Lincoln State School of Lincoln, Illinois

12-16-2004

Dear Leigh:

The following is a short story about my grandfather, Henry Stringer, who taught brush making at the Lincoln State School and Colony from the l890s to the early 1920s. Also attached is a picture of my grandfather another teacher and a small group of their pupils and a second picture that includes brushes that were made at the school.

In 1880 Henry Stringer immigrated to Chicago from Walsall, England. Walsall is famous for the manufacture of saddles and other gear for horses and their care. When granddad came to this country, he and my grandmother already had four children. Initially the plan was he would find work here and then send for the family. Unfortunately, he was not a good money manager, and after the second year of waiting grandmother arrived while the children waited in Walsall with an aunt. After sufficient money was saved for passage the aunt with her children and my grandparents’ children came to the states.

I’m told by my cousin, Loren Stringer that grandfather attempted to establish a brush making shop in Chicago, but he was burned out twice by the unions. Labor relations were rough and tumble in those days.

Sometime in 1894 or the following year my grandparents moved to Lincoln, and granddad became a brush making instructor at LSS&C. The residents of LSS&C varied in the individual capacities and dispositions, and while some might receive training others were totally unsuitable for it. Regrettably, not all of the residents really belonged in the institution. Occasionally, a resident had been committed to the institution, who really should have been left in society. The explanation that I heard for this had to do with the juvenile court system. If the parents were influential, the judge might direct the juvenile to LSS&C rather than prison. To compound matters, the youngster might be ignored and forgotten by the family. Today, we would recognize this as the “thrown away child” syndrome.

Occasionally, granddad would get such a boy in his shop. When this happened, granddad would help the boy gain basic civil skills, which included following directions. After the boy was 18, granddad provided the young man with enough money to buy a train ticket to St. Louis with the instruction to enlist in the army. Was the army a good recommendation? Yes probably. By eighteen the young man was conditioned to being institutionalized. It could further transition to a free life.

Unfortunately, not all residents were docile, shortly before retirement one boy became quite angry with granddad and clubbed him aside of his head. Granddad suffered a severe vision problem in one eye after that.

The reverse of the first picture states, “Top left Henry Stringer Top right Mr. Peters.” The same man appears to be identified as “C. J. Paesler” in a group picture in Paul Gleason’s Lincoln a Pictorial History. Please also note the brush held by the fourth resident from the left. It bears the initials “H S.”

The second picture includes some mementoes of granddad’s. The hidden from the camera, the top left brush also bears the initials “HS.” The box in the upper right is a puzzle brought from England. The history of the gavel is unknown other than it was granddad’s. The large semicircular brush is a clothes brush. The curved brush is for sweeping crumbs from the dinning table. The remaining brush is also a clothes brush.

I trust you find the story and pictures interesting. Merry Christmas and the best in 2005.

Kindest regards,

Stan

Respond to Stan Stringer at sstringer@cox.net