The old farmhouse on Long Island has been altered and enlarged. Old
walls and ceilings have been torn down to be replaced by new plaster
and paint. The new wing has given us a longer dining-room for our
increased family, new kitchens, laundry and storeroom, with overhead
a number of new bedrooms. The farm which was somewhat of a wilderness
has been put under cultivation; fruit trees, rose-bushes, vines and
shrubs added each spring and fall. Each addition means much to us, far
more than if we had had large capital to expend. This Home is not only
for the "boys" of New York State, but for all the Eastern prisons.
They come to us as readily from Charlestown and Trenton as from Sing
Sing. Even the prisons we have not visited send to us some, who through
the reading of the _Gazette_ have come to realize that they too are
welcome.
The Western Home in Chicago has meanwhile been doing a splendid work
for the "boys" from Joliet and the middle Western prisons. There we
have men mostly on parole; men who would have no chance of getting
their parole were it not that we are willing to be sponsors for them.
We find them work, keep in touch with them month by month, and report
to the prison, until we have the pleasure of handing them their final
discharge papers.
The third Hope Hall is in Iowa, and has been founded and given to the
"boys" of that state by our dear friend and co-laborer, Hon. L. S.
Coffin. Mr. Coffin was one of the pioneers of the state and a large
land owner. For a lifetime he has been earnest in temperance work and
has proved himself especially the friend of the railroad men. Sometime
since, his heart went out to the "boys" in prison. He met and talked
with me about the work and expressed his longing to see a Hope Hall
opened for them in his state. Being convinced of the wisdom and success
of the Hope Hall scheme he came to New York to study our Home. Going
back to Iowa he dedicated the choicest piece of his own farm to this
purpose and built upon it, at a cost of over ten thousand dollars, a
beautiful home.
I went on for the opening of Hope Hall number three and shall never
forget the scene. Judges, lawyers, ministers and farmers, the warden
and chaplain of State Prison and the members of the Prison Board of
Control were all present, and in their midst an old man of over eighty
whose face shone with joy, and whose voice trembled with emotion,
as he realized that the day for which he had worked so faithfully
single-handed had come at last. When our League work was started in
Iowa, we enrolled Father Coffin (as he is lovingly called) as a member
of the League, giving him its oversight for that state. When we think
of his energy and devotion at his advanced age; of the new and heavy
responsibilities he has shouldered in facing this great problem, we can
but feel that he sets a valiant example that others will follow some
day in the many other states where there is a similar need.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account