Name/Title
The Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb for the Year 1918-1919Entry/Object ID
2017.9.294.5Description
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 1918-1919." Mount Airy, Philadelphia. Printed by Order of the Board of Directors, Institution Printing Office, 1920. Dimensions: 6 x 9", 114 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 1918-1919 are then listed. These included A. R. Montgomery, [President]; J. Andrews Harris. T. DeWitt Cuyler, John F. Lewis, and Joseph H. Burroughs [Vice Presidents], William White [Secretary], John Lewis Evans [Treasurer], and T. DeWitt Cuyler [Solicitor].
The Board of Directors is then listed, organized by class:
The class of 1920 includes: T. DeWitt Cuyler, C. Hartman Kuhn, R. L. Montgomery, John F. Lewis, Henry H. Kingston, Walton Clark, Caspar W. Morris, Henry B. Coxe, and Marshall S. Morgan.
The class of 1921 includes: J. Randall Williams, Charles Biddle, Andrew Alexander Blair, Henry E. Drayton, Leonard T. Beale; George W. Elkins, Jr.; Frank T. Patterson, and Edward Hopkinson, Jr.
The class of 1922 includes: Emlen Hutchinson, A. R. Montgomery, Henry La Barre Jayne, J. Andrews Harris, Joseph H. Burroughs, William Potter, George V. Massey, C. Berkeley Taylor, and Robert Glendinning.
The standing committees included the following, with names listed after each committee:
Committee on Instruction: Andrew Alexander Blair, T. DeWitt Cuyler, John F. Lewis, William Potter, Charles Biddle, Emlen Hutchinson, Leonard T. Beale, Caspar W. Morris, Henry B. Coxe; George W. Elkins, Jr.; Edward Hopkinson, Jr.; and C. Berkeley Taylor.
Committee on Household: J. Andrews Harris, Joseph H. Burroughs, C. Hartman Kuhn, J. Randall Williams, Henry H. Kingston, Henry E. Drayton, T. Walton Clark, George V. Massey, Robert Glendinning; Frank T. Patterson, Marshall S. Morgan, and R. L. Montgomery.
Committee on Grounds: J. Andrews Harris, Henry H. Kingston, and Robert Glendinning.
Committee on Finance: H. La Barre Jayne, C. Hartman Kuhn, and Henry B. Coxe.
Committee on Athletics: T. DeWitt Cuyler, Henry E. Drayton, and Leonard T. Beale.
Committee on Centennial Celebration: John F. Lewis, Henry E. Drayton, Charles Biddle, Joseph H. Burroughs, and J. Andrews Harris.
Ladies' Committee: Miss Mary E. Weld [Honorary Member], Mrs. John H. Brinton [Chair], Miss Laura C. Outerbridge [Secretary], 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, Miss Ellen Gowen Hood, Miss Pauline D. Bowie, and Mrs. Algernon B. Roberts.
Auxiliary Committee: Mrs. John Lyman Cox, Mrs. John Leisenring Wentz, Muss Essyllt Evans, Mrs. F. Rosengarten, Mrs. John W. Muir.
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], B. Alexander Randall and Francis R. Packard, MDs [Otologists], Thomas L. Wilcox [Dentist]. Though the Institution apparently had a Consulting Dermatologist at the time of the publication of this annual report, a name was not published in association with the position.
Page 5 includes a list of Officers and Teachers. These include: A. L. E. Crouter [superintendant], Gladys Bodenhorn [Clerk]. Faculty listed in the Academic Department include: Lyman Steed [Principal], teachers Barton Sensenig, James A. Weaver; John A. McIlvaine, Jr.; Clarence J. Settles, Frances Lucas, Mary Mays Beatty, Eva I. Gustin, Agnes M. Lambert, Josephine E. Bell, Annie McD. Ervin, Mary H. Broadbent, Grace M. McGlone, Emma A. Dobbins, E. May Trend, Harriet B. Smith, Serena E. Foley, M. Leone Archibald, and Catherine Fike.
