The age-herald., 1900-05-23
Annual Meeting of Free Kinder
 garten Association
AN INTERESTING MEETING
Graduating Exercises of the Training Class Took Place Last Night at High School = Four Young
 Women Given Diplomas

I yesterday, and the work of the association
 during the year was fully reviewed in the
 reports submitted by the officers.
 The first graduating exercises of the
 training class took place last night at the | High school building, when four young wo- l men who had completed the two years course were given diplomas.
 The annual meeting was held In the par 1 lors of the Commercial club, and was call 1 ed to order at 1O:30 by the president, Mrs.
 J. H. Phillips. In the absence of Mrs.
 Harry Harsh Mrs. Joseph McLester acted 1 as secretary.
 1 The minutes of the called meeting of l May B. at which the following officers were l elected, were read and approved l President-Mrs. J. H. Phillips. l Vice president-Mrs. l. Rubel l Secretary-Mrs. Harry Harsh.
 Treasurer-Miss Julia Williamson I Board of trustees-NIrs J. II. Coughlan,
 Mrs James McLester Mrs. Cunningham l Wilson, Mrs. E. K. Campbell, Mrs. James 1 Bowron Mrs Sam Adler Miss Willie AL l len, Mrs. A. o. Lane and the officers.
 The routine work of the meeting was then taken up as follows:
 Presidents Report 1 "To the Board of Directors and Members 1 of the Birmingham Free Kindergarten 1 Association:
 Last year at this time we met to hear l from our officers and kndergarteners how l the delicate and difficult work of organ | izing and piloting this educative work
 through it's formative stage had been
 achieved. All of the discouraging features | that usually attend such undertaking | had been met with such courage and reso- lution by our former president and board l of directors that a splendid report of the l kindergarten experiment in our city was 1 the result.
 To-day we meet to hear how the in- 1 terests of this work have been sustained l and extended during the second year of its
 history.
 | "The resignation of the President, Miss 1 Isabel Dangaix, last summer less than l month previous to the time decided upon 1 for the opening of the kindergarten, was regarded by the board as extremely un- l fortunate, and was accepted with the great l est reluctance. For two months the vice. president continued the administrative du- l ties, when she was summoned to occupy l the position of president.
 Tt will be recalled that the board of l education lent the association a vacant
 room in the Paul Hayne school last year | for the work on the Southside. At the l close of the session it was evident that the 1 school would need the room another year, | and that we would be obliged to secure 1 quarters elsewhere. By the wise fore l thought of our former president, a room I remarkably well adapted for our work had J been leased on the corner of Avenue D :, and Nineteenth street. This kindergarten 1 was opened on September with large class in attendance A detailed account of I this work will be given you by our prin- l cipal, Miss Woodruff, in her report "The experiment of conducting kinder garten in the Mercy home to which the | children of the neighborhood were ad-
 mitted, was not found satisfactory. It was | then decided to have the Northsde kinder 1 garten located as centrally as possible, In | order to gather under its influence the lit tie children who virtually live upon the | streets. No provision had been made for l the accommodation of this work, and with | the increased demand for houses and the | correspondingly increased rents, it seemed | for a time impossible to secure a suitable | room.
 Tn this dilemma we turned again to the l Mercy home, and asked the temporary use | of the Kindergarten room in the house. It | was graciously accorded us, and for two months the work was continued there. At | the expiration of this time we secured a | small store building in Third avenue and Seventeenth street. The report of Miss | Celia Smith, who has been in charge of | this work since its beginning, will contain | a full account of the progress of this kin dergarten.
 "The membership of our association has been enlarged, and several who contributed last year have doubled their contributions since the work has become better known to them. In spite of these evidences of progress our treasurer's report shows that our expenses up to date have exceeded our receipts But our monthly expenses have been between sixty and seventy dollars greater than they were last year. While I deeply deplore the deficit, I cannot feel that we should allow ourselves to be dis
 couraged by this report. The report of the work in Louisville for 1898 more dis couraging than this, and yet they went on unfalteringly, and the work has continued to prosper. I do not say this to reflect upon | their work, but to encourage us. "The assistance again renedered by the Jesse French Piano company has been in- valuable. They lent us piano for the en- tire year. MT. Seals gave Us the use of piano for month and half, and then paid the rent on another for an additional month l and half. He has most generously offered the association the use of Seals hall, rent free, from May till October, for any pur- pose that we might think would forward the interests of the kindergarten movement. '"The daily press of the city has continued | to assist us generously, as it did last year. 1.-The generous aid extended us by the Jewish Womens Council in the beginning of the Northside work last year has been continued throughout this year. ''In the other women's organizations in | the city we have received substantial en- couragement from the Womans club and | the Edgewood club.
 Two most significant donations were re-