New-York tribune., 1907-08-11
An afternoon on tho roof.

dresses. but the best their wardrobes afforded,
IN honor Of the Sabbath. they sat in their seats.
But II they could not string beads they could
play games, and soon all but a few little moth
ers' whose babies wanted to nap in their laps
were tripping about the ring showing How
grandma danced"
Even secular days less attention Is given to
sewing. bead stringing and similar pursuits IN
this playground than in the vacation schools in
the public school buildings The teachers from
the Board of Education guided by the Edu-
cational Alliance, and the members from that
body who have the playground I'm charge think
it ought to he what its name implies. Rafid
work is debarred because IL Is considered too
confnng. There could not be a better play
ground than that big broad airy roof Tho
building is much higher than the surrounding
ones that the top of II gets every breeze that
blows. All around the red brick parapct are
boxes of blooming plants. Two large r,Drs, in
closed by seats are reserved for the games cf the
small girls. In other parts IF the roof are tables
and seats for large boys and girls. aad grown
people i'm the evenings convenient for chess and
checkers and other quiet games. Then there arc
swings for the children. there are places for tho
boys TO play leapfrog and so on and over in
corner is courter where rich pasteurizcd
milk is sold at a penny a glass ana cakes and
inspected candy at the very lowest rates.
AWNINGS shade the roof in the daytime and
colored lights iumne it at night That the
East Side people appreciate il is shown by the
crowds that come there. Crown people come in
the evenings, and in the course of some of the
busiest days many ten thousand individ-
uals. old and young. have been that roof.
SThat includes all three sessions-morning,
afVrnoon and evening" said Mr.. Rappaport,
who. in DR.. Davidsons absence, was IN full
charge Of the boys playground. Whole fami-
lies come here in the evenings. The read
the papers and the women bring their abes up
from the hot tenement houses and put them {"
sleep here the roof and keep them here until
closing time. IL O'Clock. Some days between
three thousand and four thousand children
come here in the daytime. exclusive of even
ings. Last year averaged. young and old,
4Je0 q day
there is Board of Health stationed at
a desk at the entrance to examine them and
see that those who enter are free from infec-
tious diseases. The older ones-and child of
is of the elders in those families
mostly come Juggling babies, of whom they are
inordinately proud and fond. One mite came
without her baby Saturday.
Good morning, Sarah' said Miss Mulligan,
the teacher in charge. Where's your little
sister,
My sisters got eyes an my mother took
her to the Board of He'll" said the mite sol
ennly.- .
That's what they all call IT," said the teacher
They mean no aspersions the Board of
Health: it's Just little way they have of drop
pins the final dgraph But when you reflect
that some Of these children are not more than
six months from Russia ii seems wonderful
that they speak English well they do.
They learn the kindergarten songs first without
knowing what the words mean, and then by de-
erees tho meaning comes te them. Ttsy % get