Annie Wright School - Shield Yearbook (Tacoma, WA)

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(9 ZIh f H Lfl © Mrs. Sarah K. White. 1889 It was during my second year at the Annie Wright Senninary that Mrs. Sarah K. Wright canne as principal in 1889. and retained that position for eleven years through 1900. leaving then to t ake charge of her brother ' s house after the death of his wife. During her term of office the Seminary had a remarkable growth both in numbers and scholastic standing. The first principal, Mrs. Wells, had had a hard struggle dur- ing the opening years and Mrs. White followed ably in her footsteps, carrying the work on with marked success. She set a very high standard both in scholarship and deportment, and seemed to be able to reach the girls under her, appeal to the best that was in them, and inspire them to do their best in every way. As the standards of the school were gradually raised. Mrs. White ' s great ambi- tion to have the various women ' s colleges opened to the Seminary graduates on their school standing without entrance examinations, was in a measure fulfilled, four or five of the leading women ' s colleges agreeing to this arrangement. To Mrs. White is also due in a large measure the raising of funds for and the actual erection of the first real gymnasium the Seminary had. This gymnasium built in the summer of 1900. was a very attractive little building on the grounds just south of the Seminary proper, and connected with it by a covered walk. This building is now occupied by the Tacoma Drama League, and while not on its original site, is still on what was part of the old Seminary grounds. I remember how proud we old girls were of the new gymnasium with its fine bowling alleys, large floor space for basketball, dancing, calisthenics and all the various paraphernalia for gymnasium work. Very complete for that day. I am sure that much of what the various Seminary girls of that period have accomplished, and the success with which they have met the broader and harder tasks of life are due in a large measure to the wise and broad guidance of Mrs. Sarah K. White. Jessie Kershaw, March 17, 1931. 1901 In the fall of 1901, when we were living In Iowa, Bishop Keator was elected clerical deputy to the General Convention which was meeting that year In San Francisco, and we attended It together. This was our first visit to the Pacific Coast, and to me at least, it seemed a great and thrilling adventure. We traveled on the Canadian Pacific, little dreaming we were on our way to a f rst glimpse of what was to be our home for more than twenty happy years. We journeyed by train down from Vancouver on one of those heavenly days which that country sometimes has after the first fall rains have cleared away the summer smoke. We were entranced by the beauty which we glimpsed on every side: blue wa ters, dark forests lit with the fire of the vinemaple and snow-capped mountains In the distance, all so heart stirring to those with prairie-accustomed eyes. Later, after my husband ' s election to the Episcopate, a friend wrote him: I always thought you would go to Heaven sometime, but I never dreamed you would be bishop of it! This amused the Bishop tremendously, nor did he think it too extrava- gant as far as nature was concerned. Man, alas! does not always live up to the Page sixteen

