Twenty-three girls stand or sit holding various musical instruments on a lawn in this 6-1/2" x 4" black and white plate. The girls are wearing dark skirts with white blouses; some have ties. Printed on the bass drum is: Naols, Geneva, Neb. There are buildings and trees in the background.
Excerpted from: "Twelfth Biennial Report of the Superintendent of the Girls' Industrial School" In First Biennial Report of the Board of Commissioners of State Institutions to the Governor and Legislature of the State of Nebraska for the Biennium Ending November 30, 1914 (Lincoln: Nebraska Board of Commissioners of State Institutions, 1914), plate between pp. 132-133
Historical Notes
Musical instruction in piano, horn, reed instrument, violin, and/or voice was part of the schooling girls received at the institution. In addition to the band, in 1914, the orchestra numbered nineteen. Girls attended school for four and a half hours per day and spent four hours per day in industrial training: a rotation between kitchen duty, laundry, sewing and general housework. Today this institution exists as the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center--Geneva. Further statistics and information can be found in the report.
