PAM. 
 
 N. AMER. What They Do at 
 Jesse Lee Home 
 
 At 5 a. m. two of the larger girls get up and 
 start the breakfast. At 6 a. m. comes the rising 
 bell. Some of the larger girls have the task of 
 combing the hair of the little girls and tying their 
 ribbons. At 6.30 the boys at the boys' house 
 form in line and go to the large house, and as 
 soon as they are seen coming a gong rings in the 
 girls' house and the girls get in line on the second 
 floor. The children quietly march into the din- 
 ing room and a tfeacher then reads a portion of 
 Scripture, offering a prayer at the close in which 
 all unite. After breakfast comes general house- 
 work until it is time to get ready for school. 
 
 The work is changed each month so that the 
 girls go in succession through all departments. 
 One girl looks after the teachers' rooms, another 
 does the dormitory work; others sweep halls, or 
 stairs, or wash dishes. One girl will attend to 
 the bread and as it takes thirty loaves of bread 
 for each day's baking, that is quite a task. The 
 little girls who cannot do much work wipe dishes, 
 count the knives, forks and spoons and hunt for 
 them if any are missing. They also pick up the 
 dishes and brush the crumbs from the table. 
 While this is going on, girls are taking their turns 
 at practicing their music lessons. 
 
 With the boys it is the same. One big boy 
 milks the cow, and does the barn work, while 
 others run the pumping plant, or care for the 
 boys' dormitory or for other rooms. The small 
 boys provide kindlings and coal for certain rooms> 
 at the big house, and take up the ashes. At 8.30 
 a bell rings and the children get ready for school. 
 At 9 o'clock they are in school, returning at about 
 15 minutes before 12. Dinner is at noon and as 
 school begins at_ 1 o'clock that is a very busy 
 time as all the dinner work must be done before 
 they start for school. At 3.30 they are home 
 again and work until 5 o'clock, when they begin 
 to get ready for supper, which is at 6.30. 
 
 Of course, the smaller children have much time 
 for play, but the older ones have various tasks 
 from time to time. Some evenings are given up 
 
to reading or games while at other times the 
 girls sew for an hour, either mending, making 
 new clothes, or doing fancy work. At other 
 times a class in knitting is held. The girls re- 
 ceive a commission on the fancy work made and 
 sold. One night a week all the larger boys and 
 girls meet together for a class in vocal music; 
 they enjoy this very much, as they read the music 
 by notes and they sing in four parts. 
 
 The boys do the odd chores about the place, 
 tend to the garden work, overhaul the shoes once 
 a week and repair them, and they also hunt and 
 fish and get in the grass for the stock. 
 
 Monday morning at 4 a. m. the larger boys go 
 to the laundry and start the big wash going, and 
 after breakfast seven or eight girls join them 
 in the work; before dinner it is all done. Most 
 of the time the clothes must be dried in the house 
 and that means a lot of work — hanging up the 
 clothes, turning them on the lines — taking them 
 down and hanging other things up. The same 
 morning the Superintendent goes to the store 
 room to put out the supplies for the week. A 
 crowd of little boys" hang around smiling, and 
 outside, in the little girls' play-yard, a lot of little 
 girls watch the storeroom windows. It is the 
 custom of the Superintendent to throw out a 
 hardtack and sometimes a few figs to each of 
 them — hence the interest they have in the matter. 
 
 Tuesday is ironing day and the six or seven 
 ironing boards are kept in use by busy hands. 
 On that day forty or more pairs of stockings 
 must be mended and that is a task that would 
 take the breath away from the ordinary house- 
 wife. In the summer the children, especially the 
 boys, play by the lake or near the beach, and 
 they get sand in their shoes which are often 
 wet and this combination is very hard on the 
 stockings. Often there is hardly the semblance 
 of a foot left. 
 
 Wednesday comes the mending of all sorts of 
 garments and the boys usually see to it that 
 plenty of their overalls, jumpers, etc., are in for 
 repairs. 
 