Intermediate faculty members include: Jeannette J. Christmas [Principal], Rachel E. Dawes [Supervising Teacher], teachers Lillian B. Lackey, M. Ethel Bruce, Alice May Plouer, Catherine Carpenter, Mabel G. Pollard, Kathalena W. Gordon, Ellen S. Werner, Mildred Evans, Elizabeth A. Stone, Elizabeth A. Perrott, Elizabeth R. Lyle, Annetta L. McGrath, Florence A. Warner,, Sara Wakefield, Bessie E. Dow, Julia A. Foley, and Dorothy Lynch.
Primary faculty members include: Louise Upham [Principal], Margaret Bodycomb [Supervising Teacher], teachers Frances R. Rees, Charlotte S. Haeseler, Beatrice S. Bockius, Elizabeth J. Daniel, Reba H. Stout, Harriet M. Thompson, M. Alice Bartholomew, Doris E. Freeman, Emma C. Whiting, Jessie P. Ervin, Edith M. Lincoln, Isabel Bedford, Evelyn Roberts, Henrietta C. Ruthven, Ann M. Gibson, Susanna Coleman, Eleanor Hillsley. Barbara Eisenhower.
Teachers of Physical Training include Marion O. Perkins and Corbett T. Arnold.
M. Leone Archibald is the Institute's Librarian.
Staff of the Industrial Department include: Joseph W. Baily [Principal], with instructors Arthur J. Godwin, James M. Babinec, Thomas W. Jones, John Thiry, Louis P. Nickel, Warren Winder, Jennie G. Diehl, Jennie Clark, Clara H. Raschke, Kathryn Burgin, Frances Stuckert, Alice Romig, Emily D. Page, and Barnet Ginley.
James A. Weaver is listed as Editor of Mount Airy World.
The Household Department includes: A. L. E. Crouter [Principal], A. H. Bodenhorn [Steward], Catherine W. Brown[Clerk], Elwood Millman [Assistant], Robert M. Ziegler [Clerk], and Carrie M. Hess [Matron].
Staff at Wissinoming Hall include: Elsie Fulmer[Assistant Matron], Samuel H. Chambers [Supervisor of Boys], John McIntosh [Assistant Supervisor of Boys] and Edith A. Williams [Supervisor of Girls].
Staff at Wingohocking Hall include: Ethel Maguire [Assistant Matron], Harry Suckle [Supervisor of Boys], Albert M. Darlington [Assistant Supervisor of Boys] and Stella Shay [Supervisor of Girls].
Staff at Cresheim Hall include: Margaret E. Paul [Assistant Matron], Bessie Eckerd [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], Edward Cummings [First Assistant], Roscoe V. Easter [Second Assistant].
Fire engineers include: William Greiner, Benjamin Peiffer, and Grover C. Smith.
Security includes: Robert Henderson [Night Engineer and Watchman], and William Wunder [Assistant Watchman].
Firemen include: William Wilson, Howard Wolfe, Frank Peiffer.
William Lee is the Institution's Laundryman and Estella Walter, 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, on page 8. The current [2021] address of the campus is 7500 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119. Opposite this, the report then follows. It begins with a discussion about the lives of deaf children before they entered the Institution, and notes that the organization had a total attendance of 531 during the past year, and an enrollment of 607. During the school year, the report notes that the "old" teaching method was done away with entirely- that consisting of spelling out words with fingers- and the "oral method" has replaced it. As the Great War [World War I] continued at the time the annual report was published, a focus of the report was on the war effort, and the increased cost of living associated with it.
Income and expense statements then follow on pages 12-13, with the total of both statements balancing out at $388,327.62.
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, 1919, balance sheets, investments, etc.
The report of the Ladies' Committee then follows, beginning on page 23. The report of the Ladies' Committee begins by noting that "The number of pupils during the past year has been considerably larger than usual. In October influenza broke out and during three months it claimed many cases, resulting in four deaths." The Chair of the Ladies' Committee noted that the average cost of pupil maintenance had increased $35.00 over the last year. Staffing shortages due to the ongoing war continued to be a problem.
