The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-05-02
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Organized Play.

and as soon as community center
activities are running smoothly Tia
imported helpers 90 on to other
work.
A different plan has to be worked
out for each city or town. No tvo
cities have exactly the same inter.
ests, or the same amount of money
to put into recreation, or the sams
facilities.
In Chicago, the local community
service is particularly concerped
with promoting organized pl,y
among the stock yard workers
Play where adults are concernd
means, Of course, baseball. dancing
athletics, singing and contests Of
various kinds.
Flint. Mich. is interested in
pageantry. Richmond, Va. il
working especially with roped-os
street play. and play grounds for
children. In Connorsville, Ind
community sports have developeS
from the use Of q vacant lot, when,
the men pitched horseshoes in the
evening, into three we'll established
community centers. Lowell, Mass
specializes in girls athletic clubs
and Wilmington, Del, IL tryins
community recreation to promo,e
good citizenship among foreigner,
Altogether 230 communities ara
organized under the community
service. One hundred thirty Of
them are operating without assist
ance from the New York headauar-
tiers. They have budgets, are work.
ing on definite programs. and have
some one in charge of the commun.
ity recreation all the year round.
Trained Workers Needed.
A large part Of the success Of
community play depends on the
workers in charge. The community
secretary or the specialist in some
phase of recreation is a new and
rather composite type. He or she
! is somewhat like the settlement
| worker. Settlement work is COM
munity work, in limited field.
whereas the community secretary
+, is municipal employe who serves
everybody. The community secre-
tary needs perhaps greater
amount of pep and sociability than
the more serious social welfare
worker. He must also have an
abundance of initiative. executive
ability, and versatility. Unless the
local community service is COM
pletely organized with pageant and
athletic directors, song leader,
and other specialists, the commun-
ity secretary must organize and
direct such activities, as well as
chaperone dances, arrange classes
in sewing, swimming, or whatever
the community center wants to
learn and find teachers for them.
And finally, he must be on hand ct
all times to "see to things
Men and women with these d.
verse qualifications are not SO
scarce as might be supposed. The
war canteens and huts developed
social experts by the hundred And
besides these are some girls who
would ordinarily have become
school teachers who are looking to-
wards community service as an
alternative for the person with
executive ability, who likes deal
ing with people. and wants to do
something useful.
Training workers for community
service is a new field which the
New York headquarters of the com.
munity service is entering. A
short course has just been given
here in Washington. Another is tc
be given in Chicago in May, and
later there will be session in Sar
Francisco. These courses do mo-
attempt to give complete training
for directing a community service
organization. The school held II
Washington lasted only two week
and had as students only men ant
women who were already engaged
in community work or who had eI
perience in directing playground
work or some other recreationa
; feature.
When there is skillful supe1vis
ion at a community center and thu
right chord is struck to interest thu
. people. remarkable results are be
ing recorded. Merely as mattel
Of interest, we inquired o
James E. Rogers, who conducted
the training school here, which
communities have a model organi
. zation. He replied that no com
. munity is spending enough. or cal
spend enough, on recreation Il
, meet ali the needs that exist.