 Saturday morning comes the scrubbing and all 
 the children must also have a bath. The after- 
 noon is a holiday and in winter they have fine 
 
times sliding or skating, while in the summer they 
 can go on the hills to play. Sunday is the busy 
 day for the teachers. Sunday-school is held in 
 the morning and a number of children from the 
 village attend. After Sunday-school and be- 
 tween dinner time and service, a teacher looks 
 out for the boys and one for the girls. If the 
 weather is stormy, as it usually is, the boys are 
 in the chapel — some of them read their papers, 
 the small fry roll about the floor playing with 
 picture books, puzzles or blocks, while others 
 keep the phonograph humming. A boy usually 
 sits at the piano playing for all he is worth, and 
 they will keep the piano going steadily for two 
 or three hours. Another group will be listening 
 to a story the teacher is telling. It is a medley 
 of noise and confusion, but generally all are 
 happy. If the weather is pleasant the children 
 go on the hills to pick flowers, or berries, or just 
 to roll down the steep sides and enjoy themselves. 
 If the grass is wet they simply take a walk to 
 the wharf and back. At 3 p. m. a song service 
 is held and it is the opinion of visitors that our 
 children know how to sing. 
 
 After supper the children either read or a 
 teacher reads some story to them. They like to 
 hear good stories. During the past year they 
 have listened to such stories as "The Tale of Two 
 Cities," "Neighbor Jackwood," "Seven Oaks" and 
 "The Crisis." 
 
 In the summer time routine work is somewhat 
 interfered with. When the boys get the grass 
 for the silo the girls help to carry it in racks 
 from the beach to the barn, where it is put into 
 the silo, and as the boys may arrive at most any 
 time with a load, it must be cared for in a hurry. 
 If there is a swell on the beach the boat will 
 ship water, and if it is left on the bank of the 
 beach the cows will get at it. Then when the 
 boys go fishing they arrive home with a number 
 of hundred fish which must be cleaned and 
 dressed and salted down right away — then all 
 hands leave their work and attend to the fish. 
 
 In the berry season if a sunny day comes along, 
 work is laid aside and all the older boys and girls 
 go to the berry patch, some six miles away; the 
 boys go on one side of the valley and the girls 
 
on the other and they have a race to see who will 
 pick the most berries. They usually get seventy 
 to one hundred quarts of blueberries on a trip. 
 These berries are used raw, cooked as sauce, or 
 in pies, and some are dried for winter use. 
 
 Folks might wonder what we have to eat. 
 While fresh beef is rarely seen on our tables, 
 and vegetables only as we raise them, yet we 
 have plenty of lettuce, radishes, and turnips from 
 our garden. While there are not many cattle 
 roaming this way, there are lots of whales swim- 
 ming in the sea. What is nicer than a nice juicy 
 roast of young finback whale steak? It would 
 make your mouth water if you only knew how 
 good it tastes. Then, too, the blubber is much 
 relished by the children when sliced up and fried, 
 and so are the big black flippers. Then there are 
 the sea lions, though the meat is not quite so 
 ■nice. The fish in the sea are of the finest kind — 
 salmon, humpback, dog, and silver, also herring, 
 halibut and codfish. In their season we have 
 clams and other shell food. 
 
 While the children have plenty of work and 
 plenty of schooling yet they have plenty of time 
 for play also. A large lake on the land provides 
 a place where the boys can sail their schooners, 
 or fish. The little boys are so used to falling in 
 and getting a ducking that they consider that as 
 a part of the routine of their lives. A tennis 
 court and also croquet sets with baseball give 
 them recreation outside. 
 
 These children gathered from the distant parts 
 of Alaska — from the frozen north, from the isl- 
 ands of the sea, from the regions to the east of 
 us, find here a pleasant home, and good care and 
 they are, indeed, a happy family. 
 
 WOMAN'S HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City 
 
 SO or less, 6 cenis; SO to 100, 10 cents