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■ j THE — — dotPWfci& i IVl*^z.- !a. . ... ;-- : —. ... ■ ..... ■ 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 ■ • is”', i© -T-’. v • -1 » •■•■... ® A r} I ' z x ?-1 fl /. .• .■ • -y' * -T-~ '• “ 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. 1 t.,1 1..7 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