Name/Title
The Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb for the Year 1916-1917Entry/Object ID
2017.9.294.3Description
Annual report: on front cover and title page is "The Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb for the Year 1916-1917." Mount Airy, Philadelphia. Printed by Order of the Board of Directors, Institution Printing Office, 1918. Dimensions: 6 x 9", 96 pp.
A copy of an engraving of the school building as it appeared in 1831 then follows. Opposite this is the title page, which repeats the same information found on the front cover.
The officers for the year 1917-1918 are then listed. These included Emlen Hutchinson [President]; A. R. Montgomery, J. Andrews Harris. T. DeWitt Cuyler, and Joseph H. Burroughs [Vice Presidents], John F. Lewis [Secretary], William White [Assistant Secretary], John Lewis Evans [Treasurer], and Leonard T. Beale [Treasurer pro tem].
The Board of Directors is then listed, organized by class:.
The class of 1918 includes: Edward S. Buckley, Jr.; J. Randall Williams, Charles Biddle, Andrew Alexander Blair, Frank T. Patterson, Henry E. Drayton, Leonard T. Beale, Charles Platt III; George W. Elkins, Jr.
The class of 1919 includes: Emlen Hutchinson, A. R. Montgomery, Henry La Barre Jayne, J. Andrews Harris, Joseph H. Burroughs, William Potter, Charles A. Brinley, George V. Massey, and Robert Glendinning.
The class of 1920 includes: T. DeWitt Cuyler, C. Hartman Kuhn, R. L. Montgomery, John F. Lewis, Henry H. Kingston, T. Williams Roberts, Walton Clark, Caspar W. Morris, and Marshall S. Morgan.
The standing committees included the following, with names listed after each committee:
Committee on Instruction: A. R. Montgomery, T. DeWitt Cuyler, Andrew Alexander Blair, William Potter, Charles Biddle, Charles A. Brinley, John F. Lewis, Leonard T. Beale, Caspar W. Morris;R. L. Montgomery, Charles Platt III, and Marshall S. Morgan.
Committee on Household: J. Andrews Harris, Joseph H. Burroughs, C. Hartman Kuhn, J. Randall Williams, Henry H. Kingston, Henry E. Drayton, T. Williams Roberts, Walton Clark, George V. Massey, Robert Glendinning; George W. Elkins, Jr.; and Frank T. Patterson.
Committee on Grounds: J. Andrews Harris, A. R. Montgomery, and Henry H. Kingston.
Committee on Finance: H. La Barre Jayne, C. Hartman Kuhn, and Edward S. Buckley, Jr.
Committee on Athletics: T. DeWitt Cuyler, A. R. Montgomery, and Leonard T. Beale.
Ladies' Committee: Miss Mary E. Weld [Honorary Member], Mrs. John H. Brinton [Chair], Miss Laura C. Outerbridge [Secretary pro tem], and Mrs. Arthur Henry Lea [Treasurer]. Also includes Miss Annie Bradford, Mrs. James B. Young, Miss Nina Lea, Miss Margaret F. Dale, Mrs. Charles W. Henry, Mrs. Alfred Cope, Miss Laura C. Outerbridge, Miss Ellen Gowen Hood, Miss Pauline D. Bowie, and Miss Edith Frances Biddle.
Auxiliary Committee: Mrs. Algernon B. Roberts, Mrs. John Lyman Cox, Mrs. John Leisenring Wentz, Muss Essyllt Evans, Mrs. F. Rosengarten.
Staff members are also listed: Russell H. Johnson, MD [Physician], Alvah M. Davis, MD [Laryngologist and Otologist], Carl Williams, MD [Oculist]. Consulting professionals include Radcliffe Cheston, H. R. Wharton, and Edward Martin, MDs [physicians and surgeons], Ralph W. Seiss and S. MacCuen Smith, MDs [Laryngologists], William T. Shoemaker and William C. Posey, MDs [Ophthalmologists], Henry W. Stelwagon, MD [Dermatologist], William Diehl [Dentist].
Page 6 includes a list of Officers and Teachers. These include: A. L. E. Crouter [superintendant], Ruth M. Godwin [Clerk]. Faculty listed in the Intellectual Department include: Arthur Clarence Manning [Principal], teachers Barton Sensenig, James A. Weaver; John A. McIlvaine, Jr.; Frances Lucas, Mary Mays Beatty, Caroline R. Smith, Eva I. Gustin, Mabel P. Whitman, Julia A. Foley, Annie McD. Ervin, Mary H. Broadbent, Grace M. McGlone, Edith W. Ball, Marion F. Greene, Orvis DeWitt Dantzer, Clarence J. Settles, Emma A. Dobbins, and E. May Trend.
