Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-06-14
THE EPISCOPAL oRPHANAGE.

THAT persons brought up in or
phanges are impractical, that they do
not know how to do ordinary things,
is a common remark. How could it be
otherwise in a great institution-what
opportunities have they to learn? That
is the objection that we are striving to
overcome in Yorkville by the cottage
system"
So said Deaconess Vile who, with
Deaconess Gadsden, Is In charge of
the Church Home orphanage of the
South Carolina diocese of the Protest
ant Episcopal church, in the course of
a rarely interesting address to a small
audience, after the evening service in
Trinity church yesterday-an address
in which the young deaceness describ-
ed simply and clearly, interlarding her
story with many touching and some
funny incidents, about child life, the
work that the home" Is doing, says
the Columbia State Of yesterday.
The deaconess Is visiting the par
ishes throughout the diocese with the
object of further interesting them in
the Bishop Capers' Memorial Cot
tage," which is to be erected on the
grounds-the site of the home being
Military academy, once conducted by
Col. Asbury Coward and the late Gen.
Micah Jenkins, which the people of
Yorkville donated to the diocese. 1t
was first planned that the memorial
should be in the form of a chapel, but
the diocesan council at it's Sumter
meeting, upon petition of those having
immediate direction Of the orphanage,
voted that double cottage be erected
instead. Deaconess Vile exhibited
sketches of the proposed cottage, say
ing that it had been suggested that
two memorial tablets to the late bish-
op, one on the wall Of each wing, tell
ing of him as a bishop" and as a
placed. She has visited already the
Beaufort to Cheraw, exclusive of Char
lesion, and her reception has been en-
couraging everywhere. "One little
parish" she said, with only ten COM
municants, which has just finished
building it's little church. Hartsvilie,
leads the list, having pledged $50"
The address outlining the methods of
the work and education at the orphan
age, was full Of what newspaper men
call human interest stories and bad
weather would have been braved by
large congregation If they could have
foreknown the beautiful narrative or
helpful work for little ones that would
be sketched.
"Our first anniversary at Yorkville,"
said the deaconess, was May 13, and
since we left Charleston the number
of the family has almost doubled-we
carried 3S to Yorkville and now there
are &C, ranging in age from q to II
years. We have two cottages each
presided over by a cottage mother
and the aim is to make them as much
like homes as possible-as this is the
only home life that these little ones as
children can hope to know. Five dol
lars a month are required for the sup
port of n child, not including clothes,
and we are wholly dependent upon VOL
untary contributions.
Last year the Thanksgiving offer
ings were doubled, but the family has
doubled and they carry us only nall
the year. We have not servant on
the place-the children, assisted by
six or seven elders, housemothers,
teachers and deaconesses-do all the
work and they are learning to COOK
and to do the household duties. There
are 30 acres of land and we nope IN
time to make the orphanage largely
self lf-supporting from the farm. Each
now"
The deaconess especially stressed
the endeavor to remove so far as may
be the appearance of institutional life
from the children's view, to make the
life like home "They wear no uni
FORMS" she said, "one would not know,
one of our children from other chill
dren in Yorkville-we try to bring
them up in a natural way as other
children are brought up.
THE people of Yorkville have been
ever hospitable and generous to us,
she said. Meeting a Presbyterian
lady i'm the street one day she in
uuired, How is the orphanage getting
along?' 'Splendidly.' | answered.
We'll, YOU know continued the lady,
4 can't feel that it's an Episcopallan
orphanage, but that it's our orphan
age and that is the spirit which the
Yorkville people of all denominations
show toward u.s..
OF striking interest was the classl-
fication which the deaconess gave OF
the sources from which the children
came, illustrating them with brief
sketches of some of the little ones
and their antecedents. They come
To us from four causes. death OF pa
rents, poverty of parents. desertion or
parents or crimes of parents, ana our
aim is to refuse admission to none who
are worthy OF charity. one good wo-
man has three or four children i'm the
orphanage and she Is working In rae
tory to help maintain them, though. on
account of i'll health she can do little
Another little group were admitted to
save them from degrading surround
ings, they are among the most prom
ising of the orphanage family now, and
then there is a sad case of a wee little