Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1907-03-01
M0DELPRAIRIET TOWN
VALUE OF CIVIC PRIDE AND LOVE OF
BEAUTY TO BLUFF CITY.

a little town Of 200 people upon the
Kansas prairies has the largest park
area per capita of any city in the
world, says the Kansas City Star.
This is the town Of Bluff City. in
Harper county, Where this town
stands today was an ulbroken, tree
less prairie eighteen years ago. Now
1t has a beautiful park Of ten acres,
where a band gives concerts Sunday
afternoons. 1t has we'll kept streets,
beautiful lawns and wonderful flower
gardens. There is not weed patch or
nm unsightly spot in the town. There
Is not shanty or ragged outhouse
or an unpainted building or a rickety
leaning fence or dirty gutter.
There are poor people in Bluff City,
as everywhere, but neatness and
cleanliness are habits in this village,
lA! every home and lot looks well.
Ills Identification of the town has
.d Ii d".ars and cents. 1t has
i' ", people to the place to live. 1t
'5 led the school there with high
s o.. scholars from other places. 1t
lows IN the characters of the people
'a1 I've there. There is not 4 drunk
,:u a .oafrc, Il shiftless person or a
.'.. 10y in the place. Everything in
HiUH city must look well, and the peo-
PIE live up 10 their surroundings. Even
lhe RAILROAD company has built there
Inc prettiest dcpnt upon Its line, and Il
is painted m2re often and kept neater
than any ether depot, this souless
corporation recognizing the right OF
Bluff City to better things.
One man Ia responsible for this beau
~ spot upon the bald Kansas prairie,
this model village. He began when the
town was new to teach his fellow
townsmen to love trees and flowers
and to have pride in their surround
ings. At first he was laughed at and
opposed, but he kept on, and 1t was not
long until every one saw that tree
was beautiful thing aside from its
utility, and that flower garden was
blessing, and that there was Il comfort
and monetary value In beauty and
cleanliness alone.
The man who did all Of this was
James Glover When the town Of Bluff
| City consisted only OF some squares
and parallel lines upon a sheet Of pa
Der he went to the place as land agent
for the railroad company. This was in
1886. He liked the place and made up
his mind to stay there. He induced his
company 10 set aside ten acres for a
park.
when the lot selling was done set
about the task of park building really
more from Il pure love Of the work
than with the expectation of realizing
anything like what has been accom-
plished," says Mr.. Glover.
| AT first ii was slow work and utter
| ly without appreciation by the citizens.
but each year n little was done, and at
length it began to assume outline and
growth, interest or perhaps more cor
rectly. curiosity increased. and the peo-
pie began to talk about it. not as they
do now, but usually to ridicue. How
/ ever, the idea grew, and so did the
| trees, and with these two successes en-
thusiusm took root and grew too. Then
others took hold and the park idea
was fixed fact and to work for IL the
| proper thing TO do. From 50 small
beginning ii has grown to be the Won
| der of all who see it and has received
unstiuted praise from visitors.
our people willingly pay the tax
necessary to keep it up, and all sum
mer a man is employed to NOW the
grass and keep the walks and streets
| in good condition"
| This town has a moving machine
and road scraper and roller. y man
| Is paid to operate them He keeps all
grass and weeds upon roads and va
cant lots moved smoothly, and the
streets and roads approaching the town
look always as II just made.
"The ground of our ten acre park Is
prettlly laid out with winding walks"
SAYS Mr.. Glover. The trees are plant
ed in clumps, and all through the park
are little openings, 80 that every turn
there is a change Of view. There are
some fifteen or twenty sorts Of de
ciduous trees and four of evergreens,
with perhaps twenty-five sorts Of
shrubs and in considerable quantity.
There are about $50 eyergreens, many
OF them very beautiful specimens.
The effect of such Il beauty spot Is
far reaching and we believe, useful
Frequently through the summer the
band plays here on Sunday afternoons,
and the people come from considerable
distances to be present Such sur
roundings and such amusement cannot
hurt the young and are very likely to
stimulate their better tastes.
The work and the result have been
far reaching and an education to the
town and the surrounding country.
Bluff City has more pretty lawns than
any town Of It's size in the state. Tree
nlantlpg took an impetus when the
mark showed what could be done. and
now the town Is growing into bower
our stores are far handsomer than
those found In towns Of this Size as
rule. The Idea OF having everything