USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1924 > Part 27
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1924 > Part 27
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The effect on public interest, arising from this feature of the playground season, is exemplified, as we have said, by the voluntary establishment of a fund for prizes, on the part of a group of citizens including local business men and mer- chants. About $235 was donated, making possible the pur- chase of most attractive prizes for the final meet and a large number of more modest but much coveted trophies for win- ners in the local playground meets :- 432 prizes in all.
OTHER INTER-PLAYGROUND CONTESTS. Quoit tour- naments between playgrounds, frequent inter-playground Basket Ball, Dodge Ball and Bat Ball games, some for boys and some for girls, contributed also to the inter-playground rivalry.
Among the girls, singing games and the more quiet ring games were the most popular.
HANDWORK. Handwork of various kinds was highly popu- lar on all playgrounds, more especially among the girls. The handwork produced on the playgrounds during the Summer of 1924 excelled in quantity and quality that made during any. previous season. This feature of our undertaking received much favorable comment, both from casual visitors at the playgrounds and from the general public, when at the close of the season it was publicly exhibited.
398
ANNUAL REPORTS
During the final week of the playground season the hand- work was publicly exhibited for the inspection of residents of the community. This exhibition was located during the day and evening of the Twilight Play Festival in an open-air booth connected with the store of Morrison Brothers opposite Central Hill Park, on which the Festival was held. Pre- viously the exhibit was located for periods of several days each, in the show windows of the Belcher Company in Union Square, and the Parke Snow Company in Davis Square. Thousands of people inspected these exhibitions and expressed considerable praise at the character and finish of the articles displayed. Included among the products were : serving trays constructed of reed and glass, and ornamented with butter- flies and milk weed; baskets, sewing boxes, desk sets, paper dolls very attractively dressed in crepe paper gowns and hats of the pastel shades, vases, hammocks, sweaters, dresses, hats for actual wear: aprons, embroidery pieces, including luncheon sets, towels, sofa pillows, centerpieces, scarfs, bibs, kites made by the boys, stuffed animals, paper cut-outs, scrap books, and articles of paste-board construction.
DANCING. Folk dancing continued to be the main attrac- tion for many girls in various sections. As in the case of the handwork, this activity was supervised by a young lady em- ployed for that purpose. This activity made a favorable im- pression at the public demonstration at the festival held dur- ing the closing week.
In the opinion of the Director, the results obtained in the dancing are most commendable. Commendation from all sides has. in fact. been heard. These results are in spite of the great handicap resulting from the lack of musical accom- paniment on many grounds.
Provision of some musical accompaniment for the dancing is strongly urged for the coming year.
MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES. Of special interest, this season, was the maintenance of bulletin boards on each play- ground. Items of interest, programs, results of games, base- ball league standings, notices of coming events, names of play- ers, contestants, winners, etc., were posted from time to time. Attention to use of these bulletins was practiced through the season by the supervisors, and it is certain that this device was a prominent factor in keeping up the interest. The bulle- tin boards afforded the added advantage of attracting and in- forming the adult passers-by-for many of our play areas are also thoroughfares for pedestrains-and this circum- stance secured additional public interest in the work.
399
WELFARE AND RECREATION COMMISSION.
Among other miscellaneous activities should be men- tioned kite flying, gymnastics, story telling, use of library books, enjoyment of swings, teeters and slides, and the "Safe- ty" activities which are mentioned in the following para- graphs.
"SAFETY" CAMPAIGN. A new major Summer activity was inaugurated the past season : a sustained campaign for "Safe- ty", especially as applied to prevention of highway accidents. Emphasis of this movement called for much of the time and attention of the supervisory corps, and the Director is decided- ly of the conviction that the impression produced upon the children has been considerable, though such results are neces- sarily difficult to measure. This activity was occasioned in part by the concentrated activities of the Somerville Safety Council, whose war on Street Accidents in Somerville had be- gun just previous to the opening of the Summer Playgrounds season.
