The Saint Paul globe., November 29, 1903, Page 40, Image 40

About The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
40
WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD
HOUSE HAS ACCOMPLISHED
THE Neighborhood house, the center
of social settlement work on the
West side, has been most auspiciously
named. "A neighbor is one who lives
near another," says a modern lexicog
rapher, and one would have to puzzle
long to find a finer or more complete
definition than that. For he is priv
ileged to accept the word "near" in
the spiritual sense, and thus interpreted
it means very" much, indeed.
Before ever there was a Neighbor
hood house on the West side flats there
was this appreciation of the meaing of
the word "neighbor" entertained by a
little group of people who dwelt in
other parts of the city and by a little
group who dwelt on the West side. Al
though their homes were far apart,
these two little groups of people lived
near each other. The one gave and
the other accepted in the most neigh
borly spirit, and gradually that spirit
spread, until today it is difficult to es
timate the number of those who are
influenced by it.
The Neighborhood house, then, is an
outgrowth of this neighborly spirit. It
it a sooiaj sett lenient in the most so
cial meaning of the phrase. But to
give its history it is necessary to go
back several years to a time when
the phrase "social settlement" meant
nothing, when the neighborly spirit
was known by no other name.
About eight years ago Mrs. J. Wirth,
a member of the Hebrew Benevolent
.society, interested a number of Jewish
women In the opening of a sewing class
for girls. The class m.et one morning
of each week in a building on Indiana
avenue. The children were taught
plain sewing, and as the work ad
vanced the classes were graded. After
the school had been In existence about
three years- the local branch of the
Natroi'.al Council of Jewish Women
took charge of it and manual train- •
ing for- a class of boys was introduced
into the school. The school, continued
to grow, and finally the building. In
which the classes' were "heM "became'
the center of social life in that part
of the town.
When Dr. T. L. Ryplns came to St.
Paul to take charge of the Mount Zion
synagogue he displayed keen interest
in the work that the women of his
congregation were carrying on over
on the West side, and the development
of the industrial classes into a social
settlement was carefully fostered by
him. ' . ... .
Its First Humble Quarters.
On the first (lay of September in
the year 1900 the Neighborhood House
association took possession of a small
two-story house opposite the present
Neighborhood house, and a little over
a year later, on Oct. 4, 1901, the asso
ciation incorporated with the following
board of directors: President, Dr. Ry
pins; vice president, Mrs. J. Wirth;
treasurer, Mrs. Westheimer; Mrs. M.
Frankel, Mrs. W. 1.. Goodkind, Mrs.
W. H. Klsinger, Mrs. Ambrose Guiter
man, Mrs. Henry Stein, Mrs. Joseph
Elsinger and Mrs. Albert N. Rose.
An old tenement house which stood
at the corner of Indiana avenue and
Eva street had been placed on a new
foundation and thoroughly renovated,
and in this new home which it rented
the association began its work on a
broader scale than had heretofore been
attempted. Mrs. M. M. Pentland was
installed as resident and the staff of
volunteer teachers was increased.
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A social settlement demands for its
success co-operation. If the early ef
forts of those Jewish women who
started the industrial school over on
the West side had not met with a
response from the people for whom
the school was opened, the sewing
class, of course, could not have
evolved into the Neighborhood house
of today. But the people did respond
and it is their ready response that
makes the story of the settlement so
encouraging and interesting. They
were quick to read opportunity in the
plans that were made for them and
they entered with such spirit and with
such entire willingness into those plans
that they practically carried all of
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them out themselves, those who had
originated them merely advising and
directing.
The Neighborhood., house as it
stands today is as much a monument
to the ambition of those who live on
the West side flats as to the neighbor
liness of those who live away from
the flats, but are desirous of being
near its dwellelrs.
Made Non-sectarian.
Many of the first incorporators of
the Neighborhood House association
were desirous of making it non-sectar
ian in the broadest meaning of the
term, but it had to grow to this, just
as it had to grow from the industrial
school into the social settlement.
About three years ago the Woman's
Civic league decided to open a read
ing room on the West side. It se
cured a building on South Robert
street and fitted it up in comfortable
fashion for the benefit of those whG
cared to avail themselves of the privi
lege of meeting there. This, too,
evolved gradually into a social settle
ment, for the building became the
center of the social life of the neigh
borhood. Classes were formed, con
certs and parties were given, and the
Assembly Hall of Neighborhood House.
