Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1897-12-16
HAND-IN-HAND CIRCLE.
sketch of the Work for the Past
Eight Years-Uhe Euture

Hand in Hand circle should make a rppor. In de
tail of its work, for the benefit OF those with
out whose symrathy and financial aid hat work
would have been Impossible. As the 18th day
OF this month marks the eighth anniversary of
the circle, and IA a radical change Is soon to be
made in the work. It seems II lifting time to CON.
ply with this request.
ON bee. u, lS~9. the Hand in Hand circle of
the Kings Daughters was organized with seven
member. No definite line of work was decided
upon, but, Mieawber like, they waited for
"=umcthing to turn up.
That winter wa one long to he remembered
for the unu-ual amount of sickness and conse.
quent differing among the poor Soon requests
came that society whose aim was to do good
should turn its attention to relieving this dis.
| trcss, and an appeal was made throu gh the local
papers that all who had clothing to give away
should place it at the disposal of the circle,
there being no regularly organized benevolent
society in town.
This appeal was 40 generously answered an.
picatious for aid came 40 thick and fast. and
the membership of the new circle increased at
rapidly that 1t was found necessary to have
headquarters where meetings could he held and
the clothing given out.
room was hired In the masonic block on
| State street. and the members of the circle in
turn, kept 1t open Saturday afternoons and
evenings.
For long time the question of public read.
Ing room in Ellsworth had been discu ssed some
of the citizens feeling that 1t would be Of great
advantage to the town, Others that the benefit
| would not be su Efficient to warrant the expense.
IN order to try the experiment on IA small scale
the Hand In. Hand circle collected Il few books
magazines and papers f-ome of the friends con
tributing their magazines aud weekly papers as
soon a. they read them) and invited all children
to come to their room and read ON Saturday,
loaniug them books to carry home from week 10
week.
SO many were the visitors. and great the
demand for papers and magazines from the
older members of families, that the circle de
cided To work toward Ii free public reading
room, at the same time not neglectng the be
nevolent work. Dime sociables public sup.
pers and an annual fnr were heidi and every
dollar that could he saved from the running ex.
pense- of the circle added to the ''reading-
room fund, until in October, Iss2 II free public
reading was opened In the Giles building
on Main street.
The patronage of the room was so much
greater than was anticipated that the new quar-
tiers proved too small and when the Manning
May. 1888 the circle moved into the rooms that
have been it, home ever since.
The attendance Mt the room has steadily in.
creased until now there IA an average of ifty
readers daily, the majority being boys and girls
from ten to seventeen years of age although
several of the business men drop in to read the
morning papers, and the room is the frequent
resort of strangers in town.
The list of magazines comprises Harpers
Monthly, The Centnry, The Chatdnqudn. The
Literary Digest, NcCIurcs, Munseys, St
! Nicholas and Harper's Round Table: and
among the papers are to be found Harpers
H'eskiU, The Ladies' Home Journal The Bos-
ton Heratd, Bangor Commercial and Neps, the
ELLSWORTH AMER1C An aui Enterprises the
Bar Harbor Record and many of the leading
weekly papers throughout the State q
The society has never subscribed for demon.
! national paper, but several have been placed
in the room bv individuals, and are always wei
come, as i all Inora literature Old Plumbers
OF the magazines have been sent to the Kings
| Daughters at fremont, for the benefit of the
Fishermen VINO sail from there, and have been
given to the lumhtrmen to carry into the woods
and to the sick in the families " no are helped
Although the reading room has necessarily
been the principal work of the circle, the be
| neroent work has never been omitte,i, and the
revised t~iting list shows the names of eighty.
two fa1iiilics that have been helped with u total
OF 30 calls that have been answered. This list
! does not include families who have applied but
whom the circle, after visiting, deemed II
! wise to assist.
Each family has been visited before answer
/ ing the first application with the execution of
Il few who lived so far from the centre of the
/ city that an immediate visit impracticable
/ In which case the recommendation of two rea
! bic people was accepted, bIt the families req
resent an,average of i've visits from the benev
( client committee.
| The work has increased to such an extent
! that for the last two wears 1t has been impo.
/ VINO