The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-09-17
The Editorial Junket.


annual outings, and take advantage
of the occasion to swap their exper
fences, tell about their conversion
and condole with each other over tn,
paucity of the collections; to enjoy tn,
hospitality of the people and incident
| ly to do little business. and the Ed
itor and wife attended the annua
meeting of the Washington Press AS
ISOLATION at Vancouver last week. The
meeting was very we'll attended. about
eighty of the fraternity being present
many accompanied by the better part
of the editorial eve" The usua1
business of the sessions was transact.
ed, and the usual discussions on mat.
tiers of interest to those who print
newspapers, were had, and the rest of
the time spent in visiting the points of
interest. J. OBJ. Scobey, of Olympia,
is the new president.
AS everybody knows, Vancouver and
Clarke county are celebrated mainly
for their prunes, although all kinds of
fruit do we'll. Several thousand acres
of prunes are grown III the vicinity of
Vancouver, and there are a dozen
evaporators of various sizes to care for
the crops. This year the trees are
loaded with fruit, and it is SIGHT
worth seeing to visit an orchard of ten
or more acres of good sized trees in
one body in which every tree is so full
that it is almost broken down. and
many were broken, the limbs being
literally ropes of prunes. The Italian
prune predominates in that vicinity.
it dries we'll and is large, running 30
SOS 10 the pound. Only one evapo-
rator was visited, that of Mr.. Kicker,
whose plant is said to be the 1arges t
on the coast, handling fifteen tons
day. Steam is used and the process is
interesting, but we have not space to
explain it further at present.
No one can fully appreciate the
grand work which is being done by
the Washington school for defective
youth, until the institution has been
visited. The building occupied by the
deaf-mutes and the blind is a 4-story
brick structure. on an eminence over
looking the Columbia, and, is steam
heated and lighted by electricity.
Here the children are treated even
better than at home, they are in
charge of teachers who are specially
trained to instruct them, and it is as
tonishing what progress they make.
With.the disadvantage of their physical
defects these children keep pace with
those who are blessed with their facul-
ties, they have the same studies as the
children IN the public schools of the
same age. Besides the higher branches
of study, the pupils are taught all the
useful accomplishments of the home,
to play and sing, and to occupy use
full sphere in life. One young blind
girl favored our party with several
difficult selections on the piano, and
sang splendid accompaniment, which
serves to show that there is hardly a
limit to the attachments of defective
youth in proper hands. One is soon
and sympathy, and the care which the
children receive, and the love they
bear their teachers. Many have no
desire to go home when vacation comes,
and are only happy when they get
back again. There are over seventy
children in this branch of the school,
but, owing to the picayunishness of
several of the counties in the matter
of paying the transportation number
have not reached the school yet. Every
child has certain work to do, and each
takes care of its own room; there are
reasonable hours for play, besides the
six hours of study, and everything
moves like c1ock-work. Director Wat
son and his able corps of assistants
are doing grand work, and it is moth
ing less than. crime to deprive chill
dren of the splendid advantages of the
state school for defective youth. We
did not have time to visit the building
where the feeble minded were cared
for, about half mile distant, but the
same conditions exist there, and in
every case this class of youth are be-
ing fitted for more or less useful life.
Last Friday the Editors and their
wives were taken on an excursion up
the Columbia to the Cascade Locks,
and viewed Cape Horn, rival of the
famous Palisades of the Hudson, NJ u1-
tnomah and other falls from the |
abrupt mountains along the river |
bank. This trip was taken on the
'R equator steamboat line, and was
very interesting.
AT Vancouver is the pier for the big |
bridge across the Columbia which was
started by the U. p. some years ago,
and there was strong talk there that
the S. P, which has succeeded to the |
ownership, would soon carry out the
immense project of building to the
Sound, and this is the source of the
rumors that the Port Townsend South
ern would be running through Shelton,
at no distant day. A good feeling
pervades everything in the sections
visited, and the spirit of the coming
good times is everywhere. Crops of