The Union County journal. [volume] (Marysville, Ohio) 1875-1951, 1949-09-08


to be about, and on behalf of
Marysville's school children, es-
pecially the small fry. Part of il
will be more or less personal, be-
cause it is the easiest way to tell
the story. Will you please, there
for pardon use of the the first
person from time to time?
II wish it was Tuesday," Tom
my said last evening when he
came home from school.
Tommy is heir No. to the
Gaumer fortunes, and he started
to school Tuesday together with
as other little boys and girls in
the first grade of the West build
ing.
why Tuesday, Tommy" l ask
ed him.
That's the day we can play on
the slide and swings at recess" he
replied.
Further questioning brought
out the fact that use of the one
slide and six Count 'em-6)
swings is rationed among the
grades, each class having them
one day a week. And on the day
his class gets them, each child is
allowed to swing so many times
and slide so-rnany times.
Then why don't you do some
thing else during recess" was the
next question.
We'll, Daddy" Tommy answer
ed, "the Older boys played base
ball and the little boys were all
fighting, and | can't play base
ball and | didn't want to fight, so
all | could do was stand and
watch"
Which is deplorable state of
affairs-not that Tommy was
standing around instead of join
ing the play" but that the
schools provide no more facilities
than they do for the little ones.
One swing and six slides, in
deed! And there are Al children
in the first grade alone!
The fact that Tommy is in
school for the first time is only
indirectly responsible for this sud-
den interest in the grade schools
recreational facilities; it's the
first time ! was aware of the sit
uation.
1t is sad commentary that
schools the size of Marysville
can't do better than that. Lest |
be accused of sounding off" pre-
maturely, let me hasten to add
that | have not talked to any
school officials about the situa-
ton.
Perhaps there is some fool law
prevents a Board of Education
from providing playground facil-
tiles (although there are plenty
of gim-crackS and fol-de-rols that
the Board does put up the dough
for) but at least the Board could
some sort of recess, or
playground supervision so there
would be something else for the
little boys to do besides "all of
them fighting"
Maybe, again, I'm sounding
off" too soon; perhaps, after
classes are organized and school
is really under way, the teachers
will supervise recess activities
with organized play and games to
provide something for adj child
rem.
But regardless of what kind
of games and activities can be
provided for the kiddies, under
supervision, they still like the
slide and swings.
For the benefit of the un-
enlightened, that one, lone slide
and the six swings have been on
the West building playground far
longer than most present officials
of the school have lived here.
They were provided in the sum-
mer of 1922 by Y. M. c. A.
chapter which was organized here.
For q years, that one, lone
slide and those six swings have
been doing yeoman service. It's
about time they have some COM
pany.
Here's a grin which comes
from the opening day of school:
The first and second graders
were leaving the building to-
gether, and one little second
grader was overheard saying to
another:
Aren't those little first graders
cute?"
-Rnxa naI,,..-