The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-05-13
What the Playground As
sociation of America Is
Trying to Accomplish
cH1cAeo's FINE SYSTEM
Seventeen 'Play Parks" Zach Gov.
ering form Ten to Thirty Acres
With Fun Equipment for all,
from Babies to Grandmoihers.
DAY ALLEN WILEY IN MAY ST.
't NICHOLAS

~
DAY ALLEN WILEY IN MAY ST.
NICHOLAS
When Jimmy and Tommy whistles
in front Of the house says Come on
out and play" 1t means to many a
city boy a game on the sidewalk or
the middle of the street, unless a
railroad or lumber yard or some stor-
age-lot near by can be entered. Yes,
the poor" boy and the poor" girl
who must live huddled in the build
ings called tenements may not even
have a back yard TO play in, mucn
less a front yard, ana when the tired
mother wants a bit of rest. she must
literally turn them into the streets.
They must play somewhere and
somehow and so It is that you see
the youngster not out of knee
breeches and his sister with hair
hanging down her back lodging
about an ash heap or coal pile In
tag games-perhaps group OF
girls going around telegraph pole
ol hhup-pobb 10 AHcs JUN hdilh9
singing in a May-pole song. If they
are run over while playing hide-and-
seek among the freight cars, or
knocked down by the horses or
motor caf. the parents usually get
the blame For allowing the children
to "run at large. .
"Oh, yes, the park may be within
a short walk, but what can be done
when you reach It? 1t has patches
of green sward, but too often there
is the sign Keep Off the grass. >
The cool water of the pond or lake
invite you TO come in but 'nBathing
forbiddeni" cuts this out OF the en-
joyment. Only on the paths that
may extend amid the grove can one
wander. Again the signs say, "Keep
to the walks! No pace for even a
game OF marbles; no pla;e where the
girls can sit in shady nook and
tell stories. To play ball, the team
that gets up earliest In the morning
reaches the Background first and
claims il by right of '.first comers. "
Even the littlest of the little folk
cannot find material for mud pies
or h sand pile to mold into figures
and images.
vt is the plain truth that I'm our
greatest cities, especially whore mill
lions OF dollars have been spent on
pleasure grounds they are often
places to look at more than anything
else. Some are very beautiful, with
their statuMy, their fountains, their
beds of flowers and foliage, their
grassy terraces. Graveled drive and
paved walks lead here and there, and
benches invite the visitor to stop and
rest But the opportunities TO in
dulge In healthful outdoor sport are
only for the few, not for the many,
and these supposed recreation cen
ters merely furnish the enjoyment
that pretty picture gives us. This
may do for "grown-ups," but Willie
and Tommy and Sadie, who have nc
dooryard and whose only view when
they awake in the morning is the
gas-house or the family ''wash' on
the back porch, want to romp and
run, because II is the craving that
IS In the blood That Is why the
park and the square, attractive as
they may be to the older folk, dc
not keep them from making play
ground OF the street II they cannot
find better place.
But grown folk have been think
ing about all this. Some men and
women have decided that ample play
grounds for the young are actua
ne, ,essities--lile water and gas tC
their elders. it is fortunate indeed
that they have TO decide for at last
. a movement has begun which nov
extends actually from the Atlantic
to the Pacific oceans--a movement
dor play-places where they are need
ed. Some of these people who wani
the boys and girls OF the poor IL
cities TO see more of nature and ge
more fresh air and sunshine at the
publlc's expense, lhve formed whai
is known as the Playground Associa
i tion of America. Here is the rea
son It gives for its existence:
1.-THE greatest need of American
city life today is some common meet
ing ground for the people where bus
iness may be forgotten and friend
ships fonmed. The playground 4
already the gathering place for thu
children, and il is coming to be 81
more and more for grown-ups, II
many places entertainments anl
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