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American citizenship.” Helen Ormiston
Gibson, Deaconess in Charge, offers the
following statistics for 1909:
By the next year, Gibson reported
seventeen salaried workers and
thirty volunteers that supported these
programs. Her report described a once
genteel neighborhood, now in decline.
She worried over the effects the building
of a new bridge near Second and Third
Street would have towards accelerating
this downward trend.
Gibson placed Kingdom House’s
district as a mile square area, with fifty
thousand inhabiting it. “Fighting and
stabbing are not uncommon… Many
people are addicted to the cocaine habit;
the marriage tie has lost its sacredness.
Yet under these conditions children are
growing up in large numbers.” Kingdom
House programs were utilized mostly by
what Gibson called “Americans” – 698
were regular participants in programs
Number of trained workers..........................7
Number of salaried workers........................9
Number of volunteer workers....................19
Number of Kindergartens............................1
Number of children enrolled
in Kindergarten..........................................60
Number of Industrial Schools......................1
Number of children enrolled
in Industrial School....................................75
Number night classes, Manual Training,
Servian [sic] Class, Bible Class...................3
Number of students enrolled in
night school................................................41
Number Boys’ Clubs....................................3
Number of boys enrolled in clubs ..........110
Number free reading rooms.........................1
Number persons attending
reading room regularly..............................41
Number girls’ clubs......................................3
Number enrolled in girls’ clubs.................52
Number Mothers’ Clubs..............................2
Number women enrolled in
Mothers’ Club............................................39
Number dispensaries....................................1
Number patients treated in
dispensaries..............................................165
Number children enrolled in
Sabbath School. .......................................367
Number of visits made...........................3800
Number of visits received......................4000
Number of visits made to
institutions, hospitals, jails.......................104
Number of meetings conducted
or addressed. ..............................................20
Number of hours spent in
the Kindergarten.......................................540
Number of persons aided.......................1000
Number of garments given out................440
Amount of money given out..................$100
23
P
hoto
:
D:
“Open wide for
the nurse’s daily throat
examination (1927).”
Children were screened
daily for infectious diseases
before they were allowed to
come into the Day Nursery.
Of particular concern was
tuberculosis – also called
consumption.
E:
“Now I can’t have
diphtheria, can I?” – (1927)”
E
15
during the year. Germans followed
closely with 597, followed by the Irish
at 117. Other nationalities included
English, Bohemian, Poles, Greeks,
Italians, French, Swedes, “Serians”
[sic], “Scotch” [sic], Russian, Armenian,
C
hapter
O
ne
:
B
eginnings
(1902-1927)