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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1915)
18 THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN steam in a m odern and san itary k itch en . T he C hristm as d in n er com- prised ev ery th in g th e season afforded and com pared favorably w ith meals served at first-class hotels in a city. As to clo th in g , th e governm ent furnishes free every th in g th a t is necessarv, and th e quality is of the very best. For recreation, each sex has suitable games; th e baseball, football and basketball team s of th e school ran k w ith th e best in th e state. Every S atu rd ay th e re is an excursion to Salem u n d er a chaperone; one week the girls, the n e x t week the boys, and so on. In order to take p art in this excursion, how ever, a pupil m ust have a certain percentage in deportm ent, and this is about the only corrective m easure found necessary at th e school. W hen th e sum m er vacation comes, those w ho do not care to go to then hom es can earn m oney them selves at the nearby hops farm s and orchards g ath erin g the crops, All th e girls go to one ranch and all the boys to another, each set under com petent chaperones. A t this w ork they can earn one to tw o dollars or more per day, w hich is th eirs and they pay- only ten cents per meal for board. Likew ise, in the shops of the in stitu tio n , when w ork is done for outsiders, such as m ending harness, shoeing horses, etc., th e pupil who d ie s the w ork gets half the proceeds, th e other half going to pay cost of m aterials, etc. T h e school is carried on along th e lines of a m ilitary academ y, w ith som ething of m ilitary discipline, and the pupils wear uniform s. It has a uniform ed brass band w hich has gained a state-w ide rep u tatio n . T h e in stitu tio n also has a store at w hich alm ost any article can be purchased, and in w hich m any girls are tau g h t salesm anship. A w ell-equipped hospital is at the service of the children, b u t at the tim e of Mr. M cN ickle’s visit only one pupil was under treatm en t there. All of the pupils seemed happy and contented. Of course, some of them occasonallv become hom esick, b u t th ey have no other reason for w antin g to leave, as they w ant for n o th in g , and th eir w ork is very in terestin g and not at all irksom e. Mr. M cN ickle’s visit to the school has b ro u g h t him to the conclusion th at if every In d ian child could atten d this school it w ould have a w on derful effect. T h ere, am ong h ealthful aud moral su rro u n d in g s, the y o ung idea is given an elem entary education, ta u g h t a trade by which he can earn a living, and spurred on to m ake for him self a future. I