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6) Several girls from Hawaii were in the school. When the Islands were annexed to the United States in 1899 I had several applications and inquiries about the school. It was then that Dr. Boone, a Missionary from China, warned me against taking Eurasians into the school. He said they would be both a moral and physical menace. When, in the fall of 1899, I was obliged to resign my position on account of a death in the family, the school was in a flourishing condition as to income and numbers. Mr. Wright ' s endowment of $50,000 for Washington College for Boys, which had ceased to be, was added to that of the Annie Wright Seminary. Mr. Wright, who had recently died, had left an added $50,000 to the endowment, making $150,000 in all. Bishop Barker wrote me: It really is a fine school and it is hard to think of you not being here to have the pleasure of it all after the hard work of the past. The Rev. Dr. Nevius was one of our frequent visitors, and was always welcomed by us all. He would bring his microscope and could always interest the girls with his wonderful knowledge of our western flora and the marine life of Puget Sound. Bishop Rowe of Alaska often stopped with us, and sent us many girls from the far North, among whom was little Polly , the Russian girl who was a great favorite with us all. I remember the pleasant visit of George W. Childs, (of the Philidelphia Ledger) a personal friend of Mr. Wright, who had asked him to visi+ the School and tell him of its condition. Mr. Childs went over the buildings and looked at the books, and expressed himself as well satisfied, and told me I would be the president of a railroad if I were a man. which of course pleased me. General Lew Wallace of Ben Hur fame visited the School once, and gave the girls an interesting talk. The Rev. H. H. Gowen came from Seattle and gave us delightful courses in the English Poets, and we were all fond of him. The Chaplains of the School were successively the Rev. L. H. Wells, now the retired Bishop of Spokane, who was rector of Trinity Church, which we attended: the Rev. Dr. Babbitt, during whose rectorship the Trustees changed our attendance to St. Luke ' s Memorial Church, whose rector at that time was the Rev. John Dows Hills, who was also our chaplain. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Barr, and he in turn by Rev, Frank H. Church. These Chaplains always conducted the daily morn- ing service in the School-room, which was then our Chapel, and taught the Senior Class in Church History, and prepared the classes for Confirmation. I always loved the motto of the School: From Strength to Strength , which was to me an inspiration as well as an incentive. It has proved a prophecy in its fulfillment, as shown by the present flourishing condition of the Schoo ' wlf i its beautiful new buildings and efficient staff and corps of teachers. That it may continue to go From Strength to Strength is my earnest wish and prayer for what I always call my beloved School . Sarah K. White. Page Fifteen

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beauty of his surroundings and his behavior sonriefinr es suggests a far different environnnent. When the convention decided that my husband was to be the next Missionary Bishop of Olympia, Bishop Wells, who was in temporary charge of the district, invited us to have dinner with him and Mrs. Wells at their hotel. We spent the evening absorbed i n his account of conditions in the new field and a history of certain events in the past. Much of it was far from re-assuring, but when he touched upon the subject of the Annie Wright Seminary his face lit up with enthusiasm for this institu- tion ,the child of his heart, which he had nurtured through all its infant years. Perhaps he was over-optimistic. It is an endearing quality of his that has kept him young even unto his ninetieth year. But his prediction that it would be the outstanding bright spot in the new bishop ' s experience was certainly justified by time. Bishop Keator arrived In the diocese early in 1902. and I followed In May, While we were settling our house we lived at the Seminary and became part of its house- hold and learned to love it. Ever after, we looked upon it as a second home, and I am certain that both teachers and girls considered us a part of the family. At least, that was what their friendly attitude seemed to convey to us. This seems the logical point at which to state what was the first and greatest ideal which Bishop Keator had for the school: that it should be a real home for the girls, that they should be happy in it. make lasting friendships there, store up happy memories, and long to return to it when opportunity permitted. Above all. he wished the home atmosphere permeated with the loveliness and beauty of the Christian religion. It was his heart ' s desire that the girls should there learn truths that would help them build characters of real worth. Those who remember his many talks in chapel will recall with what ardor and zeal he spoke to them of those great virtues: truth, reverence, justice, loyalty, kindliness and earnestness, without which there can be no beautiful living. One of the things which gave the Bishop much concern from the very first was the fact that owing to the small grounds and their very public situation, the girls were necessarily housed-In too much of the time. This condition was favorable neither to their physical well-being nor to their morale. It is a strange thing that in most people ' s minds, a girl in boarding school must divest herself of any romping or noisy proclivities and assume the virtue of sedateness if she have it not. At the old Seminary, if she did not, she brought down upon her head all the criticism of a scan- dalized neighborhood. Much of this criticism came to me. and I was often amused when I saw a town girl doing exactly what her mother had complained of among the Seminary girls. Of course I realize that what one girl does alo ne becomes a different matter when performed by forty all together. On the other hand, the critics should remember that a group of forty girls is made up of forty different individuals, each of whom Is entitled to a reasonable amount of relaxation. The only solution of this problem was to move elsewhere. A new building was also desirable as the fire hazard In the old wooden structure was a constant source of anxiety. The school had also outgrown Its quarters +He need e o q adeaua e class rooms being a particularly crying one. Bishop Keator had his heart set on a country school, fairly near the city, and to that end twenty acres were bought some distance out h Avenue. At that Page seventeen