SOLDIERS' ORPHAN
SCHOOLS/HOMES
TRESSLER ORPHAN HOME
Annual Report of the Superintendent of the
Soldiers' Orphans, 1880
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EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS OF PRINCIPALS.
TRESSLER ORPHAN HOME--P. WILLARD.
"In presenting to you my annual report of the above-named home, I am
constrained to acknowledge, with gratitude of soul, the great Author of
all good, as the guardian of our school during the year.
"On return of the orphans, after spending the vacation with their friends,
one year ago, several of the number brought the diphtheria with them. The
consequence was, that notwithstanding all our efforts to prevent it
spreading amongst the children, we had, during the month of September and
the first week of October, not less than twenty-eight cases. Out of
this number, only one soldier's orphan and one church orphan died.
From the middle of October until the present time, we have had almost
uninterrupted health.
"Our educational department has been kept up, as in former years, and is
still on the increase. Every effort is made, not only to develop the
intellect and teach the children to think, but also to cultivate the habit
of reading, in order that they may be conversant with the current events
of the day. Our reading-room is still kept up, and the orphans are daily
supplied with papers and periodicals, all designed to furnish them with
the best of literature to engross their leisure hours.
"The morals of the children are still on the advance, and no labor is
spared to impress the mind and heart with a sense of its high destiny, and
fit it for an important position in life for the future.
"Our crops have been good the past year, and we have had an abundance of
fruit and vegetables, and more than we could use.
"The children, as in the past, are still attending church regularly every
Sabbath morning, in addition to which we have Sabbath school and Bible
class in the afternoon, and prayer, in connection with reading and
expounding the Holy Scriptures in the evening.
"We have an able, competent, and experienced corps of teachers, and
the course of study is both extensive and thorough, which is shown to the
satisfaction of all who attend our annual examinations.
"The children are well supplied with good and comfortable clothing, both
for Sunday and everyday wear.
"The discipline of the school is parental. Physical force has only
been resorted to as a conscientious duty, when moral suasion and all other
expedients have failed. Our motto, as stated in our last annual
report, is that a child must be taught to act from principle and right,
and if he or she can be impressed with the truth that they are not only
intelligent, but responsible creatures, and that they are forming
characters for the future. The cases are rare, indeed, where
coercion of any kind is reported.
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