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Title
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Acorn Great Oaks Grown Letter
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Description
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Letter about Joseph E. Hill Public School. The letter was revised in 1950 but the original date was January 20, 1939 (Willis-Lowry, Leslie 2025), represents a short history of the founding of the Hill School.
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In 1874 the first colored school, named Joseph E. Hill, began in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. It occupied several church locations at Rittenhouse & Morton Streets, Haines Street & Belfield Avenue and then to an old auction house east of Germantown Avenue. At these locations, the school has just two teachers, Miss Ada LeCount and Dr. Anna Cole. Around 1892, the school relocated to East Price Street where it grew by adding teaching staff, more students and named its first principal, Miss Miranda C. Venning. Later, the school moved to its present 1950’s location, occupying a structure that was formerly a Girl’s School.
Miss Venning was the daughter of Julia and Edward Y. Venning, a carpenter, and was one of ten brothers and sisters. She was educated at the prestigious Institute for Colored Youth, Robert Forten's private school, and the Vaux School. She was the first black graduate of Philadelphia’s Girls Normal School in 1882 (Stevens-Cogdell-Sanders-Venning Collection, 2025). Miss Venning loved music as she played the piano, often doing piano duets at area public schools (The Philadelphia Inquirer 1878).
Many instructional and support staff, past and present are mentioned with the spelling of their complete full names. The letter also mentioned an unknown occurrence that once threatened the continued existence of the school; perhaps it was the fire that occurred on December 30, 1896 (The Philadelphia Times 1897). The school recovered from the fire because the letter speaks of the spirit and the dreams of the people; the staff, students and principals, alike, who have contributed to the strength and lasting duration of the Hill School.
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Rights
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This work is not in copyright, but commercial uses of this digital representation are limited. For more information, contact blockson@temple.edu and see http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/
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Creator
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Acorn Great Oaks Grow
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Format
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Text
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Language
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eng
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Spatial Coverage
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Philadelphia, PA
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Contributor
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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Extent
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3 pages
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Identifier
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Folder 1 Photograph + From Acorn Great Oaks Grow [Revised 1950] Joseph E. Hill Public School
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Date Created
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1950
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1950-04-28
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Is Part Of
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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transcription
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Keystone Telephone. North 0020
Bell Telephone. Tennessee 2020
JOSEPH E. HILL PUBLIC SCHOOL
RITTENHOUSE AND McCALLUM STREETS
PHILADELPHIA, 44
-3-
B. Nelson, Mrs. Ruth B. Young, Mrs. Carolyn A. Young, Miss Valerie V. White and Mr. Herman C. Scott your labors, hopes, and fewrs dreams have not been in vin. You have produced mens and women who have taken their cues on the stage of life. Look while they pass before your eyes, loyal teachers, clergymen outstanding in their fields, lovers of music and the arts, a physical director, nurses, doctors, a tennis star, a newspaper writer and radio announcer, firemen, policemen, good citizens, soldiers, many of whom gave their lives for their countries during the pass two wars, brave parents whose children and children's children are present here tonight.
"From acorns great oaks grow". Who can foretell the future? But with the present teaching staff and the Parent Teachers Association, I know that it will find Joseph E. Hill School facing the rising sun of a new day begun, true to our Alma Mater, true to ourselves, true to our fellow men.
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Subject
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Elementary schools
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Education, Elementary
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School children
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Parents' and teachers' associations
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Public schools
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Elementary school teachers
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Letter Writing