The means employed for inculcating "safety" habits were varied and many. In general the "safety" activities of the supervisors were interwoven through the season into the whole activity of comradeship with and leadership of the children. A few of the more specific and more definable means used to attain the objectives of the campaign are here pointed out :-
Occasional informal discussion of the traffic dangers to children, the need of caution on the highways, the force of habit in this connection, the perils attending well known "dare-devil" adventures of children with regard to vehicles. and the place of the playground as preventive of accidents, were launched by the supervisors on their respective play- grounds.
The slogan of the Safety Council-"Be Careful" was kept in continued presence of the eyes and ears of playground chil- dren.
Pamphlets, illustrated, on "Common Accidents", pointing out the ways to avoid these accidents, were distributed with exhortation that they be taken home and read by parents and children.
Posters were widely displayed at play centers. These included the imposing "Be Careful" placards provided by the local Safety Council.
Playground Bulletin Boards displayed from week to week lists of accidents in Somerville during the preceding week, compiled by the Police Department and published by the Somerville Journal, giving the facts and circumstances. On these bulletin boards were displayed various other clip- pings and illustrations calculated to serve the same end.
400
ANNUAL REPORTS
Two great "Safety" mass meetings of children were held, featuring Motion Picture films teaching the safety lesson ; addresses by leaders in the state-wide Safety movement and local police officials ; a dramatization of a typical street acci- dent, with a strong appeal to children, and arranged and pro- luced by the children themselves under the guidance of a committee of supervisors. These mass meetings attracted in the aggregate abont 1600 children from 15 playground units. They were held in the Union Square and Ball Square Thea- tres, by consent and cooperation of the management without any expense to the City or the children.
SPECIAL EVENTS. Certain occasional special events are to be mentioned as factors in the work. Among these are Visiting Days for Parents, Outings for children of one play- ground or another at near-by Recreation Resorts, the Final Inter-Playground Track Meet, the "Safety" Special assem- blies, and the Twilight Play Festival.
CLOSING PLAY FESTIVAL. The closing festival held on the Wednesday evening of the final week of the season, at twi- light. was calculated to serve a four-fold purpose, namely,
1. The purpose suggested by its namte.
2. To demonstrate organized play to the public, and exhibit its results, with a view to securing wider public in- terest.
3. To encourage the children in their play activities, and to provide free public recreation for adults.
4. To give the children an opportunity to repay the community in part for the benefits they had received from the supervised playgrounds.
The Festival attracted several thousands of the public in addition to the three thousand five hundred boys and girls who participated in the twenty events on the program. It was conducted on Central Hill park, in the area in front of the High School Buildings and the City Hall Annex. The program of events included competitive games for boys and girls, folk dancing, accompanied by music furnished by a brass band ; relay races, marches, drills, a doll carriage parade, and a procession of the participating children.
This Festival furnished a fitting close to the playground Season.
401
WELFARE AND RECREATION COMMISSION.
Finances
The total expenditure from the City Treasury for the Summer Playgrounds program under your Commission was $2,865.58. Of this amount the expense of supervision was $1,877.50. not including salary paid to the Director during the Summer, which is elsewhere included as a part of the all- vear item of Director's salary: for supplies, maintenance and labor. $988.08.
In this connection, it seems appropriate to point out that relatively little expense has been incurred this past season (or the preceding one) through purchase or installing of permanent playground equipment. The Somerville Play- grounds Association has been of great financial assistance in providing such equipment for some years past, particularly on those areas not under control of the City Engineer's De- partment.
Further financial assistance came, of course, from the fact that the cost of supervision at the Tufts Old Campus playground was met by the Mothers' Circle.
As a result of these facts, and of the additional fact that new equipment and repairing of old equipment must be pro- vided to cope with the results of wear and deterioration through several years, it seems wise to point out here that in anticipating the year 1925 from the financial standpoint a fairly substantial increase in expenditure for equipment, and for City supervision of the Tufts unit, must be consider- ed. And at this point, too, the Director, regarding finances, calls attention to the possibility of still additional cost in- volved in the proposed increase of number of playgrounds to be operated in the Summer and at other seasons. This in- crease is proposed in the series of Recommendations later in this report.
Co-operation
Most encouraging is the assistance from agencies other than the department in direct charge of supervised recreation. This co-operation manifested itself in various ways. A few instances will be mentioned.
