. 
 
 The subject of selecting a badge for the association had 
 long been discussed, and several designs had been brought 
 before the members for approval, one finally being chosen, 
 having first been approved by Mrs. Sargent. One hundred 
 of these were bought, costing $60.OO. 
 
 At the close of the fourth year there was a balance in the 
 treasury of $102.34. 
 
 1904 
 The officers elected March, 1904, for the ensuing year were: 
 
 President, Mrs. Ida B. Conklin. 
 
 Vice- President, Miss Grace Conklin. 
 
 Secretary, Miss Rose Mitchell. 
 
 Treasurer, Miss Mary Mosher. 
 
 A lawn party was held in August on the school grounds 
 for the purpose of raising some money to help defray ex- 
 penses in connection with the Glee Club. 
 
 The committee in charge worked very hard to make this 
 a pleasant and attractive entertainment. 
 
 Through the kindness of Mr. John Donnelly, the grounds 
 were beautifully lighted, the attendance both nights being 
 very satisfactory, and a sum of $10.39 was realized. 
 
 The plan adopted in the previous year of each member 
 earning a dollar was again tried, and a large sum was real- 
 ized, which was given to Mrs. Sargent for the Highland Hos- 
 pital. A ward carriage and a water sterilizer were bought 
 this year. 
 
 Early in September, 1904, preparations for a third min- 
 strel performance began. Thanksgiving Eve and night were 
 
APPENDIX 73 
 
 chosen for the time of giving it. The audience for both nights 
 proved that the reputation gained by the S. I. S. Minstrels 
 on previous occasions had not been forgotten, and the same 
 hearty appreciation was shown as in other years. The amount 
 realized at this time was $293.21. The association was again 
 called upon to repeat the performance in Newburgh, and 
 did so. 
 
 An invitation was received each year from the Matteawan 
 State Hospital requesting the Alumnae to repeat the minstrel 
 performance for the benefit of the inmates of that institution, 
 and the request was complied with each time. 
 
 Just here I want to speak of Mr. Ernest Davies's kindness 
 to the Alumnae Association. For three years he worked most 
 faithfully, instructing and training the girls, and doing every- 
 thing in his power to make the performance a success. He 
 entered heartily into the work and did not spare himself in any 
 way. And I am sure that we feel we owe much of our success 
 to his kindness and hard work. 
 
 A very important line of work has been started this year, 
 and one that bids fair to be far-reaching in its results, and 
 that is the organization of a branch school in connection with 
 the Sargent Industrial School, at Tioronda. There are about 
 eighty-two members enrolled, and twenty-four of them are 
 boys. Miss Pearson, the superintendent, is assisted by Miss 
 Riley and a committee from the association consisting of 
 Miss Mary Mosher, Miss Julia Dalton, Miss Leonore Jud- 
 son, Miss Reba Carey, and Miss Helena Pralatowska. Other 
 members have been called upon to help in this work. 
 
 As the fifth anniversary of the association drew near, it 
 was decided to celebrate the event on the evening of April 28, 
 1905. A committee was appointed for that purpose. 
 
 Miss Pearson, the superintendent, explained that in order 
 to carry on the Tioronda work successfully quite a sum would 
 
74 APPENDIX 
 
 be needed. It was then decided to send envelopes, to be re- 
 turned on the evening of the celebration, this contribution to 
 be considered as a birthday gift to Mrs. Sargent. 
 
 At the March meeting a motion was made and carried, 
 in the form of an amendment to the constitution, that the 
 annual election of officers be changed from March to June, 
 as this arrangement would give an opportunity for each ex- 
 ecutive committee to complete whatever work was begun 
 during its term of office. 
 
 In giving a report in this way of five years' work, it can 
 only be an outline at best. There has been some work at- 
 tempted that we have not been able to carry through. This 
 is probably the history of all organizations; but failure does 
 not mean defeat, and we learn a great many lessons from 
 failures that we would not learn were we always successful. 
 There has been a great deal of honest effort, and that is always 
 commendable. 
 
 And now in closing, I wish to thank our director, Mrs. 
 Sargent, for the kindness and interest she has always shown 
 toward us, for the substantial aid she has given us from time 
 to time, for her sympathy in our failures, and for the plea- 
 sure she has always manifested in our successes. 
 
 BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE WORK OF THE 
 ALUMNAE: 1905-1916 
 
 1905-1906 
 
 THE work at the Tioronda School was continued. A little 
 play, "The School at Blueberry Corner," was given by the 
 members of the association for the benefit of the poor and 
 suffering. The opening of the beautiful gymnasium in the 
 beginning of this year was a source of great delight to the 
 
APPENDIX 75 
 
 girls and brought forth much gratitude and appreciation. The 
 Alumnae presented a new piano and some apparatus to be 
 placed in the gymnasium. Mrs. Sargent encouraged the girls 
 in their efforts to form a Glee Club and also a Dancing Class. 
 
 1906-1907 
 
 The work begun the previous year was carried on. The 
 Glee, Dramatic, and Mandolin Clubs, also the Dancing Class, 
 had proved such a source of amusement and benefit to the 
 association that the work was again entered into with much 
 interest and pleasure. Monthly receptions were held by the 
 Dancing Class, which were great successes. 
 
 1907-1908 
 
 This year the members of the association decided to give 
 the Christmas Party they usually held for themselves to the 
 poor children of the two villages. Outside of the regular work 
 of the association a Dickens Club was organized under the 
 direction of Miss Laura Roosa. 
 
 1908-1909 
 
 Christmas, 1908, the poor families instead of the children 
 were remembered by the Alumnae. Baskets were filled with 
 Christmas goodies and delivered by the members of the as- 
 sociation. The work of the Dickens Club was continued and 
 an entertainment was given, under Miss Roosa's direction, 
 which was a success in every way. 
 
 1909-1910 
 
 This year the usual Hallowe'en Party was somewhat out 
 of the ordinary, inasmuch as it was planned to represent the 
 Hudson-Fulton Celebration as nearly as possible. A do- 
 nation was presented to the Hudson- Fulton committee by 
 the Alumnae Association. A Travel Class which had been 
 
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