THE ST. PAUL GLOBE. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29.1903.
work soon began to overlap that of
the Neighborhood house. Finally when
the Neighborhood House association
took possession of its present building
the civic league realized that the new
home was commodious enough for all
in that part of the town who desired
to avail themselves of the opportu
nities offered both by the association
and the league. The reading room was
abandoned and its library that the
league had gathered together for its
reading room was sent to the new
Neighborhood house, and this uniting
of the two forces that were at work
for the good of the community had
the effect of broadening the work and
of hastening its evolution from a sec
tarian to a non-sectarian institution, an
West Side Neighborhood House.
evolution that Rabbi Rypins encour
aged.
Reorganized Last October.
On Oct. 2, 1903, the Neighborhood
house once more incorporated, this time
as a non-sectarian- institution. The
following are the officers: President,
Gustav Scholle; first vice president.
Rev. Theodore Sedgwick, of the
Church of St. John the Evangelist;
second vice president, Rev. Richard W.
president, Rabbi I. L. Rlrpins; secre-
Boynton, of Unity church; third vice
tary, Mrs. Ballard; and treasurer, Mr.
Geary. There is a governing board of
twenty-five directors which includes
these officers. Any one may become
a member of the association by pa,y-.
ing annual dues of $5.
So much for the history of the set
tlement. Of the work itself there is
much more to be said.
Should one happen to drop in at the
Neighborhood house on Monday, Tues
day, Wednesday or Thursday evening
he would find himself in the midst of
very busy life, for school is held on
these nights. Girls as young as fif
teen or sixteen and men as old as forty
will be seen bending over books in the
study rooms or listening to the expla-
nations of lessons given by the teach
ers, or working out problems for them
selves on the blackboards. The classes,
of course, are graded and the teach
ers are members of the senior class
of the Humboldt high school. The ses
sions begin at 7:30 and continue
until 9 o'clock. There are first,
second, third and fourth reader classes.
Commercial arithmetic, spelling, writ
ing, history and geography are taught.
The classes vary in-size from week
to week. The boys and men who at
tend the school are often not able to
give the four evenings in the week to
it, and the busiest of some of these
takes them into the country, so that
the attendance is by no means regular.
But the pupils attend when they can
and no matter how long their absence
has been, when they return they are
ready to take up the work just where
it was left off. This winter three Chi
nese boys are attending the school,
and they are faithful and diligent
■pupils.
Well-Equipped School Rooms.
There are six school rooms on the
first floor of the Neighborhood house
and six resident rooms en the second
floor. The school rooms are lighted by
electricity and fitted up with all the
necessary school room conveniences.
In addition to these rooms there is an
assembly room on the first floor which
seats 300 people. It Is furnished with
a piano and is well lighted and ven
tilated. In this room every other Sun
day a sacred concert is given, the vice
presidents taking turns arranging for
this. Here, too, are held the dancing
parties of the Neighborhood house.
The industrial work which marked
the beginning of the settlement is con
tinued, though on a much more exten
sive scale, of course. About seventy
five girls assemble at the Neighbor
hood House every Tuesday afternoon
from 3:30 until 5 o'clock for sewing
lessons. There are three classes in
primary work and the rest are divided
into, underwear, apron and shirt-waist
classes.
The beginners learn to make the va
rious stitches on patchwork, and their
sewing, like the sewing of the older
girls, is carefully examined by Mrs.
Pentland, the resident, and after each
lesson a mark showing the quality of
the work is placed after the pupil's
name. A record is also kept of the at
tendance. All the garments are cut
out for the more advanced pupils and
no garment is allowed to leave the
house until it is finished.
Nearly Self-Supporting.
The industrial school of the Neigh
borhood House will soon be self-sup
porting, for each pupil pays for' the
garment she has made, the price of
each being the cost of the material.
After the school has been dismissed
each article is subjected to a rigid in
spection. If the work is* badly done
it is ripped oufand at the next session
of the school the pupil is requested to
do it over again. This method insures
real progress and the pupiis.soon be
come very deft with their needles.
The piano classes meet on Mondays
and Thursdays after school. Twenty
five cents is charged for a lesson and
the pupils have the use of the piano
in the assembly hall for practice.
