Waterbury Democrat., 1901-02-15

December, Mrs .Jeannette Robinson Murphy gave delightful entertain ment in Leavenworth hall, consisting of Negro Folk Lore and Plantatio .Songs''
 The tenth annual reunion of the Con- necticut Association of Women Work CTS Clubs was held at Bridgeport May 4th. Eighteen members of the league attended, returning with interesting reports and much fresh enthusiasm. The league has been fortunate in hay ing with it on two occasions Miss Charlotte c. Wilkinson, secretary of the National League of Women Work CTS, in April, when she was present at one of the business meetings, address ing the league and it's friends, and in November, the first semi-annual reunion of the Connecticut clubs was held at Friendly league building, Miss Wilkin- son being present and giving the ad- dress of the evening.
 Educational.
 The educational work of the year has been most gratifying, both in point of numbers ill attendance and in interest shown. The number of classes has not been so large as that of the previous year, but both enroll ment and attendance show a decided advance. There have been classes in physical culture dressmaking. cook lngery, embroidery penmanShip, hand sewing, voice culture, English branch es, elecution, stenography, mandolin and drawing, besides the glee. club, which meets weekly for choral prac- tice. The enrolment of league mem berS in these classes has been 349, the total class enrolment, including non- league members, 459. The class at tendance of members has increased 25 per cent since last year. 2,477 having been ill for class work, which with the non-league members makes q total of 3,19O who have had the advantages of our educational department. In the leagues corps of teachers there have of necessity been a few changes. Miss Elizabeth Kane, after several years connection with the work as teacher,of penmanship, was obliged to resign ow ing to absence from the city. A man. doln orchestra, with John J. Derwin as director. followed closely upon the vacancy in the teaching force made by the marriage of Mrs Nettie>H. An drews, and her consequent residence elsewhere; and Benjamin F. HalM was secured as director of the glee club, which under his leadership has become a popular feature of the class work.
 Reading Room.
 The reading room is coming more and more to be recognized as an i'm portant element in the leagues useful ness, as it's advantages are increasing ly understood and appreciated. Five hundred and SiXty-SiX members are known to have spent some consdera ble part of an evening among it's pa DerS books and magazines. This may seem a small number in comparison with other figures given, but being a gain of 70 per cent over the attend ance in the reading room for the pre- vious year, it cannot but gratify those who have contributed so generously to this branch of the work. The follow ing papers and magazines have found their way regularly to the reading table: The Waterbury American, the Waterbury Democrat, the Ladies' Home Journal. the Saturday Evening Post, the Congregationalist, the House hold. Pricilla, the Youths Companion, Success. the Club Worker, Harper's Bazar. McClure's Magazine, Pearson's Magazine. the Cosmopolitan. A valu- l able addition to the library was made 1 by Henry H. Peck, who presented to | the league the American Encyclopedia | (thirty-five volumes). A gift also much appreciated was that Of one of l the reading clubs of the city, consist l ing of about twenty-five volumes of | recent fiction and books of travel. Mrs | J. T. Futile also remembered the read l ing room with gift of books. Savings Bank.
 The Penny Prevalent Fund Savings bank has developed into an important branch of the work. not only encourag- ing habits of thrift among the league members, but on Saturday afternoon extending it's benefits to the public. especially the children, among whom 13S are depositors. These, With thlr,y league members who have accounts with the bank, make a total of l6S de | positors.
 Employment and Boarding Depart
 ments.
 The endowment and boarding house | departments have not yet been largely l developed, but during the year many women needing employment nave ap, piled at the office ana nave recelVee such aid as has been possible to give A list of boarding houses and homes where lodgings may be secured is kept | and both members and others have found comfortable lodgings through | this directory. Strangers coming tt the office for information are gladly directed to good boarding places anc furnished with such other Information as they may need.
 Such is the record of the leagues work for the year 1900. that part ol the report covering the first six months heinz compiled from records kept bI the former superintendent. Miss Cor nelia B. Lawson, whose resignation went into effect on July 31. There l: little to add, the work speaks for itsel and for those who have labored so un tiringly. There must be deep satis{pc tion in seeing that the labor has no heen in vain. But there is still mucl to be done; there is need for larger de velopment of the departments alre4d' opened: need for reaching out aiQnf lines as vet untried; need for closerce operation of league members and su l perintendent that the league may stil go forward. and so this hrst year O the new century shall be the best yea in the leagues history.
 Respectfully submitted,