HAINES HOUSE, - by Rev. Bromley.
The Children's Home, known as Haines,House, under the direction of
Miss Emma Jackson, is one of the most interesting institutions in all of Alaska.
At present there are thirty one children in the home, Nine others have passes
through the Homo and have been sent to Sitka to attend the Sheldon Jackson Industrie
School* The six workers at Hair.es House are kept busy from early morning to late
at. nignt caring for these healty, noisy, romping children. Special attention
is given to their mental and spiritual training. Mending the children's clothes is
in rcceif a great undertaking* Visit the sewing room some day and get an inspira
tion to tackle a big job and stay with it.
During the past three months the Hone has been m the process 01 remoc
e'.5ng to accommodate the children that need to be cared for. Three thousand dollr ?*.
have been spent for material and labor on the building and about four thousand d^j -
lars to install new laundry machinery in the basement. Haines House is surported
by Westminster Guilds, a young ladies* society organized in many of the Fresbyte
rian churches. Gifts of money and clothing are often received and are very accept
able. The Alaska Native Brotherhood, at it’s recent convention at Hoonah, gave the
Home seventy dollars as a token of their gratitude for the work it is doing.
When any one takes littl6 children that are destitute and gives them a comfortable
home and a chance to make good in life, the rest of us should give all the encour
agement and help we can. And that is just what Haines House is doing.
THE NEW HAINES SCHOOL. - by Mr.J.A.Nichols, Principal.
On October 6th*, 1924, the new school building at Haines was occupiec
for the first time, While the building was not theh completed, one room was made
ready for the High School* Fbur weeks later the grades moved from their old quar
ters into the new building* After a trial of a few weeks,the results are most
satisfactory. The new building is mainly of conctete, is modern, and is especially
adapted to this community . There are four school rooms, each opening into a central
corridor, and occupied by the primary, intermediate and upper grades, and the high
school. Each room has plenty of excellent blackboard space, and the clear light
walls and ceilings give a pleasant atmosphere. Extra desks and seats were, borrowed
from the Chilkat Valley School and special attention was given to having the desk
and seat of the proper size for each pupil. A large part of the basement is to be
an indoor playroom. The need for such a room has been always felt on rainy days .
The second floor consists of one large room which will be used for meetings*
A feature of the building is the improved heating and ventillating system.
Fresh air is conducted from out-doors to the two furnaces. As it is heated it rise-:;
xhrough pipes to openings some six or seven feet from the floor of each room*
The foul air passes out by means of ventilators, the openings of which are just
above the level of the floor. This system provides for an even distribution of
heat and a constant supply of fresh air.
Four teachers now comprise the Haines teaching st^ff. The addition o '
an extra teacher this year is a distinct improvement, fot not only can each teacher
concentrate on a snaller number of classes, but each pupil receives more individual
attention. Education is one of the most valuable assets anyone c?n possess.
More emphasis is ea.ch year being placed on its needx* Haines may be proud of her
accomplishments this year in this line.
THE HAINES NATIVE SCHOOL. - by Miss Esther Jarrold*
The Haines Native School is operated by the federal government. It
should not be confuseebwith the Haines Public School nor with ’’Haines House" for
the former is a town school under territorial supervision and the latter is a
church home for orphans and destitute native children* However, the children from
Haines House or Haines Mission as it is frequently called, come here to school and
graduates from this school are eligible to enter the 5th grade in the white school.
Ours is one of many of Uncle Sara1 s schoolsfor natives throughout the Territory.
Several are run in the far north for the Eskimos. The work falls under the Bureau
of Education, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., but is immediately
supervised by Mr. Jonathan H.Wagner, head of the Alaskan Division with office in
Seattle, Washington* (continued on page jf6)