Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-06-23
THE DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND INsTI..
TUITION.

THE DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND INsTI.
TUITION.
SKETCH OF THE INSTITUTION-TIIEC CLOS
ING ExERCIsEs-LIsT OF THE DIsTIN-
GUIsHED PUPILS AND GRADUATES,
| &C., &C., sc.
The closing exercises of the session at
this State school under it's most efficient
Principal, Capt. Charles D. Mccoy, COM
menced on Tuesday night with concert,
vocal and instrumental given by the blind
pupils under the supervision of Prof. A.
j. Turner, the musical instructor, and
closed Wednesday with the usual exami-
nations. This institution began operations
IN the latter part of 1889. with two pupils in
each department, in uncomfortable wood
en- buildings, one on Augusta street oppo-
site the Court House, and the other in the
house at the bridge on Main street, now
occupied by S. M. Wilkes. The schools
now number 127 pupils, 80 in the Deaf
Mute department, and 81 in the Blind, and
occupy commodlous and beautifully Ioca-
ted buildings in the Eastern suburbs. The
main building was completed in 1916; in
1857 the Chapel wing was built and in 1859
the Shop building. In 1874 the Laundry
building was erected and equipped with
improved machinery, and during the past
year the most important and necessary ad-
dition of all has been put up.
This new building contains in the base
ment commodious bath rooms and water
closets on the first story a large, light
kitchen, bakery, and store room; on the
second story dining room - feet pitch
lighted and aired by q large windows;
1.-THE pupils occupy thirteen round tables) &;
Oh the third story capital suite of rooms
with modern improvements for an infrma-
ry: The building is connected on every
story with the girls wing and the Chapel
extension by large double porches.
( For years there had been the most de-
| plorable lack Of dormitory and school room
accommodations. Fifteen boys have been
sleeping in a narrow hall with one window
| The new building has accomplished the
removal of these into comfortable quarters
and has provided for twenty more pupils
than could heretofore be accommodated at
all.
The kitchen was formerly so dismal and
dark that it required the light of d candle
to distinguish an ordinary fly from a black
| eyed pea, and being Immediately under
the main buildings the odors certified to
to every occupant What his dinner would
be long before it was served. There is now
accommodations for the sick among these
classes of people who need specially good
nursing three years ago there were at
| one time seventy cases of measles. 1t has
all along been necessary to use the pupils
sitting rooms for school rooms. No debt
has been incurred in these improvements.
THE CONCERT.
A very large audience was assembled in
the Institution Chapel, Tuesday night, to
hear the concert, brought together by the
established reputation of this institution
| for good music. The programme was select
ed with Prof. Turner's admirable taste,
and was finely rendered. In the instrus
mental music we cannot speak too highly
of the overture to ''La Dame Blanche" the
overture to the ''Caliph of Bagdad,'' and
the ''Venus Reigen" and "Immortellen"
values of Gungl, by the orchestra, and
"Capt. JONES'" quickstep, and the march
from Faust" by the band. In the vocal
music the chorus, 'Here comes that happy
couple" from ''Bluebeard,' and the solo,
II am merry Zingara," by Miss Lily
White, were finely done. The singing of
this young lady, scarcely twelve years old,
is extraordinary, exhibiting wonderful
sweetness of tone, and fexibility. and it's.
rapid Improvement gives hope that we shall
have, graduated from a Virginia institu-
ton, a vocalist that shall be famous.
CLOSING EXERCISES.
1t is at the final examination at this in
stitution that one can appreciate the won
derful results Of the work going on. The
articulation class, of Mr.. Turner, in the
deaf-mute department, literally shows the
dumb speaking; the reading by the blind,
with an elocuticn which is both good and
rapid; the extraordinary examination in
mental mathematics, by the blind. in
Mr.. Doyle's class, and then the general
classes, which are not unlike those in
other schools Of high grade, except that
the pupils are deaf mutes or blind, though
we witness them every year, each time i'm
press us more strongly with the value of
this beneficence Of the Commonwealth,
which gives to her afflicted children eyes
to the blind and speech to the mute.
To give an idea of the public exhibition,
we will state that in Mr.. w. D. Cookies
deaf mute class for young ladies, Misses
Mary Steers, Ida L. Mcdowell, J. W. Kay
ser and M. W. Lacy gave on the black
board rapid and correct plan of the Brit
ish campaign in America in 1777; in Mr..
G. W. S. Turner's articulation class of
deaf muteS, sentences were written on the
blackboard in French, Latin, German,
English and Greek, and clearly pronounced
by Eugene Arthur, a deaf mute pupil from
Danville. Rev. DR.. Manly, who was pres
ent, wrote a sentence in Hebrew, which
was also read out with ease; in Mr.. 7. S.
Doyle;s class, Reese Doak, blind pupil,
demonstrated the "pons asinorum,' the old
47th proposition in Euclid with ease, and
some other scholars of the same teacher
read French from the raised type with ease.
LIST OF PRIZES, MEDALS AND
| DIPLOMAS,
| THE WORK SHOPS.
! Carpenter shop-Arthur Fultz; Shoe
shop-J.'W. Keyser; Tailor shop-Walter
Vaughan; Printing ot1lce-George L.
Douglass; Book bindery-W M. Lacy;
Mattress shop-Edgar A. Moore; Broom
shop-WTen Trammell; Sewing room
Paulina Owens; Fancy work (blind dep't)
| Sue Henry.