Mexico weekly ledger., 1915-08-05
4 MISSOURI TALE
OF CHIC PRIDE
He. The 0tineas sf Lexington Ban
ishes What bad Lsnx Been . Be-
sherssns ESesors-

4
teauty Whereby haags q tale
Nov the syesore was a weed-grown
hoHsF ooutainiag. among ether ex-
ereS@oex Missouri mnd and muddy
water. Old shoes. old hats. battered
cars. dirty enveiopes-zach things
amish such -hollers" Al American
affection. some say. Bst the crown
ing glory Of such -hOllersT is .he
muddy water ard the mud.
An Ancient Addiction.
Since the memory Of man runneth
NOT to the contrary, Lexington's pet
aflieiiOn has been known as the Goose
Poud-no one knows just why; there
are saundry explanations. The So
called pond resembles. in shape, the
neck of . goose. That is one explain
alton. Another, which is vague but
more interesting. IS that in early
days there lived near by " eccentric
pioneer whose name, the children said,
sounded like Sander" Hence, as
such things eyolute, the pond ear the
old mans dwelling received its name
The Goose Pond was fed by the
drain from q public fountain in a
neighboring street and by springs in
the @holler." In winter there was ice
for skating. In summer the very,
very young, in their eternal optimism,
fastened pins TO strings and went a.
hshin'; and. during droughts and near
druuths, there was green scum and
the frogs made music day and night
while those who passed by held their
noses and swatted mosquitoes and
breathed malaria germs. So much
for the Goose Pond as it was until
some three years ago.
Then one day Ben Eaton walked
past on his way to business. Mr..
Eaton is a grocer and, loving his
town, has a way of looking ahead and
planning for its future. why not"
said Mr.. Eaton to himself. @flI this
dump and make of it a thing Of
beauty-a park, a playground, for
example?"
Mr.. Eaton's idea found favor IN
Lexington, and the people went about
to find ways and means. B. N. Little,
superintendent of schools Of Lexing-
ton, tells how the deed was done in
the February number Of the Ameri-
can City.
The Goose Pond Days"
Lexington has a population Of
about six thousand. OF the six thou
sand 1900 are school children. The
story Of the Transformation Of the
Goose Pond is the story of how the
public spirit OF a community very FREE
quently overrides a few selfish inter-
ests. II Is also a story Of cooper
alton, wherein children and grownups
worked shoulder to shoulder. Things
like that are always inspiring.
FIRST, then, contributions were ask
cd. IN a short time $4,000 was raised
with which the work was started. The
school children helped with their sav-
ings. With the money raised the
ground was purchased and the title
transferred to the board Of education;
the site was cleared, certain shacks
pulled down, and big tile drains were
laid to carry off the surface water.
Then, Of course, more money was
needed. So the "Goose Pond Days.
were inaugurated.
The business men of Lexington,
responding to the call for help, left
their work-those Of them who could
conveniently do so-and marched to
the Goose Pond armed with picks and
shovels. For two memorable days
they labored. The children, boys and
girls. did their share of the work
While they worked the women pre-
pared tempting and bountiful meals
for the workers.
"These first two days were such an
unexpected success" says Mr.. Little
that the same plan was used twice
more within the next month and met
with an equally enthusiastic response
At this stage the ground was left fol
the winter, greatly improved in ap.
pearance as a result of the six days
siege"
Now a Recreation Center.
July 4, 1914, concrete swimming
pool and a handsome stueco bathhouse
was opened on the ground where the
mudhole had been. The pool is 1OOx.
30 feet in sixe with a maximum depth
Of ten feet. To build it $500 was
needed. This was raised in part BY
an advance sale Of swimming tick
cts, which went like hot cakes. For
the balance several business men gave
their personal notes to the banks
which charged no interest on the
loan. The popularity of the pool
was 50 great" says Mr.. Little, shat
it proved too small for the crowds,
and the feasibility Of constructing an
other pool is already under consider
alton"
To make a long story short, Lex.
ington now has a beautiful recreation
center Where tin cans oft did eongre-
gate, and Mr.. Little draws the follow
ing conclusions: "There is a new
spirit In Lexington, a spirit of get
together-ness' that is manifesting Il
self in the other social activities of
the city and is most encouraging for
further civic progress. 8 :
Other plans for the general improve
ment of the town or for the benefit
Of some local institution have met
with SIMILAR support"
Notice