The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 18, 1902, Page 15

VWHERKCRARITY GLRDDENS THS RERRTS OF LITTLE SAN FRANQISQO CRILDREN. "N on Second street, a few doors 0 nds a pretty two- which is widely that side of as the Cathedral Mission € aritan. The children. e “south of the slot.” pel and the rooms cases these messengers who spread ans provided by the workers for helping de- Many of those ged ones who are adverse circum- to better con- and helped Sometimes the sometimes it t home by higher ideals in a pathy. ants ple in need der this dis- battling poverty, 1 the spirit re to realize to be in the help- Good Samar- opened May 4, 1894, at opposite the present the efforts of the Rev Kip Jr. and was Under his ministra- reased and widened sefulness. The Rev. now made canon, is if Pasa- and Rev. J. P. Tur- . assisted by and Rev. D, arge ] the work of the mission the assistance of the three es of personal contact, mutual co- aff¢ compiete organization. Per- has been accomplished e bond of active sympathetic setweer the helper and the helped. has spread, and the poorest east are growing to realize that each must do his share in elevating him- and ng his neighbor. From the five rooms of the first quar- ters b its Sunday school clubs and little socials to which all were invit- ed, to December 27, 189, when the cor- nerstone of the present Chapel and Mis- = House was laid, was a long and ar- eaven ané welf nel duous step, but a successful one. The boys of the section thereabouts at first ad unruly much to keep up the and at the end ed choir began its now a very large 1397, the cholr is On Christmas eve e oy ch made the rounds of a number of the b and sang sweet old hristmas carols. ce then the cus- tom been kept up every year, and ve been eagerly wait- welcomed The money for the erection of the pres- $6000, was raised by h enthusiasm and a erest in the work through- the city and since then many gifts * been made to help in the work. The mission was organized as the united work of all Episcopal churches in San Francisco, and the mission was made dral M represents on March 18, 1897. nucleus of the cathe- diocese It of the mission may be sum- n the following words: To check o pre t pauperism, preserve seif- encourage self-help, and develop possible a higher moral tone ield of action. It does not try p those who are found to be un- respect as far as ey worthy gh it refukes the aid of its workers and clergy to none. Poverty, of the deserving sort, is a condition that has been very much aleviated and bet- tered throughout the southern section of the city by the efforts, and in many cases the sacrifices, made by the workers of the Good Samaritan Mission. The mis- s sup the church and by ntary donations and contributions. s under the management of the ca- commitiee, composed of the Bishop and the standing committee, aided ported by by the clergy. with an executive and an advisory committee More room is needed. so successful has the work been, and it is hoped to soon get funds to have the chapel proper and the mission each occupy a distinct build- tug. Plans are being made by which it fs hoped to accomplish this object, and extend the scope and usefulness of the mission Saturday morning is a good time to see one of the most interesting branches of the mission work among the children. Walk through the vestibule, into the big hall where the Bunday school, lectures end entertainments are held, and open & @oor on your right It opens into a room thet fairly blossoms with the bright faces of children. From it open two more rooms; they are filled with children, too, and the five-year-olds are as busy as the THE SUNDAY CALL. /7155108 C toie The children are only required to belon arly k done in their homes may enjoy this useful time The best workers get their names each month on a roll of honor appearing in the Mitre. the aper, which has its ¢ press, and is printed weekly by Fdster. The rivalry for this honor is ke Miss Garber is in charg o sewing school and her takes in ind vidually each mes to her Some of the girls are 15, and these muke s that any might_be proud t wear. The sm ones sometime achieve a skirt also, and hem handke chiefs and towels very neatly. They allowed also to make things for some o else, and some of the work sows good seed from the praise it receives at their homes. Some of the little ones need badly enough the small garments that they fashion themselves. Just before last Christmas happened an incident that showed this need in sad fashion Ore little tot hardly six was bent upon making a skirt for herself. She was a born little needlewoman, and was getting alorg finely with the garment Miss Garber, to change the routine of the day offered them some dolls’ skirts made, the s to be given to th makers as presents. The little ckirt maker had not heard the arrangements and when the dolls’ material was offered her she said with in her ‘No'm, I can't take it—"" and pers vnd in her refusal. When questioned closely as to why she couldn’t go to work on the dolls’ dress she lifted her own dress showing that she had no petticoats, and said simply. but with tears, “I'm cold.” She finished her own little skirt and went home happy with a new doll's skirt also. For older girls a club is provided, gov- erned by the girls themselves. Physical re and cooking