PARK AND CEMETERY. 
69 
MASSACHUSETTS TOWN IMPROVEMENT CONFERENCE 
The sixth village improvement con- 
ference held under the auspices of 
the Massachusetts Civic League came 
on April 26. The afternoon session 
was devoted to a review of achieve- 
ments; school and home gardens be- 
ing discussed by Supt. James S. Per- 
Tcins, of Canton, and Principal Philip 
Emerson of Lynn. Mr. Charles W. 
Hubbard described the Stevens Me- 
morial, a new type of social center at 
Ludlow: Miss Harriet B. Whitaker 
told of the founding of the Tyngs- 
boro Tree Society in 1844; and 
]\Ir. John D. Llardy described The 
Townsman as an approach to the 
ideal in a local paper. 
Mr. Perkins and Mr. Emerson were 
in close accord on methods and re- 
sults in garden work. Mr. Perkins 
as superintendent where there are not 
many schools is able to visit every 
school once a week and sometimes 
twice, and to give enough time to 
keep in 'touch with children who 
show interest in such work. Having 
discovered in a child an interest in 
garden work, he asks the child to go 
with him before school closes to see 
the garden. The child is naturally 
pleased and encouraged, and others 
become interested. In this way, with- 
out any organized effort and with no 
special instruction except in an in- 
cidental way, the movement has 
grown in Canton until the results are 
easily observed in all sections. Mr. 
Perkins estimates that 90 per cent of 
the children in the grammar schools 
have gardens. He believes that direct 
personal contact- and an energetic 
show of interest are the main causes 
•of these results. Mr. Perkins thinks 
that the entire activities of childhood 
should center in the school. It should 
be the place of inspiration and direc- 
tion, and if the school is what it 
ought to be, children will be educated 
rather than informed and genuine cit- 
izenship will result. 
The Stevens Memorial was built by 
the Ludlow Manufacturing Associates 
for the use of the employees. The 
manufacture of hemp and jute pro- 
ducts requires a great deal of un- 
skilled labor and Mr. Hubbard be- 
lieves that what they have accomp- 
lished there could be accomplished in 
any place. The Memorial was 
opened last spring, and since that 
time it has grown to be a very prom- 
inent feature in the life of the vil- 
lage, Various organizations had 
been under way and had been meet- 
ing here and there, so that when the 
building was completed everything 
was ready for actual work. The re- 
sults in the way of accomplishments 
have been in practically every re- 
spect satisfactory. The building it- 
self is a most interesting one. In 
the basement there are lockers, tub 
and shower baths, and a swirnming 
tank. On' the first floor on the girls’ 
side is a kitchen and dining room for 
cooking lessons and social functions, 
a girls’ parlor and reading room; 
and on the men’s side a smoking 
and reading room, and a large bil- 
liard room. On the second floor is a 
large auditorium and gymnasium 
combined. The seats are • movable 
and may be taken out through dis- 
appearing panels in the ceiling, so 
that the floor is left entirely free for 
dancing and other functions. A large 
balcony extends around the entire in- 
terior so arranged that it may be 
used as a running track or for reg- 
ular balcony purposes. At the ends 
on both the second and third floors 
are smaller rooms for use by the ath- 
letic director, social secretary, classes, 
small club meetings, etc. In connec- 
tion with the building is a large ath- 
letic park with a quarter of a mile 
track, baseball and football grounds 
and athletic apparatus. 
Miss Whitaker’s description of the 
Tree Society in Tyngsboro was most 
interesting, because it set back the 
authentic date of organized village 
improvement effort over nine years. 
Heretofore, Stockbridge has claimed 
to have the oldest organization in the 
country. It has unquestionably the 
oldest in continuous existence, but we 
now have complete evidence that a 
Tree Society was organized in Tyngs- 
boro in April, 1844. The subscribers, 
the original list of which is in exis- 
tence, agreed to form themselves in- 
to a Tree Society and to pay one 
dollar annually towards improving 
the village by the setting out of trees. 
The splendid elms on the Tyngsboro 
Common give satisfactory evidence of 
their work, many of the trees being 
as large as ten feet and nine inches in 
circumference. 
The Townsman, started just a little 
over a year ago in Wellesley, was 
originated for the purpose of secur- 
ing a local paper that would give its 
attention to community affairs rather 
than to community gossip, and to the 
actual up-building of the town and its 
interests. There are three village cen- 
ters in Wellesley, and each has its 
local improvement society. These so- 
cieties joined in making the paper a 
success by outlining quite generously 
their work at the various meetings. 
Town affairs are discussed by compe- 
tent men, and on the whole the paper 
has probably the best talent in the 
way of contributors of any local pa- 
per in the country. It is not a money 
making affair, but they expect to 
make it pay its own way, and to give 
to the community so much benefit that 
the people will feel repaid for their 
work. 
The evening session was given to an 
old friend of the Civic League, the 
billboards. The present state of pub- 
lic opinion was brought out by Mr. 
Philip R. Allen of East Walpole, who 
described their method of gettuig rid 
of a board there: Mr. Henrv Lewis 
Johnson, who told of Hyde Park ef- 
forts: Professor F. Spencer Baldwin 
of Boston Llniversity, w'ho gave the 
views of himself and others in favor 
of billboards; and Mr. Frederic A. 
Whiting of Framingham. Mass , who 
described the work of the Minister 
Militant of Blandford. Present laws 
and their possibilities were discussed 
•by Mr. Harlan P. Kelsey of Salem; 
“Desirable Legislation” by Edward T. 
Hartman, secretary of the Civic 
League: and “Unobjectionable Bill- 
boards," by Henry Turner Bailey of 
North Scituate, chairman of the con- 
ference. 
Mr. Allen said that when the hide- 
ous structure which they caused to be 
removed first appeared near the vil- 
lage square, which they had been 
spending a great deal of money to im- 
prove, the people were surprised and 
angr}'. Lynch law, which he believes 
is thoroughly justified wdien bill post- 
ers use highhanded methods, was 
threatened and everything was in read- 
iness to execute it; but cooler heads 
urged caution and took the matter up 
with the bill poster and the adver- 
tiser. The advertiser saw that he was 
not getting business, which was his 
aim in advertising. The bill poster 
practically ignored the entire matter, 
but said he would take it down if they 
would pay him for it. They refused 
to pay and went ahead with the adver- 
tiser. He finally agreed to take it 
down if they would wait till warmer 
weather. They told him that they 
could get workmen to do it in cold 
weather, and it was done on the very 
day on which the advertiser , first 
agreed to remove it. East Walpole 
has other billboards and it will now 
direct its attention to them. 