The Fire Department officials were accommodating and sent to the playgrounds hose wagons equipped with spray nozzles on extremely warm days, to provide shower baths for the children.
.
402
ANNUAL REPORTS
The Departments conducted by the City Engineer, the Building Commissioner, the Water Commissioner, and others which are closely connected with the playground management, rendered courteous and valuable assistance, not only when called upon, but frequently on their own voluntary initiative.
The Public Library placed at the disposal of the Sum- mer playgrounds a large deposit of books, suitable for the children, furnishing an additional source of recreation, and at the same time a medium for promoting the interest of chil- dren in a very profitable diversion-the reading of good books.
The Somerville Playgrounds Association, as in the past, has been a valuable source of assistance to the Summer work, purchasing permanent equipment costing $250; encouraging the work; and loaning the money for the initial purchase of handwork materials.
The merchants and business men, in the several sections of the city, cheerfully donated prizes, or gave other valuable assistance to individual playgrounds and contributions to the Prize Fund, and to the entire organization, on various occa- sions during the season. The supplying of trucks for transpor- tation of children to the track meet and to outings is an ex- ample in point, and another is the granting of display windows for the handwork exhibit.
The Managements of Motion Picture Theatres in Somer- ville-without a single exception-have entered into coopera- tion. Publicity by screen slides was used to stimulate atten- dance, to interest the public and the children in the approach of the track meets and the Play Festival.
To a striking degree, there was noted this Summer, a de- gree of participation in play activities by the adult members of the community. For example: many mothers came for long periods during afternoons to the Morse, Saxton C. Foss. Central Hill, Kent Street and Hodgkins Playgrounds, to mingle with the children, and even assisted in the actual supervision of the grounds.
The Somerville Safety Council was always ready in its cooperation with the "Safety" activities on the playgrounds. The Somerville Journal gave printed copies of its front-page, large type, weekly bulletins of accidents in Somerville, for posting on Playground Bulletin Boards throughout the season.
Recommendations - Summer Playgrounds
Based on thoughtful study and on more than twelve years of intimate and active experience with the playground situation in Somerville, the following recommendations for the future are submitted by the Director at this point, as be-
403
WELFARE AND RECREATION COMMISSION.
longing most especially to the Summer season's interest; they will be included again in a series of recommendations later in this report, covering the general Recreation work of the en- tire year. Other recommendations prompted by experience in the Summer Playgrounds season of 1924, are purposely omitted at this point and reserved, on the ground that they have application beyond the Summer season, for inclusion in the General Recommendations near the close of this Gener- al Report.
£ ern Junior High School.
1. The early completion of the Playground at the West-
2. Improvement (and possibly) extension of the play- ground at Joy Street.
3. Providing a playground on the vacant land (a large part of which is City property) at the junction of Oliver and Glen Streets, to serve a district that has a child population of several hundred residing with- in four minutes' walk of the grounds mentioned.
4. Early completion of Saxton C. Foss Park, with a view to utilizing the lower end of it for athletic purposes.
5. Resurfacing the playground at the Morse School; and completing the enclosure of the area by adding erection of a screen fence, on the easterly side, like that erected this past year on the southerly side.
6. Installing of permanent framework for swings and teeters at the Morse Playground.
7. The planting of shade trees on some of the play- grounds to provide a natural shelter for the future.
8. Provision for a male supervisor at Central Hill play- ground to serve the athletic interests of the boys at that center and to give part time supervision to older boys' activities at the Morse playground in Summer. ( No male supervisor has ever been assigned to either playground.)
9. Operation in Summer of an additional unit on the grounds of the Union Square branch of the Public Library.
404
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Saturday and Afternoon Playgrounds
After an experiment in the late Autumn and Winter of 1923 in conduct of supervised play on Saturdays, the Public Welfare and Recreation Commission voted to adopt the plan of permanently extending beyond the Summer months its operations in the supervision of children's play. The experi- ment in Saturday playgrounds in 1923 was used as the basis of organization of a program calculated specificially to en- courage active play of children under eleven years of age : and still further expansion of the supervised play plan was begun by the launching of a program of after-school supervised athletics, this time with the aim of serving the older boys and girls,-those of the Junior High School and High School age.