are taught twice in the week, under the direction of Misses Morey and Place. Every second Thurs- day afternoon are the mothers’ meetings, nder the direction of Mesdames W. B. Collier and M. S. Latham, where tired, drudging mothers may come, bringing thefr children if they wish, and spend an hour in sewing or being entertained with reading or something of the sort. Mr. J. C. Astredo, who is superintend- ent of the Mission House and also of the church home for boys, is 2 man who is to be tears 0 cents in four hours and is given meals and a bed at night, provided he goes cut eact to look for more remunerative work. ~ S0 the woodyard Is the honest means of saving many a man's selfs resy d tiding him over a place that s rougher than al. Not long since a man came to woodyard who was rly starving and disa for many of work through an operation from which he had an almost paralyzed foot But he could chop wood, which he did with a will, and the woodyard furnished him hope and subsistence for somé weeks. I'he wood thus pi ed is sold at five sacks for $1, and there is no profit in the transaction. A men’s club is another helpful organ- ization, with for its object mutual fm- provement and social intercourse. Lec- iures and other entertainments are pro- vided for the members and they them- selves aid one another in times of sick- ness by visiting and in other ways. The members of the men’s club also have the of the gymnasfum in the mission buflding. The girls and boys of the mis- lon district aleo have plenty of gymna- fum rining, the boys using the hall shts of the week and the girls three ni 4 clothing bureau I8 a beneficlal fea- ture of the mission rooms. Every Mon- day clothes are sold there at a nominal price to those able to pay anything for lerger ones. They ere all sewing. The dally confronted with many problems. them. On other days they are given to le ones have usually a square of cloth stamped, upon which they are doing & design in Kensington stitch. Some of the work they turn out would do much cred- it to many older sesmstresses. There are sixty of these prospective housewives, &nd they are allowed to take heme the germents they make, the material being furnished them. The woodyard in the rear of the mission helps him out of some of them. This woodyard was established with the fdea of helping men who were willing to work without wishing to be objects of charity. It is also a good reader of men this wood- pile, for'the tramp or bum, pure and simple, never takes & second look at it. The man who wants to work can earn \ those who are unable to pay even a small price for them and are in urgent need of clothing. A short distance away, at 12 Essex street, 18 the Church home for boys, where fifteen boys make their homes un- der the guardianship of Mr. Astredo, They represent all ages up to 17, and all classes, but they are all working and leading lives l of effort under the spur of helpful sur- roundings. One boy so unruly that he was taken away from the Boys' and Girls' Aid Soclety and has made a new and good start here, An- other, who went to the Police Judge and asked that he might be taken away from a bad father, is now doing well. Sull others of them have no fathers nor- mothers, One lad, who is now doing his day’'s work like any other helpful man, was found at § days old, a little aban- doned bundle, thrown into a barrel In Chinatown. The boys have everything supplied for them—their washing and mending—all but thelr clothing, for $ per week. They are all earning some- thing, and the atmosphere of home and care is worth many times to them what they are glad to pay for it. The dining- room is the scene of many pleasant meals and happy evenings. Poverty 1s not a name, but a reality, in most of these homes on the south side. The church women who spend most of their time In visiting families in the mis- sion district, and who give of thelr own means in helping the sick and needy and in other ways assisting the clergy, are the ones who ses so many things that make the heart ache. Think of a woman with a husband at the hospital and three little children at home! She is poor—so poor that after working day and night to pay the little rent she has td go and bargain with the keeper of a bakery to let her have bread for.a meal on trust. Then she has 10 cents to spend. She could ot afford to buy & whole quart of milk, amari but Iha tells the dealer if he will make the 10 cents stretch out for four days and’ send her a pint each day she can feed her children. And after that she must trust to her own efforts to ask for char- ity. Onme day a little boy rushed into the mission crying: “My mother is lying with her eyes shut, and she won't speak to me!” One of these women went where the child led. In a poor room'they found the mother‘lying on a bed without ‘a sheet, in a faint from the pain of an at- tack of appendicitis. She had eight chil- dren waiting’to be clothed and fed; their father in the hospital for rupture. She had ‘been working all night for some elec- tric cleaning establishment, trying to sup- port her little ones. The mission placed them where they could be cared for un- til a brighter day came for the mother. Hundreds of cases, like these and worse, are being constantly helped and cared for. At the mission house women and chil- dren are constant