The Deaconess Home Modified Milk Station: [women's history, social welfare, charity, Deaconess Home, motherhood, formula, religion]

Philadelphia, PA: Women's Home Missionary Society of the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, [1912]. General wear. Crease folds. . The Deaconess Home on Vine Street in Philadelphia was a part of the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Home served a variety of needs within the community, but this pamphlet is specifically for their Modified Milk Station whose goal was to provide "pure, clean milk [as it] is the only safe food for infants". The pamphlet provides information on the types of milk, or rather formula, and the amount an infant needs as it grows from a newborn to a year old. It also provides information on how to feed and care for an infant, placing considerable emphasis on the "absolute cleanliness of bottle, nipple, and above all, of the milk". The front cover features a printed black and white photograph of an infant, and the back cover is a list of ten "Good Things to Remember", such as "never urge the Baby to walk. He will walk as soon as he is strong enough", "Don't neglect to have the Baby vaccinated", and "You are to blame for any bad habits the Baby may form". Single fold, double sided. OCLC 0 (March 2021). Measures 7 3/4" x 5 1/4" (folded), The Women's Home Missionary Society of the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in March 1883. The Society received its official charter on March 18, 1892 and at that time its stated purpose was to "carry missionary work among the destitute and needy of the City of Philadelphia, and to establish and maintain one or more Deaconess Homes". Later that same year Colonel James M. Bennett donated a property located at 611 Vine Street to serve as a Deaconess home. In subsequent years both Bennett and others continued to donate property on Vine Street until the society owned 601-615 Vine Street. In 1912 the Society opened the Modified Milk Station on 615 Vine Street, which also held a library, banking room, and gymnasium. The mission is still in existence today, however over the years, it has changed its location several times and is now known as the United Methodist Neighborhood Services (UMNS), and is currently located on E. Haines Street in Philadelphia, PA