The Detroit times., 1914-06-22
KIDDIES ROMP in
FAIRGROUNDS
OF "a SCHOOLS
Dripping Skies Scarcely Fail to
Dampen Enthusiasm of the
Little Folk
CROWDS ARE ON HAND
AT THE OPENING HOUR
Teachers and Well-knOwn Ath-
letes Are in Charge to
Direct the Fun

Twenty-four school Fairgrounds
opened their gates, Monday morning,
to the courts Of Boy and Girlville in
Detroit
The fog and the damp and lowering
skies in no wise halted the greeting
given the opening. and play was not
halted until the skies actually began
TO drop. Some OF the schools were
in districts where the little girls wore
silk stockings and the boys carried
pocket money," Others were in the
districtlwhere tine girls wore no stock
ings at all, and the boys carried brok-
en- jack knives, bits of string and all
the miscellaneous collection of Junk
dear 10 the heart of the boy. One OF
the latter schools Is the Clinton, a
.dingy brick affair on Clinton-st., near
Rivard, in the very heart of the for
eign district.
Here az $50 there gathered some
hundred boys and girls, the majority
of them natural and dirty, a few pain
fully and unnaturally Iclean. This,
however, was rectitled within a very
few minutes. the school yard being
muddy from the rain and "finicky"
parents being afar off Miss Kath-
leen Trillick, in charge OF the grounds.
said good morning" 20 her charges
and was greeted in nine different lam
guages. Then she organized things.
They played something that looked
like a scientific and glori1ed ring
roundrosy" also they played run
sheep run" various manners Of ball
and drop the handkerchief A dreamy.
eyed youth who suggested post
office" was frowned down by teacher
and companions and left in disgrace.
Everybody had glorious time.
Playing real games and discovered to
be vastly better than playing with
tin can and broom stick in an alley
Everyone got. tired and hot and won.
derfully dirty and quite exhausted
with laughter and shoutings. The shy
ones forgot their shyness and the
naughty boys forgot to be naughty.
Just one drab note was struck. "Char-
lev" a cripple, stood by the fence and
watched the children play with a
wistful look and an unconscious sigh
from time TO time He dug his little
crutch In the gravel and gazed at his
toes and shot stealthy glances TO the
running. shouting children. a heed
less boy nearly ran into him Get out
OF the way, Grip" he said in all the
thoughtless cruelty OF youth. Char.
ley moved slowly away and the
crutch went crunch, crunch" In the
sand The cripple slipped into an
angle formed by a storm door and
turned his face 20 the cold comfort
OF the damp brick wall and was very
still A big blue vein in his neck
throbbed with the heavy beating Of
his heart as II labored to food the
muscles struggling TO keep back the
sobs
"Marienetta," curly.headed, red
Tipped houri Of seven. found him
there and stood silently beside him.
wise with the wisdom OF love, saving
nothing because that would have
brought the tears, unmanly even for
cripple OF ten After while he
turned and smiled little at the girl.
She smiled back and then, her duty
done flashed away in a wild game OF
cross-tag. while Charles, his wound
balsamed, strmped back TO the play.
ground and looked on.
For those who wish, lessons in bas.
ket-weaving will he given, and later
there will he instructions In folk
dancing. and ball teams will be organ
ized. Shower baths will be opened in
some OF the schools. The playground
heads are all teachers or well-known
school athletes and skilled in the ways
OF children