The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-10
NEWS OF THE DAY
IN SOCIETY WORLD
The City Beautiful In Bes-
sener
NOTES HERE AND THERE
Mrs. E. E. Williams Gives a Beautiful
Tea-Informal Card Party-An-
nouncements of Com
ing Events.
NOTES HERE AND THERE
BY MYRTLE MILES.
Phones: Bell 1850, Peoples 29e.

While Birmingham has been working
hard with a view to civic betterment,
Bessener has not been idle Indeed, long
before the idea took visible form here
Bessemer had the work well in hand,
regular city beautiful department having
been advocated in the Bessemer Weekly
for more than year past, while thor
oughly organized civic improvement So
ciety, with a membership of about $50,
has been diligently at work for months,
with the most gratifying results. The
membership includes men and women.
though the active work is done alomst
entirely by the latter, the men being con-
sidered merely honorary members, and
assisting by their generous contributions
of money.
While at first there seemed by little
interest in the movement to beautify,
the society has met with unqualified sue
cess until now the entire city is en-
Unused. The success of the movement is
due partly to the zeal and executive
ability of the president, Mrs James H.
Hard, and the other officers of the Or
ganization, the devotion of the members
to the cause, and the hearty cooperation
of the public. Through the generous as
sistance of the Tennessee company, of
Mr.. N. o. Nelson, the well-known million
aile and philanthropist, one of whose
large pipe plants is located at Bessemer,
and of private citizens, a fixed monthly
income has been secured as a working
basis, and this is constantly augmented
by entertainments Of various kinds by
the women of the society, and in which
they have shown great originality and
money-making ability.
The scope of the society is broad, en-
bracng all lines of civic improvement,
and the first work taken up was the
beautifying of the city park. Bessemer
has had public park almost from the
inception of the city, block Of ground
centrally located and covered with for
est trees, but up TO the time of the or
ganization of the society little money or
time had. been spent upon it, the city
fathers having more serious matters to
consider. The women went to work with
a will, building large pavilion and sum-
mer houses, having the lawn thoroughly
prepared and sown with grass, preparing
and planting flower beds with bulbs for
early spring blooming, planting violets
along the edges of the walks, building
new seats and swings, replacing the old
seats, and the fountain in the center;
cutting down dead trees and planting a
row of trees on the outside of the park
along the four sides, etc. AS an evidence
of the interest observed, a number of
business men cheerfully gave their labor
in the erection of the pavilion.
The society has also taken up the i'm
proyement of the public schools and their
surroundings, in which they have secured
the hearty cooperation of the city coun-
ell, which is assisting in the work. In
the spring well-kept lawns and flowers
will have transformed the school grounds,
while a special effort will be made to
make lovely the surroundings of the mag
nifiaent new high school now being built.
This character of work will be extended
to the churches, the library building and
the city hall.
A marked Improvement has been noted
in the surroundings of private residences,
the grounds of which were never so well
kept as this year. A movement similar to
Birming hams to offer prizes along this
line is now under consideration
While there has for some time past
been a law in Bessemer prohibiting cat
tie, horses, ETC., from running loose in the
city limits, it has not been very rigidly
enforced, with the result that there have
been many complaints of ruined flower
gardens The society's efforts to secure
the enforcement of this law have result
ed in the tearing down of a great many
fences, which has, of course, worked a
marvellous transformation in these neigh
borhoods.
There has always been a great deal of
interest taken in the growing Of flow
ers and ported plants in Bessemer, fact
well demonstrated at the flower shows
which have been held with few excep-
lions, every spring and fall for many
years past. At the fall show given on
Thursday and Friday of this past week,
under the auspices of the civic society,
there was bewilderingly lovely display
of home grown chrysanthemums, roses,
ported ferns and plants. From out of
town u prize was won by Mr.. Hugh Seals
of Birmingham, who sent a splendid col
lection of chrysanthemums, roses and car
nations, and in Bessemer by Mrs. w. d.
Brown Mrs. Clarence Spencer, Mrs.
George H. Stevenson, Mrs. j. M Dill and,
Miss velma Burgin for chrysanthemums,
by Mrs. Edgar Mitchell and Mrs. Clar-
ence Spencer for roses, by Mrs. Bryan
Wallace and Mrs. George Rutledge for
ferns, by Mrs. j. A. Estes and Miss Liz
zie verdin for potted plants, and by Mrs.
w. D. Brown for the best individual
specimen of chrysanthemum bloom.
Besides being source of money making
for the furtnerance of the work Of civic
improvement, these shows stimulate
great interest in the growing Of flowers.
Thus it will be seen that the energetic
and thoroughly up-to-date women of Bes-
semer are in the vanguard of the "cty
beautiful movement now sweeping the
country.
The many friends of Mrs. Oliver Chali-
foux will be delighted that she is again
able to be out since a siege of scarlet
fever with her young son, Oliver. The
sign was removed Saturday.
Mr.. Owen Watkins entertained the
watkins Berry bridal party at dinner last