For outlining the methods, the activities, and the results in both these fields, it may be well to emphasize first the dis- tinctive characteristics of each of these activities as they are to be differentiated from each other and from the Summer activities.
Specific Objectives
In the Saturday Playgrounds supervision :
(1) The "Neighborhood Playgrounds" idea is empha- sized. as expressed in the selection of smaller and less pretentious play areas, close to the homes of children of districts somewhat limited in area, rather than the larger play centers, such as the public parks, which are intended to serve larger districts.
(2) Special emphasis is given to the attempt to inter- est and provide activity for smaller children-those below eleven years of age.
In the After-School supervised athletics :
(1) More active and less varied, organized games, adapted to play by older boys and girls are encour- aged.
(2) The larger areas, intended to serve larger districts are operated ; and fewer units have therefore been organized.
Saturday Playgrounds
GROUNDS. Gradually, eight units of organized play have been under supervision. The playgrounds are enumerated here :
405
WELFARE AND RECREATION COMMISSION.
FOR BOYS
Prescott School Grounds
Morse School Grounds Perry School Grounds Joy Street Playground
FOR GIRLS
Prescott School Grounds Morse School Grounds
Perry School Grounds Joy Street Playground
(Boys under 8 years are welcomed on the Girls' Playgrounds.)
It should be noted here that no Saturday playground has been located west of the summit of Spring Hill; and that all units are located within an area constituting approx- imately only one-third of the City's total area; and that all but those at the Morse School are located within one-quarter of Somerville. This limitation on the Saturday activities has been necessary because funds were not available for any expansion beyond the units above listed. One favorable cir- cumstance resulting from this condition presents itself :- in the first year of development a smaller system could be more carefully developed and studied than a more extended one.
The Director is decidedly of the conviction that the num- ber of Saturday playgrounds to be supervised in 1925 should be at least twice as great as the number supervised in 1924. There is a present demand on the part of children and adults in several sections for added units.
SUPERVISION. Eight supervisors have been employed, four male supervisors for the boys' units, and four female super- visors for the girls' units. With two exceptions, these super- visors have previously been engaged in the same capacity on the Summer Playgrounds. The two excepted have fulfilled the Civil Service requirements for this work.
ACTIVITIES. The activities are similar to those of the Sum- mer Playgrounds though with the restrictions resulting from the smaller size and from the location of the Saturday Play- grounds, and from the difference in the average age of the children.
SESSION. The session is three hours in length,-9:30 to 12:30.
ESTIMATE OF RESULTS. This undertaking was new, and to some degree experimental. The outstanding conclusions, in the Director's judgment, follow :
1. The Saturday Playground is entitled to a position of great importance in developing a Municipal Recreation program.
406
ANNUAL REPORTS.
2. The "Neighborhood Playground" plan enlists the ac- tivity of quite as many children-though in a larger number of units-as does the Summer Playgrounds plan of organiza- tion, within the sections of the City thus far provided for.
3. The "Neighborhood Playground" plan has the impor- tant merit that it reaches very many children who otherwise have not acquired the habit of utilizing the City's Playground facilities.
The "Neighborhood Playground" plan enlists the 4. more intimate interest of a great number of parents.
5. The "Neighborhood Playground" plan must result in a greater attendance on the large playgrounds later, inasmuch as it "educates" children in their early years to the Municipal Playground idea.
6. The Saturday Playground plan contributes largely to a "carrying over" from summer to summer of the desirable re- sults obtained in following the objectives of the Playgrounds work.
Afternoon Supervision
Pursuing the same policy of experimentation that had been followed in the Saturday Playground undertaking, an experiment was launched in the Spring of 1924, in stimula- ting and supervising playground activities for the older boys, those of Junior High and High School ages. This undertak- ing was begun May 1 and continued until the close of the public school term. Two units for boys were in operation two afternoons a week in this Spring period. and, the Direc- tor reporting favorably on the results, the Commission voted the initiating of two units for girls of similar age, and these were launched September 15th, when the supervision of the boys' units was resumed. The Autumn Supervision was con- tinued till Thanksgiving. No increase in the number of boys' units was recommended, because such increase was clearly beyond the possibilities of the Department's funds. And no increase in the number of sessions per week was recommended, for the same reason.
