Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Christmas at the Children's Home, 1894

From the Defiance Democrat - December 27, 1894

This type of newspaper article can verify exactly who was at the Defiance County Children' Home in 1894, as there is no census available for that time.

"CHILDREN'S HOME

Miss Flo Elliott spent Christmas at home.

Miss Jennie Moninger has returned from Fort Wayne where she has been visiting.
Miss Grace Hill is visiting her brother at Bryan.

We have thirty children on roll, all enjoying good health.
We take pleasure in endeavoring to give you a brief description of Christmas at the Home. As our children were not expecting any Christmas at all this year, they thought they would have one of their own, so the little girls gathered pieces of cloth from the waste basket and bits of tissue paper from shoe boxes and made presents for one another until they had presents for all.  
The boys then went out to the woods and got a limb of a tree and took it to the school house; the girls then arranged their gifts on it in a pretty way which made it look real nice.  While they were eating supper, the ladies slipped over and pinned on the stockings of candies which were so kindly sent to them.  The girls had a nice program prepared which we give as follows:

Song - Glory in the Highest. In David's City - Ella Brown
Santa Claus- Jennie Romanus
Christmas Day - Vernie Miser
Under the Christmas Tree - Pearl Sawyer
Song - In a Manger - By School

Rec. 'Christmas' - Della Rex
The Little Star - Geo. Klinch
Our Baby - Charlie Ricketts
The Little Robin - John Daily
To Kris - Celia Daniels

The Christmas Gift - Ray Long
We all ought to do good - Flo Ricketts
The Old Man - Clide Miser
Christmas Card - Vine Pardee
The Rhyme of the Magical Painter - Sarah Sinamon

Song - School
Practicing - Albert Klinck, Peter and Roy Brown
Christmas Secret - Homer Ricketts
Christmas Song - Ella Brown
Dialogue - The Dead Bird - Ola Dunlap and Flo Ricketts

Christmas Bell- By the three babies
Song - We are Little Reapers
Christmas in the Forest - Olie Sawyer
Under the Star - Earl Yeoger
Parson Brown - Zehm Letter

Telling the Story - Ola Dunlap
Merry Christmas - Frank Swinehart
Closing Song - Meeting and Parting
As the ladies of the home had nothing to do with this, we call it the little girls' entertainment.

We now wish to thank those whose kind hearts went out for our little ones and helped to make this a merry Christmas for them. We thank the W.C.T.U. for oranges, apples, pop corn, thirty boxes of candy, literature, cards, books and dolls.  North side school for thirty stockings of candy, nuts and pop corn.  The W.R.C. for the beautiful doll they presented our little Jennie with; Dr. E. K. Chapman for candy; J. P. Buffington for twelve nice testaments."

  


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