The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1913-01-23
THE BOYS CLUB WORK
IN SK0WHEGAN
The Members Have Begun Another
Year of Active Labor. An Advisory
Committee.


other year of active work for the up
lift of the younger element in town
and the Advisory Committee ask the
cooperation of all who are interested
in making Skowhegan still better
town in which to live, to lend their
moral as we'll as their financial aid
to this work.
The State of Maine has great nat
ural resources, but it Is not the forests
healthful and invigorating summer cli-
mate, bringing thousands of summer
visitors to the State and hundreds of
thousands of dollars to the business
men, as result of their coming,
which has made Maine famous
throughout the world, but it is the
men who have been born here and
who have gone forth to help develope
the great West, and Maine can point
with pride to her sons at home and
abroad who have made for themselves
names of honor in the financial, poll
tical, judicial and religious world
Maine cannot rest on the laurels
which she has won, but she must use
every means to provide the present
and future generations with such in
tluences as we'll best develope them
into men of character. Conditions are
ever-changing, so that the same sur
roundings which were had fifty years
ago, will not suffice at the present
| time.
The home, the most sacred institu-
ton, has changed with the every-vary-
ing conditions Clubs, secret societies
and social functions are saping the
best life of the home, so that there are
not evenings enough in the week in
which to attend to all of these fancied
duties, to say nothing about attend
ing to the duties of the home.
1t is not for the boy or young man
with an ideal home in which to live,
that this Boys Club is working. 1t
is for the boy and young man in town
who is away from home and is work
| ing in the shops and factories of the
town. who needs this substitute for the
home in order to develope the best
qualities in him.
The great cry of today is the con-
servation of the natural resources
viz: the forests and water powers of
this State, but the value of its re-
sources as compared with the value OF
| the young manhood of today is moth
ing.
During the past year the work OF
the Boys Club has been greatly less
ened because of the fact that their
rooms have not been kept open as
much as they should have been. The
1 Advisory Committee feels that this
obstacle has been overcome by EN-
| ploying John Lewis of Skowhegan to
have supervision of the rooms on Mon
day, Wednesday, Friday and Satur-
day evenings from 7 to 8 O'Clock,
while the leader of the club is Harold
Larry, who has had charge of the
work for the past year. The club last
| year purchased a piano and this year
| has refurnished it's rooms and added
a combination billiard and pool table.
The money for this work has been
| provided by the boys themselves.
While the work must of necessity
be limited, owing to the small quart
ers, and also to the fact that the rooms
are not open at all time, yet the Com
mttee feel that the club has justified
its existence and has amply paid for
the money which has been generously
contributed by the citizens of Skow-
! hegan.
The Advisory Committee is com
posed of the pastors of the four Prot
estant churches with one layman from
each church; Rev. George Merriam,
Rev J. G. Osborne. Rev. II. G. Nc
Glauflin, Rev. Theodore Halbert Will
son, G. r. Fogg. Geo. K Thompson,
| Iudsnn Packard and l. |, Walton