Estelle E. Gibbs, a negro girl, fourteen years old, living with
her parents at No. 512 First Street, Hoboken, received to-day
(Feb. 4, 1910), the first prize, a gold medal, at the graduating
exercises of the Hoboken public school pupils, in the Gayety
Theater. She had the highest average of any public-school
scholar in the city--99⅓ per cent. in six subjects. The medal
was presented by Mayor Gonzales.
There are 10,000 white pupils in the schools and only 15
negroes. Only eleven negro families live in Hoboken. Estelle
is the daughter of a Pullman car porter on the Lackawanna
Railroad. She is the only negro girl who has carried off such
honors in Hoboken, and the only one to be graduated from the
grammar school to the high school.
In all but one of her studies the girl was rated at 100. In
geography she made 96. The five branches in which she reached
the maximum were history, civics, spellings, arithmetic and
grammar.
Eighteen questions were posted at the geography examinations,
and the pupils had the privilege of selecting ten to answer. The
teacher who conducted the examination says that Estelle picked
out the ten hardest. The girl is rather small for her age, but
can stand a lot of work.
While she was standing the final examination Estelle was so
absorbed that she did not go home to lunch, but spent all the
time, from nine o’clock until three, working on the questions.
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