Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1904)
THE SUNDAY OBEGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 11, 1901. WHAT CIVIC IMPROVEMENT HAS DONE FOR ST. JOHNS HOMES THAT WON PRIZES OFFERED FOR EXCELLENCE IN ADORNMENT OF HOUSES AND YARDS ONE SUBURB THAT HAS MADE A VERY GOOD START' 40 sHB ,long arm of civic improvement 1 S3 which has encircled this fair country , j of ours and made beautiful scores of j "villages and cities beckoned the busy little suburb of St. Johns to come within Its sheltering: fold last Spring. It beckoned In a most inviting way and St, Johns bad the tact and energy to accept the Invitation. As a result she Is now boasting of a full fledged civic improvement league, and her citizens are beautifying their lawns, paint ing their houses, devoting time and care ful attention to the culture of flowers and vines, removing eye-sores In the shape of old and dilapidated buildings and fences in fact St Johns Is being thoroughly reno vated. The story of the redemption of St Johns reads something like "The House That Jack Built" To begin with, ambitious citizens taking natural pride in their homes and the future of their city, have done the work. The Civic Improvement League inspired them with this ambition and the spirit to be up and doing, and the league had the hearty indorsement and co-operation of the Mayor and the Town Council. The organization of the league was the result of an offer made by H. L Powers, of Portland, to pay cash prizes for excellence In Ihe culture of flowers and shrubs and the beautifying of grounds and lawns. And, backing up to the be ginning of the story, this Idea came to Mr. Powers as a result of a lecture given here last Spring by an officer of the National Civic Improvement League, under the auspices of the Portland League. So the spirit of public improvement reached St Johns over Portland's shoul ders. This beautifully situated little river town has long been a pet hobby with Mr. Powers, and civic Improvement Is another subject on which he enthuses; so after this well-Illustrated lecture was delivered he concluded that St Johns offered virgin soil for an experiment and came forward with an offer of cash prizes amounting to 5150 for excellence In II different classes of improvements. The result of this offer has been the beginning of what promises to make this rapidly-growing town one of . the prettiest and most artistic on the Willamette River. The ladies of the town put their heads together and talked over the situation. When they separated it was announced that a civic improvement league had been organized. The homes of St Johns tell the rest of the story. It has been said of this league that It Is of more Importance than any municipal "body of that corporation, for every man; woman and child Is interested in its work and advancement, and all are- endeavoring to plan some method of helping promote Its alms. The league Is considering the adoption of a motto, which, if followed to the letter, will convert this town with lt3 beautiful background of hills and river Into a perfect garden. This motto Is: "I resolve to make my premises more at tractive than they have been before, in order that every passerby may take pleas ure in them. I resolve to give my en couragement to every public enterprise that promises to enhance the beauty and health! ulness of the town In which I live." With such an aim in view there will ba nothing to retard the progress and beau tlflcatlon of -St Johns. It has witnessed a remarkable growth In the past three years, nine new Industries having been established there in that time. These have largely Increased the population, and the new-comers have built homes. The ma jority of the residents own their property, which gives a greater impetus to the work of improvement that would otherwise be the case. Joaquin Miller says that only man Is ugly and dirty and cross, and that every thing in Naluro is beautiful, adding: "We do not plant enough flowers. We ought to i plant them by the depot, by the roadside, by the schoolhouse, by the door and In the 'window." The people of St Johns are go ing to do this. All over town people are discussing plans for beautifying their premises, competing for prizes next year, improving the appearance of the streets, and establishing parks. The schoolchildren are interested and a number of them were among this-year's competitors. The "keer our city clean" splrjt which Invaded St. Louis with such happy results a few years ago has broken out in epidemic In St Johns, and her residents are determined that the visitor shall hereafter see no plies of waste paper and rubbish lying 'about the streets, or unsightly dumps of Jtlh. eons and garbage at the rear of 'houses. The purposes of the league are esthetic in the direction of cultivating a taste for municipal beauty, but it is also practical and believes Implicitly that cleanliness is next to godliness. One of the best things that has been done bo far is the establishment of a park at the terminus of the car line. A picturesque group of flrs has been en closed with a neat well-painted fence, and as soon as the old car barns are ry moved, which will be done shortly through the influence of the league, the area inclosed for parking will be' en larged and probably purchased for a per manent City Park. Other desirable plats of land within the corporal limits of the town are being quietly selected, and the league will . eventually endeavor to make parks of these also. A lively war Is being made on the pro miscuous placing of signs and advertise ments, which mar the beautj of any public place. The recent franchise grant ed the General Electric Company stipu lates that no advertisements of any char acter are to be permitted on the poles, and that the poles shall be painted, so a3 to present a comely appearance. In this respect St Johns' franchise Is superior to that of Portland. The preservation of trees is another important step which the league has undertaken. No town can be beautiful without trees, but there are scores of people who do not realize that every tree destroyed takes materially away from the value of the