The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-08-19
BIG THRONG SEES
5000 PLAYGROUND
CHILDREN DRILL
Ideal Weather Favors Great
0pen=Air Exhibition in
Branch Brook Park.
CONCERTED DANCING
EXCELLENTLY EXECUTED
Board of Education officials
Agree 1t Was Most Success
full Ever Held.

Favored with an ideal August after
noon, fully 5000 summer playground
children are today participating in
Branch Brook Park in one of the larg-
est exhibitions of concerted and open
air drills ever given in this vicinity
The central division of Branch Brook
Park was an immense garden at 13)
o'clock this afternoon, the bright
dresses of. the girls and the ever NOV
ing mass Of persons, forming a picture
that made even the moving picture
man gasp in admiration as he bent TO
his work. Krimke's band. which was
furnished for the day by the concert
committee of the Common Council, was
early on the grounds, and the lively
music coming from the stand in the
centre Of the immense field lent the
final touch TO the scene.
Besides the large number of actual
participants, an almost equal number
of visitors crowded the park as it never
had been before. BY the time the first
school divisions had begun to arrive the
space roped off for spectators was al
ready beginning to become crowded.
The children, as they marched in from
the various centres, made pretty
sight
The plan as arranged for the trans
porting of the children to the grounds
worked out to perfection, order being
maintained without any difficulty. The
natural exuberance Of the children
found vent in frequent cheers. given IN
the main by the boys, although the
girls occasionally Joined in. The mass
ing of the children was accomplished
by the various leaders and took COM
paratively little time. At a few minutes
past o'clock the first number of the
program had been started. and what
the officials believe was the best exhi-
bition ever given by the children had
been auspiciously started.
The purpose of a moving picture firm
in photographing the dances and evo-
lutions is to arouse a wider interest IN
the type of wprk which has been
brought to so high state of perfec-
ton by the Newark Board of Educa-
ton. Many hundred feet of films were
exposed
Besides the drills and dances there
was an exhibition of the manual train
ing work done by the children during
thd summer time. There has been
great rivalry between the various
schools in producing novel and inter
esting exhibits, and in some instances
fine reproductions of aeroplanes and
other types of airships have been made
by the scholars.
The first of the playground exhibits
Tho
was then in an experimental stage and
much of the development that has
come with the years has originated in
the work of the local board.
The full program is as follows:
Playground song; flag salute; Star
Spangled Banner Clapdans; Hun
garian dance; Mountain March" :"
santa Lucia" (under direction of Miss
Nye); wand drill (three series only);
buck exercises; special numbers
dance of four nations, Eighteenth Ave-
nue. (under direction of Miss kauf-
mani; Grecian dance, Elizabeth Ave
nue. (under direction of Miss Emery;
Swedish weaving dance, Washington
Street (under direction of Miss G.
Reynolds); game (race), Belmont Ave-
nue. (under direction of Mr.. Cromie),
Indian club drill 81 ecial drills
sailors hornpipe. Hamburg Place Gun
der direction of Miss Tillard); Irish jig,
Belmont Avenue (under direction of
Miss Cumberland); long wand drill,
Washington Street (under direction of
Mr.. Manne); May-pole dance.
TWAS not until p m. that the chill
dren began to arrive, and it was fully
a half hour later when the games began.
The boys and girls marched into the
park by scho OILS. Those who were near
enough walked and the others came by
special cars. Pupils from the Morton
Street School were the first to arrive,
and they were followed by delegations
from the Seventh Avenue School, the
High School, the Camden Street School
and the Belmont Avenue School. A
bugler led the Morton Street division.
Many of the boys carried flags and
some had drums. OF especial merit in
the exhibition of the work done by the
pupils of the school was the airship
built by Ames and John Fillipon, of the
A Cs1l11 II