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VOLUME ONE .
NO. THIRTEEN.
A Valuable Industrial School
I)AURAL Nelson, in his enthusiasm for
a better navy for England, exclaimed,
“Were I to die this moment, more frig
ates would be written upon my heart. ’ ’
In the heart of a brave, self-sacrificing,
philanthropic little Georgia woman is
written something more enduring and
more worthy than men of war. This
woman is Aliss Martha Berry, of Rome,
A
and the words that are written on her heart, in
letters of fire, are, ‘ ‘ The country boys of the
South must be educated.” To accomplish this end
she is giving every day of her time, every dollar
of her modest inheritance, every
effort of her mind and body to
the one purpose of establishing a
school where country boys of lim
ited means and opportunities may
come and fully equip themselves
for the battles of life. How well
she is succeeding will be told in
the following sketch:
Eight years ago, she fitted up
an old-time log cabin near her
home as a “den” in which she
could have a quiet place, and de
vote her time to literature. But
fate turned her splendid energies
into another channel. One Sun
day afternoon, while in this re •
treat, she chanced to see the chil
dren of some tenants playing near
by. She called them in and read
to them some Bible stories. The
following Sunday more came. The
little cabin was soon filled with
children every Sunday afternoon.
Miss Berry, without realizing it,
was conducting a flourishing Sun
day School. We cannot trace the
growth of her Sunday School
work, but will say that within
four years she had organized and
was operating four of the best
Sunday Schools in Floyd county.
In going among the country people in her Sun
day School work, Miss Berry realized that there
were thousands of ambitious boys throughout the
South that could not be reached by the Sunday
School alone. They needed more training than it
could give. She realized that here in the Piedmont
region of the South dwelt the purest type of the
sturdy Anelo-Saxon to be found in our country,
and that they had the stuff in them, out of which
men are made. All they needed were opportunities.
The country schools were poor, and the terms
short. The parents of many of them were not able
to send their boys to boarding schools. Hence, the
need was a school to which these boys could afford
to come. Not a charitable institution, for that would
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“ THE CABIN"; THE GERM OF THE PRESENT EXTENSIVE INSTITUTION.
ATLANTA, GA., MAY 17, 1906.
By W. C. HENSON.
cause them to lose their independence and self
reliance, which is a striking characteristic; but a
school where they could pay a part of their expen
ses, and do sufficient amount of work to defray
the remaining part. For this purpose the Boys’ In
dustrial School was begun January 13, 1902.
In it Miss Berry intends to show that a reasonable
amount of work does ndt hinder a student’s pro
gress in his studies—that work only becomes labor
when one gets too much of one kind, that work,
when done in freedom, is only play and recreation.
She intends to merge the study of books, work and
play, and thus make of hand, head and hear' a
community of interest—each one contributing and
yielding to the needs of the other.
With this view in mind the school was located on
a farm two miles out from Rome. Work-shops
have been established, and various kinds of profita
ble, labor is done; all of which being so varied as tv
bring into play all of the student’s muscles, which
gives to them a strong, vigorous body. All this
fosters self-reliance and independence, and, at the
same time, impresses upon them the dignity of
labor.
Every student is required to work two hours each
day at some kind of manual labor. There being
practically no hired help, all of the work of the
school naturally devolves upon the students. Under
CKE.4ZEO SY ONE
WOMAN’S WILL
the supervision of a skilled teacher they do all the
work of keeping up and beautifying the campus,
farm work, canning fruit and vegetables, tending to
the stock, keeping the dairy, repairing tools and
fixtures, laundrying, housekeeping, cooking, waiting
on table, etc. That, their work is done scientifically
and well is proved by the fact that the school took
the first prize at the Floyd County Fair, both in
1904 and 1905 for farm products and canned goods.
It is just such kind of schools as this that the
pressing needs of the century demand. To a great
extent on such schools the South must rely for
the men who are to aid in establishing and devel
opment of the gigantic industrial
the fact that mere drift of circum
stances led her into the work, still her train
ing had been so careful and complete that it is
safe to say that she could scarcely have been bet
ter prepared for the work had she been especially'
trained for it. Her tact, industry and earnestness
were so marked, and her energies were so well di
rected that the school grew beyond her own plans
and expectations.
Had a visitor gone there in January, 1902, he
would have seen one large dormitory hidden behind
a dense wood, reached only by a winding road. He
would have seen not more than ten boys, most of
whom were small, for the school had just begun.
But now, how changed is the scene that greets
the eyes of a visitor! There are twelve handsome
TWO DOLLARS A YEAR
FIVE CENTS A COPY.
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enterprises that are evolving so
rapidly. The few Technological
and Mechanical schools of our
country are not sufficient, for they
only reach scattered hundreds,
while this kind of schools would
reach the thousands who are great
ly in need of just such training.
Miss Berry has carried the
spirit of her little log cabin Sun
day School into the Industrial
School. She has recognized the
wonderful influerice the Bible ex
erts in the life of young men, and
therefore has given it a prominent
place in the curriculum; . Its re
ligious atmosphere is inspiring.
Scarcely a young man leaves there
but that he is a strong, active
Christian. The writer believes it
is doing more to develop Chris
tian manhood than any other
school in Georgia of the same size.
To know that Misri Berry gave
up the leisure, ease and luxury of
her own beautiful home, and the
pleasure of social life to enter
into such strenuous work, is evi
dence of the great need she real
ized of such a school. Despite
