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Abbie How Newton was the second principal of the Kamehameha School for Girls following the beloved and formidable Miss Ida Pope who died suddenly during the summer of 1914. Miss Frances Lemmon, a teacher, served one school year as the interim principal during the search for the irreplaceable Miss Pope.
From Women of Hawai'i edited by George F. Nellist, published in 1929 by E.A. Langton-Boyle, page 203:
Miss Newton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and is the daughter of George Gideon Newton and Abbie Frances How Newton. She was graduated from the Walnut Hill High School, Cincinnati. Matriculating at Wellesley College, she obtained her baccalaureate degree there and later did graduate work at the University of Cincinnati in her home city and also at Columbia University. Before coming to Hawaii, Miss Newton rendered volunteer social service at the Union Settlement in New York City in 1914.
Miss Newton was instrumental in organizing the Girl Scouts of Oahu, which at that time was the third council of the organization west of the Rockies and is still active as a member of its council. [Queen Lili'uokalani was the sponsor]
Another of Miss Newton's achievements was the originating and raising of the $50,000 Ida M. Pope Memorial Scholarship Fund, the purpose of which was to utilize the general desire to honor the first principal of the Kamehameha School for Girls in a way that would make for the higher education of Hawaiian women, to whose educational needs Miss Pope had devoted her life.
This scholarship is open to enrolled students a, and its beneficiaries are free to pursue advanced courses in art, or other subjects of their own selection in either Hawaii or at mainland institutions.
Another distinct contribution of Miss Newton to the efficiency of the Kamehameha School for Girls is the successful carrying out of a plan for a Practice Cottage. The plan is adapted to the mutual development of a small group of high school girls in home-making. The girls in the group live in the cottage, are responsible for its conduct and management, including the care of a baby as the center of the model home. She has also initiated a form of student government in the institution, which is now in successful operation.
Among other organizations, Miss Newton is identified with the American Association of University Women, the Wellesley Club, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Hawaiian Educational Association and the Oahu Teachers' Association.
The Cadet of June 3, 1927, tells that the girls said aloha to Miss Newton who planned to retire to her sister's home in Los Angeles. She was a mother to the girls as well as the principal. She gave the school a painting called "Cloud Day" by Frank M. Moore.
From the Kamehameha School for Girls' Memory Book VI, 1927-1930, are the following Honolulu newspaper articles.
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The following was found in one of her photograph albums.
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