The monitor., 1928-01-13
South Side Social Settlement
Submits Its Annual Report

The Social Settlement Association,
which conducts centers at Thirty
first ard @ streets and Twenty-ninth
and r streets, South Side, has just
issued its twentieth annual report,
which discloses many interesting facts
and reveals vast deal of character
building work.
The Social Settlement seeks to
serve its neighborhood through two
centers in an elastic and constantly
varied program of organized activi-
ties, cooperation with others, and
neighborliness. 1t seeks to bring peo-
pie of different backgrounds into full
er understanding by offering oppor-
tunities for association and the dis
covery of new and common interests.
The report discloses that within
one-half mile radius of the settlement
are four packing plants, employing a
minimum of 5000 people; stock
yards, second largest in the United
States; 29 soft drink parlors and pool
rooms; one public school; three pa
rochial schools; five white churches; !;
eight Negro churches; one small ball
park; no public playground or gym
nasium; one night school, financed
by women's organizations; one citi-
zenship class at Armour's packing
plant, conducted by Y. M. C. A; 81
foreign nationalities, and 1000 Ne
roes.
Organized activities, including toy
making, cabinet-making, carving, 9TH
er handicrafts, mechanical drawing,
sewing, dressmaking, cooking, folk
dancing, music, dramatics and others
too numerous to mention here, are
carried on by both paid and volun-
teer workers, both at the Settlement
House, for whites and foreigners, and
at the Colored Cultural Center.
1t would be interesting to quote
full statistics of work done at both
centers, did space permit, but all that
can be done is to give few from the
Cultural Center, where CTS organized
sessions have been held with an at
tendance of more than 5000, and an
attendance of over 5000 on the play
ground.
The head worker of the Settlement
is Miss Helen W. Gauss, who has as
her director of activities at the Set
tlement House, Miss Helen Mussle,
and of the Cultural Center, Mrs. NJ.
l.. Rhone.
The following, taken in full from
Miss Gauss report, tells of the work
at the Cultural Center:
Turning to the work of this Cen
ter (the CulturaD we find it hard to
believe that only 16 months ago was
the house opened-so great has been
the record of growth and achieve
ment since that time. The Center's
activities have fully justified the
hopes of the Colored Parent-Teachers
Association and their president, Mrs.
Busch, who first asked for it, and
whose long, untiring efforts in CO.
operation with the Settlement, the
city commissioners and others, finally
achieved it. From the beginning it
was a community enterprise and it
continues TO be so. At first it was
only the few who saw its possibilities
who saw that such an opportunity
for Negro initiative along lines of
race progress, was to be desired.
Many stood off and criticized.
"But steadily the work has moved
on, growing stronger month by month
steadily drawing into fuller sense
of their common interests and needs
a large part of South 0maha's col
ored group. This is group rich in
religious spirit. There are eight
churches active, of several denomina-
tions. The great lack heretofore has
been some binding force, some nom
UNCONVENTIONAL, practical program
for community welfare on which all
groups could unite.
"Since the Center has been organ
lied, it is supplying this program,
as far as four small club rooms and
two small Fairgrounds will permit.
Following the lead of the churches,
working with them at every point
possible, its workers are striving to
build up spirit of active commun-
ity service among both old and
young, and succeeding to surpris-
ing degree. This spirit of goodwill
was notably manifest last month on
two separate occasions when large
number of adults came together.
"The first meeting was one which