Annie Wright School - Shield Yearbook (Tacoma, WA)

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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

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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) time there was promise of a street car to Day Island which would provide transporta- tion for the day pupils, but as that did not materialize, the plan was abandoned and the property sold. In view of the increasing popularity of country day schools, we realize now that the difficulties regarding transportation could all have been over- come, and had we not been so easily discouraged, would have found ourselves in line with one of the more advanced educational trends of the day. The present site seemed to answer every purpose and to meet every objection: beautiful outlook, spacious grounds and a convenient situation. Plans were soon under way for the new building, and the Bishop looked eagerly forward to the ful- fillment of long deferred hopes. But like Moses of old. he was not to enter the Promised Land. The foundation was scarcely dug when he was called to lay down his staff and leave his unfinished task to others. Although the present Seminary stands as his monument, there was much sadness in the hearts of those who entered into the fruit of his labors that Autumn of 1924, for we missed there more than ever the genial and rich personality which had still seemed to linger in the halls of the old school, where for so long he had been its heart and soul. Here, we felt, in this new place, he does not live, and henceforth he can only dwell in our hearts where love has built for him a habitation which neither time nor circumstance can destroy. Emma L. Keator. March 12. 1931. REMINISCENCES OF TWELVE YEARS AT THE SEMINARY— 1906-1918 If Vernita should suddenly take wings and make a transplanetary flight, the world, of course, would immediately demand an autobiography. And this autobiography would include some twelve years of sketchy reminiscences of life at Annie Wright Seminary. Years for which she is, and never will cease to be, grateful. But as the probability of this ethereal flight is doubtful she is glad to be asked to set down some memories for the Seminary ' s first Annual, if for no other reason than that they are precious memories to her. Besides, when one reads so many fascinating present-day biographies and autobiographies it is great fun to look back through the dim corriders of receding years of childhood and youth to pick out a series of pictures that belong only to oneself. The first memory-picture of the Seminary is one of sitting in a carriage, turning the corner at Division Avenue and driving up to the Seminary entrance. This Avenue was a tangle of stumps, grasses and vines — not a paved cross-street in the center of the city, as it now is. You may remember Vernita was almost born, raised and married at the Seminary (with college, study i n New York and Europe inter- spersed). This first picture was registered in the thought of the child Vernita when she was five and a half years old. This was the beginning of her life at the Seminary. Miss Cora Fitch was the Principal, having a close governing second in her younger sister. Miss Lottie, who bustled about the office and had charge of the financial affairs of the Seminary. Some thought Miss Fitch austere and rigid. She was very tall, almost statuesque. She was an interesting type of fine Victorian womanhood. She even wore costumes to fit the part. She lives and v -alks in my memory as a grand old lady. I see Page eighteen