property. Trees have been cut away with a free hand in this town. Its growth has been so rapid In the past two years that the general public did not pause long enough to consider that a wholesale slaughter of them was going on, but Mr. McCusker'3 remark that houses could be built but trees could not, fell on fruitful ground. So now that the population has reached the 1500 mark, and an organization has been formed for the purpose of watching these matters, trees will be carefully guarded and young ones will be planted along-- the streets, so -that in. years to Tfie SITE, of A. A MBBft-CS HOME TWO YEA&SAGO, matter to get the public Interested in a new Idea of this kind, but the officers and members worked in harmony and faith fully. The offer of the prizes was made through tnem, and then people began to think there was something to the move ment, after all. Not all the classes were competed for, but a number of the promi nent citizens went to work with a will and began to work on their lawns, plant vines to cover unsightly places, clean up back yards, cultivate flowers and do many things which so enhanced the appearance of their residences that they were almost unrecognizable. When the time came for awarding the prizes, to eliminate any Idea of unfairness or favoritism, the matter of selecting Judges was put In the hands cf the Portland Civic Improvement Com pany, and Mr. Thomas McCusker. presi dent of that organization, and Colonel I. L. Hawkins, of the Park Commission, re sponded to the invitation to select those worthy of being termed excellent. These gentlemen spent much time in going over all displays, and in some cases did not make any awards of certain classes be cause the effort made was not sufficient to entitle the competitors to consldera- XPRZE FOG rtFATrST- come St Johns may boast of beautiful shaded streets and avenues, as Portland now does. There is one thing, however, on which this ambitious little burg has been a bit slow, and that is the passage of a stock ordinance prohibiting the use of the pub lic thoroughfares for pastures. As long as the family cow Is turned Into the street and the pigs are allowed to roam at will, it will not be possible for property-owners to take down their fences or accomplish anything In the way of beautifying the curbs by planting trees and roses and laying grass plats. This Is the very first step which should be taken there to help along the splendid work which has been so well started, and which can hardly progress any further than the fence lino until the stqck Is pastured or put In the city pound. The league, which has done so much for this new manufacturing center, was or ganized last April. Its president Is Mrs. C. N. Braasch, Mrs. J. Henry Smith Is its vice-president, and Mrs. W. C. Wal ker -the Eecretary. It was not an easy tion. Mr. Powers having specified in his announcement that the prizes were for excellence. In the report submitted and read at a largo gathering of citizens, Mr. McCusker said: "There is yet room for improvement, but the showing made was highly com plimentary to the competitors, and both the citizens of St Johns and her Civic Improvement Association should be proud of the efforts made. "The committee has been agreeably sur prised to note the marked improvement which has taken place in St. Johns with in the last year and the Interest which her citizens are taking In the work of civic Improvement, and If this work Is continued we predict that St Johns will be the banner suburb of Portland within Ave years." This kind of talk proved very pleasing to the good people of St Johns. The meet ing at which thi3 was read was a largo one. Everybody came, for the announce ment of the prizewinners were to be made and Mr. McCusker was to deliver a lec ture, illustrated with lantern slides of the prize-winning exhibits. It proved a great success and a triumph for the members of the little league which has accom plished so much In its first season. It must not be inferred, however, that Mr. McCusker's lecture was all honey, for where he deemed criticism necessary he did not hesitate to give it. When tho views were exhibited he carefully pointed out the defects In each and explained where they might have been Improved. The fact that all yards have to be sur rounded with fences on account of the cow nuisance prevented tho photographer getting as good views as he could have done otherwise, but as the bovine curfew will in all probability ring before next season, better results will be obtained another time. One of the Councilmen. speaking before Mr. McCusker, stated that there had been greater improvements made in the four months since tho organ ization of the league than had been ac complished lnthe 23 years he had resided there, and this, the lecturer stated, was most complimentary to the earnest wo men who had taken up the work. But with all that has been accomplished, there is a state of perfection and excel lence yet to be attained, which he en deavored to point out The picture of a residence with a beautiful and luxuriant wisteria vine growing over the front ve randa was thrown on the slide, and the beauty and perfection of the vine com mented upon. There was an expression of satisfaction on every face in the house. But after they had all admired the vine Mr. McCusker preached a little sermon about a hole In the fence and the loose palings which were scattered about on the ground; also the condition of the street In front and the plies of rubbish In the adjoining vacant lot The Idea of sur roundings or settings to tho pretty pic tures made by artistic Improvements to the home was thoroughly impressed upon the audience and comprehended by them. The fact that many had been expecting to receive prizes in certain classes from the fact that they were the only contest ants, but none were awarded, served to open their eyes to the standard to be at tained by civic Improvement In regard to harmony in all improvements the lec turer said: "In beautifying your homes, houses, etc, your motto should be Harmony. With out harmony there Is discord to tho sight as well as to the ear. ' In painting a - ( (Concluded oaPasa 33Jt 4