The Democratic advocate., 1908-05-15
THE TOWN BEAUTIFUL
some PRACTICAL HINTS FOR LOCAL
IMPROVEMENT
Make the Town a Model OF NedtneSS
and Beauty

The best way to organize an i'm
provement society is to have an ex-
pert give a lecture on the subject, il
luStrated with stereopticon with "be-
fore and after" pictures, if possible,
says Herbert D. Ward in the Woman's
Home Companion. Then an improve
ment association can be formed to in
clude all ''sets and political parties"
The executive committee should num-
ber fifteen, of whom eight of them at
least should be women. Each one
should be the chairman of a special
committee, such as "sidewalks,"
Streets public buildings" "adver-
tisements," etc. The annual dues
should not be over dollar year.
The movement of the society should
be at first slow and conservative until
it has gained the confidence of all the
people. Only the most glaring faults
in the town should be at first touched,
such as litter and refuse around the
public buildings and square or the
elimination of insanitary sink holes.
Pure water for drinking purposes,
drinking fountains for horses and
dogs, the removal of nuisances and
free town libraries will follow. In
reality there is no limit to the COM
munity value of wise and vigorous
village improvement association.
Here are a few practical hints for
local Improvement.
First-Beautify the front and back
yards Improvement begins at home.
Keep the paths clean and weeded. Plant
shrubs and f1ower-beds in front and
vegetable beds with grape arbor and
fruit trees in the back yards. Keep
the house painted and repaired.
| Second-Clean village streets and
sidewalks.
Third--Encourage the planting of
| flowers, shrubs and trees along the
streets and in all public squares.
Fourth-Have the yards of the
schools, public buildings and railroad
stations cleaned up and laid out with
flowers and shrubs.
Fifth-Eliminate all advertising
nuisances.
Sixth-Remove all unsightly objects
in the village. Waste cans should be
situated in prominent places and the
children and citizens encouraged to
make use of them.
Seventh-Encourage the giving of
prizes to the best kept home and vii
lage. Then go to work and win the
prize.
Make your town a model of neatness
and beauty.
This is peculiarly woman's work.
Let the club become public bene-
factor in the town where natural
beauty has been all but ruined by hab-
it's of village sloven1iness. There is
no town but has within it the pos
sibilities of charming resort.
The most unkempt and unpromis-
| ing country town can be made attrac-
tive so that it shall be a subject of
pride if not of advertisement. In 1872
New Milford, Conn, was about as un-
alluring a spot as the chance travel
er could find. The average village
seems to be garbage can and mud
hole. This was no exception. Its
spacious green was then combination
Of mud swamp and stream gridironed
with deep ruts. Refuse and papers,
tin cans, old shoes and boots and cat
tie contested for the right to the few
sidewalks. 1t was a typical town,
such as thousands still left-that is
all
Today, under the auspices of the
village improvement association, New
Milford is one of the most beautiful
towns in the State, II not in the coun-
try. It's green has been transformed
into the finest park of it's kind in Con-
necticut. Shade trees, cool shrubbery,
splendid roads and smooth sidewalks,
the public library and other beautiful
buildings have conspired to attract
wealth and culture. The town has
been transformed from a tattered men
dicant into rich aristocrat. The in
crease in the value of property since
the association started has been phe-
inomenal