PARK AND CEMETERY 
32 () 
side, and for other good and sufficient reasons, the 
grounds of the Hawthorne school were selected as the 
fortunate recipient of the attentions of the society. It 
sounds wonderfully well to hear that fourteen public- 
spirited residents of the west side subscribed $400 to be 
used by the society in this work. Another citizen gave 
$200, and a number of peo])le living in the vicinity of 
the school gave $25 each, and the receipts for last year 
as shown by the treasurer's report at the annual meet- 
ing held in January. 1902, are so suggestive that they 
are given herewith : Balance on hand January i , 1901, 
$280.84; donations, $247.50; memberships, $32; an- 
nual improvement ball, $301.10; cash from Helena 
school board, $300; receipts from baseball game, 
$41.75; receipts from David Harum entertainment. 
$37.25 ; receipts from Elks' carnival. $36. 
It is interesting to note that $897.65 of this amount 
was expended on the Hawthorne school grounds for 
surveying, filling and grading, jfiumbing and piping, 
seed, lawn hose, stone retaining wall, coping, chain for 
fence, care of lawn and watering; $161.83 on the 
grounds of the High School, and $12.65 fo*" printing, 
stationery, etc., leaving a balance of $204.51 as an in- 
centive to further effort. 
SWEDISH WOODPILE AT PETERSON MANOR, CHICAGO— 
A NOTABLE EXAMPLE OP GOOD “OUTDOOR 
HOUSE KEEPING.” 
The accompanying cut of a genuine Swedish wood- 
jfile (in America) is commended to all improvement 
workers fortunate enough to dwell in regions where 
wood is used as fuel. It is a paradox in that it is both 
picturesque and neat — qualities that are supposed to 
be non-combinable in real life ; and it is a happy com- 
bination of the useful and the — if not strictly beautiful, 
at least, attractive. 
Sweden must be all that William E. Curtis and 
one’s fancy paint it if even the firewood assumes so 
poetic a guise as a perfectly proportioned haystack. 
This unamerican but altogether admirable method of 
storing green wood is not only good to the eye, but 
preserves the wood perfectly. It sheds water. The 
interior is dry at all times. These large piles are not 
molested until the wood is thoroughly seasoned, and 
when once opened the whole pile is removed indoors 
for consumption. There are usually several of these 
great cones in various stages of seasoning at Peterson 
Manor, the home of the well-known Peterson Nursery 
family, near Chicago, where this picture was taken. 
To descend from this high and dry (or drying) wood 
to dry facts, the pile represented is 33 feet high, 18 feet 
in diameter at the base and 22 feet, eight feet above 
the base, and contains about 100 cords of wood sawed 
by steam into stove lengths. The sticks are svstem- 
atically piled two layers deep on the outside and the 
interior filled in with loose wood. The big trees that 
form the background of the picture are lindens, elms 
and hickories — all of native forest growth and esti- 
mated to be more than 150 years old. 
This feature of good out-of-door housekeeping at- 
tracted almost as much attention from the members 
of the Women’s Auxiliary of the A. P. O. A. A. who 
attended a delightful garden party given in their honor 
at Peterson Manor on July 2nd, as did the array of 
flowering shrubs, vines and perennials and the fine 
trees that formed the setting of a charming- picture 
and most enjoyable occasion. Not only was outdoor 
art visible on all sides, but it was effectively reinforced 
by various phases of indoor art, the most popuar of 
which was the wonderful and indescribable ideal 
Swedish luncheon served under the shelter of one 
of the large packing houses, the interior of which had 
been transformed by the artistic wife of the junior 
member of the firm into a leafy bower of surpassing 
daintiness, that set off tO' fullest advantage the tables of 
novel and attractive dishes, each one of which was in it- 
self a picture, and of which it is no exaggeration to say 
they must not only be seen but also tasted to be appre- 
ciated. 
Mrs. G. H. Huntoon, Mrs. H. \V. Cooper, Mrs. 
W. C. Bennett, and Mrs. W. H. Hillhouse are the 
president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer of the 
recently organized Improvement League of Moline, 
111 . This society has offered “eight prizes relating to 
front yards and eight prizes relating to back yards” 
so arranged that the “best kept front yard and the 
best kept back yard in the city will receive a prize of 
$15 each,” the only restriction being that all work on 
the grounds shall be done by the proprietors of the 
homes and not by paid employees. 
This organization is directing special effort toward 
interesting children in its active work of civic better- 
ment, to the end of educating them in these important 
