355 
PARK AND CEMETERY . 
play are the country children in the 
country school grounds. I knew a 
gentleman who was interested in children 
once, and he owned a tract of land near 
a school house. He leveled it ol¥ and 
put it in good shape for a playground 
and put up a sign “Until this ground is 
wanted for a different use, the children 
of this neighborhood are respectfully in- 
vited to use it as a playground.” I have 
often thought that if persons interested, 
such as an organization composed of 
school teachers, could be organized and 
develop that idea, there is not a city 
anywhere but where there is vacant 
property that might be spared at least 
temporarily for a playground. It stands 
frequently for years, merely held for 
speculation, and the owners would be 
glad to donate the use of that ground 
for play grounds pending further use or 
sale. I believe if the city authorities 
would take advantage of such conditions 
as that, we could at least develop in the 
cities a demand for playgrounds, and 
once developed, the city must buy 
groimd for it. 
Mr. Reimer; We do not have the 
benefit of some of the parks of the Essex 
county system, although we are in 
Essex county. We do not have the 
chance to develop the playgrounds in 
the park system. We have found it 
imperative to attempt to secure land for 
children’s playgrounds, and we have 
spent in the last three years about 
$75,000 in developing one playground 
alone which today we consider one of 
the greatest assets and greatest adver- 
tisements of the city. Aside from that. 
we eventually induced the Board of Edu- 
cation of our city to set aside through 
the summer months five school grounds 
in which the pla 3 'ground commissioners 
put up apparatus, and they have been 
used to a great e.xtent all summer, this 
last summer being the first summer they 
were used. There is no doubt in the 
opinion of the city commissioners and 
the city authorities in East Orange but 
that it is one of the greatest municipal 
affairs they have attempted. It has ap- 
pealed to the citizens at large, although 
there was great opposition to it at first, 
and to the expenditure of the money. 
Mr. Canfield : The city of Corning 
in the last two years has taken up some- 
thing like 1,500 acres in small parks. 
These small parks are from ten to six- 
teen acres in extent, and each one is 
placed as near a school house as it is 
possible to obtain the land. In connec- 
tion with the parks we have field houses, 
outdoor and indoor gymnasiums, and 
they are patronized very largely. This 
summer something like 2,000,000 people 
took baths in the swimming pools and 
shower baths. We have now ten com- 
pleted parks costing pretty close to $7,- 
000,000, and in each one of those parks 
we have a field house and an assembly 
hall. The assembly hall is given to the 
people free for any entertainment for 
which they may want to use it, with the 
exception of political and religious 
services. They have now acquired three 
additional parks, making all told seven- 
teen small parks, running from ten to 
sixty acres in extent, and I do not think 
any of our people can make any mis- 
take in recommending to the munici- 
palities that thej' have playgrounds ana 
lots of them. 
The President; With reference to 
the suggestion of Mr. Blair; in the town 
of Montclair, with 20,000 people, that 
idea grew so strong that after a while 
a sentiment was gained for the seggre- 
gation of land for a system of small 
parks ; and while there was opposition 
to the principle of parks themselves, 
when the statement was made that these 
parks were for plaj'grounds more par- 
ticularly than for the grown up people, 
the vote was unanimous, and land has 
been purchased costing $100,000, and 
part of the parks have been prepared for 
games. That grew ’ from the idea Mr. 
Blair mentioned ; the city commission 
started the movement. 
Mr. Macallum : In Hamilton, Ont., 
the different school grounds are quite 
large, and they have equipped them with 
apparatus; for instance, for the younger 
children they have sand and swings and 
bars and other apparatus. Moreover, 
some_ of the co-called parks are really 
playgrounds. We have a north end park 
which is near the sewage disposal works, 
but the baseball players use it — they can 
stand anything. These different parks 
we are equipping will probably more or 
less be fitted out for playgrounds. One 
of the previous speakers referred to 
wealthy citizens giving parks. In Man- 
chester, England, there is a wealthy 
manufacturer who tore down a lot of 
old shacks in the principal part of Man- 
chester, about half a mile square, and 
fitted it up for parks. 
PARK DEVELOPMENT IN WINNIPEG, MANITOBA 
The report of the Public Parks Board 
of Winnipeg, Manitoba for 1909 tells of 
the work of one of the most interesting 
years in the Board’s history. A great 
advance was made during the year to- 
ward giving the city an adequate sys- 
tem, and the Board recommends an in- 
creased expenditure to bring the acerage 
up to the standard in proportion to popu- 
lation. 
At the close of the summer’s opera- 
tions advantage was taken of the vote 
given some months previous whereby 
the Parks Board was given $150,000 for 
the purchase of additional sites. Through 
the courtesy of the Board of Control 
and the City Council, there was secured 
a number of good properties. Parks 
have been given to Elmwood and Wes- 
ton, and a beginning has been made in 
the central western section. The most 
important purchase was that of some 
seventy acres in Kildonan, a few miles 
north of the city limits. This forms 
what is known as Kildonan Park. It 
is an ideal spot lying between the main 
highway and the Red river. It has the 
advantage of being easily reached by 
vehicle, street car, or boat. It is ex- 
pected that .this new addition will prove 
a great attraction to the citizens. It has 
advantages that the other parks do not 
possess and it will not require a vast 
amount of improvement to put it in con- 
dition for use. In purchasing the new 
parks the opinion of citizens’ commit- 
tees were considered as far. as possible, 
and in making decisions the Board was 
unanimous. The Board named a dozen 
new properties for the City as follows ; 
Parks : Elmwood, King Edward, Kil- 
donan, Riverview, Pembina, Wm. Whyte, 
Kitchener, Cornish, Weston, Logan, C. 
W. Clark, and Machray. Squares ; 
Louise and Crescentwood ; and the 
Waterworks Grounds. 
The most important improvements of 
the year were at Assiniboine Park, 
where the huge old barn and out build- 
ings on the river bank, near the centre 
of the park, were removed or de- 
molished, the yard and garden cleared, 
and graded for lawns. The greenhouses 
were not built, owing to the lack of 
funds, but the glass and frame work is 
on hand. 
The pavilion annex, pergola and lily 
pond basin were built by contract, and 
were completed at the end of June. 
A tremendous amount of filling was 
necessary to make up the terraces. This 
was done, and the sodding and planting 
finished before the contractor's men 
were away from the building. In July 
the basin cracked entirely across, owing 
to poor construction and settling of the 
ground at one end. The contractor paid 
for re-building it. 
The concrete steps and ramps on the 
east and west terrace were finished and 
twelve largs urns placed upon them. 
The concourse on the south front of the 
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