New-York tribune., 1905-12-25
OF INTEREST
TO WOMEN.
SCHOOL FARM DIRECTOR
Mrs. Parsons Talks of Her Ne1c
W0g,k-To Start Gardens an Parks.

The creation by the Board of Estimate and Ap-
portiopment. at the request OF Park Commissioner
Parsons. Of the municipal position or director
of childrens school farms and Fairgrounds on the
understanding that the post shall be offered to
Mrs Henry Parsons comes as the logical sequence
and crown of Mrs. Parsons's four years Of pioneer
work at De Witt Clinton Park. The place.
which carries with It salary OF $500 and Will
be under the Park Department, will be one Of
great responsibility and vast amount OF hard
work as 1t embraces entire charge OF the eight
or nine children's Fairgrounds now In existence
in the city parks, the creation of new pIaygrounds
and school farms, and the evolution of a system
by which the two be in perfect harmony
with each other and with the park system as a
whole While the dictatorship will be exempt from
Civil Service rules the employees Of the department
will be placed under them
My experiment is finished, my object lesson is
completed" said Mrs Parsons. in speaking to
Tribune reporter of the newly created position.
My grandfather, father and 1 have been working
on this for the last 116 years This office Gre
ated in order that practical working plan might
be evolved, to show how children's school farms
and Fairgrounds come under prevailing meth
DDS of park control. We want IT. hundreds of ed
ucators and park people have said, after observing
the workings of the school farms IN De Witt Clin-
ton Park, but how can take it? We want
working plan Children's school farms will be
adopted by a number of cities they can
be shown how to them IN connection with
their parks"
The school chiIdrens garden idea, which is only
one of many philanthropIes to be started by pri-
vate initiative and subsequently, adopted into the
municipal system, begun at De Witt Clinton
Park, when William r. Wilcox Park Com
missioner
Il asked Mr.. Wilcox TO give me $40 worth OF old
flower pots" said Mrs. Parsons. 'and he said he
couldn't, but would give me park. r. Fulton
Cutting was the first person to send a check for
the work. Miss Grace Dodge was the second. One
summer V. Everit Macy gave check for $1OoO.
The Citizens Union stood by me firmly When this
thing existed only IN my brain, and I hadn't
thing to show. these and a number of other gen
to remember that they saw it from the beginning
and also that the scheme has had the cordial sup
Mrs Parsons is cautious about saying what she
VIII do as director but it is believed that condi-
tlons in the existing Fairgrounds, which are de-
scribed as chaotic in the extreme, will claim her
lnmeuiate attention NO little friction Is SAID 10
nave developed between some OF the employees In
the PUBLIC Fairgrounds and the park officials Also
a new chidren's school farm is likely to be estab-
=! don't believe in school farms in every park;
Thomas Jefferson Park made that ideal place to
start another One idea, of course, In establishing
garden scheme wherever feasible and this in my
opinion, includes of the parks and the lands
private lots win be offered for this use now that
the idea has been municipalized"
Another result Of the office will undoubtedly
be to increase the value of the school farm IN De
Witt Clinton Park as a nature laboratory for the
ment station for educators. There were thirty-1ve
four States and Ave foreign countries and adult
classes came from Columbia University Teachers
College. the New-York and Brooklyn training
schools teachers and the school OF philanthropy
Letters of inquiry were received from all over the
country, and even from Paris
Yet another line on which Mrs. Parsons is ex-
pected to work is in the normal training Of nature
and Fairgrounds.
Z shall only hold the position long enough to
a working plan and train up
cessor,' said Mrs. Parsons.