GROUNDS. Fellsway Playground (involving portions of the lawn at Foss Park and the adjacent lot separated from the Park by Fellsway East) and Richard Trum Field were super- vised for boys : and Fellsway and Perry School Grounds for girls.
407
WELFARE AND RECREATION COMMISSION.
SESSIONS. Supervision was conducted on Mondays and Thursdays at Fellsway for boys; and on Tuesdays and Fri- days at Trum Field. For the girls Wednesdays and Fridays were the days at Fellsway; and Tuesdays and Thursdays at Perry. Sessions were from three to six o'clock.
ACTIVITIES. Although smaller children have been wel- comed at these play centers and encouraged in these activities wherever such encouragement has been incidentally possible, the attention of the supervisors has been devoted to such ac- tivities as involve team play and appeal to the older boys and girls. These, especially in the Fall term, have involved some athletic activities not appropriate to the Summer season,- notably Football and Soccer for boys, and Basketball, Soccer and Field Hockey for girls. Baseball in season, track athlet- ics, and other games played in the Summer have also been popular among the boys; and Dodge Ball, Bat Ball, etc., among the girls.
Occasional inter-playground contests have been held and from the results here it seems wise to intensify this phase.
ATTENDANCE. During the Spring term the attendance at sessions for boys averaged 110; and ranged from 85 to 200. Attendance figures at Fellsway were higher than at Trum Field. In the Fall term the average reached 130, with a range of 85 to 300.
At the girls' centers, the development has been slower,- a condition which had been anticipated, in accordance with the Commission's theory that while there is great need, there is comparatively small demand for provisions for recreation- al physical exercise for adolescent and post-adolescent girls. But while the attendance has been small in comparison with that of the boys, the interest among the girls has been keen, and there has been a steady, gradual increase of attendance.
From these and other considerations, the Director con- (ludes that a foundation has been laid in this new and highly desirable undertaking, and that the results are to be viewed in the light of the public apathy towards recreational .needs of the girls, and of the difficulties to be overcome.
SUPERVISION. The four supervisors employed at these Centers were persons engaged in similar capacity in the Sum- mer and Saturday organizations. In the girls' athletic ac- tivities one of the young women supervisors has been especial- ly trained for this kind of supervisory work at the Sargent School of Physical Education; and she has collaborated with the other young woman supervisor in such way as to bring to bear in both units the greatest possible value from her train- ing.
40S
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Finances-Saturday and Afternoon Playgrounds.
Expenditures in the field of Saturday and after-school supervised play amounted to $1.106.91; of which $1,033.16 was expended for supervision, and $73.75 for supplies, etc.
Recommendations-Saturday and Afternoon Playgrounds
The following recommendations regarding future con- duct of the Saturday and Afternoon Supervised Play are re- spectfully submitted. They are repeated later in this report among the General Recommendations concerning the Recrea- tion work as a whole :-
1. Increasing the number of Saturday "Neighborhood" playground units, from 8 to at least 16, making this branch of the work City-wide in scope, beginning im- mediately with the Kent Street grounds.
2. Increasing the number of units of boys' supervised after-school athletics from two to four.
3. £ Similar increase for girls' units.
4. Increasing the number of sessions per week at both girls' and boys' after-school playgrounds,-from two to three afternoons.
5. Provision of the necessary field equipment for Ten- nis, Field Hockey. Soccer, etc. for use at these after- school sessions.
Girls' Canning and Preserving Activities
A most efficiently administered and supervised branch of the undertaking of the Public Welfare and Recreation Commission is the activity among girls who occupy them- selves during spare time in Spring, Summer and Fall in the preserving of fruits, vegetables, etc. Though this branch is perhaps, less spectacular and is less known publicly, a high degree «of efficiency in preserving has been attained among many girls of Somerville, whose ages range from 10 to 15 years; and a highly enjoyable and profitable form of recrea- tion has been provided them through the preserving oppor- tunities.
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