Beloved only child of Edward K. and Helen L. Houser. Her grave is marked by the Houser Memorial, a granite sculpture of Anna and her mother reading a book together, as they often did in life. It was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture.
The Houser family lived at 1217 Vermont Avenue, NW in Washington. Anna attended Strong John Thomson Elementary School. She was a good student and a talented pianist who performed many times at school functions. She also enjoyed riding her horse Dapple in local horse shows.
From the Washington Times, May 19, 1918:
Five little girls wearing Red Cross uniforms and a Boy Scout invaded The Times this morning and left a bag containing $21.14 to be turned over to the Red Cross for the boys in France.
Two weeks ago Anna Houser, daughter of Edward K. Houser, 1217 Vermont Avenue northwest, conceived the idea of gathering violets and selling them for the benefit of the Red Cross. She organized a number of her friends and each day they would gather violets and sell them on the streets, receiving from 5 cents to a dollar per bunch.
In explaining why they brought the money to The Times, they said:
"Some of the people whom we asked to buy refused because they seemed to think that the money might be used to buy candy or chewing gum instead of being given to the Red Cross. We just want to let these people know they were wrong. Some of us have brothers in France, and we want to help them and we are willing to give up candy and chewing gum to help with the war. All of us are knitting for the soldiers."
Anna died less than three months after this article was written, possibly from the influenza epidemic which struck the U.S. in 1918. She was eleven years old.
Her father, devastated by the death of his beautiful only child, closed his businesses shortly afterwards. He and his wife spent the rest of their lives distributing their money in acts of charity, many anonymous.
The Houser family lived at 1217 Vermont Avenue, NW in Washington. Anna attended Strong John Thomson Elementary School. She was a good student and a talented pianist who performed many times at school functions. She also enjoyed riding her horse Dapple in local horse shows.
From the Washington Times, May 19, 1918:
Five little girls wearing Red Cross uniforms and a Boy Scout invaded The Times this morning and left a bag containing $21.14 to be turned over to the Red Cross for the boys in France.
Two weeks ago Anna Houser, daughter of Edward K. Houser, 1217 Vermont Avenue northwest, conceived the idea of gathering violets and selling them for the benefit of the Red Cross. She organized a number of her friends and each day they would gather violets and sell them on the streets, receiving from 5 cents to a dollar per bunch.
In explaining why they brought the money to The Times, they said:
"Some of the people whom we asked to buy refused because they seemed to think that the money might be used to buy candy or chewing gum instead of being given to the Red Cross. We just want to let these people know they were wrong. Some of us have brothers in France, and we want to help them and we are willing to give up candy and chewing gum to help with the war. All of us are knitting for the soldiers."
Anna died less than three months after this article was written, possibly from the influenza epidemic which struck the U.S. in 1918. She was eleven years old.
Her father, devastated by the death of his beautiful only child, closed his businesses shortly afterwards. He and his wife spent the rest of their lives distributing their money in acts of charity, many anonymous.
Beloved only child of Edward K. and Helen L. Houser. Her grave is marked by the Houser Memorial, a granite sculpture of Anna and her mother reading a book together, as they often did in life. It was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture.
The Houser family lived at 1217 Vermont Avenue, NW in Washington. Anna attended Strong John Thomson Elementary School. She was a good student and a talented pianist who performed many times at school functions. She also enjoyed riding her horse Dapple in local horse shows.
From the Washington Times, May 19, 1918:
Five little girls wearing Red Cross uniforms and a Boy Scout invaded The Times this morning and left a bag containing $21.14 to be turned over to the Red Cross for the boys in France.
Two weeks ago Anna Houser, daughter of Edward K. Houser, 1217 Vermont Avenue northwest, conceived the idea of gathering violets and selling them for the benefit of the Red Cross. She organized a number of her friends and each day they would gather violets and sell them on the streets, receiving from 5 cents to a dollar per bunch.
In explaining why they brought the money to The Times, they said:
"Some of the people whom we asked to buy refused because they seemed to think that the money might be used to buy candy or chewing gum instead of being given to the Red Cross. We just want to let these people know they were wrong. Some of us have brothers in France, and we want to help them and we are willing to give up candy and chewing gum to help with the war. All of us are knitting for the soldiers."
Anna died less than three months after this article was written, possibly from the influenza epidemic which struck the U.S. in 1918. She was eleven years old.
Her father, devastated by the death of his beautiful only child, closed his businesses shortly afterwards. He and his wife spent the rest of their lives distributing their money in acts of charity, many anonymous.
The Houser family lived at 1217 Vermont Avenue, NW in Washington. Anna attended Strong John Thomson Elementary School. She was a good student and a talented pianist who performed many times at school functions. She also enjoyed riding her horse Dapple in local horse shows.
From the Washington Times, May 19, 1918:
Five little girls wearing Red Cross uniforms and a Boy Scout invaded The Times this morning and left a bag containing $21.14 to be turned over to the Red Cross for the boys in France.
Two weeks ago Anna Houser, daughter of Edward K. Houser, 1217 Vermont Avenue northwest, conceived the idea of gathering violets and selling them for the benefit of the Red Cross. She organized a number of her friends and each day they would gather violets and sell them on the streets, receiving from 5 cents to a dollar per bunch.
In explaining why they brought the money to The Times, they said:
"Some of the people whom we asked to buy refused because they seemed to think that the money might be used to buy candy or chewing gum instead of being given to the Red Cross. We just want to let these people know they were wrong. Some of us have brothers in France, and we want to help them and we are willing to give up candy and chewing gum to help with the war. All of us are knitting for the soldiers."
Anna died less than three months after this article was written, possibly from the influenza epidemic which struck the U.S. in 1918. She was eleven years old.
Her father, devastated by the death of his beautiful only child, closed his businesses shortly afterwards. He and his wife spent the rest of their lives distributing their money in acts of charity, many anonymous.
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