22 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE. 
os. THE: PROPOSED NEW CLUBHOUSE AT MAGNOLIA. 
s Reasons Why it is ‘Needed. The Plan ee Possibility of improving, at the 
; Same Time, the Unsightly Entrance to Magnolia. 
Freperick J. Lippy 
‘Two years ago‘last month ‘the Mag- 
nolia Women’s Clubhouse was opened 
to enter upon a beneficent career. It 
had been: builtto meet a recognized need. 
Magnolia contained no sufficient place 
of amusement for the women employed 
here. Except for the little cottage then 
hired for a women’s club it contained no 
place of amusement for them at all. 
They were diiven to resorting to the 
beach and the rocks. 
_ Moreover the house which was used 
for aclubhouse. was’ wholly inadequate 
and-.very:,expensive.~- It was a_ tiny 
cottage built to shelter cosily a small 
family and not adapted to club purposes 
in any respect. Yet because of its lo- 
cation on the Point it commanded a rent 
of $400 a season. ‘This with the salary 
ofa matron and the other necessary ex- 
penses of a club made a very large sum 
to raise annually. 
Accordingly it was decided to build a 
Women’s clubhouse which should over- 
come both of these obstacles to success. 
It should be adapted to the work re- 
quired; and it should be self-supporting. 
There were Some who doubted if it 
could be made’ self-supporting; there 
were others who doubted if there 
was a real demand for it. “Thete were 
still others who did not believe it could 
be built. 
All of’ these doubts have now been 
dispelled. The clubhouse is built and 
paid for except for a mortgage of $1500. 
It can carry this debt indefinitely as the 
income from room-rent and dues proves 
sufficient to pay all of the running ex- 
penses including the interest on the 
mortgage, insurance and an allowance of 
$50 a year for improvements and repairs. 
‘Thus the club is easily sclf-supporting. 
And that there is areal demand for its 
privileges 250 enthusiastic members tes- 
tify daily. The only complaint thus far 
made comes from mistresses who have 
been ignominously hurried through din- 
ner in order that their maids might get 
to some entertainment that it offered. 
No better proof of its success could be 
given. 
It isa club’s business to be interesting 
and attractive. It is the business of the 
mistresses then to put such check on 
their maids’ movements as may become 
necessary. But let them be thankful that 
their maids are as happy in Magnolia as 
they are themselves and in honest ways. 
The Need of a Men's Clubhouse. 
Now to anyone familiar with con- 
ditions here it is plain that the same need 
exists fora Men’s clubhouse in Mag- 
nolia that led up to the erection of the 
Women’s clubhouse. In the first place, 
the men employed by the cottagers, the 
guests at the hotels and the hotels them- 
selves have no adequate place of amuse- 
ment. ‘Chey are not wanted about the 
hotels when off duty. “They are not 
wanted loafing in the public square. Yet 
where can they go? 
There are no bowling alleys in Mag- 
nolia; no theatres; no gay _ streets. 
There is only a room, containing two 
pool tables and a piano, in a basement 
beneath the telephone exchange. Why 
is not a more attractive place found? 
‘There is none to be had. And for this 
basement with its uninviting entrance we 
are paying $200 rent. ~TDo maintain this 
clubroom between $300 and $400. has 
to be raised by subscription every year, 
over and above what is received in dues 
and fromthe pool. ‘The club is reach- 
ing only a fraction of our men as the 
crowded appearance of the village square 
every evening reveals clearly. It has 75 
members at present. This is not more 
than one-fifth of the number eligible for 
membership. And yet despite its inad- 
equacy it Is expensive to maintain. It is 
very useful to a few men. It is more or 
less useful to all of its members. It is 
infinitely better than nothing and cannot 
be discontinued. | But the raising of $300 
or $400 every summer to carry it on is 
a considerable burden on the pastor of 
the Village church as well as on the 
patient subscribers. An adequate and 
self-supporting clubhouse for men would 
be a great relief. 
In the second place, it is remarbable 
that under these circumstances some en- 
terprising promoter has not put up a 
cheap bowling alley or other place of 
. amusement to become a nuisance to the 
community but to supply the natural de- 
mand for recreation. If forestalled by 
a building with which competition would 
be hopeless, this will not be likely to 
come to pass. Unless so forestalled it is 
practically inevitable because there is the 
prospect of money in it. A bowling 
alley is lucrative. 
In the third place, the rapidly increas- 
ing class of chauffeurs demands more 
good accommodations than can be ob- 
tained in Magnolia at a reasonable price 
today. 
houses here, some of them good ones, 
that are not full. Some chauffeurs are 
fortunate enough to have obtained rooms 
in private houses. On the other hand, 
at least fifteen chauffeurs are being 
boarded at the Oceanside at’ a cost of 
eight dollars a week for room and eight 
dollars a week for table-board.::; Why 
‘True, there are several boarding © 
are they there if they could obtain good 
rooms and board at a less figure in town? 
The hotel management is not anxious to 
keep them. Quite the contrary, — If 
they felt able to recommend with perfect 
confidence rooms elsewhere, they would 
gladly do it and relieve themselves of aa 
serious problem. If twenty-five more 
good rooms were added to the available 
accommodations for chauffeurs in Mae- 
nolia and an excellent restaurant were — 
maintained, all at reasonable prices, it 
would be a distinct advantage to all con- 
cerned. 
The Clubhouse Proposed. 
‘The clubhouse that is needed, then, 
will be at once. a kind of men’s hotel 
and a place of amusement for all male 
employes. It will consist of three stories 
or two stories and a basement. In the 
basement there will be bowling alleys 
and pool tables and some shower baths. 
This means that the building will be 
about 120 ft. long by 40 ft. wide. The 
first floor will contain the restaurant and — 
kitchen and a big social room which can 
be used for dances and entertainments 
when desired. It will contain twice the 
floor space of the corresponding room at 
at the Women’s clubhouse and will be 
surrounded by a verandah. On the sec-_ 
ond floor will be twenty-four neat, big 
rooms to let to men. 
Such a clubhouse as this would be as 
certainly self-supporting as the Women’s 
clubhouse is. “Che rent from the rooms — 
at $50 each would be $1200. ‘The pool 
and bowling would bring in $500 more. 
The two pool tables in the present club- 
room will bring in $125 this season at 
two cents a cue. Besides all this there 
would be the membership fees which at 
a dollar would amount to between $100 
and $200 and swell the total income to 
at least more than $1800. The budget 
of the Women’s clubhouse involves the — 
expenditure of only one-third this sum. — 
The Men’s club would be more expen- | 
sive to maintain, requiring the services 
of three people outside the restaurant: a _ 
manager, to have his ofice on the first 
floor; 
basement; and a third person to take 
care of the bedrooms and keep the house 
clean. Extra help would be needed 
from time to time, of course. 
‘The restaurant should be made self-_ 
supporting, either being let to respon- 
sible parties at a nominal rent or run on 
the club plan. 
Such a house as this furnished wouldl 
cost between $10,000 and $12,000 ex- 
clusive of the lot. 
the cost of the Women’s clubhouse. 
is Safe to say that it could at the same_ 
time carry a_ considerable 
much larger if necessary than that on’ its — 
sister institution, and still be self-supportal 
ing. peat & 
It should be incorporated as a charity — 
and become exempt from. taxation like 
an assistant, to have charge of the — 
This is about twice — 
if 
mortgages | 
