The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-03-19
Fathers and Sons Attend
Banquet Last Night
TALK BY ALLAN HoBEN
- a.
Splendid Affair Was Held at the
Y. NJ. c. A. Building;
Fine Music

nual Y. NJ. c. A. Father Son ban.
quet, dads saw the problems of the
boy and saw the need of being a
companion and playmate for the
younGster while son saw the need
for taking dad farther into his con i.
fldence. of malsiag him real fel.
low" telling nm all troubles and
confiding Witt jim over all the rough
paths of life
More than $50 fathers and sons
were seated about the banquet board
at the dinner last evening. The Y.
NJ. c.. A. gynn was filed TO over
flowing and il was necessary to seat
part of those present in the Y. read
ing rooms, where tables had been
arranged for the purpose. Excellent
music was furnished during the ban
Quet by the Sandon orchestra and
curing the evening the Orpheus quar-
tette, composed of Joseph Kendall,
Hosea Harmer, Glenn Shoemaker
and T.. p Kelly sang several selec-
tionS which were received with great
the gathering with a vocal solo.
Community singing was led by Mrs.
II. a. Patterson, Mrs. Wilbur Tay-
Tor playing the accompaniment.
Beautiful Decorations Arranged.
Beautiful decorations, had been ar
ranged in the gymnasium: for the oc-
caSion, flags of all nations having
been draped from the ceiling well
down below the balcony floor. This
work was in charge of Wally Ander-
son. Blooming. dollhouse plants were
arranged at intervals on all of the
banquet tables. These wer" gener-
ously donated for the occasion by
Neil Nielsen, florist.
Boy Nearer TO Nature.
"The boy is nearer TO nature than
we dads are" said DIR. Allan Hoben
of Carleton college. Mortified. in his
address on Biology and Boy Nature.
Or, Hohen sketcher the humorous
side of boy life. yet drove home with
forceful illustration those traits which
are so common to the youngster and
which every dad must understand TO
be a true pal of the boy.
Boys desire for excitement, the
speaker explained was only the ma
tural impulse of the race. 1t was an
Cutcropping of the same feeling. he
explained, which a father feels when
he attends a boxing or wrestling
match or IL football game. ~
For three reasons, the speaker
said. eighty percent of the boys. at
the age of ten or eleven years form
gangs, societies or band together in
some manner. This he explained is
done for three reasons, in the first
rlace 20 play organized games, where
they neei a number, and in the second
place because a boy wants exclusive
male associates.
Would Be a Boy.
"He wants TO tell all the world that
he's a boy. He wants 10 impress the
fact that he comes most distinctly
from the male side of the species and
that he can't be confused for any
thing feminine. At that age he is
bv no means ladies man. Why. al
that age he fairly despises anything
feminine said DIR. Hoben, amid
roars of laughter.
The third reason. he humorously
ASSERTED was that the boy banded to-
:-ether for personal safety. He recall
ed the instances OF boyhood days
where one gang was always at
swords points with the other.
1T is case OF safety first. The
gang always Siriks together, or II
they don't perhaps you ruefully re
member The time you were caught in
the eneny's territory alone and sin
gle handed.
DR.. Hoben urged that boy be al
lowed TO have his fun at this age. to
enjoy his dugout, shackS or cave al
home, in his own yard preferably.
Don't Make Johnnie "Dear Boy"
cut out the attempt to make
Johnnie a dear. blessed little thing
AT this age" said DIR. Hoben. Let him
have his cave or shack at home and
Won NAV be an honorary member oil
The gang-if you are big enough
and let me tell you there are a good
many dads who are not big enough
10 belong to such a gang, even in the
eyes of their own son."
At this age, the speaker said. the
Y. NJ. c. A.; the Boy Scouts and
other such movements can do much
10 absorb the activity and properly
direct the interests of the boy,
.Jf society Gaal'i CeabSorb the boy
at seventeen or eighteen years ol
age. can break ,up. the gaDg.- We will
have peaceful communities but IL they
cannot YOU HAYES young criminals. on
yonr hands .>. -.
DR.. Hobcn related some OF his ex
perienccS with gangs of young out
laws in Chicago.
Turning 10 the traits of the young
or boy he referred to the love of the
average boy for water.
81 mean water in the large natu n
state" he explained" not small
amounts of water combined with a
liberal supply of soap, no boy loves
that
This desire Of boys TO take to the
woods where there is stream OF
lake. he said, is the call of the prirll
tive in man, the call to which he
responded for over 5000 yearsy Love