Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-12
A WORTHY INSTITUTION.

huaAA m&AS buSLu uoH6Sb ANU worthy men 8no
women.
A WORTHY INSTITUTION.
The people of Pittsburg ana vicinity have
the best of reason for pride in the noble in
gtitution at Williamsburg 1t is perpetual
monument to the zeal and charity of small
band of enthusiastic philanthropists who,
in their efforts to do good, were guided by
good Judgment as well as benevolent i'm
pulses.
Nowhere in the county, and probably
nowhere in the State, is there better illus
tration of the divine truth contained in the
parable of the sower than in this same In
Stitute for the Deaf and Dumb at wilkins
burg. A little seed, that was planted more
than 20 years ago, fell upon good ground.
It was carefully nurtured and tended and
the shoot developed into q magnificent tree,
which is now bearing such rich fruit that
the few who watched solicitously over the
growing plant must surely feel that their
patience and labor have been rewarded more
than a hundred fold.
The institute, which has now an average
of 100 or more pupils each year, had hum
BILE and peculiar origin. Away back in 1868
there was little mission Sunday school
which met in a carpenters shop on Congress
street in Pittsburg. Joel Kerr, hard-work-
IL
Kerr, was its superintendent. Mr.. Kerr
was, and still is, faithful member of the
Third q. P. Church. He entered upon
Sunday school work as a young man over 40
years ago, and is still following 1t with the
same zeal and energy that made his labor
successful in his earlier years In his hum
bic school he sought to encourage pupils
and " extend the influence OF the mission
as much as possible.
An AMBITIOUS PUPIL.
To this end he made an offer that any pu-
pill who succeeded in bringing in a new
scholar should receive a prize The pres
ents 50 distributed were not remarkably
valuable, consisting mainly of books that
cost 10 or 20 cents each, but they were suffi-
cient to arouse the ambitions of his pupils.
and quite q number of new scholars were
gathered in who would never have come
save at the earnest solicitation of those who
were striving to win prizes. One Sunday a
little German boy appeared with new pu-
Pill, q bright looking colored lad about 5
years of age, and claimed and received his
reward. The Superintendent was not at
first inclined to receive the new scholar, and
asked why he was not sent to Sabbath
school for colored youth, which met weekly
in a neighboring building.
"His tongue is tied and his ears are
stopped up, and be can't learn nothing
there was the reply Of the boy who had
picked up the waif and brought him to
school.
And sure enough, the new pupil was
found TO be deaf and dumb. The Young
ster was allowed 70 remain, but the superin-
tendent could do little with him. Mr.. Kerr
was anxious to befriend him, and yet on one
or two occasions he had to put the little
mute out Of the schoolroom, as the boy,
uttsring that peculiar, plaintiYecry that the
deaf and dumb make, disturbed the other
scholars and diverted their attention from
their lessons. A lady who was teaching
in the mission school took deep interest
in the little black orphan boy. She had
relative, an educated mute, and she
persuaded him to come to the mission school