The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-12-04
By GERTRUDE w. ATKINS

Home Society of North Carolina
was founded in 1902.
That was the year American
Occupation Troops returne d
home from Cuba, that Teddy
Roosevelt settled the Pennsyl-
vania coal strike, that Governor
Aycock launched his statewide
public school program.
Long before the turn of the
present century, concern had
been growing over the plight of
small children with no homes or
parents to care for them. North
Carolina, like most of her south
ern neighbors, was poor. Strug-
Cling to recover from the dis
asterous effects of the Recon-
struction, the state lacked funds
to take specific action to relieve
these helpless youngsters.
In 1902 a group of leading citi-
zens decided to do something to
help these babies and young
children. They organized the
North Carolina Children's Home
Society, Inc, to provide "a home
for the child who needs home
and a child for the home which
needs a child
The original Board of Directors
included names such as Venable,
McIver, Duke, Broughton, Battle
and Bynum . names syn-on-
ymous with public service in
North Carolina.
The group first employed an
experienced superintendent who
was instructed to keep a careful
record on every child. These old
records, kept at a time when few
records of any sort were made,
reflect the life of the state, its
growth through half century of
progress.
The first office was located in
the Benbow Hotel in the center
of Greensboro. The first Super
intendent, Mr.. Streeter, chose the
Benbow because of its central
location near both train and
street car lines. Both of these
modes of travel were faster and
far superior to the horse and
buggy, the only alternative.
Careful handling of confiden-
tial material was introduced
early as a Society regulation.
When Superintendent Streeter
requested a private telephone at
the Benbow, board members as
scented Immediately when he ex-
planned, I'm view of the conf
dental nature of most of the
| Society's business" he didn't con-
slider the public telephone in the
hotel lobby a proper place for
business conversations.
Two large file boxes stored in
the Society's vault ON Chestnut
Street in Greensboro tell better
than a historians facts the story
of North Carolina.
One case, dated September
1901, tells the story of Ellie
Brown. Her husband, Joe, had
been killed in freak accident in
a small mill near the South Caro-
lima border. There was no Work
mems Compensation Insurance
or Social Security in those days,
nor any welfare Agency to help
Ellie and her five children.
The neighbors were as poor
as Ellie and Joe, and her church
could offer only temporary help.
However, her minister had heard
of the Children's Home Society
and wrote Mr.. Streeter for assist
ance.
The Society had no Receiving
Home for children in those days.
Nor were there travel funds, al
though the red clay roads wind
ing over the state were impas-
sable most of the year, making
travel impractical.
The superintendent was the en-
tire staff, handling large
amount of correspondence since.
for the most part, the Society SER
we'd as a mail clearinghouse for
homeless children. Mr.. Streeter
thought he knew of a good home
for all four of Ellie's children and
wrote Immediately to inquire,
giving what facts he knew about
the four children from the minist-
er's letter. ellie kept the young
est child, hoping to support it
through her work at the mild.
In short time the family
Streeter had contacted replied
that they would like to have all
four children. Streeter then made
arrangements for a friend of the
family to take the four young
charges to their new home.
This was the manner in which
adoptions took place in those
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