Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-05-17

Episcopal church on Sunday evening,
when the S0th anniversary of-the Nor
witch association was observed in a I'M
ion service of the churches. James L.
Case, who Is beginning his fifth term
as president Of the local association,
led the meeting, and after the singing
of the opening hymn Rev. Frederick
w. Coleman, the pastor of the church,
read the scripture selection, and G. <.
Flanders. the first general secretary of
the Norwich Y. NJ. c. A, offered
prayer.
President Case in a brief address
said that 30 years Of life for any or
ganization is something of a record.
The work of the association the past
year, he said measures up very favor
ably with that of previous years and
he expressed his appreciation Of the
cooperation given by the people Of
Norwich.
The opportunities of the future are
ever greater than they have been in
the past, and Mr.. Case said he hoped
all would especially remember the as
ISOLATION in their prayers.
General Secretary's Report. s
In closing, Mr.. Case announced that
Secretary Hill would read his annual
report as rendered at the annual meet
ing of the Y. M. c. A. held Friday
evening.
In part Secretary Hills report Of
If we were asked at this time to ex-
press our feelings in a single word,
am sure we would choose the word
Gratitude, for truly all through the
year just closed we have been enabled
to solve our problems, to surmount
our difficulties, and to achieve good
degree Of success, for all Of which we
render unto our Heavenly Father
cease1ess praise and with sincere
hearts and honest lips we can say
THE Lord hath done great things for
US, whereof we are glad We are
indeed grateful to our faithful pres
ident and directors and to all who
have served on the various commit
tees, for surely without the services
of these good men we could not re-
port the results Of the past twelve
months. We are most certainly CRATE
full to that Organization known as the
Women's auxiliary and we have been
constantly inspired and made glad by
their unself1sh devotion and willing
service after contributing greatly to
the efficiency of the work.
Religious.
In these days when we hear the
statement that men no longer care
much for religious things it is refresh
ing to note that not only in the
churches, but in our association work
as well. men give splendid evidence
of their interest in the higher things
of life and this interest has been man
ifested, not only in the various meet
ings in our building but in the noon
shop meetings where the noble men
of toll have been eager for the timely
messages which have helped them
solve the problems of their lives, and
even the men confined in the local jail
have listened with marked attention
to the gospel talks given to them by
our representatives.
Physical.
Close akin to the soul is the BODY of
a man, and therefore we have been
pressing the battle for stronger ply
gymnasium has been a busy place dur
ing the winter months. We have
many opportunities during the spring
and summer for outdoor work and we
hope more and more to take advan-
tage of them.
Social.
Experience demonstrates more and
more that approach to the average
young man is most successfully made
along social lines and therefore the
committee in charge of this import
ant department of our work has en-
deavored to develop the social spirit
and the record of the years work in
dicates the degree Of success achieved,
We can truthfully say the spirit of
make yourself at home" is preva-
lent in our building.
Educational.
Our efforts along educational lines
have been successful as far as we have
gone; the unusually fine course of en-
tertainments gave to very large audi
ences much pleasure and profit of an
artistic and educational character.
Boys.
The hope of the continuance and
development of our institution lies very
largely in the boy; this is true not
only of the association, but of the city
as we'll therefore Norwich has no
greater asset than her boys, and we
do well to use every possible effort
to mould Alright the lives of those who
in the near future will control to SO
large an extent the destinies of this
municipality, Our work for the boys
has been particularly gratifying during
the past year. While we must plan
for larger things for the boys as the
years go by, we cannot measure fully
up to our responsibility until we have
an entirely separate department for
this important work and this can only
be realized when we are blessed with
a new building
Our Needs.
Every growing organization is con-
tinually reaching out for greater
things and this process of reaching
out creates certain needs, Our great
est need for the coming year is a Large
number of men with a vision of our
opportunities and responsibilities and
who are willing to be of real service
to their fellows. Of course we recog-
nize the need of a new building, but
while we are waiting and hoping for
this let US do our utmost in and with
our present home. We need to make
what we may call our living" the
lobby, more attractive. as first i'm
pressions are lasting. Our locker room
equipment needs attention and as fast
as possible we should replace the
old wooden lockers with steel ones.
Our shower bath system will probably
need some overhauling that the best
possible results may be secured, for a
good bath system is one of our best
assets. 1t Is hoped that the
money raising campaign will make 1t
possible for the committee to meet the
above requirements.
Our Appreciation.
To every individual and firm who
has contributed financially to the sup
port of our work the past year we ex-
press sincere thanks and trust they
will be satisfied with the results made
possible by their gifts. We deeply ap-
preciate every assistance during the
year from whatever source and espe-
ciaily are we grateful for the cooper