Intermediate faculty members include: Susan E. Bliss [Principal], Jeannette J. Christmas [Supervising Teacher], teachers Lillian B. Lackey, M. Ethel Bruce, Alice May Plouer, Rachel E. Dawes, Catherine Carpenter, Laura E. Bell, Mabel G. Pollard, Kathalena W. Gordon, Ellen S. Werner, Mildred Evans, Elizabeth A. Stone, Elizabeth A. Perrott, Nell E. Wangler, Elizabeth R. Lyle, and Florence A. Warner.
Primary faculty members include: Louise Upham [Principal], Margaret Bodycomb [Supervising Teacher], teachers Frances R. Rees, Charlotte S. Haeseler, Beatrice S. Bockius, Clara Louise Rockwell, Elizabeth J. Daniel, Reba H. Stout, Harriet M. Thompson, Gladys V. L. Burr, Gertrude N. Kling, Millicent B. Fuller, Lucia O. Bell, M. Alice Bartholomew, Lily A. Arnold, Jessie P. Ervin, Helen R. Dougherty, and Edith M. Lincoln.
Teachers of Physical Training include Marion O. Perkins and Willard E. Pallman.
Caroline R. Smith is the Institute's Librarian.
Staff of the Industrial Department include: Joseph W. Baily [Principal], with instructors Arthur J. Godwin, James M. Babinec, Harry G. Breuninger, John Thiry, John E. Krause, Louis P. Nickel, Harry D. Wright, Henry Friemel, Jennie G. Diehl, Jennie Clark, Clara H. Raschke, Kathryn Burgin, Elizabeth Peiffer, Esther Rappaport, Frances Stuckert, and Annie Kiscaden.
James A. Weaver is listed as Editor of Mount Airy World.
The Household Department includes: A. L. E. Crouter [Principal], A. H. Bodenhorn [Steward], Evalyn C. Vanderslice [Clerk], Elwood Millman [Assistant], Robert M. Ziegler [Clerk], and Carrie M. Hess [Matron].
Staff at Wissinoming Hall include: Margaret E. Paul [Assistant Matron], Willard E. Pallman [Supervisor of Boys], and Della M. Adams [Supervisor of Girls].
Staff at Wingohocking Hall include: Ethel Maguire [Assistant Matron], Harry Suckle [Supervisor of Boys], and Stella Shay [Supervisor of Girls].
Staff at Cresheim Hall include: Susan Miller [Assistant Matron], Cora Albaugh [Supervisor of Boys], Albert M. Darlington [Assistant Supervisor of Boys] and Blanche Cartey [Supervisor of Girls].
Chief Nurse: Stella J. Allen. Assistant: Elizabeth F. Evans.
Staff of the Heating and Lighting Department include: Joseph J. Fowden [Chief Engineer], R. Henderson [First Assistant], E. Cummings [Second Assistant], John Thompson [Night Engineer and Watchman], and Harry Scheetz [Assistant].
Firemen include: Benjamin Peiffer, John Wood, William Greiner, and William Wilson.
William Lee is the Institution's Laundryman and Hannah Dewees, the forewoman.
Gardeners include: Daniel K. Mankin and Daniel Lisznyay; William Livezey [Teamster].
An image of the main entrance to the Institution Grounds then follows. The current [2021] address of the campus is 7500 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119.
The report then follows. It begins with a very brief history of the school [founded 1820], and briefly mentions the Institutions then up-and-coming 100th anniversary, in 1920. The report references several faculty and staff changes, which are evident when comparing staff and faculty lists in this annual report with the previous one, that of 1915-1916. The average student attendance at the school was 534. The report continues by acknowledging the loss of Mrs. Eugene Ellicott, and discusses several faculty and staff changes, and celebrates the 50th anniversary of Dr. Crouter's service to the Institution.
Income and expense statements then follow, with the total of both statements balancing out at $207,084.37.
Financial reports then continue, with receipts associated with various scholarships listed. This is followed by the annual statement of the capital cash account for the year ending May 31, 1917.
