Page:Women of Ohio; a record of their achievements in the history of the state (Vol. I).djvu/95

Rh motive of a great educational principle be adequately explained? But Caroline struggled on— might, perhaps, have expanded her work, but for a fall which disabled her for any further physical activity. From Columbus Fraulein Caroline went to Zanesville, finally to a home in the Lutheran Orphanage at Germantown, Pa. Columbus was the first city of Ohio to establish a training school for kindergarten teachers. This was the achievement of MRS. ANNA B. OGDEN, who had acquired her own special training at Boston. She started with seven pupils and made it a practice to have parents visit the center, in order that they might understand what in mere words she found impossible to explain. Later Mrs. Ogden became director of the Elizabeth Peabody kindergarten at Minneapolis. A third attempt in the field of child training was made in 1879, when three Columbus women, MRS. J. D. DUNHAM, MRS. GEORGE PETERS and MRS. C. D. FIRESTONE opened a kindergarten in a house at Gay and Front Streets. This too failed of understanding and support. Even so, Columbus has the educational honor of having first, among cities of Ohio, established kinder- gartens as part of the public school system. Eleven such centers were estab- lished —then came lean times for the board of education and the work was dropped. But members of the Columbus Kindergarten Association, headed by MRS. JOHN W. BROWN, continued their efforts and in 1912 four centers for kindergarten work were re-opened and their number grew until the city school system included 22 kindergartens. But the depression reached even this basic and now full approved entrance to formal education. In 1932 kindergartens were discontinued by the Columbus Board of Education be- cause of shrinkage in school income and the work started by little Fraulein Frankenberg nearly a century ago, is once more in abeyance at the capital city of Ohio. Efforts of equally devoted and enthusiastic women in this field of educa- tion have achieved permanent results in a number of other leading cities of Ohio. Of these MISS ANNIE LAWS, of Cincinnati, whose biography appears in the chapter on social service was acknowledged leader. DORA SANDOE BACHMAN, whose fine brain and strong heart won her recognition as Lawyer, Writer and Suffrage Leader, was the first woman on the Columbus Board of Education. She was followed by JANE PURCELL GOULD, Mrs. George Converse informs us, KATE LACEY, MRS LUCRETIA MCPHERSON, MRS. ALICE ARPS, MRS. CORA MAE KELLOGG, JULIETTE SESSIONS. AUGUSTA BECKER, MRS. ETHEL GEORGE, MRS. O. C. MARTIN, MRS. GRACE R. CLIFTON and MRS. MARY LOUISE JOHNSON.