Bertha
Johnston
1864-1953
advocate for kindergarten
in the us
Bertha Johnston graduated from the Framingham Normal School in July 1885. An aspiring writer and an
advocate for kindergarten education, she moved to the Midwest and enrolled in the Chicago Kindergarten
Institute. In 1897, Ms. Johnston became editor of Kindergarten Magazine, continuing in Chicago until her
1904 relocation to Brooklyn, NY, where she continued to publish until 1909 when it was renamed The
Kindergarten-Primary Magazine. During this time, she also wrote columns for the monthly magazine Everywhere,
and published two books, Home Occupations for Boys and Girls and Lyrical Lines for Lasses and Lads. A suffragette,
she was also a member of the New York City Woman’s Suffrage League and the Women’s Political Union.
In a column she wrote for the October 1933 issue of the Gatepost, Ms. Johnston fondly reminisces about her
experiences at the Framingham Normal School. She recalls many happy memories at Framingham, in particular
spending free time with fellow students sewing and being read to by Principal Ellen Hyde. She especially recalls
meeting the ‘brave pioneers’ of the first class during the semi-centennial celebrations, remarking that all future
graduates ‘should be forever grateful’ for the bold steps these women took. Ms. Johnston passed away on February
21st, 1953 after complications from a cataract surgery left her bedridden with pneumonia for a year.