The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-12-17

Ing with sunshine efforts to give them ad-
yantages the parents were denied in their
day. In such homes find the argument aud
the reward for the best practical education
and refining culture the free public schools
can besiow.
''Oh, is there anything the matter with
my husband?" came in alarm from some
where above, when strange voice below
had answered to who's there?"
"My husband works at The freight depot,
and Tn always so afraid" said Mrs.
O'Rourke, when the reporter had climbed
the stairs and given explanations. She
was pleasant-faced. middle-aged woman,
with traces OF hard work about her. Her
hair was freshly smoothed back. and her
neat appearance bore out her statement,
81 had just finished my washing when the
bell rang" She showed the visitor into
nicely furnished parlor, where the white
walls were hung with photographs and
chromos the marble mantel ornamented
with a clock and some gilded plaster of
paris figures ana the room frightened with
tasteful little things
time. yet" she said, as she shaded her eyes
from the setting sun and peered down
toward Third street from the bay-window.
They often stay after school for book
keeping and such things" 1t was with ten
der pride that she said her little girls had
almost always been number. one in their
classes for years.
''Oh yes. l think il is fine thing for the
girls to learn cooking at school," she said.
There's nothing, hardly, can't cook my
self, but don't have the time to teach the
girls and then they are so busy with their
studies. They have room in there where
they light the lamp and go in and study
every night after supper. / think myself
they have to study too much and it has hurt
them. But they love the cooking and /
Sometimes let them do little.
Now the other night Nellie said she
wanted To make some biscuits and 1
watched her ana let her 60 ahead without
saying word. Well, was more than sur
prised. They were really fine and so small
and nice. They teach them to COOK Just
right down there and to fix up toasts and
lots OF little things that poor folks don't
bother with much, though they don't cost
anything much, to be sure, In vacation
they'll have more time to cook at home"
Pretty soon the door away below
slammed, merry voice cried, HAS papa
come home yet?" and four little feet came
tearing up stairs.
The Misses Nellie and Josie O'Rourke
were very frank and intelligent, but took
on something of ladylike dignity, as they
came at once into the parlor and began 10
tell about their cOoking-school.
Miss Nellie tossed her jaunty hat on the
sofa and said. ''0h; yes; of course We like
it, The girls all do"
yes. and all We are sorry for is that we
will be through with it when we graduate
this year, while the girls In the seventh
grade will have two years of It," put in
Josie.
''Oh, yes; we don't have much time to
cook at home," Nellie went on, ''bu. we do
sometimes. We've made biscuits and SOUPS
and mashed potatoes. Now, in mashed pO-
tat0es mamma puts the milk In cold, but
Miss Whitaker taught US TO heat the milk
first and put little melted butter in. IL
makes il nicer. Then she taught us to heap
the potatoes up in the middle and pick them
with fork TO make the top look fiaky.
We learn TO make everything dainty as well
as To cook il right"
1t was quite entertaining 10 hear the two
bright little girls chat about how they
learned TO cook and scrub, sew and darn in
a public school
1--WE only put in two hours In one day
each week in the cooking Glass;" they ex-
planned, but we learn great deal i'm that
time. -Four girls are housekeepers every
week and they have to sweep, wash dishes,
blackeD the stove and polish and scrub
things. Then six other girls fix and cook
things as the teacher does. The other girls
look on and put down directions and reci-
pes as Miss Whitaker dictates while she
is working. Oh. we've learned lots of
thlngs-cooklng with dry heat, SOUPS, boil
ing and ever so many things. STE Is al
ways teaching US how TO use things econom-
ieally and how TO make nice dishes out Of
things that many people would throw away.
There's shepherds pie. that's made out Of
cold meats dashed up and seasoned and
baked with top crust Of cold mashed
potatoes, and then she showed us how to
take pieces of stale crackers and cheese and
bake them together. Everything we learn
to make tastes very nice. After while we're
going to go through the markets and learn
how 10 buy things"
Every girl in the seventh and eighth
grades of the Franklin Grammar School
has 10 learn to sew, too, and the ORoGrke
girls are as much in love with that as with
the cooking.
Mrs Kennedy" the girls explained. mas
taught us basting, oyernaudipg, overcast
ing, running stitches, backstitcbes, hem
stitches, bnttonhOles, darning, drawn-thread
work, and lot of things like that. We
can bring any sort OF clothing TO school and
learn To mend it there, SO you could hardly
tell 10 was torn. We've made some pretty
handkerchiefs in drawn work; we fix our
own dresses and darn papa's stockings, so
that they look like new. After awhile we'll
learn how TO cut and make our own dresses.
We get so interested that the time in the
class seems awfuIly short"
/ concluded that the O'Iourke girls would
remember more of what they learned in the
cooking and sewing rooms at school than
they would OF algebra, and that il would do
them as much good. / could see that this
training was refining too. and that its result
must be neater, prettier aud more attractive
yer more economical homes
There are about 100 girls In the Franklin
Grammar School who would flu rnish SINH
lar stOfV.