The report of the Ladies' Committee then follows, beginning on page 17. No information on student attendance statistics was provided, as was included in the previous annual report. The report of the Ladies' Committee pays tribute to Mrs. Eleanor Patterson Ellicott, who had recently passed away. The Chair of the Ladies' Committee noted that the cost of goods had increased significantly over the course of the past year, in part due to the arrival of the war [World War I] in the United States. In closing, she noted "I would like to mention a growing atmosphere within the walls that has made it difficult for me to write the word Institution. A charcoal burner's hut may be a home, and I have seen that an establishment of over five hundred children, without any cottage system, may be and is a home in the real sense of the word, where there are such hearts as Dr. Crouter's and Miss Hess' to make and beautify its spirit."
The Superintendent's Report then follows, on page 21. It provides data associated with the 1916-1917 student population, with those in attendance being 293 boys, 247 girls, for a total of 540 students. These are the same statistics presented in last-year's report. A series of data tables then follows. Almost all are from the State of Pennsylvania. A second table itemizes the causes of the students' deafness, and a table showing the students' counties of origin.
The report then continues with a list of resignations for the year, and notes that "In view of the serious nature of the food problem and in the interests of economy, between five and six acres of the Institution lawn were put under cultivation through the generosity of Mr.-- now Major Robert Glendinning. This land was planted to potatoes without expense to the Institution... An effort was made to conserve the flour supply by the introduction of the use of bran flour bread, and a large amount of corn bread was also used. As white flour has increased one hundred percent. in price, this course commends itself for economic as well as patriotic reasons."
A table of the Trades Teaching Department is included on page 29, with classes listed and the associated number of students attending each class. Similar tables are also included for the Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced departments. A list of the members of the graduating class of 1917 then follows, followed by a list of awards given to students for various achievements.
A photograph of Wissinoming Hall then follows. This is followed by the report of the Advanced Department, with student statistics provide. In the Advanced school, 12 students were graduated and seven were "honorably discharged." This is followed by a brief discussion of a couple staff resignations.
A photograph of Wingohocking Hall then follows, on page 38. This is opposite the report of the Intermediate Department, which 171 students attended. The report provides details about several students who did not complete the school year for various reasons.
A report of the Primary Department then follows, on page 41. One hundred and eighty three students were registered in the Primary Department during the school year 1916-1917, with several students not finishing their year for various reasons. Details of the students' daily schedule are provided. Opposite this is a photograph of Cresheim Hall.
A report of the Industrial Department then follows, on page 43. This is opposite a photograph of the Morris Industrial Hall. In the school year 1916-1917, there were 389 students in the Industrial Department. These consisted of 182 girls and 207 boys. Classes held in the Industrial Department included baking, bricklaying, carpentry and cabinet work, chair caning, drafting, grounds maintenance, ironing, painting and glazing, printing, Linotype instruction, millinery, shoemaking, boys and girls sewing, and tailoring. Lists of articles made then follow.
The report of the Physical Department then follows, on page 48. A total of 309 students were enrolled in the Physical Department in the school year 1916-1917. A description of their exercises then follows.
The report of the physician then follows, beginning on page 49. Opposite this page is a photograph of the infirmary. The physician noted "the total number of patients admitted to the Infirmary being only 209." He attributed the small number to "favorable weather conditions." He continued with a discussion of the infantile paralysis epidemic and its minimal effects on the population of the Institution. This discussion is followed by a list of cases of fractures, appendicitis, and issues associated with general hygiene and diet in the report.
Following this are reports of the layngologist, oculist, and dentist then follow.
The report of the steward then begins, on page 55. In it, A. H. Bodenhorn lists supplies provided and clothing issued during the year ending September 30, 1916. A list of vegetables from the garden is also provided.
The report of the Chief Engineer then follows, beginning on page 64. In it, coal consumption was discussed. A central focus of the report was the Institution's HVAC system, some of which received an overhaul that school year.
A list of acknowledgements then follows, for various monetary and in kind donations.
Details of the conditions for terms of admission to the Institution are then provided, beginning on page 69.
A list of all of the students is then provided, beginning on page 72, with students lists by their location of origin [listed by post office].
A list of life members of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb is provided, beginning on page 87.
An appendix then follows. This consists of a list of Institution presidents, vice presidents, directors, etc. from the school's founding in 1820 to the then-present day.Collection
Pamphlet Box CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1916 - 1917Notes
Creation Date: 1918