Smyrna times., 1892-08-24
KITCHEN TRAINING.
A WORK WHICH HAS HELPED MANY
POOR AND RICH FAMILIES.

How 1t Was Started and by Whom.
Miss Huntington's Great Work for Her
Less Fortunate Sisters in a Big City.
''There is so much to find fault with
and so much to wish for in such great
big, dirty city as ours that sometimes
the good, sweet, modest facts connected
with our charitable institutions are over
looked said visitor to the Wilson In
dustrial school and mission as she came
away from there the other day. The
building at 1875 st. Marks place was
turned, nearly forty years ago, from a
factory into the pleasant school house
which it now is. This school, which was
the first institution of the kind in Amer
lea, is not endowed and is maintained
entirely by voluntary contribution. Mrs.
Jonathan Sturges is the first director,
and many familiar names are on the list
of managers.
The matron of the school is Miss
Emily Huntington, the originator of the
system of kitchen garden training, a
branch of work now carried on not
only at the Wilson school and elsewhere
in this city, but in other American cities
and in Canada, England, Ireland, Scot
land and France. Miss Huntington has
made the mission house her home, and
here she watches day by day the results
of the methods which she has estab-
lished.
It is with fascinating interest that
one listens to the tale of how by the
merest chance Miss Huntington, at
eighteen, just out of school and ready
to be ushered into fashions pleasures,
chanced to be taken by friend to visit
"ragged school," and how the only
daughter of fond parents put society
and the usual amusements Of youth
aside, and not in the same manner, but
with the same motive as her cousin, Fa-
ther Huntington, set herself about mis-
sion school work.
Nobody could work with Miss Hunt
ington's energy and her capacity for or
ganizing without developing new ideas
which should bring forth more com
plete work, so as time passed on and she
gained experience, not only among the
poor, but with her own class, she made
various discoveries. One was that the
leisure Of some Of the young girls Of her
acquaintance might readily be put to
good account, and another that kitchen
gardening might with profit be adapted
to the rich as well as the poor.
She obtained the cooperation of some
of the mothers and the interest of the
girls, so that meeting was called fol
the purpose of developing a plan Of
movement. Fifty girls met at the house
of one Of the elder women. This was il
1867. 1t was proved that most of them
no matter how well versed they were il
Latin and geometry, knew absolutely
| nothing about domestic science, so ar
rangements were made for forming
normal class which should be divided
into companies, these companies TO gC
to the mission for regular days of teach
ing.
These young women, as their paths
divided, removed to Boston, Chicag,
and elsewhere and set up kitchen gar
dens of their own, with the result tha
the system has spread everywhere. /
might even be said with truth that tn,
other thought, that of the Workin:
| Girls clubs, emanated from this mis-
sion, for Miss Grace H. Dodge was on
of the fifty young women who joined il
the work there, and it was no doubt be
cause of the experience she gained at thi
time her idea was conceived and devel
oped.
The girls became kitchen gardener
themselves, and afterward, when mar
riage had placed some of them i'll home
of their own, they wrote to the founde
of the system, "YOu have no idea hoy
kitchen garden helps me with my serv
ants and my housekeeping, and t
others it gave the means of hyelihOO
when unforeseen reverses of forum
made them dependent upon their owl
resources.
1t must be confessed that ''Bitche
garden" is a rather misleading name
for it suggests to many place wher
vegetables are grown for kitchen use
When Miss Huntington was asked abou
the name, she said: "It means a systeI
by which all the intricacies of dOmesti
science are taught-sweeping, dusting
washing, ironing, waiting at table, etc
l thought little of changing the nam
at one time because it was confounde
with the term vegetable garden, but
found nothing that quite took its place
and soon discovered that the fact tina
the name had to be explained gave
additional Importance"
The school hours are the same here a
elsewhere-from 8 to 3. There are abou
200 girls, ranging in age from five to ter
and there are the usual lessons in read
ing, writing and arithmetic, which com
under the head of study. The trainin
in the kitchen garden branches is littl
else than a systematized form of play
and this takes up proportionate part c
the school day.-New York Tribune.