daily visitors between the hours of 11 and 13 o’clock. They all ‘want to see the nurse or the doctor, and itan they all have troubles of some sort. The nurse has her regular clientele of fami- lies which she visits and aids, giving her work enough for two people. Often she sends out potted plants and flowers by the little ones who come to her with their aflments. Last year was the first in the history of what will hereafter be a fea- ture in the mission work—the free bath- tub in the basement. Mothers were in- vited to bring their children and their own soap and towels every Saturday aft- ernoon and give them the luxury of a bath, for in the mission district not many of the homes have bathtubs. When It was known, many of the children cams alone, and the nurse often had tem or twelve to bathe in an afternoon. It was kept up for seven months, with hot water furnished the bathers. This year it is hoped to bulld or provide a dressing- Toom In the basement, which will make the bathing process more easy of accom- 135 plishment. One day, after the bathtub ‘was known and popular, there came a lit- tle Syrian boy, of which there are many in the mission district. “I come for bath,” he said to the nurse. She took him down to the lttle tub. *“Hurry up, and take your shoes and stockings off,” she sald. “There's the bath.” The small youngster of § years looked incredulous. “That,” he piped out; “why, that's only water.” The nurse sald, “Why, what did you think a bath looked like?” .The disciple of cleanliness replied in a tone of disappointment, “I & know; somefin like a doughnut.” He was initiated, and once In the tub he couldn’t be got out, but insisted that he was a fish. If the girls did not bring washcloths the nurse taught them how to make them. One afternoon a little girl who had heard of the bathtub and its rules and regulations came in with a small companion and announced that she had brought her clean clothes and her wash- cloth,’ and was ready for a wash. The nurse got her Into the tub and went out in the hall & moment, leaving the two to- gether. This 1s what floated after her through the thin partition: “Why, Katle Smith, what a lle! You know you're washin’ yourself wid a wad of paper.” After that there was a little lecture, and the young woman was taught to make washcloths. The mission has a summer homse for boys, also, in Sonoma County, which is a pleasant place to be, and a sure health restorer, with its pure country air and hillside orchards. A number of sick boys enjoy its benefits every summar. Among the children with allments whom the nurse is now greatly interestsd is 2 little boy with a badly deformed foot, which nothing but a brace will remedy. Though it is not an expensive appliance— not more than $5 or $é—the parents of the child are unable to purchase it for his relief. His case opens the way for & good deed. Every day come the children, some crip- pled, some deformed, and their mothers, all with some troubls which the nurse or the doctor at the mission are ready and willing to help, if possible. The dootor is at the dispensary every Monday, Tues- day and Thursday from 11 to 12 to meet the cases of urgent need that seek halp through the mission. A small sum is asked for drugs furnished, to cover ex- penses; but medicine is given to those un- able to pay for it. The idea of the mission is not to give something for nothing, but to cultivate a spirit of independence and helpfulness in all those who are asking for help. Still, it is not able to do every- thing, and any outside assistance is grate- fully received and used to the best ad- vantage. The merchants of the city are & great ald in the work of the mission. many of them making generous donations of money, clothing, etc. The work of the Cathedral Mission of the Good Samaritan Is a power for good'in a fleld where thers s truly great need. A Delicious New Fruit. THE newest product of scientific gar- dening is the dumbbell fruit. It re- sembles a Siamese twin peach and tastes like a peach flavored with pineaple. - It is sald to be deliclous—tar surpassing any known fruit in the deli- cacy of its flavor. There {s a romance connected with the story of its cultivation. In the year 1886 & sclentist named Jeffreys, embittered by an unfortunate love affair, turned his back on civilization, and, with a Cingalese servant, made his home on a small island 1000 miles south of Ceylon. Here he re- mained until his death, in 188, occupying himself with sclentifie studles and the cultivation of frult trees. By grafting and other methods he produced several curious varfetles, his most' astonishing success being the dumbbell fruit. After the death of Mr. Jeffreys the na- tive servaht took » few samples of the new frult and set <ail in a trading vessel for Bombay. The merchants to whom he showed his specimens at once formed a syndicate and have since been diligently cultivating the plantations. Several ship loads have been sold in the seaport citles of Australia and Indla, and the syndicate is making preparations to meet an enormous demand next seasom: In London, where the dumbbell fruit has appeared this season In small quantities, it has met with much favor from those fortunate enough to obtain it. A suburban confectioner who concocted a new drink with the juice of the fruit did a thriving business.