River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-12-07
Calhoun Colored Schools.
CALHOUN, ALA, Nov. IL, 1905.


i To THE JoURNAL:-H Having al
this time visited some additional
points of interest in the South
points not visited upon my previous
trips, as we'll as having made my
third trip and visit to Tuskegee, the
/ famous town of Booker T. Wash
| ington's great achievements, where
/ had the good fortune to meet both
Mrs. Washington and Prof. Geo. w.
Carver of that institution, who are
to assist in the work of our Negro
Farmers Institute at Beloit, Ala,
| Nov. 23rd and oath, and also Mr..
Robt. C. Bedford of Belo4t, Wis,
1 who has served as secretary of the
Tuskegee Board of Directors for
over twenty years. take the hour
now at my disposal here, while
waiting at Offices of this growing
and successful work of thirteen
years standing, for the buggy to
take me to the railway station,
where am to take the train back
to Montgomery this evening and
then a night train to Selma, Ala, to
at least begin my letter to the Jour-
NAL. AS have written quite fully
about Tuskegee and it's work before
will simply say that the
work there shows all of the
usual encouraging features of pro-
gress: The new brick buildings in
course of construction, an enroll
ment of thirteen to fourteen hun
dred students and more to come;
a recent arrival of a score of Porto
Rican boys and girls, sent by the
government, as we'll as others from
Cuba, Central America, the Sand
witch Islands and Africa. The
regular everyday work of the aca-
demic and industrial departments,
not five, but six days in the week,
bespeaks the force of that tremen-
dous undertaking and the wisdom of
the mighty mind which controls it.
One can only learn to appreciate the
value of such work by coming in
to actual contact with it, and that,
not merely once but repeatedly.
After a stay at Tuskegee from Fri
day the 10th until Wednesday the
18th | again went to Montgomery,
where spent half day on the 10th
at the Montgomery Industrial
Schools, represented by Miss Mar
garet H. Beard, who is known to a
number of River Falls people.
have often been asked if / had ever
visited this school. had not before.
| This time l arrived at the school in
time to attend the chapel services
in the morning and after that visited
each of the departments, beginning
at the kindergarten and going
through the elementary and indus
trial departments. The first named
department includes kindergarten
two years. primary two years and
grammar grades six years. The
second department includes sewing
of which have an excellent speci-
men, given me by the teacher, cook
ing of which l also had a sample at
| the noon hour in the shape of fine
| lunch, housework and nursing. /
believe that of the various schools
| | have visited from the windowleSS
excuse for district school poorly
carried on for a few weeks to the
normal training schools and the
negro universities, must say that
| have never seen a more attract
i've and we'll conducted school than
this. All the pupils, numbering
over two hun dred, are girls, rang
ing in age from the tot in the kind
ergarten to young women. Money
is never wasted upon a work of this
kind when intrusted to such women
as Miss Alice L. White and Miss
H. Margaret Beard, the principals.
At 500 on the day that | visited the
above school l took an L. & N. train
for a twenty-seven mile ride south
to visit the school known as the
Calhoun Colored School Arriving
at the station I enquired the way to
the school, as it is located about one
mile out from the station. Having
instructions / took rather round
about way SO as to pass through a
cotton field where a number OF
negroes, males and females, old
and young, were picking, stopping
| for minute to talk with them
about the crop, etc., then started
for the road again but soon found
myself in a tangle of weeds among
which there were a profusion of
cookie burr" 1t is needless to
say that for some time after that /
was busy trying to get the pesky
things off my clothes. Getting rid