The record-union., 1897-04-15
PARENHLBSS LITTLE ONES.
How The Children at the Protestant
Asylum Are Cared For.
Annual Meeting Yesterday-Officers
Elected and Managers Re-
port Received.

At the annual meeting yesterday OF
the Managers of the Protestant orphan
Asylum the following ladies were re-
elected to serve as officers: Mrs. L. A.
Snider, President; Mrs. c. Il. Palne,
Vice. President; Mrs. r. c. Irvine, Sec
retary; Mrs II. II. Earle, Treasurer
The other ladies comprising the Board
of Managers are: Mrs. D. D. Wh1tbeck,
Mrs. William Schaw, Mrs. w. E. Briggs,
Mrs. r. p. Burr, Mrs. Allen Towle, Mrs.
T. A. w. Shock, Mrs. F. +. thomson
and Mrs. Charles Bonte.
Considerable business was transacted,
but the chief interest centered in the
annual report of the Board of Managers,
which is as follows:
CONDITION OF THE ASYLUM.
Thirty years ago a little band of char
itable women of Sacramento formed
themselves into society for the care
of orphan children.
They incorporated under the name of
the Sacramento Protestant Orphan
Asylum Association; elected a Board Of
Managers consisting of eight of their
number, together with four officers,
making twelve in all.
They canvassed the city for funds to
aid in their work of love, meeting with
good success. until they felt warranted
an procuring a small house, installing a
Matron and one servant, and assuming
charge of seventeen homeless little ones
ranging in ages from IS months to II
years.
OF the struggles of those devoted wo-
-I,r followed n the rlV
management of the home it is not nee
essary to dwell. That the storms of ad-
versity We're finally weathered we know,
and although the greater majority Of
those tender and loving ones have
passed to the brighter shore" this in
stitution remains as a monument to the
memory of their indefatigable energy
and their large-hearted charity.
AS one by one those of the original
founders of the association laid down
their care for it, either because more
pressing duties claimed their attention,
or because the hand of death beckoned,
others came forward to devote time and
strength to the work until three decades
have winged their flight to the past.
During these thirty years hundreds of
homeless children have been cared for;
their needs, mental, moral and physical,
judiciously administered to, and it is not
presumptious to say that there are now
many men and women filling honorable
positions in life whose destiny would
have been far different save for the
fostering care of this home. Some of
the former inmates have made enviable
names for themselves, and we watch
the career of such with satisfaction and
pride
At present 124 children are sheltered
within the walls Of the asylum, coming
from every part of the State, nearly
every county being represented Fewer
children have been admitted during the
past year than usual, owing to the sick
ness in the early spring, during which
time few or no children We're received
through fear of contagion. At the be-
ginning of the year there were in the
institution 13S inmates; SO have been
admitted since last report, making a
total of i'll. OF this number 81 have
been taken by parents or relatives; u
placed in homes; 1 adopted, and have
died, leaving in the asylum at present
ia. One little boy we are maintaining
in the Children's Hospital of San Fran
cisco. He is being treated for an in
jured knee.
In the autumn we had a siege of Sc
we're and painful sore throat, from
which some of the children were slow
in recovering; also, numerous cases of
chicken-pox. During the months of
January, February and March an epi-
demic of measles attacked the little ones
with severity One after another sick
ened until at one time there We're
eighty-seven cases. However, owing to
the indefatigable care and attention of
DIR. Haight, assisted by DR.. Shaw, the
constant watchfulness and unwearying
devotion of our aMtron, Mrs. Cady, and
Assistant Matron, Mrs. War; aided by
each and every employe of the institu-
tion, together with the scrupulous clean
illness and perfect sanitary condition of
the buildings, all were restored to
health.
Our unprecedented record, however,
of no deaths for a period exceeding five
and one-half years has at last been
broken, and we have had to yield up
two of our little ones to the grim de-
stToyer." Lena Logan, aged II years.
passed away in September of last year
of acute bronchitis, and Huber Brown.
aged Z, died in January last of entero-
coltes.
At the present moment all are in the
best Of health, and we feel that a rec
ord of two deaths in over six years in