The Mothers' club is an important
factor in the development of the com
munity. This club meets every Thurs
day at the Neighborhood House. Th»
meeting opens with a question box and
then either the resident or somebody
interested in the, work gives a prac
tical talk on some subject. Sometimes
there is music and at the close of the
meeting refreshments are served. Over
their cups of tea the mothers discuss
matters pertaining to the care of their
homes and aid each other in the solu
tion of those problems that confront
all housekeepers.
The above outlines briefly the work
that is being carried on in this social
settlement, but it gives little idea of
the widespread influence that the
Neighborhood House exerts. To realize
this it is necessary to live for a week
at least in the settlement, and even
in that time it is hardly probable that
the visitor would be able to grasp the
full scope of the work. The warm,
pleasant home, with its plain but com
fortable furniture, its attractive pic
tures, its interesting books and, above
all, its atmosphere of cordiality, repre
sents a haven to many, a restful place
where advice may be sought with the
full confidence that the best will be
given. It is not so much a Neighbor
hood House as a Neighborhood Home.
Promoters Not Yet Satisfied.
But those who have the interests of
the settlement close at heart would not
admit that It realizes in any measure
their ideal. They know that there is
room for still greater growth. In the
house itself there is need of many im
provements. In the basement there
is a room large enough for gymnasium
purposes. If this were fitted up it
would add immeasurably to the attract
iveness of the Neighborhood house.
One of the needs of the institution is
a library. The books donated to the
house by the Woman's Civic league
form the nucleus of a library, but there
is not enough of them to represent a
library. Aside from these material
needs, more neighborliness should be
displayed on the part of those who live
away from the settlement, but who are
in position to offer those very things
which make, the settlement so im
portant. If they would permit them
selves to be drawn into the work they
would soon realize that they are re
ceiving as much as they give, for the
spirit of helpfulness which permeates
the settlement touches and strengthens
all who allow themselves to come in
contact with it.
DEATH IS WELCOMED
BY THE DYING
CHICAGO, Nov. 28.—That death has
no terror for those who know that it
is only a few hours away, and dying is
not an unpleasant sensation, is the con
clusion drawn from the observation of
200 cases by Dr. Benjamin Reicman, a
young physician who has practiced in
several Chicago hospitals. Why this
is true, he says, is something that
cannot be explained.
Since he became a medical student
Dr. Reicman has kept a. record of the
persons he has seen die, noting care
fully each time the impression which
the approach of death made on the
mind. He observed his two hundredth
case a few days ago and then an
nounced the conclusion he had reached.
"Persons in sound mind and body
fear death," said Dr. Reicman. "At
least the most of them do, but it is a
foolish fear. Besides the shrinking
from whatever they may conceive to
be the hereafter, they fear the act of
dying as if it were some shocking sen
sation or torture. But I have yet to
see a case where a dying person, even
one whose faculties were alert and who
was not suffering great bodily pain,
was overwhelmed by the knowledge
that he had only a few more hours to
live.
"There may be persons whose dying
hours are clouded by the thought that
they are leaving someone dependent on
them or someone dear to them, but for
death itself they do not care. I have
even known cases where it was pleas
ant, apparently, and several persons I
have" seen die laughed and joked in
their last hours."
Pointing to specific cases. Dr. Reic
man showed that the death bed was
sometimes a cheerful place and that
intense sorrow and horror really had
no place there.
"It is not only great men who die
heroic deaths," he said. "Those things
sound dramatic when they are record
ed in biography, but they are common
place enough. I know of a case of a
young man, a carpenter, who fell from
a high building and. was so severely in
jured that he could live only a few
hours. He regained consciousness and
when told he could not live, said: 'All
right. I would have liked to have fin
ished that job before my end came.'
He spoke in a semijocular way and
then lay back in the bed awaiting death
as coolly as though he were waiting
for coffee at the breakfast table.
"Another case I remember was that
of a switchman who had both his legs
cut off in a railroad accident. He was
brought to the hospital and told he had
about an hour to live. He was not in
great pain at the time, and yet he
asked me if I could not hurry it along.
He had no fear of death.
"In cases of death from natural
causes there Is no difference. Nearly
everyone ig sorry to give up this life,
but they are seldom overwhelmed when
told thejr cannot live. It is a peculiar
psychological fact that people living
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WINNIPEG EXPRESS
■ I 1111111 k U kill IlkV V
HOURS iiplSlm™ MINUTES
Leave ST. PAUL 7:50 p.m. -. ~" Leave WINNIPEG ;;., 5:20 p.m.
