GOVERNANCE Directors Annual Reports to BOT 1915

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 03: GOVERNANCE – ADMINISTRATION
Series 05: GOVERNANCE – BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Series 07: DIRECTORS
Director’s Annual Reports to BOT 1915
Ethel de Long, PMSS Co-Director, 1913-1930  

GOVERNANCE 1915 Directors Reports and Letters to BOT

Ethel de Long with mountain dulcimer, c. 1915. [pmss0005.jpg]

GOVERNANCE Director’s Annual Reports to BOT 1915
Ethel de Long, Co-Director


TAGS: Governance, director’s annual reports to BOT 1915, PMSS Board of Trustees, building construction, barn fund, farming, Mr. Hughes, theology, William Creech letter to patrons, Ethel de Long, Katherine Pettit, fundraising, donations, Pine Mountain Associations, summer school


INTRODUCTION

The year of 1915 is marked by the construction of Far House I to serve as a dwelling for staff and more students. It was nearly finished by August of the year. Laurel House I continues to be constructed. Visitors begin to be interested in the School and drop in on the workers. John Fox Jr. visits the School and comments that he “…has never before seen such a well behaved group of children.” The barn fund is large enough to commence the construction of the Barn and a small log cabin, “The Cabin” or “Little Log,” for the farmer. Poultry farming begins and gardens grow and canning becomes a major part of activity at the School.

Theology is introduced as part of the program with a new itinerant theology student, Mr. Hughes, who also provides assistance with playground activity and civic lessons. William Creech writes a letter to the “patrons” of the School with updates, noting that the student enrollment in August is up to forty.

[NOTE: Trustees’ letters that are not an official part of the Annual Report may be found on pages for the individual trustees’ correspondence.]

CONTENTS: Director’s Annual Reports to BOT 1915

June 1915

024 June 11, 1915. (Page 1) “Miss [Ethel] de Long to Board of Directors.” De Long gives reasons for delay in her reports; she has been on the road to “find new friends for the school” and Miss [Katherine] Pettit has been busy with farm and garden. She describes her visits to Chicago and New York resulting in an increase in the amount of annual subscriptions which will cover the continuation of construction of Laurel House (I). She lists the cities in which Pine Mountain Associations have been organized; and projects that others engaged in for PMSS. Other updates include: completion of sawing the poplar timber and construction of

a little log house to be used as a rest house for workers and as a guest house for our many visitors. …[T]his cheap little building [was] put up by a man who has built many a log barn and furnished with fascinating bark furniture made by our stone mason [Luigi Zande] from the hills of Italy.

She describes the plans for a new cottage under construction [Far House], funded by a relative of Miss Pettit. A summer school began, where children learn to mend their own clothes.

025 (Page 2) De Long mentions preparation for Fourth of July. She describes other summer school activities. “Mr. Hughes, a young theological student, is to be with us through the summer…. He will work in a strictly undenominational spirit. Visitors from the community : Mr. Burggess, “one of our early visitors,” and Mr. John Fox Jr.  She ends with an anecdote about the children.

August 1915

030 August 1915. “Miss de Long to Board of Directors.” Far House construction is nearly complete; will house six or eight additional children. She tells of a need to have a dining room [in Laurel House] soon. The barn fund is large enough to begin building the barn. She lists other farm projects that will follow: a cabin for the farmer, fences and locust posts for the pasture; raising chickens. A farmer and a young woman to help with housekeeping, chickens, and gardening have been hired, so that the Pine Mountain family can begin “living thriftily as people in the country should live, having our own chickens, pigs, sheep, and cows.” De Long then describes the work of the “young theological student,” preaching and paying pastoral calls to neighbors, conducting funerals. At PMSS, he is supervising children who are building a play house, as they learn construction and arithmetic in the process. She describes his “valuable” help on the playground. 

031 (Page 2) She closes with a quote from a young mother of five children who told of her own need “to be fetched up” just as her children will be at PMSS.

[Attachment] “William Creech Sr., to Patrons…To all the friends that have help[ed] the Pine Mountain School:” He begins by stating that he is now 70 years old, born on July 30. About two years ago he wrote asking for a school and since then the “work has progressed mightily under the management and supervision of Miss de Long and Miss Pettit…. I don’t begrudge nary a dollar that I put into it. The good people a-helpin’ us has done a great thing for us….” He describes the ongoing construction: a log house made of fragments from very old log houses, Pole House for visitors, barn, stone tool house, House in the Woods for school and events, and a large building. He tells of progress with the farm; about 40 children at the school, five years old and up. [Subsequent page(s) are missing.]

GALLERY: Director’s Annual Reports to BOT 1915


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GOVERNANCE Directors Annual Reports to BOT GUIDE

See Also:
DIRECTORS Guide
GOVERNANCE

GOVERNANCE BOT Alphabetical Guide 1913 to Present
GOVERNANCE BOT Chronological Guide 1913 to Present