The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1901-09-20
!, GOOD WORK q
Woman's Club Beautifys and
Improves a Minnesota
Town.

I The following taken from the
Minneapolis Journal regarding the
successful work of wOmen's club ae
Ortonville, Mimi, in improving tht
town and assisting in it's developee
ment. While Worthington has no
ripping stream yet it has a fine
park beside a beautiful lake. The
article says: A unique feature of
Ortonville is it's park, a natural
amphitheater with clear ripping
streams dividing the three densely
wooded hillsides. A fountain orna-
ments the center and cannon and
heap of balls beside it have national
significance. A =. a. platform and
benches on one of the hillsides
furnish opportunity for public
speaking and social gatherings.
Ortonville is a county seat and a
courthouse crowns one of the hills,
and beside it is a fine high school.
The city has many public-spirited
citizens, and is quite literary
center. It supports two fourishing
women g clubs-the Tourist Club and
the Reading !Circle-which have
taken it's park and other; public i'm
provements under their protection.
By the generosity of it's citizens, it
also maintains rest and reading
rooms. ~.
The rest and reading rooms at
Ortonville were started the last of
December, 1900, with a view of pro-
| viding for citizens and visitors a
warm comfortable and inviting place
in which to read or to have chat
with a friend. The citizens wanted
to have a place where those who
drove from the country could send
packages and check articles and
where shoppers could rest when they
were opbiged to wait. The women
of the Home of Mission Society,
under whose auspices the rooms
were opened, soon found it necessary
to appoint finance committee to
solicit contributions and to look
after the funds.
The rooms are in the second story
of Orton's block and the rent is
kindly donated by Mrs. G. K. Orion.
A large Office stove was given by
one of the citizens and others re-
spondeud generously to an appeal.
Through gifts and loans the society
has been enabled to light the rooms
with electricity, to have coal provid-
ed to furnish the rooms comfortable,
couches, chairs, clock, pictures and
| carpets for the rest room. LinOleum
for the. reading-room was bought
from the society's reserve fund.
Various smaller articles for comfort
and convenience have been donated
and the tables have been well sup.
piled with donations of periodicals
and a daily city paper. Weekly
local papers have been provided by
favor of the editors. One friend
lent full set Of Waverly novels,
thirty-six volumes.
The reading room has two travel
ing libraries, one from the Mime
sofa public ibrarycommission, which
has been renewed during the quarter
with the tho,lhgt of bringing in a
wider range of reading to patrons
duu u SCCUlAS SuPEAOAAOAU'AJ tOe'e'
ing in the line of work of the clubs.
At the end of two months, the funds
permitted the purchase of $40 worth
of books for a class for whom no
adequate provision had been made
the young boys and girls. Careful
selection was made with reference to
varied tastes and outside the range
of the school library of the city.
The management has served refresh
ments in the rooms on two occasions
once, at the formal opening of the
rooms and again to the boys and
girls from IL to Is years of age, who
have been such frequent visitors as
to deserve distinct recognition
The Institution has paid suprein-
tendent, who has been unwearied
and faithful to i4s service. The run
ming expenses are SO light that the
surplus of the money contributed by
the citizens in subscriptions payable
monthly, can he used for literary
purposes. There are few rules.
Conversation in low tones is allow