Putnam patriot., 1930-05-22

! hair band These are made by first year pupils and are worn by the pupils of the cooking department. < Then there are pajamas, kimonos, smocks. school and dainty dresses, many styles and many colors. The second year pupils display garments of more particular skill-dainty wool and silk dresses in many styles, and a variety of coats. all looking like a reflection in a Chic Shoppe window. Then there are articles of embroidery and other hand work in considerable variety.
 You must step over and see this room, said the instructor. Miss Pease appeared justly proud of the taste fully fitted up bed room. The maple furniture was made by the boys in the carpentry department. The dec erative scheme of green and yellow was the conception of the girls. They even painted the brick sidewalks of the room and one or two pieces of furni- ture. The attractive bed and other articles were without paint or polish, the clean maple wood having more of an appeal than artificial color. In one corner was a window seat. In another stood a bookcase Bed coverings. curtains, coverings, and trimmings were. or course, made by the sewing class. They were in harmonizing colors to effect the color scheme. It was a honey little room indeed.
 Mysterious Power
 Back to the stairway and mounting to the top floor the visitor entered the electrical department. If the machine shop appears mysterious the mystery deepens here. One is almost afraid to touch anything for fear of an elec- trical shock But the pupils know what they are about and are becom- ing masters of this invisible power. There is armature winding. A sign tells the visitor that rewinding of automobile generators will be done "at reasonable cost. " The boys do house wiring. They can, according to another sign. locate and repair trouble in your motor" Why send : out of town?", they ask. Busy, al ways busy, from the basement to this top floor there is general, concen- trated activity. But there remains one more department to visit.
 The drafting department is not a place of activity. For the first time since entering the building one finds a room of quiet. There are pupils to be seen. good number of them, but they are not active, in the broad sense of the word. They are seated at their desks intent upon sketches be- fore them. There IS no use to peek over their shoulder One wouldn't ..,I eI,s ,n ttrsa Nearby neatly arranged exhibit tells the story to the observer. The result q of all of this silent concentration is group of mechanical drawings elec- trical drawings. carpentry drawing and house plans. Then there is architectural drafting and masonry drawings. It is work along this line that these pupils are intent upon.
 What Impression Gained7
 Turning about the visitor decides he has seen every department and starts retreat to the outer door. He admits he has not understood, exactly and in detail what it is all about What impression has he gained from the vist2 1t is safe to say that he has been impressed with the earnest ness of it all He feels that such a school az the Putnam State Trade School should have been established years ago 1t may be that he is brought to realize that had he had the advantages these boys are having, through the generosity of the state, that he might be farther advanced in his own calling If he has son pos sibly his mind has been made up since he entered the building to send him to this school of accomplishment He may not be able to afford a college education for the boy. The boy may not show any inclination toward high CT learning. It is such an institution as the Putnam State Trade School that stands by to help this sort of a boy to become more than a common laborer; an unskilled craftsman. It teaches him not only how but why, the thing in the particular trade, is done. It lays foundation for his expertness in his line. Today we are country of experts, or quasi ex- perts. The boy and girl who begins his or her career with smattering of this and smattering of that will lag behind the procession. Those who know their particular task, know it well; are masters of it; they are the ones who will be found in the higher places bye and bye. It all de- bends upon the soundness of the foundation. 1t is the foundation that the Putnam State Trade School sup plies.