The Superintendent's Report then follows, on page 25. It provides data associated with the 1918-1919 student population, with those in attendance being 287 boys, 236 girls, for a total of 523 students. A series of data tables then follows. Almost all of the students are from the State of Pennsylvania. A table itemizes the causes of the students' deafness, and another table is included, showing the students' counties of origin. Repairs made to the roads on campus was a central focus; they had apparently not been repaired or replaced to any significant degree since the Institution moved to the then-present location, in 1891. The report includes information on staff changes, and on the Department of Physical Training, which includes a lists of games and activities with which the students were involved.
A table of the Trades Teaching Department is included on page 36, 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 1919 then follows, followed by a list of awards given to students for various achievements.
A photograph of Wissinoming Hall then follows. Opposite this is the report of the Advanced Department, beginning on page 49.
The report of the Intermediate Department then follows, on page 50. This report begins opposite a photograph of Wingohocking Hall. On October 1, 1918, there were 164 pupils enrolled in the Intermediate Department. Of these were 84 boys and 80 girls.
The report of the Primary Department then follows, beginning on page 54, opposite a photograph of Cresheim Hall, located on the following page. At the close of school on June 1, 1919, there were a total of 182 students in the Primary Department. Of these, 78 were girls and 104 were boys. This report discusses several students who were dismissed for various reasons, as well as teacher resignations and assignments.
Opposite a photograph of Morris Industrial Hall, the Industrial School's report then begins, on page 58. In the school year 1918-1919, there were 384 students in the Industrial Department. These consisted of 152 girls and 232 boys. After discussing several resignation, the Industrial Department's report then discussed its classes. Classes held in the Industrial Department included baking, bricklaying, carpentry etc., chair caning, drafting, grounds maintenance, ironing, painting and glazing, printing, Linotype instruction, millinery, shoemaking, boys and girls sewing, tailoring, and weaving. Lists of articles made then follow, which includes a list of vegetables grown in the Institution's gardens. A list of articles consumed during the classes is also included.
The report of the Physical Education Department then follows, on page 63. A description of the students' exercises is included, in separate sections each, for the boys and girls. These descriptions include various physical ailments of the students. Incomplete statistics about students in the Physical Department are included in this section of the report.
The report of the physician then follows, beginning on page 67, opposite a photo of the infirmary. In it, the physician notes: "This will ever be a memorable one in the medical history of the Institution for on October 3rd, shortly after the beginning of the autumn term, the epidemic of influenza then sweeping over the country, with appalling effect, and with a mortality hitherto unknown in any epidemic in our history, appeared in the Institution. Quarantine against all outside communication had already been established, pupils being strictly confined to the grounds, and visits from parents and friends prohibited. Dormitories were turned into isolation wards and efforts made to limit the spread of the contagion by all means offering any hope of success." An outbreak of 346 cases of influenza occurred in the Institution during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Four girls died as a result. A summary of cases of various illnesses then follows.
The Oculist's report then follows, on page 71.
No reports of the laryngologist, or dentist were included this year.
The report of the steward then begins, on page 72. In it, A. H. Bodenhorn lists supplies provided and clothing issued during the year ending August 31, 1919.
The report of the Chief Engineer then follows, beginning on page 80. In it, coal consumption was discussed. A central focus of the report was again the Institution's HVAC system, with pipes being covered in asbestos, and new sections of high pressure water mains installed.
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 85.
A list of all of the students is then provided, beginning on page 88, with students lists by their location of origin [listed by post office]. These are organized by Department- i.e. Academic, Intermediate, Primary, as well as by sex.
A list of life members of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb is provided, beginning on page 103.
An appendix then follows, beginning on page 108. This consists of a list of Institution presidents, vice presidents, directors, etc. from the school's founding in 1820 to the then-present day. This also includes a list of those members of the Ladies' Committee, from the school's founding to the then-present day.Collection
Pamphlet Box CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1918 - 1919Notes
Creation Date: 1920