The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1918-09-07
LESTER PARKS VANDALS
WRECK OLD SCHOOL, HOUSE
Destructive Boys Smash Up Public Property and
Play Senseless Franks Citizens Criticise
Attitude Of Mounted Policeman.

IL SOhO WAOOhAAS SoACSAA ooSS
not tackle the old Lester Park
school very soon, the taxpayers
out there gravely> fear that the
bad boys in the neighborhood will
beat the regular wreckers to it..
These same citizens and tax
payers further believe that if the
generous old city of Duluth has
any notion of using the old school
building for library purposes, the
quicker the doors are kept locked
and the young vandals curbed,
the better it will be for the public
treasury, as we'll as for the branch
library.
The transfer of teachers and
pupils from the old to the new
school house at Lester Park hardly
had been effected before young
rowdies began to invade the old
building and to rip it to pieces.
On the very start, all the base
ment windows. were broken out.
When that bit Of vandalism was
reported to the board Of educa-
ton, some of the directors COM
placently said, "Oh, boys will be
boys" but it was ordered that the
glaring gaps in the basement be
boarded up.
|. Some weeks ago, the old build
| ing was sold to the city for branch
library purposes. If Andy Carne-
gle can be hypnotized into subsi-
dizing a branch library at Lester
Park, perhaps this frame building
will be torn down and one OF
mosaic brick and costly stone
erected in it's place. But if Sir
Andrew has become penurious be-
cause of the big world war, prob
ably the cultured people at Lake.
side and Lester Park will have to
rest content with the very roomy
and substantial frame building
for library purposes.
At present, all this seems to be
more or less up to Mayor Magney
and Sir Andrew.
After the boyish vandals had
eliminated all the glass from base
ment windows, they began on the
inside A cap from off the newell
| post Of the hardwood staircase
was torn off, thrown around like
a big German hand grenade and
finally landed in the door yard of
a nearby citizen.
Then, in due course, the very
original and humorous stunt of
locking the recreational directress
J in the building was pulled off
After decoying her into the va.
cant structure and locking the
doris, the boys ran away and a
lady who was attracted by the
recreational cry of distress went
over and effected her release
Even recreational leader John
Marshall was locked up twice.
On other historic occasions, dogs
were inveigled into the cherries
edifce and left there to suffer and
make night hideous with their
yelps of distress and rambling
about, like four-legged ghosts.
Little children have been locked
in several times, as we'll.
Some Of the inventive young
fiends then hit upon the startling
stunt Of tearing off yards Of soft
toilet paper, touching a match to
it and then throwing it out of the
upper story windows, to 60 sailing
through space like the tail of a
meteor and endangering the ada
cent properties, to say nothing of
the abandoned temple OF learn
ing. On occasion they have made
night hideous until l a. m.
The young toughs seemed as
lazy as destructive, for they freely
and frequently have used the
stair steps and hardwood floors of
various rooms in responding to
heavy calls Of nature:
When the blackboards were
taken out, the janitor forgot to
sweep pieces of plaster and NOR
tar from the highly polished hard
wood floors. The registering
boys, dogs and the careless work
men have tramped on the mortar
until it is all over the floors and
well ground into some Of them,
| greatly to their damage. Those
hardwood floors were the pride
Of Lester Park patrons of the
schools and those of a sentimental
turn, as well as those believing in
practical conservation, almost
weep when they view the sad
| wrnck