The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1897-08-21
LET EVERYBODY HELP IN THIS
GOOD WORK.
Extracts from the Five Years Re-
Report OF Rev. !. ii. Mason,
Supt. OF Mission Work
IN Superior.

| SuHI. Oh .H!SSltu w OI IA
III Superior.
| To MY tRIEEDs AND FELLOW CITIZENS:
Five wears ago, the last dav OF this
month, | came to Superior to take IN q
| missionary work much needed in this
part of the country. | came by the ad-
| vice and with the cooperation OF my
| sister, Miss +. {. Mason, TO assist her
| in her larger bene violent work as chair
| man of the Kings Daughters Order, OF
| the Iumbcrmen's. Miners and Boat
| mems department. in Northern Michl-
| gan. Wisconsin and Minnesota. Our in
| tenton was to establish in this cltv a
| center of operations for the Lake SUI
perior region, along lines Of phllan-
| thropv that might be desirable.
During the first year we busted our
| selves in LAYING foundations for onr fu-
ture work We learned some lessons IN
| practical beneyolence. We co-operatcd
with the Young Mems and Young
| Women's Christian associations. the
| Women's Christian Temperance mon,
and kindred associations in aiding the
| Door We saw more and more the need
| in this city of such n work as we con-
| templated; we received SSl.12 in contrl-
| buttons from our citizens. intending the
collections ofthe Mission SundaySchool;
and, although this first year WAS day
| of small things" we concluded that We
| had made no mistake in starting our
| humble mission among yCu.
| At the commencement OF our second
wear in vour city We opened at the
| corner of Tower avenue and IhIrd street
| arger and more expensive Quarters
than we at first attempted, with the de
! sign of keeping honse that should in
| clude all the essential features of the
| modern city mission, open every day
| in the wear and at all hours OF the day
and night, with free reading rooms,
cheaps meals and lodgings, an lntelll-
gence bureau and every night religious
! meetings, a place where strangers and
| the homeless and the neglected might
| find a hearty welcome. During tins
year our large reading room was con-
| stant.N crowded and %, lG6 meals We're
| eaten at our tables at prices suited to
| the scant purses of our patrons. IRE
quent Gospel services were held at the
evening hour, and one of the largest
| and most enthusiastic Sunday schools
was gathered that was ever known IN
tins cltv. 1t was during this year we
| received valuable assistance. parucu-
larlv in work among the children, from
| Miss Cora A. Mason, the daughter OF the
! Superintendent, now missionary IN q
foreign field. We were compelled to
| do more benevolent work IN this city
| tins wear than we could afford to do Wis
| iting from house to house, carefully eN-
amining reportei cases OF poverty deal
! ing ont fuel, groceries and clothing TIL
our treasury was OvcrdraWn. The con
| tributions received from the citizens
this wear amounted to S23l.ll; not rs
| much encouragement i'll our charitable
work as we could have wished, yet we
saw no other way than to keep right on
doing what we could with the small
means at our disposal, until a fuller
! knowledge on the part of the citizens
| would correct the mistake that we could
| make brick without straw, y or that We
! had a private fortune which We were
anxious to give away in Superior.
In the third year of our work among
You as well as during the last months of
| the previous year We conducted a
| Branch Mission near the Union Depot.
| Our business prospcred in that place
! for several months, but conditions in
| the city changing. and call coming
! from Ashland for us to open q Mission
| house in that city, we closed our branch
| here after a trial of fifteen months. Our
! Third street Mission house. however
! has been continued with Improvements
| and increasing usefulness from year to
wear, a Friendly Inn for the thousands
| who wottld be otherwise dru"ged, rob
| bed and cursed by certain public houses
into which they would be enticei.
Guarding against being imposed upon
| by dead beats, assisting those who are
willing TO work when they can find it
We furnish them cheap. clean accommo-
dations at nominal prices or in return
for doing small Jobs of work. They
[ MI NJ ST Of
strangers, often with but q quarter. a
dime, or a nickel, sometimes with not q
penny in their pocket, but they seldom
leave us without much more than q
cup of water, an ample lunch if not
full meal a comfortable cot or bunk il
not a spacious bed, the best books to
read and papers TO peruse as they sit
under q bright light or beside a warm
fire-ai. this 363 DAYS in the year, from
dayhreak to midnight, (and even after
midnight the latchstriny is always out
till daybreak asain)-a mission doing
such work as this in Superior could
ardlv be Gale a failure when judged
from any standpoint of philanthropy,
and ough not to lack for support.
The last two years we have occupied
for our Mission House the east half Of
the two story brick block, l7ofj-S Third
street. consisting Of two large halls ok
20 feet, one being used tor the coffee
house and the other for the realirg
room and chapel We Rave the best
low priced lodging apartments in the
second story Of this building 10 be found
in the city, capable of accommodating
fifty dodgers a night. We believe that
cheap, clean lodgings are the greatest
boon that can be offered homeless men
and strangers in a great city. Cheap
food can be found on almost every cor
ner-and that, too, without visiting the
so-caIipd free-lunch stands in the sa-
loona-hut safe sitting rooms and well
kept lodgings are not easily tOurI. If
added to other sa 'egnard-. friendly in
Quiries and invitations 10 Il better lie
are offered the stranger. his sense Of
security must be greatly increased. The
evening religions service at the Mission
is an especial feature. At Us cOnsecu-
tive evening services the past winter
we had an attendance Of siXtv or more
at each service, or an aggregate attend
anca Of 10000.
Much Of our work cannot be presented
in statistical form. but W have Gathered
n n nyyG-.- yYr ~ rS3 "