The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-08
SCHOOLGIRL ATHLETES OUT
CENTRlL PARk GAY WIN
THEIR GAMES AND DANCES.

YOU see nothing more exciting than a
hoCk II fnt Sheep NJ little boys and girls
rolling on the clean grass. was all ahutter
Yesterday afternoon Flutipr IL the word
because there wns a stiH hreeze which
had a bot ~ fun with the skirts Of Z go Or
more little girls and which took an impish
delight N laying Maypoles low The
little girls were there from fifty schools
In Manhattan % hold the third annual
park fhts Of the girls branch Of the Public
schools Athletic League
Although the folk dances and games
didn't begin until Z r ~. one really had
b gct up very early in the morning to be
a. the PARK by "a. NJ Il was necessary
10 get there then because Elizabeth
Burchenal leaped into the park at exactly
T. Mise BurChenal IA school teacher.
but il is right 10 say that she leaped
Elizabeth said one q the elderly
teachers yesterday, ia 20 athletic You
look for her here and she IL there. and
when you look there. she in't.'
Il Is Mise Burchenals business 10 be
athletic she is the inspector Of athletics
IN tho public schools, with a mission IT
lnstru0ting teachers how 20 keep their
email charges physically it and Of keeping
an eye on tho children 70 see that they are
being taught things that are coming to
he regarded a. important a. book
knowledge She il young and good lonk-
ING, can. run 100 yards In under - seconds
and can play tennis like IArned
She had 70 bs in me park 81 Q O'Clock to
plot on the meadow and fix the place for
every school, the spot whers Il woud
erect lie May pole aud take rart in the
dances. With a sketch Of the ground in
her hand and two youthful and extremely
gallant traffic policemen IN attendance.
Miss BuFChrnal covered che meadow In a
series Of leans. sticking up little red fags
with numbers on them. Then the police
81 the Fast Sixty-seventh street station
hau 70 be instructed ~ 70 theiT duties
and told % keep the meadow clear Of the
bug crowd that was sure % oomr AlsD
the principals Of all the schools had to
be telephoned % have their columns there
on the minute So. all ia all. Prof Bur
chenal had got 20 the point wtere ne
ordinary Young woman would have said
that she was ready 70 drop by the time
the first column of pink and piRafOred
little girls deflcd ON to the meadow from
siEty-siXth street and Central PARK West. I
The crowd - - theirs certainly Ii
massed around the great green squara
until the policemen were forced 70 sprint
up and down 20 keep people from over
flowing on TO The grass Perhaps halg
the crow d-and At leas; 1000 must nave
watched the dancing we're parents or
friends ~ the little girls The rest we're
park visitors eager tO behold a novelty
in the way Of an open air shJW IA was a
novelty. although MAY parties are o0m-
mon, hecausr ~ tho Old World dances In
which the chiltrsn had been carefully
instructed IN odd halt hours after school
work
One noticed along the fringe ~ the
quadrangle a good many hundred l,Ir
boys who seemed divided bctV cen cnyg
ard sCuru You could -se that they would
have been tiChlcd to shDw ~ M front -
~ many people. but nevertheless they
pretended that 10 a. nothing bus a girls /.
show and quite unworthy % attention F.,
from serious people
Between r VI and up VI there was
steady Bow of excited Child-en - the .
meadow Column after column. urecedad .
BY diEniied and smiling teachers with .
other teachers walking az the rear % see .
that none OF the little people stravei .
away. came upon the meadow. the girl-
walking two by two. Every little girl In
the s.OBo was in white. SUNDAY bes' that .
gave evidence Of a lot Of care and a.,en-
n0n on mothers part Every So hool
SHOWED it, cJlOrs in rather an attractive
way
Here would come a column OF red hair
ribbons and when the column raus,.d and
broke up you got the notion that the
meadow. m that vicinity mad suddenly
bloOmed With peoples That was Public
School -. Of which Miss Paee il prin-
Cipal. Then when you looked "A 20 one
side YOU saw sunhowers nOddinE. hg
hed q yellow blossoms. and YOU felt IN
Ciined 20 compliment the principal %
School a.. Miss Tate, on a neat idea
Right In front u the flag draped stand
where a sChoobOys band from Rrnua-
lyn made Music for the dances. " ,rp the
children Of School ~, the colGred girls.
whose ribbons were white and green
About half OF the 100 children we're Kin
dergartners who had a dreadful time d
keeping their feet Ia the macs ~ the
sgedish and Russian dance. They would
.Ail down and have 10 be picked up Shd
they fell and oiled and bounced like Il
lot Of highly animated rubber halls az
play with themselves Everywhere there
was color. blue and white among the
girls Of "a. purple and white where the
Nay pole Of 90 was upra.sed and enough
mink wherever you looked to no out the
little girls in New York with years hair
ribbOns. II
The process Of getting May poles 40
m that breeze was something like an
army going into camp. NancolOred
streamers laahed the air and girls chung
phickily 10 the swayng stats. sometimes
going over in a heap a. the breeze had
rs way ali Il a sudden But afteria time.
with the assistance 81 park employees
end Policemen and volunteers the
streamers we're begged down and with
the poles took on the appearance Of gay
tepees
Miss Burchenal fairly few over the
meadow. dropping q word Ot advice here.
lending a hand there and consulting
her chart book to see II such and such
q school vas where II ought 20 have been
While the girls were serious and intent
% making itns showing the influence
n the sun and air was upon them. and
each teacher had - keep an eye out a.
Gee that her school didn't get mixed
up with somebody's else school While ,
these things were forward you noticed
especially the small Colored girls Of
School NJ They we're poised waiting
for the FIRST bars q the music like kittens
ready 10 spring And when the music I
started, even before the signal came TO
start the dance, they couldn't keep their
feet still. None was more graceful In
the dance than these same children.
AZ last Miss BurChenal WRs satisfied
shat everything was in readiness. She
Jumped into the stand. swept her eve
over the meadow full 81 children, each
schOOi IN position. each child toe pointed.
ana raised her hand The hand. with a
crash ~ brazses. started a Swedish Nav
day air. and the Geld swiftly became