136 



AMERICAX FORKSTRY 



trail built by the Forest Service opens up new recreation 

 sites, which are eagerly sought. It is in this Forest that 

 the city government of Los Angeles, through its Play- 

 ground Commission, has developed a municipal play- 

 ground. After a diligent but vain search in the mountains 

 and at the beaches for a suitable place nearer the city, 

 the Commission asked for the setting ajiart of a suitable 

 tract called the Seeley Flats. 

 The purpose of the Com- 

 mission was for the use of 

 the public as a camping and 

 recreation ground for the 

 children of the city, and for 

 other jiatrons of the munici- 

 pal playgrounds. The fol- 

 lowing results were attained 

 during the first year. 



Four hundred and 

 twenty-seven children were 

 accommodated on the 

 camping grounds, each one 

 for a period of two weeks. 

 The Commission estimates 

 that next year this number 

 will be from 1200 to 1500. 



The charge for each ]:ier- 

 son taken was $7.50, which 

 included a trip from Los 

 Angeles by electric car for 

 61 miles, followed by an 

 auto stage ride of 15 miles 

 to the camp, board for two 

 weeks at the camp, and 

 the use of a tent and 

 cot during the stay, with 

 return to Los Angeles by 

 the same route. 



After the opening of the 

 schools, the tract was open 

 to the parents of the chil- 

 dren on similar terms. 



About $800 was donated 

 to the Commission by various people with which to 

 defray the expenses of such children as did not have 

 the necessary $7.50. 



During the j^ast summer the Commission expended, 

 exclusive of salaries, $4552 on this playground, pro- 

 viding, among other things, a large outdoor ])lunge, a 

 building, and a water system. Telephone connection was 

 also maintained with the city. The plans ap]3ro\-ed for 

 the coming season are quite elaborate; 25 cabins will Ije 

 constructed during the spring months, a cement ]jhtngc 

 will be built, a substantial building with kitchen, store- 

 room, and bedrooms will be constructed, and tennis and 

 croquet courts will be laid out. 



The Playground Commissioners have prox'ided three 

 instructors to teach the children all kinds of outdoor games 

 and sports. Two or three evenings each week some i)rom- 

 inent man from Los Angeles gives the children a ' ' camj)- 

 fire talk." Each morning every boy camper donates an 



Ti;. 



The sign on the left-hand wall of the canyon marks a cave on patented land in 

 the Pike National Forest. The public pays twenty-five cents to see it. If it 

 were on Government land the public would pay nothing. 



hour's service for cleaning up the camp and impro\'ing 

 the grounds: in fact, everj-thing indicates that most care- 

 ful arrangements had been made for giving the city chil- 

 dren an opportunity for recreation and the enjovment of 

 nature in the mountains. 



A persistent effort had been made by one person to 

 secure control of the tract under the allegation that it was 



chiefly valuable for farm- 

 ing. It would have been 

 very profitable for him, as 

 a real estate venture, to sell 

 lots, for there is an active 

 demand for such sites for 

 '^ummer camps. But the 

 secretary of Agriculture 

 chose to put it to a public 

 use, with the results I have 

 1 escribed. 



The action of the Play- 

 ground Commission of Los 

 Angeles has resulted in the 

 starting of other camps of a 

 similar nature. The Pacific 

 Electric Railway, with 5000 

 employees, has applied for a 

 tract about two miles dis- 

 tant where it proposes to 

 build tent houses, dining- 

 rooms and a store, and will 

 rent these facilities to its 

 employees at cost. The 

 Masonic Lodge is looking 

 for a site for its orphans. 

 Many cities are spend- 

 ing thousands of dollars for 

 welfare work among chil- 

 dren, but are hard jjut to 

 find adequate playgrounds. 

 The proljlcm has been met 

 in large measure b}' the 

 Playground Commission of 

 the city of Fresno, Califor- 

 nia. This Commission has recently becii granted the use 

 of a site of land near Huntington Lake in the Sierra 

 National Forest, and proposes to transport annually 5000 

 children of the city to this National Forest during the 

 heated months. The children will not only enjoy a unique 

 outing, but, according to the plans of the Commission, 

 will be given instruction in outdoor .subjects. 



In many eases the development of recreation areas 

 becomes a cooperative enterprise by various public agen- 

 cies. A conspicuous example is the Columbia Gorge di- 

 vision of the Oregon National Forest. This is located on 

 the Columbia River and borders at many points the Colum- 

 bia River Highway, which is one of the most famous drives 

 in the world and one of the most attractive scenic features 

 of the West. Certain areas have been permanently set 

 aside in the Forest for protection and development in 

 connection with the Columbia River Highway. The For- 

 est Service has constructed a number of scenic trails like 



FREE TO ALL 



