14 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
labors have been far more numer- 
ous than those of Hercules. We 
may mention only a few. The Li- 
brary-Memorial-Hall-Museum he places 
first. Conceived in 1865, erected and 
maintained by money raised in the 
main by him, it was the first large 
free public library opened in any Amer- 
ican town, and it has for thirty-two 
years served the people in a most sat- 
isfactory way. It is a good type of 
memorial building, being erected in 
memory of Northampton heroes in the 
wars of the country; and it supplies 
space for useful museum purposes, es- 
specially from the historical standpoint. 
Mr. Clarke led the fight for the Mt. 
Tom Reservation. The legislature left 
the matter to a referendum vote in 
Hampden and Hampshire counties. 
There was vigorous opposition, but the 
reservation won. It is a monument to 
the public spirit of the people. Its 
beauties can scarcely be described, ex- 
cept by comparison and to those who 
have visited Lookout Mountain, from 
which the prospect is much the same. 
As one of the trustees of the public 
reservations in Massachusetts Mr. 
Clarke has served also a wider func- 
tion. He was the prime mover in the 
campaign for the Main Street Park, 
only recently culminated, which gives 
a clear quarter of a mile of park-like 
setting for the present and future pub- 
lic buildings of the city. Through his 
interest in music and the stage North- 
ampton heard Jenny Lind, Mrs. Scott- 
Siddons and many other singers and 
actors, and many lecturers of interna- 
tional reputation. Doubtless in part 
owing to this inspiration a prominent 
citizen in 1890 gave to Northampton 
the Academy of Music, which seems 
to be the only municipal theater in the 
country. It has played a prominent 
part in the educational life of the city. 
The last work we may mention, and 
one which occupied a good part of Mr. 
Clarke’s eightieth year, is the develop- 
ment of a local historical society and 
the purchase of the Josiah Dwight 
Whitney house, which stands on the 
site of the Jonathan Edwards home 
when he was pastor of the Northamp- 
ton First Church, as a home for the sa- 
ciety and its collections. And so we 
could continue almost indefinitely. 
Then came George W. Cable. It is 
almost twenty-five years since Mr. 
Cable, a southern product, transplanted 
himself to Northampton as a perma- 
nent resident. In that time he has- 
developed many things in line with his 
belief that the best democracy is that 
based upon mutual understanding and 
helpfulness, and where the individual 
rather than a mere class is the unit for 
development. At first the work cen- 
tered in the homes, neighbors being 
brought in if necessary to form groups 
of six, eight or ten people for mutual 
improvement. Thus the home culture 
clubs were established. It was found,, 
however, that, those most needing as- 
sistance had no homes and that a gen- 
eral exchange or clearing house was 
necessary. So the matter has grown, 
step by step, till no small city in the 
country possesses such a pretentious 
and helpful center for improvement 
along educational and social lines. 
That outgrowth of the home culture 
movement having the most marked ef- 
fect on the outward aspect af the place 
is the garden work. Mr. Cable is a 
natural artist in “where to plant what,” 
and he has called to his aid a young 
man specially well equipped in the how 
of planting. The results are notable. 
The early efforts of the gardeners, with 
their peculiar, one might say outlandish, 
combinations of colors and arrange- 
ment of plants, contrast in a marked 
