South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-11-09
Playground in
Your Basement
Youngstown Director Tells
How to Make Simple
Apparatus.

John II. Chase. superintendent OF
the Youngstown, O., Playground asso-
citation. gives directions as follows for
an indoor playground;
Most easements have for their cell
! ing exposed sleepers or floor Joists
and these are just the thing for hang
| ing apparatus and do away with eH-
pensives clumsy frameworks. Little
children like, the most of all, swings
sandgardens and travelling rings. The
latter are not the conventional trapeZe
| but are a long row of rings hung by
ropes from the ceiling. A child swings
| from the first TO the second, lets go
Of the first and flies 10 the third and
| so on down the line,
First then swings. Buy a hank Cor
| cold of sash cord (size No. or 3D. at
| a hardware store. This looks like or
binary clothes line but is stronger. and
Will cost about 81. A coil will be
enough for two swings and four trav-
cling rings At the same time buy
| six No. 500 screw hooks for IL cents
On getting home put these in the
! beams of the basement ceiling or attic
| from IA inches 90 two feet apart and
turn the open side OF the hook away
from the swing at right angles TO the
direction in which the swing flies so
i
hook. Make the swing seat of any
board that is around the house The
| best size is six inches wide, IA inches
long and one inch thick. Bore holes
in the ends to keep the rope in place,
or simply make notches in the ends
with saw. This is good enough and
the swing is all ready for all kinds
of fun with only half an hours work.
In fact it is so much fun that the
4 will he 70 nd
the best way is to build one or two
more swings or else tell the specta-
tors to count so swoops and then let
the next child have his or her turn.
Now for a sand box. Any wooden
packing box around the house is good
enough. We found one two feet wide,
four feet long, and two feet deep. We
nailed cleats over all the cracks and
on one side made the box only one
foot deep. Next, get a sack Of clean
sand and wet il so that it will hold
it's shape for caves. castles and arti-
fetal lakes. Those who have been
at the beaches remember the wonder
full shapes and figures made in the
sand.
Lastly the travelling rings Go to
the store, ask for wooden towel rings
(Which are about five inches across,
hang these rings in a row about three
sash cord that you already have, and
presto. the travelling rings are I'm your
own home. The whole entails an eX-
penditure of so or 60 cents
Thus a playground indoors with
three of the things that children like
the most, can be built for two or
three dollars. And any one can make
it with two hours work and a ham,
mer and saw. 1t will look crude. but
viii be strong, and it will satisfy tie
children.
If the swings are in the way of the
laundress, just slip them off the hooks
when she is there, or put another hook
about four feet in front Of the swing
and catch the rope over this hook just
below the seat The whole seat will
then be close up to the ceiling and out
Of the way.
The travelling rings are practical
even if the basement is only seven or
eight feet high. One basement is seven
feet, two inches high, but with only
10 inches from the ceiling the bottom
OF the rings has provided fun and the
travelling rings for a girl and her
friends.