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In the footprints of Mumford: Helpless Children.
A great-hearted man who loved helpless children
better than he loved his own life, left his foot
prints in a beautiful, practical way when be found
ed the Georgia Industrial Home at Macon. That
is what Rev. W. E. Mumford called the great work
he established, but in the thought of all who knew
and loved its great founder, it has' always been
called the il Mumford Home.”
Beginning with nothing but love and faith, that
great and good man started the work, gathering
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MUMFORD MEMORIAL HALL. IN PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION.
about him a few little children worse than or
phans—orphans, for the most part, of living par
ents, who had proven unworthy the sacred name
of mother and father. No other orphans’ home
in Georgia opened its arms to these helpless chil
dren. They must be saved —saved from their crim
inal parents; saved from themselves, and saved
unto the state, to society and to God. Mumford’s
soul caught on fire with the thought. His impas
sioned appeals stirred Macon and all Georgia. In
deed friends came to the movement from far be
yond State lines. Several hundred acres of land
were secured. One by one the little cottage homes
began to dot the beautiful hill. And then the
children began to come until when the great and
beloved founder died, he was practically holding
a hundred and twenty-five helpless children to his
fatherly heart. No wonder that the band of boys
playing a funeral dirge about the grave of their
father-friend b;oke down and cried so that their
plaintive strains were lost in teais.
The Work of Mr. Gunn.
The writer of these lines was unspeakably
touched vhen he was asked by the Trustees to
catch up the fallen mantle of Dr. Mumford, but
feeling physically unequal to the arduous demands
of the work and also believing it his duty to con
tinue in the spec'al work for the Christian educa
tion of women, he felt forced to decline.
When asked for a suggestion as to Dr. Mumford’s
successor, one name came at once into his mind —
the name of John R. Gunn, an old school mate
who had come up from the ranks of the people —
climbing frehn factory looms to college graduation
and rare pulpit power. Mr. Gunn was elected, re
maining as manager of the Home for three years
and doing a magnificent work. But feeling called
of God to return to the pastorate, the Trustees
elected Rev. Albert S. Dix, of Forsyth, Ga., to suc
ceed Mr. Gunn as general manager. We do not
believe that a stronger man could have been found
anywhere. For many years Mr. Dix was a highly
successful preacher and farmer. He needed both
of these qualities in training the minds and hands
of these children of the Industrial Home. The
building of the Mumford Memorial Hall, a pict
ure of which we give on this page, naturally called
for much of the time of Mr. Gunn and a large
part of the contributions of the people. As Mr.
Dix points out in his statement, the great and
pathetic need of the institution is the daily support
The Golden Age for July 4, 1907,
By William D. Upshalv.
of the children, and we hope that this statement
will cause everyone who reads these lines to send
something great or small for the mouths of these
now two hundred children who must be fed.
The Field Secretary of the Georgia Industrial
Home is Rev. J. A. Harris, a brother of Mrs. Mary
Harris Armor, the brilliant and beloved president
of AV Oman’s Christian Temperance Union of Geor
gia. Mr. Harris is a strong young man, tactful
and thoroughly devoted to his great work. He is
a gifted speaker who always wins his crowds to
himself and to his cause.
While this noble institution bears the name of
the Georgia Industrial Home, its practical bene
ficence is not confined to any State or any creed.
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ALBERT S. DIX,
General Manager Georgia Industrial Home.
It opens its arms to the limit of its ability wherev
er a helpless deserted child knocks at the door.
Statement of the New Manager.
"When asked for a statement as to the needs of
the Home and his future plans, Mr. Dix sent the
following letter:
Wm. D. Upshaw, Editor The Golden Age,
Atlanta, Ga.
Dear Mr. I'pshaw: Yours to hand and contents
noted.
The needs of the Home are three:
Ist—We are in debt for current expenses. The
expense of building Mumford Memorial Hall has
been so great that this debt has been incurred and
must be paid or the good name of the Home will
suffer.
2nd —Current expenses of the Home from June
Ist must be met, so that the debt shall not grow.
3rd —As soon as possible, the Memorial Hall
must be finished. As it is, we have $11,500 in a
building we cannot use, and which we very much
need.
As to plans, I have but two that have taken defi
nite shape in my mind. First, to lay these needs
J. A. HARRIS,
Financial Secretary Georgia Industrial Home.
upon the hearts of the good men and women of
Georgia and the South, so that they may lift these
burdens in the name of sweet charity. We are
absolutely dependent upon the gifts of those who
pity helpless, unfortunate children. Second, to so
wisely—may God give me 'wisdom —and economi
cally administer the affaiis here, to so develop the
potentialities of these 200 and more acres of land,
that I may make the expenses as small as is con
sistent with the proper care of these boys and
girls, and may deserve and win and keep the solid
respect of business men who know a good thing
when they see it; and lastly, to so care for and
train these children in body, mind and spirit, that
in the great day coming every man who puts a
copper into this work will be glad he did it. These
are the needs as I see them, and these are the only
plans that have taken form in my mind. I believe
in telling people the truth. We have nothing to
conceal. We would be glad for people to come to
see us. They will find that much has been done.
The Memorial Hall, though unfinished, stands as a
monument to the energy and devotion of my pred
cessor, Rev. J. R. Gunn. They will also find that
much needs to be done. Under God we propose to
do it. Yours sincerely,
ALBERT S. DIX,
Georgia Industrial Home, Macon, Ga.
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The Reply Delicate.
tactful and delicate, even for a Frenchman,
was the reply made by a Parisian who had not
found “a life on the ocean wave” all for which
one could wish. He was sinking, pale and hag
gard, into his steamer-chair when his neighbor
cheerily asked:
‘‘Have you breakfasted, monsieur?”
“No, m’sieur,” answered the Frenchman with
a wan smile, “I have not breakfasted. On the
contrary!”—“Under the Spreading Chestnut
Tree,” in the July Everybody’s.
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First College Girl —What is the title of your
graduation essay?
Second College Girl—Beyond the Alps lies Italv.
What is yours?
First College Girl.—Beyond the altar is the
washtub.
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