Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-02
Miss Wilson's Talk.

NILES w 1lSOu 3 Lux.
Miss Wilson gave an interesting
talk on what a civic and social cen
ter should be and said she hoped when
Congress has passed the bill estab
fishing school social centers in Wash
ington she viii see the parents taking
the same active interest as the chill
dren She thought the social center
should be like big family gather
ing. with the father and mother there
as well as the boy and the girl. that
the parents can be the chaperons for
their children and act as directors of
the organization.
Mrs; Rhodes said after the meeting
that 1t was the best social center meet
ing she had ever attended: that it
was better than she ever imagined q
social center could produce. She has
Just returned from meetings of this
same character in New York and has
been Ill close touch with similar ac-
tivities throughout the country She
characterized the meeting last night
as an example for the entire United
States.
In introducing the proposition to
name the Grover Cleveland activities
for Miss Wilson, Mrs Rhodes gave a
survey of the social center movement,
and told how 1t had been decided to
name the schools in New York after
those who had done something for the
common good that should be properly
commemorated in this way and would
be constant reminder to the growing
children. She told how women had
rlghtfully laid claim to having their
sex leaders so honored, and then pre-
sented the name of Miss Wilson, whose
sympathy and cooperation have been
! OF such great help to the Washington
experimental social center
The suggestion was received with en-
thuSiaStic acclaim. and after the social
center had been thus chrstened with
{ Cll tffz
arose and bowed her acknowledgements.
Brief Talks by Leaders.
A feature of the entertainment was a
series Of brief talks by persons inter
ested in the development of the So
clal center. These We're Miss Cecil b
Norton, teacher social center leader
Miss May Libbey, outside volunteer
worker; Capt. Doyle of the eighth pre-
clnct: John Burns. representing the
fathers OF the neighborhood: JOSEPH,
Brown, representing the Boys Neigh
borhood club of Grover Cleveland
school; Irving Stewart, ex-president
of the Boys Neighborhood Club: Elsie
Kane. president of the Girls Civic Bet
terment Club: Alvin Riggles, for the
Junior Boys Club Mrs. George Mcleod,
for the young matrons of the neighbor-
hood: Col A. s. Perham. educational
director for the G. A r. and a repre-
sentative citizen of the nefghborhood,
and Mrs. Susie Root Rhodes, member
of the board of education
Capt. Doyle gave the social center of
the Grover Cleveland School credit for
doing more work than the police in
Improving conditions Of order among
the children of the neishbornood He
SAID that now no complaint book was
kept in his station in which to record
charges against the children of the
III
for such book, he said, and this is
not due to the activity of the police
so much as to the effective work done
by Miss Farley and her assistants in
the Grover Cleveland social and civic
center.
All of the speakers told of their per-
sonal observations how the center ac-
tivities have improved conditions in
the ne1ghborhood and are a powerful
influence in the building of the chill
dren's characters.
On the Program.
The program opened with old Eng
lish folk dances by group OF girls
from the center and closed with songs
by the glee club of the Boys Neiehbor-
hood Club.
The girls who participated in these
dances were: Louise Pitt Margaret
Swindler. Grace Britain. Elsie Pitt,
Elsie Kane, Colder Norton, Ethel Har-
Der. Ruth Kane, Mildred Rosenba
Marie Crafty. Ray Becker. Freda
Bites, Margaret Burns, Blanch Shep-
herd and Gertrude Miller.
The boys who formed the glee club
are: Irving Stewart. Benny Burns, An
tonic Wieman, Clement Wieman, Ben
jamin Siegel. John Umhau. Alvin Cha
ney. Allen Smalley. Willie Larcomb,
Edward Tyser. Carl Edmonston, John
Rivers, Leo Morrissey and Charles Stu
art.
The law opening the school buildings
of the District as social centers has
not yet passed Congress. so the work
done far at the Grover Cleveland
school has been merely experimental.
The board of education and Supt
Ernest J.. Thurston have allowed
this work to be carried on as
an example of what might be done if
Congress empowered the school au-
thorities to develop such activities.
Civic clubs have been formed, little
plays and festivals have been given.
classes in Industrial work have been
formed and all social center activities
closely allied with school worl, have