New Britain herald., 1928-09-29
BOYS ClUBLEADER
 ENDS FIFTH YEAR
Dwight SkinlG Builds Up Or elniuioa to OIG 90 Members

The character Of the Boys club has undergone @ complete change during the superintendency of Dwight Skinner. who Is completing his fifth year at the helm of the organization this weekend. When Mir. Skinner took over his position on October l, 1923. the Boys club was little more than a gang head quarters for the older boys and a place where the younger ones could be safe from speeding auto- mobiles. Now it is carrying out suc- cessfully a definite program of char acter building, physical develop ment. and manual or vocational training and is setting them firmly on the road to good citizenship.
 Mir. Skinner had had previous ex- perience at handling boys and men. For several years he had served as scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop and he was the first scout executive of the New Britain council. leaving that position to enter the army for service in the World war. During this war he was signalling in- structor. being demobilized with the rank of sergeant. At present he is a captain in the reserve. He was employed at the Stanley W0ks when he was appointed superin- tendent of the club.
 When Mir. Skinner assumed charge of the Boys club he found conditions which were not short of chaotic. The club had been closed for several months and there were no reliable records of membership or methods of routine. The club lad been under the sway of the oldest boys in its membership. These had formed number of basketball teams which played games lon their own" and tied up the gymnasium so completely that the smaller young sters were practically deprived of the use Of this fine portion of the building.
 Undesirable Element Goes
 The new superintendent changes this state Of affairs completely. In the first place, he abolished all the existing teams, which were semi Independent, and formed one team which represented the club and played under the name of the organization. Then schedules for the use of the gym were drawn up and the younger boys were given as much time on it's surface as the older. This cutting of their abused privileges" cost the club many of its oldest members, but Mir. Skin- ner was glad to sec most of them go, as they tended to be a disturb ing element and to combat his dis cipline.
 Discipline became the prime aim Of Mir. Skinner. When he first as- sumed his position the boys were rough. noisy, and careless of the property. but by patient work he soon began to tame them and now they are one of the best groups in the city. Outsiders have been amazed, when present at mo- ton picture shows or other enter tainments which fill the club gym with hundreds of boys, to find that one blast of the superintendent whistle is all that is needed to bring every boy in the place to ab- solute quiet. This has been done largely by taking advantage of the boys own nervous energy and de- sire to do things, as Mir. Skinner will not pay attention to 8 boy who is not polite nor allow any group to carry on any activities until it Is orderly. The boys soon realize that there is but one way to do what they want.
 Fewer Suspensions
 The change is shown by the de- crease in number of suspensions. During the first year of Mir. skin- ner's superintendency he found it necessary to suspend a great many boys. but this number has decreased as the boys were being trained. and during the past two years there have been almost no suspensions. Mir. Skinner now has many boys who have been with him for five years and have grown up with the club. and these form a leavening group which tends to quiet any riotou newcomers.
 The boys have been made to see that the club building is their build ing, and they do a great deal of the work of keeping 1t in Ahape. There probably is not another boys build- ing in the city which is as we'll kept. all corners being free of pa- pers and not single marking be- ing found on the walls anywhere. The boys have been educated to re- port immediately if they break any thing, as they are not disciplined if they do report such things but do receive disciplining if they try to hide what they have done.
 The club dues have been reduced considerably during MT. Skinner's administration, and from 25 cents a month they have been cut on a slid ing scale 50 that, whereas the seniors pay S2.5o a year, the young ''7t oosc pay SaAy tNIi NCIto lOI tAt CS sum they can better af- ford. Some boys are unable to meet even these dues, and they are aI- lowed to work out their member ship by doing odd jobs.
 Membership Passes 800 Mark
 The club membership has almost doubled during the five years. going from between 400 and 500 to a to- tai of we'll over 800 last year, while the outlook for the present season is for further increase. This num- Der is taxing the facilities of the present buildings. and Mir. Skinner has for years been conducting a quiet campaign for enlarged quar- ters. He has received assurances from the directors that they vii do whatever they can in this regard as soon as possible. while start to-