Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-25
D. c. CIVIC CENTERS
RECORD BUSY YEAR
More Than $4,000 Persons
Attend Activities of Com
munity Department.

Three hundred and fffty-six thou
sand five hundred and saventy.nine
persons, of whom two-thirds were
adults and the other third equally
divided between youth and children,
attended the many and varied activ-
tiles in the city's % community cen
ters in the year just past, closing June
So according to Miss Sibyl Baker
director of the Community Center De
partment. who held her first confer
ence with the community secretaries
Yesterday morning at the Franklin
Administration Building. when plans
were discussed for the formal open
ing and activities for the Winter. sea
SON beginning October l.
Since The end of June last, an
additional $4,000 persons have taken
advantage of the various athletic
facilities, including swimming pools
and tennis courts, running tracks and
base ball fields, as we'll as band con
certs and community dances offered
during the months of July and August
in three major centers, Central. East
Washington and Dunbar. At Dunbar,
the Summer activities were conducted
by the Community Center Depart
ment, assisted by physical training
teachers of the vacation schools.
Civic Celebrations.
In addition to this splendid attend
ance at the actual school centers, the
Community Center Department has
had charge of. or has assisted in,
practically all big outdoor civic cele-
brations in the past year, with ali
estimated attendance of 100000 per
mas tree, Flag day exercises and In
dependence day celebration on the
Capitol steps This year marks the
greatest total attendance in the his
tory of the Community Center De-
partment, which will i'm Novcmher
celebrate it's tenth birthday ami
verSary.
Established in 1917. the department
is charged with the general conduct
and control Of all activities for which
the use of school facilities is granted.
Under the administration of Mrs.
Cecil Norton Broy. the department
passed through the stage of expert
ment and it's function in the civic and
recreational program of the District
of Columbia was determined. In July.
1926. Mrs. Broy resigned, and Miss
Sibyl Baker became director.
Today Washington Is making con-
slant and increasing use of its school
buildings for many and various ac-
tivities, social, recreational, civic and
educa tional, and with the opening of
new buildings with modern equipment
in auditoriums and gymnasiums the
scope OF it's responsibility will con-
stantly increase. Of the % buildings
used as centers in the past year IA
have been designated as established
centers and as experimental or rec
reational centers. New experimental
centers have been conducted at the
request and expense of their COM
munities at Curtis-Hyde and Western
High School buildings, designated as
Georgetown Center" at Columbia
Junior High School building, desig-
mated as Mid-City Center, and at
Powell Junior High. designated as
Mount Pleasant Center. In addition
the department has co-operated with
the music department of the public
schools in the conduct of community
instrumental music classes in 80
school buildings.
360 Active Groups.
No less than 500 active groups have
met regularly in the various centers
during the year, including dramatic
classes and clubs, musical organiza'
tons. social clubs, athletic teams,
dancing classes, groups studying
languages. handwork, home econom-
les public speaking. games and story
telling. Boy and Girl Scouts, civic
groups and others. The centers nave
held their own weekly or monthly
neighborhood meetings at which the
programs have included motion PIC
lures, lectures. dramatic productions
and music. Citizens and Parent
Teacher Associations, womens clun
and other permanent units meet regu
| larly in many centers. :,
PHYSICAL activities were especially
stressed last year, beginning WIN
| the Summer use of pools, tennis
| courts. base ball fields and running
tracks, and continuing throughout
| the Winter months when the bulld :
ings were used to capacity .py gym a
| groups drill teams. game groups ana
| basket ball teams. An outstanding
| feature of last Winter was the insti
tuition of the Community Center
Basket Ball League. in which teams
| using gvmnasums at Central, East
| Washington, Columbia Heights and
| Southeast Centers competed Tor
| trophies, to be held for one year by
the winners, and after three success
| sive wears to be held permanently
| Columbia Heights Citizens Associa-
ton and Maj Julius Peyser present.
ed group trophies and d. G. Grain
gave individual trophies.
Among the many services offered
bv this department to the people OF
Washington are included large
wardrobe Of historical costumes and
a library of slides, available to
| school church and community
| groups, as we'll as the personal ,serv-
| ice of the director and the com
| munity secretaries to groups seeking
advice in the planning of pageants
PARTIES. dramatic entertainments and
neighborhood meetings.
Personnel of Department.
The personnel Of the department in.
cludes: Director, Sibyl Baker; general
secretaries, L. w. Hardy and Ga
brielle Pelham; community secretaries,
Marie Moore Forrest for drama and
pageantry section, Bess Davis Schrei'
ner for information section, Mabel G.
Swormstedt for Community Institute
Edith II. Hunter for Central and
Business High Centers, Ida f. Kebler
for Columbia Heights Center, L. w.
Hardy, assisted by e. SCOTT, at East
| Washington Center; W.@P. Lane at
E. ". Brown, M. p, Burklin at Park
View, M. w. Davis sat Southeast and
Mid City, A. C. Driscoll at Thomson
and assisted by M. F. Rands at
| CaorCatomp r w RI1rr voliIptaer