The Mount Holly news., 1919-11-18
WAR CAMP COMMUNITY SERVICE
NOTES.

The boys are beginning to talk
about Thanksgiving. They all remem-
ber the home Thanksgiving. Who
will share the hospitality with some
of these boys far from their own
homes? There are lads in the hos
pital who particularly would be bene-
flied by a touch of home life. Mr..
Wellman will be glad to know of any
who will entertain one or two boys
on Thanksgiving day.
A great deal of interest is being
shown all over the country in COM
munity or group singing. For in
stance in New York one song leader
has organized three large Choral So
cieties." One of them is composed en-
tirely of Chinese, Japanese, Italians,
Greeks, Spanish and Swedes. Mr..
Owen, the leader, remarks "It is in
tensely interesting to keep them all
understanding" which one can readily
appreciate! Mr.. Lundell, who for
months was at Camp Dix, is now in
the city of Lawrence, Mass, and
writes that singing has become the
chief feature of the large Lawrence
boys club and also the girls club. In
one of the large manufacturing cities
of Massachusetts the song leader not
only conducts a singing period in the
meetings of the Chamber of Com
merce, Women's Business Association,
Rotary and other clubs, but these
clubs themselves are having song
leaders trained for their own future
use. Leader Gunther, also of New
York city has so interested Italians
and Americans in singing that
through the request of the latter the
Italians translated some of their pa
triotic songs so they might be sung in
English. At the Georgia State Amer
lean Legion convention, as well as at
the Virginia State convention, twenty
was given to hearty mass
singing In Bridgeport, Conn, which
is very active in community service,
there was recently formed by the
song leader local Oratorio Society
with five hundred singing members.
One of the best features of all this
singing is that the leaders are en-
deavoring to develop musical appreci-
alton. Theodore Thomas said "popu-
lar music is only familiar music" so
the effort is to make good music ia
miliar and therefore popular. The
grouping Of songs used is instructive:
l. Our Patriotic Songs.
2. Folk Songs and Standard Bal
lads.
8. Grand Opera Excerpts.
A. Popular Ballads.
5. Close harmony songs for men.
6. Revival of Old Popular Songs.
7. Standard Camp Songs.
8. Operetta or Musical Comedy
Songs.
Another interesting development of
community interest is the community
house. At the close of the
civil war the popular memorial was
the statue, many of which became use
less and eye-sores. The present spirit
is to erect living memorials which will
be of constant use and beautiful to
observe. In Bridgeport again Glib
erty Memorial Building" at the cost of
100000 is to be erected, having a
large auditorium, hall of fame,
rooms for civic committee meeting,
research work, popular lectures, etc.
In Leavenworth, Kansas, a memorial
high school will be the permanent liv-
ing reminder of the boys who fought
in the war. Detroit is to erect one
memorial building as nurses home.
Michigan has IA of these memorial
community buildings, Kansas 13.
Some towns in Iowa are erecting COM
munity buildings by voluntary taxa
ton. Savannah, Georgia, is erecting
a memorial hospital. Literally hun
dreds of American communities have
written the offices of the Bureau of
Memorial Buildings, New York City.
their determination to put up this
kind of memorial to the war veter-
ans. What an improvement on the
old way of remembering the soldier
The Wednesday evening community
dance will be presumably for mem
bers of the 57th Infantry who have
just arrived from Camp Pike. Nj.
Wellman has made the invitation
through Chaplain Darley. Captain
Rice of the 45th Infantry, who is well
known in Mount Holly and has heen