The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1920-07-16
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their communities for recreational. gymnastic,
athletic, social and welfare work. and often for
POLITICAL cooperative business, and religious WORK
Among the specific economic of the buildings,
for instance, canning demonstrations poss
and girls club work, domestic science, agricui-
tural society meetings, fairs, cafes. cafeteras
farmers Institutes and cooperative purcnasihs
and marketing activities. Among the educatohai
and recreational uses are lectures, moving p,e
tures night schools. entertainments, blaras
pool. bowling, table games, reading room' anu
library.
The Matinecock neighborhood house. Locust
Valley Long Island, New York, is an excellent ex-
ample of the way in which community buildings
come into existence and managed
About eight years ago boy came to the sec
retary of the Matinecock Neghborhood associ-
alton and asked him to start boys club, saying
there was no place for the boys to go for a good
time except to the saloons or to the nelgnDoflhg
town with its questionable amusements. Inc sec
retary, who had but recently arrived, made
survey of the situation. He found that through
economic changes, farming was gradually being
given up and the section was becoming resi-
Dental The population was shifting, and
nefghborhood spirit and community recreation
at low eDD.
He found also that there was in the village
a private unsupervised young mems athletic club
which met in a blacksmiths shop Being man
of vision, he determined to make this club
nucleus of a general system of supervised recre-
ation for the village with community house as
a center
He persuaded the athletic club to sign petition
for the Neiphborhood association to take them
in as members on payment of the regular dues,
81 per year. and then to commission them as
recreation department to furnish recreation for
the whole community. The association complied
nd annointed an executive committee, composed
of two of its directors and five young men, to
have charge of the arrangements. Twenty-Five
bovs were appointed committees in order to
give them Il share in the constructive work.
xypr
harm which was fitted up through general
tributions, including a graphophone piano. pool
table stoves, dishes, an indoor baseball outht.
S137 in cash and subscriptions for many maga-
zines Boy scouts and band were soon organ
;zad and other organizations formed.
AS result, it was soon found that l4S young
men were governing themselves, financing their
own enterprise through various entertainments
and providing social opportunities and athletics
for their fathers, mothers brothers. and sisters
At the same time they were members of the Neigh
borhood association, with votes on all questions
pertaining to it.
The barn soon became too small for these va
rious activities. This brought to the front ques-
,ion which had been under consideration for some
time-the erection of community building. 1t
was finally decided that a building should be
erected which would be the headquarters of the
Neiphborhood association with its membership of
300 men and women, representing 235 families
together with its boys recreation department, and
also be a general social center.
The completed building, together with the land
renresents an outlay of $4,000 The community
nature of the work in the raising of funds and
the method of construction is Indicated by the
fact that the land. the labor of 40 members and
contributions from 90 per cent of the families in
the village were all donated.
The building is situated rise of ground
in grove of trees and comprises one story and
a basement. The auditorium be made to seat
500 people, and especially designed for mo-
tion-pcture exhibitions, for dances and for bas-