The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-04-28
CHAUTAUQUA ORGANIZED
Fine Address by Chaplain Coleman
enjoyed-Big Treat In Store Tor
People of County.

the Coit-Alber Chautauqua company,
gave most helpful lecture Monday
evening at the library building, up
on Community Building" The lee
ture preceded a talk upon the pro-
gram of the Chautauqua, mention of
which is made in another column.
The meeting was not as largely at
tended at it merited. Miss Gladys
Reineke, pianist, and Cecil Rhodes,
violinist, furnished music for the oc-
| casion.
At the suggestion of Mr.. Coleman
committee was appointed to nomi-
nate officers for the Owosso Chau-
tauqua association, and report, to a
| meeting Of the signers of the guar
antee, to be held following the Tues
day luncheon of the Improvement as
sociation. In harmony with the sug-
gestion a committee was appointed,
and the following officers were nom
mated and elected:
President. l.. Conn.
Vice President--H. Kirk White.
Secretary-E. o. Dewey.
Treasurer-A. d. Whipple.
The officers will appoint the vari-
Gus committees of the association.
The lecture, or more strictly speak
ing, the portion of his regular lee
ture which Mr.. Coleman gave upon
Community Building" was a strong
plea for the retaining in our present
day civilization of the old home life,
which is being crowded out by the
commercial spirit. The tendency of
the age is for the larger cities to be-
come larger and more crowded at the
expense of the smaller communities.
That portion of Mr.. Coleman's ad-
dress which had more of a local ap
plication follows:
six hundred towns in Pennsyl
vania have gone back in the last ten
years. Four hundred towns in the
state of Ohio have gone back in the
last ten years. If we are going to
build these communities in order to
hold the life of our people we must
have something bigger than factor
les, bigger than money, bigger than
finer sentiments.
Your town has factories and you
still have an opportunity to subserve
those things to make your town
worth while in the development of
community life.
GAS / look about your town, you
have an ideal opportunity right be-
fore you. For a stranger to come
and advise seems to be presumption,
but / have found in living in towns
and travelling from town to town,
and have come to believe that some
able to see what to you, growing up
with the situation, seems to be COM
monplace. What l mean by your op-
portunity is this. l came here and
looked at your armory and as l look
at it / feel that if you miss the op-
portunity Of getting that plot of land
surrounding the armory for breath
ing space or park so as to have an
opportunity for community center.
If you miss it now, | consider it to
be a crime against the development
of your city. Don't miss it.
/ had the privilege to get out and
see your other opportunities for
parks. When l look at that wonder
full grove, near the Emerson school
which | believe belongs to the Will
liams, feel somebody had more than
the commercial spirit that left that
our trees, but somebody has kept
that. When those old folks are gone
or when the commercial spirit shuts
down. that grove will be cut down
and cut up into lots; pretty soon, if
you don't watch it. You have a
chance now that will not be here five
CT ten years from now.
81 believe | say the truth when l
say you folks have splendid oppor-
tunity now to do something for your
town. Don't talk about the taxes
getting In the way. I had rather put
money into school houses and into
parks, ! had. rather put millions into
these things for the development Of
Americans than do anything else for
them that know about. While you
are at work building parks and while
you are at work conserving the
things that make beauty for your
town, it is evident you are building
up your home life, and IL you give
breathing space in your town, 1t
means you are going to have breath
ing space in your home lives.
Don't miss your opportunity. 1t
is bigger than any words OF mine
can tell Don't lose heart in it; don't
feel it isn't worth while; don't get
discouraged for there are just a few
people in a community that must
build this sort of thing"
The members of the Owosso High