Evening star., 1936-04-26
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.


L neighborhood dumping ground,
the fame of whose beauty and USE
fulness in character building has gone
forth throughout the educational
world. A picture of pupils about Its
rock garden and pool Is used on the
official stationary of the School Gar
den Association of America. A scrap
book showing the progress of last
years gardening work was chosen to be
sent to the National Educational As
sociation's convention in Denver III
1885. This garden is operated in con.
nection with the Wheatley School
situated at Montello avenue and Neale
street northeast.
Within a nearby radius are busy
commercial streets and business plants
concerned with those activities which
have to do with supplying the needs
of our city. Here, are paintings OF
trees, flowers, Towering shrubs and
individual garden plots, here vege-
tables take on new meanings. AS a
result of their school-grown veg
etables many Wheatley pupils enjoy
eating their fill of once despised gar
den greens.
Miss Florence Mortimer, the admin
istrative principal of the Wheatley
School, under whose leadership this
project has come into being since she
came to her present position. will .el
you that what has been achieved is
a neighborhood activity. 1T was made
possible" she goes on to say, "only
because of the cooperation Of Mrs
Walter Jones, president Of the local
Parent-Teachers' Association Of ths
District Of Columbia and OF a far
flung constituency of friends. juvenile
and adult, who were so wonderful
about giving us helping hand"
AS Miss Mortimer is of a family
that has specialized in Army officers
we rather suspect bit of their gener-
alship has come down to this feminine
| descendant.
Each year the Wheat!ey School;
garden program gets off to running
start with garden assembly, featur-
ing the formal opening of its garder
season. Prayer, a flag-raising, gar
den songs, Bible readings from Solo
mons odes to the Spring, the dance
of little children as Spring flowers
| the announcement of garden prize.
offered by the Parent Teachers Asso
citation and the showing of cclorec
lantern slides demonstrating wha
small gardeners of the past hav,
achieved are features Of this event
which is attended by neighborhoot
parents and friends.
Current Season Under Way.
Friday, April %, was the Wheatle,
gardens getaway for the season O
1886. Each school had part in tn,
program, furnishing one number o
such uniform excellence that ther,
was no standard of comparison. Hav,
you. I wonder. forgotten the beaut!
and dignity of the second song o
Solomon? If so, refresh your sou
as I did when I heard again this cen
tury-old Biblical chant concernin,
the presence of Spring among us
which begins: For 10, the Wintel
is past, the rain is over and gone
the flowers appear on the earth: tn,
time of the singing of birds is come.
The contrast of today with tina
Spring seven years ago when purpose
enthusiasm and concerted effort be
gan the first steps toward today
garden can scarcely be invisioned
| M fnrdc
source for clearing the ground anC
putting it into shape. The level ther
was at least feet below that of thu
prevailing grade. Old bed springs
abandoned baby carriages, oil cans
useless stoves and whatnot had tt
| be carted away to the extent of II
truck loads. Drivers Of trucks in.
duced their owners to help with ane
! for the cause, which they did. right
nobly. A committee of mothers
waited upon the Sears, Roebuck Co.
then excavating for their present
Washington store Would they dump
on the Wheatley garden plot instead
of in Benning? The contractor wa!
willing, but there was the matter O.
permission from the District gov
eminent for such a procedure. ane
had they any idea that soil ex
cavated from a 30-foot level woult
ever grow anything? The mother
produced the necessary permits ant
were as delighted with every trucl
load that was dumped as If it hat
been fertile alluvia from the bank
Of the Nile.
Fathers, after their own days o
toll were over, organized shifts Il
help spread the soil and work it VI
into some sort of more or less leve
condition. The school authorities a
the Franklin then allocated the build
ing of a retaining wall at the rea
of the lot. They also induced eacf
member of the janitorial force tt
volunteer one day of service durin,
the Easter holiday time to further
the preparation of the soil for plant
ing by blending ashes with it Il
help with drainage by breaking VI
the cohesiveneSs of the sticky ella,
which was its chief constituency.
Then, the Parent Teacher Associa
ton mothers gave a benefit ant
raised enough money to provide fo
necessary fertilization and garder
seeds.
Meantime. the garden department
of the public schools, which frs
came into being because of the visior
of Mrs. James H. Alburtis, then Mis-
Susan Sipe. at the instance of Mis-
Esther Scott. her successor. assigned
a special teacher to the project. Unde
her direction, the Wheatley schoo
children made a plan for the planting
which was to be. An intersperSiol
of the useful and the beautiful, i
proved to be.
Garden Plots Allotted.
Garden plots of by IL feet eacl
were allocated to 30 boys. The girl
specialized in the planting of back
grounds of shrubs and vines, the Dor
ders of flowers between the boys vege
table plots and the perennial bed
| Preparatory Civil Service Course