Leave MINNEAPOLIS 8.20 p.m. IjA|LY Arrive MINNEAPOLIS 7:15 a.m.
Arrive WINNIPEG. ..10:10 a.m. - ~ Arrive ST. PAUL ..., .7:45 a.m.
VIA ST. CLOUD AND FERGUS FALLS.?
Solid Vestibuled.Steam Heated, Acetylene Gas-lighted Trains; Dining Car Service Unexcelled
This new service, in connection with the CANADIAN NORTHERN RAILWAY, offers superior facilities for
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CITY TICKET OFFICE, Corner Fourth and Robert Streets, St. Paul.
CLEAN-UP
SALE
xv«^t *? 7 a !t W lef M of the second-hand and shop-worn pianos, and we
3S3ii*SS J* 1?'! 11 *!,0- 111 ' iT\ the neXt feW days. We have sold dozens
since we first started this sale, and have only a few left. Every instru
ment is in good condition and worth, musically, from 50 per cent to 75
per cent more than we ask for them. -„
Hall Square Piano; is very old, but
just repaired. . -" ifv 4*>
oniy^.tf.v.?i....-...:.;.;.T^31iy
Boartfnlan7'& Gray.Square Piano; a
little better than the «* 452
above. Only «(} 1 9
McPhail Square Piano; just over
hauled and in very good fr* £* 2;
condition. Only «&O O
New England Upright, parlor size,
very good instrument, but for .this
sale we have marked fl> 4k A g
it down to only w £m%3
Smith & Barnes Upright, ebony
case, plain design, good tone, and
sold . new for . $350. A^ .JKt A
Sale price only .... I *»• %3
Wesley Upright, oak case; ; used
about three months and really as
good as new. • - &•& g* fc»
Only ;.... .......... . „«3> 11> D
Willard Upright, - mahogany case;
very nice design and 'fl* <f €5 (C
splendid tone. 0n1y..... s> I 0%3
Willard '.\ Upright, ; mahogany case;
has been on the wareroom floors
several months, slightly shop-worn;
regular price, $300. &<?2tf&fflk
Now 3$ &n »tf O
Smith v & -Barnes • ■ Upright,- walnut
case;: a piano that to the casual ob
server would look as good as new,
but h.it Is shopworn, and we of
fer it at fit A t> C
only J................. *© £n %9
Ludwig Upright, Colonial case, wal
nut finish; a new piano, shopworn,
on which you can save $100; price
$360:.. Pr. 1f. e. $2611
W. J. Dyer ®> Bro.
Largest Music House in the Northwest. Sole
Agents for Steirvway and Knabe Pianos.
17 DYER. BUILDING. ST. PAUL, M NN.
and enjoying life shrink from death,
and yet when the same persons are
near it they have not the slightest
fear."
Of the 200 people Dr. Reieman has
Class Room in Neighborhood House.
Rogers Square Piano, mahogany
case; this has also just fl* 4 A
been repaired. Only \9 I
Newton Square Piano: will do very
well for new beginner. fl* 0%
Only 3> I O
Hall Upright, ebony case. This has
just gone through the hands of our
repairmen, and is in & 4 4 g£
good condition ..'. W I ID
Shoninger Upright, walnut case.
The case is in good condition', and
the tone clear and fl* 4EI *\
musical. Only v> Bnrtf
Willard Upright, walnut case; been
used as a rental piano, but is in
good tone and very |S> 4A A
desirable at only %£& lull
Chickering Grand, in ebony case:
very good - tone, and sold new for
$800. • We offer.it at 4 "7 C
this sale for 0n1y.:.... %0.8 ■ O
Willard Upright, oak case; one of
the discontinued styles, and can't
tse told from new; regular price,
Se 5\™ 5... $190
Weber Upright,:,- mahogany case,
and just - thoroughly overhauled;
practically as good as . C* f% (Th([\
it ever was. Now only <^ mm %9
Emerson Upright, mahogany case;
just been . refinished, and is as
good as when it sold OAA IT
for $400........... &£mdZ,%3
Gabler Upright, walnut case, beau
tiful . design, and nice sweet tone;
worth, news4so. This AAQC
sale only ....... .... .. \SS£mVUP %3
seen die, according to the figures that
he has kept, only two feared death. A
third wanted it hastened, while the
remainder were not moved, being will
ing to meet it whenever it came.