The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-01-15
TEE BLIND
1ho NeeeSsIsy Ior Moio noon 70 40
commodate the Pupils and Other
Matters OF Interest.

The report of DR.. Rainey, superin
tendent of the institute for the blind
is out and it is an interesting one.
The report Gays that during tn,
year endind Aug. 81, 1890, there wer,
enrolled LA blind persons who wer'
admitted to attend school or to learn
the trades. Of this number there were
50 males and 81 females. In June last
two young men and four young ladies
graduated and received diplomas
Their names we're as follows:
Miss Allie Dawson, Weatherford
Parker county.
Miss Lottie Ro5b, Austin, Travis
county.
Miss Mamie Mcclure, Buttercup,
| Williamson county.
Miss Sarah Deason, Minden, Rusk
county.
Mr.. Theodore Fancher, Waxahachie,
Ellis county.
Mr.. LeGrand Merriman, Pecos,
Reeves county.
The four young ladies finished the
course in music, and wee educated to
teach seeing persons, and they also
learned in the sewing room to make
their own clothing. Mr.. Fancher
learned to make brooms and mattresses
and to seat chairs with cane and rat
tan. Mr.. Merriman learned to tune
pianofortes, and he has already made,
since he graduated, fairly successful
tour through the state.
Misses Dawson and Deason each
have a small piano class in their re-
spective neighborhoods. Miss Rabb
has class of piano pupils in Austin,
and she is also attending lectures at
the State University.
The following named persons
finished the prescribed course in the
trades department, but they were not
students in the school rooms.
Mr.. J. D. Turner, Apple Springs,
Trinity county.
Mr.. Frank Holtek, Hallettsville, La
vaca county.
Mr.. Eugene Fletcher, sancho, Coke
county.
Mr.. B. G. Mitchell, Burkeville, New
ton county.
Mr.. Edward White of Bryan, Tex,
also finished the trades, and if he had
returned to school he would have
graduated in his school studies. At
the close of the school in June he
went home, bought himself
complete shop outfit, got Mr..
Frank Holtek to work with him,
got his material and set to work.
At commencement of school in Sep
TENDER, he had made such fine
beginning in business by his great
energy and business ability, that
advised him to continue his business
rather than come and remain nine
months to finish two studies merely
to get diploma, when his trade might
languish and have to be worked up
again, and then, in the meantime, op.
position might spring up and ruin his
prospects.
The heads of the school, music shop
and sewing departments made COM
mendable exertion to advance the
students.
In the school rooms the course of
study was as follows: Orthography,
reading in line letter and point system
the first raised letters, the second
raised dots or points-mental and
written arithmetic, descriptive and
physical geography, ancient and mod
ern history, etymology, natural phil
osophy, English literature, algebra
AID geometry.
In the school department our corps
OF instructors consisted during that
session of Prof. R. w. Lowry, principal
teacher, with Misses Jennie Latham,
Lizzie Sthreshly, Rosa Penick, Emma
Rosenbeck and Mrs. Alice Hefin as
assistants.
Prof. Lowry was prevailed upon by
prominent citizens in this city to take
up private school.
After having been with us for over
eight years we lose his valuable ser
vices, bidding him friendly adieu
with the hope that he may always
meet with success. Ill health causes
Mrs. HELEN and Miss Rosenbeck to
leave us, and to them also we extent
our kindest wishes and hopes for their
ear y recovery.
Ia their places we have secured the
services of Prof. w. r. Leonard, prin-
cipal of the West Austin graded
schools, Miss Mary Taft and Miss Lucy
Reed, all of whom come to us with ex-
cellent recommendations. In spite OF
these important changes in the school
room, the pupils, taking the advice OF
their superintendent, have gone brave.
ly 10 work, showing that they can
make good progress under any good
teach rs.
Usually about one-half of our pu-
pills take music of some kind. Some
of the males learn to play On two or
three kinds of instruments Girls
rarely ever learn to play upon more
than two-the piano and organ-but