Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-01
CAMP SEASON BEGUN
Bathing Beach and Play
grounds Also Are Opened.
FORMER WELL PATRONIZED
Goodness Of First Official Day
Does Not Affect Attendance.
BOY SCOUTS AT RIVER VIEW
Will Be Taught to Swim and Drilled
in Tests by Competent
Instructors.

i Instructors.
Il Today is the beginning of new fiscal
year. and. with new appropriations avail
able, all the various phases of the city's
work in behalf of the children took on
added activity. The formal official OPEN
ing Of the municipal bathing beach,
municipal Fairgrounds and school play
grounds occurred this morning, while the
summer cutters camps were today Of
lcially opened for the entertainment Of
campers.
! Te school Fairgrounds have been open
in an unofficial way for several weeks
and the Riddles have enjoyed them just
as much. apparently. as If the opening
had been given the formal o. K. at the
actual beginning of the playground sea-
son. 1t seems to make little difference
to the average youngster whether the
| Fairgrounds are turned over to their
legitimate users with the formality of
| official sanction or not, just so they have
the use Of the swings, tether ball, chutes
and other amusement devices. i
/ Camp at River View Opens.
/ The Boy Scouts camp at River View is
now open, although the beginning of the
fiscal year and availability of appropria-
lions have nothing to do with this camp.
| The scouts will be in camp all summer,
the time being divided into periods of two
weeks each. Boys who wish to avail
themselves of the opportunity to camr
with the scouts may do SO by cocplying
with certain rules none of which will
work any hardship, and the payment of
q small fee. Two weeks is the maximum
period in camp permitted. A number of
competent scout masters and instructors
in all sorts Of outdoor exercises, wood
craft and the like are in charge.
i The camps in Rock Creek Park also
opened this morning, with many children
on hand. The new camp opened this year
for mothers with infants promises to be
a marked success. At this camp mothers
with their babies will be cared for, pas
teurized milk will be supplied for the in
fants, a corps Of competent nurses will
be on hand, and the camp also will have
the services of physicians who are
specialists in the ailments of babies. 1t
is expected that large number of poor
Il women who unable to give their
babies proper care and feeding during
the hot summer months, will take ad-
in connection with the regular summer
l outing camp that has been established in
Rock Creek Park several years.
1 Many Boys at Bathing Beach.
| Four hundred and two boys registered
at the municipal bathing beach this
morning and helped to inaugurate the
1912 season.
This was boys day. and the youngsters
were on hand long before the opening
hour, 10 o'clock On account of the cool
weather, DR.. W. B. Hudson superintend-
emit, expected the attendance to be slim
| and the large registration proved a sur
| prise.
4 Another eager crowd of boys gathered
for the 2 to o'clock opening OF the
pools this afternoon. and indications are
that the registration for the day will be
close to thousand.
Delayed for more than a month on ac-
count of lack of funds. the opening of the
pools today was made possible through
the provision in the new District appro-
priation bill Of an item of 81 2JO for their
1 maintenance. 1t is Dr. Hudson's plan to
keep the beach open until fall.
| The hours for women will be from Z
until 10 o'clock Monday. Wednesday and
Friday mornings and from until t
o'clock Wednesday afternoons.
Boys hours at the pools will be from
10 to IL and to o'clock daily. with the
| exception OF Wednesday afternoons.
The hours for men will be from $50 to
g pm. daily. except Wednesday after
moons. and from 10 to IL and 2 to e
| o'clock Sundays.
/ Will Be Taught Swimming.
| DR.. Hudson, who is assisted by
force Of four guards. two matrons and
Office help. has arranged not only to
have patrons of the beach taught how
to swim. but instruction will be given
in saving drowning persons and CIV
ing first aid in cases of emergency.
He expects to form a life-savers' bril-
gade. and certificates of membership
will be issued to those who satisfac-
torily pass tests in diving. treading
water, towing their own weight 100
yards and swimming certain distances
in a given time
! DR.. Hudson stated today that he ex-
poets the present season to be the best
in the history of the beach. 1t is his
belief, he said. that by the end Of the
. summer several hundred boys, girls,
men and women will have been taught
how to swim at the beach. -,
! School Fairgrounds Popular.
The school Fairgrounds were opened
with no more suspicious ceremony than
a few loud shouts and a~auick thrush
of boys and girls as soon as the gates
were opened. Every bit of available ap-
paratus was soon in use and the fact
that dignified. fo-eboding school loom
ed over each of the grounds did not
seem to lessen the pleasure of the
youngsters.
volley ball, tether ball, swinging and
basket ball were all played by the chill
} dren, but nothing seemed to find such
universal popularity as indoor base ball.
played outdoors.
} The white schools opening Fairgrounds
today were the Arthur. Sayles ]. Bowen,
Congress Heights, Henry, Industrial
Home, Jefferson, Ketcham, WaIlach and
Ludlow. while the colored schools having
Fairgrounds are the Birney. Langston,
Magruder. Phillips, Stevens and Giddings
All the school grounds are under the d-
recton of the board of education and
have directors on them to watch over the
, children and settle Juvenile difficulties
The children do not devote all their time
} to play, however. but many OF them learn
useful things in the way of Industrial
| work. under the directors The hours