Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-21
20 maintain Fairgrounds for
children and to use every in
ducement to attract them
thifho1. L. n uol dol-olnnod foe

'O MAINTAIN Fairgrounds 1Or
children and to use every in
ducement to attract them
thither is a well developed fac
tor of social betterment en-
ployed in cities. but to take the play
ground and its attractions bodily to the
children who can't won't frequent the
established Fairgrounds is new phase
of the work which has just been started
in Washington.
The idea originated with an enthusi-
astic young college man. Frank c. Wood
who, as assistant superintendent Of
Fairgrounds in Washington, is serving
his first year professionally in work
to which as volunteer worker he pre-
viously had given much time and
thought.
At a recent meeting OF the Georgetown
conference of the Associated Charities
Mr.. Wood offered for consideration the
plan which he had evolved. and at the
conclusion of his brief outline there was
instant Endorsement OF it.
II have found" he said during my
years work with the Playground 'Associa-
ton. that. wide and great as the circle
of good radiating from the regularly
established playground is, many OF the
children who most need the beneficial
atmosphere of the Fairgrounds do NOT
frequent them at all.
There are numerous reasons for this.
Make every effort possible TO centralize
Fairgrounds. put them just where II
seems that the congestion is greatest and
the maximum number of children Will be
given easy access 10 them. and still II
will be found that thousands of children
too far away 10 make going to the
Fairgrounds an easily acquired habit.
Where the playground is several blocks
away il il much easier for child 10 play
in the street or in his own alley than TO
trudge off to the playground
And grownups are not half so clan
n!sh as children, especially the kind of
children we want to reach The boy who
has played in an alley, or on the wharves.
or some narrow Uttered street meets
there boys OF his own environment and
there is a bond of fellowship between
them which II is difficult for him to es-
fablish with boys from other social condi-
tons. The grownups know these condi-
tons and understand why the intangible
barrier exists but the children, with pos
siDly less perception OF cause. are even
more sensitive to the effect. | have found
This peculiar clannishness a great barrier
10 increasing the number of children at
the regular Fairgrounds. And another
reason for the failure of children far re-
moved to play on the Fairgrounds is that
many of them are too young 10 be per-
mitted to go such great distances alone.
-
With all these things in mind / made
the suggestion that instead of going on
Nainly attempting TO bring these difficult
cases to the recreation centers. We create
recreation centers where the difficult
cases are. At the meeting at which l
made the suggestion the plan met i'm
mediate favor, but there was no avail
able fund for beginning I proposed
that. as there were certain places in
Georgetown where seemed 10 be the
greatest Immediate need for trying out
the plan. citizens of Georgetown, who al
Ways have been enthusiastic supporters
os the Fairgrounds. be asked for func
TO begin the work. We hoped at the out
Set to have not more than enough to try
the work for two or three weeks, and
before the end Of the first week of solicit
ing We had raised fund amply sufficient
TO finance the plan for three months
The taking OF the Fairgrounds to the
children simply means improvising a
play ground on any open space convenient
10 the children and gathering them there
for an hour of directed play and an hour
of story telling. Though several play
centers. as these new recreation places
are called. have been established In vari-
Gus sections OF Washington. probably the
most notable and certainly the most need