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Page 13 text:
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Miss Brann, who was graduated a year before Miss Barstow, ventured out here to teach in a small private school, which seems to have gone out' of existence soon afterward. Be that as it may, Miss Brann discovered a very different Kansas City from the prevailing New England conception. She found an enterprising, young town in the midst of a big boom, Its leading citizens were cultured and traveled. The finest theatrical companies with famous American and European stars gave frequent performances at the leading theater. Opera flourished. There was an unusual number of excellent bookstores and many literary clubs, The idea of a future art institute was beginning to germinate. The public school, however, left much to be desired, and many people were eager to have at home a really fine school for their daughter-a school which could give them not only a thorough cultural education from the primary grades on but could also prepare them for the big eastern colleges, where more and more girls were beginning to go. Influenced by these favorable conditions as urged undoubtedly by those whose acquain- tance and friendship she had gained during her stay, Miss Brann finally decided to make the venture. In the following fall she returned from the East with her close friend Miss Barstow, just graduated, as her co-principal and financial partner in the enterprise, and backed by a number of the leading citizens. Miss Brann's school for Girls made its appear- ance in a former dwelling house near the corner of Twelfth Street and Broadway, where the Fairfax Arms now stands. From this beginning the inner history of the school has flowed on in a continuous stream, according to the ideals and policies of its founders, but the outer history divided itself into three periods. During the first phase of its existence, which lasted some fifteen or sixteen years, the school, always known as Miss Brann's, occupied three sites, all within the same block. lt quickly outgrew the first one on Broadway and was transferred to two adjacent buildings, part of a row of houses directly west of Grace and Holy Trinity on Thirteenth Street. At the last it was moved to a large house opposite The Washington, then a fashionable hotel. Since it was a town school with no grounds around it, no outdoor sports were possible or any gymnasium for games and exercises. There was no art or music department, but at times an art instructor came once a week, and certain piano teachers gave their pupils lessons at the school. There was no dramatic society, but plays were sometimes given. There was no school paper, no class organizations, no formal commencements. The school hours were from nine A. M. to two-thirty P. M. The pupils brought their own lunches. But there was always a big recreation room in which there was a piano and, believe it or not, the girls had an exceedingly good time. lt was not long, however, before the school began to attain fame and was heard of far beyond the city limits. The reputation grew by leaps and bounds. Soon certificates from Miss Brann's admitted its graduates to all the big eastern colleges: Smith, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Vassar, and others of less renown. This good work led to the admission of a limited number of boys. There are today graduates or those partially prepared for college among the city's leading and professional men. At length Miss Brann's health began to fail. She felt that she could no longer cope with the strain that her duties put upon her. She left amid universal regret and the first period of the school's history was over. lt was then that Mr. William Rockhill Nelson stepped into the breach and prevailed upon Miss Barstow to continue the school as principal and owner. He built for her a new schoolhouse on Westport Avenue at the head of Baltimore. It was a large, square, yellow and white, frame structure with a fair amount of ground around it so that there could be outdoor activities for the students. In that location, as Miss Barstow's School, the second part of its outer history began. The first associate principal was Caro Taylor, afterwards Mrs. W. H. Matin, who had previously taught under Miss Brann. Upon her marriage, she was succeeded by Rose Adelaide Witham, considered by Smith College to be one of its ..9..
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Page 12 text:
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Jg ggmlgge 0!gaMfowanJ.9f5 Liinuulerfi ' Sixty-seven years ago two intrepid young New Eng- landers, just graduated from Wellesley, founded a private school for girls in Kansas City. That school is flourishing today and from its inception has been considered, both in this region and in the East, one of the city's most im- portant assets. The names of these young women were Ada Brann and Mary Louise Barstow. Ot the two adventurers, Miss Brann was the leader and had a very remarkable personality. To begin with she was beautiful and fascinating. Her golden brown hair was thick and wavy. l-fer large violetfgray eyes were fringed with black lashes. The eyebrows were dark and perfectly penciled. Her skin was a creamy white, and all her features were finely molded. There was a delicate grace about her movements, which were accentuated by the clothes she woreealways of black and of some softly B.A. Wellesley flowing material made to suit her own style perfectly. Her manner was gracious yet somewhat aloof, and there hung about her an air of mystery that rendered even more enchanting the impression she made upon the upper school girls, who worshipped at her shrine. They worshipped from afar, however, for they feared her displeasure-a displeasure which found expression in the delicately barbed but terribly potent sarcasm of which she was complete mistress. She would have no foolishness. Her mind was brilliant and original, and she was a born teacher. There seemed to be no subject from mathematics to literature, including the classics, that she did not have at her fingers' ends. She brooked no interference, knew exactly what she intended to do, and there was no disturbance of any kind by any pupil in her presence. Miss Barstow in those early years was petite, alert, and active. Contrary to Miss Brann, she was tailor-made and always dressed in the current mode. Everything about her was trim and trig. Her hair, her chief beauty, was a curly ash-blond. Her face was broad, her mouth, large. ln her dark blue eyes there lurked a twinkle, which would disappear into a frown at any misconduct in the class room. As she grew older, she grew handsome. She gained much becoming weight. Her curly hair took on an added beauty as it whitened. Her face was of the type that stays full and unlined into age. Her carriage was erect, her manner urbane, and as she always dressed elegantly and appropriately, she presented a very dignified and impressive appearance. Although the strictest of disciplinarians, she had a delightful sense of humor and a natural geniality. She loved young children, and they returned her affection. She was extremely interested in the outdoor sports and games and in all the extra-curricular activities. Like Miss Brann she was a born teacher, although her field was limited to Latin and Greek. She demanded hard, accurate work. Not a point in grammar should be overlooked-not a form, not a construction. Every quality in parody should be accounted for. Yet with all this grind, she made the subjects alive and interesting. One entered into the spirit of the age and became the personal friend of the authors. Even Caesar, completely panoplied, as he is, in direct discourse, seemed real, living, a wonderful and dynamic character. Very little authentic or detailed information is now available as to why these two young women chose as a location for their school a spot regarded at that time by most citizens living east of the Appalachians as a crude, wild area, peopled largely by cowboys and Indians, Und Wl'1OllY lacking in social amenities or cultural interests. It has been said, however, that Mrs. Willard R. Douglass Q01 -3-
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