. ,
4ien'ufs remember Joseph Lee,
6w ia-re( through his efforts
a Place to Play
by Kevin V. Brown
Ilay is serious work," Joseph Lee once remarked.
Lee spent most of his life, including 27 years as president
of the National Recreation Association, proving it.
You could hardly find a more unlikely candidate. Tall
and frail and singularly unsuccessful in athletics, he nev
ertheless participated in all of them. Though he came from
a wealthy Massachusetts family, his lifelong interest was
giving underprivileged children a chance to participate, too.
Next Friday, in playgrounds across the nation, de
scendants of those children will salute "the godfather of
playgrounds" on the 20th anniversary of his death. As the
eulogies are read, they will stand amid the splendor of
modern recreational facilities and landscaped parks.
But there was little splendor when Lee began his task
of finding children a place to play more than 50 years ago.
Lee was one of the founders of the Recreation Associa
tion in 1906, and in 1910 he became its president, a post he
held until his death. In those early years the association
was lucky to beg or borrow 30 square feet of vacant lot for
a playground. The children played in dust, gravel, and
cinders; abrasions and skinned knees were the fees they
paid. Their recreation consisted of drills, songs, and
marches around the play area. There was little else to do
on a bare lot. And there were few recreational leaders, no
schools or colleges to train them.
There was some progress, however. In 1907 it was noted
that "another gain has been made . . . the crowds of rough
boys who used to gather at the outskirts of the play yard
have greatly diminished and fewer appeals have to be made
to the police department."
The idea, through Lee's efforts, caught on. In 1906 there
were 41 cities with playgrounds. Today there are 20,000.
And in most of them, instead of 30 square feet for playing
areas, the recommendation is for five acres for each school
district and up to 20 acres for each community.
There are large outdoor fields, and large indoor gyms;
there are expansive swimming pools, and lights for games
after dark. There are 65 schools in 27 states that train
recreational leaders, and instead of the handful of leaders
of 50 years ago, there are now 76,000.
The ideals of Joseph Lee were not summed up in sta
tistics, however, and they are still being carried on in
playgrounds across the nation.
As Lee himself once put it, "There is less need on the
playground for teaching baseball than there is for teaching
high moral character."
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Joseph Lee's achievement was supplanting back-alley play
areas of World War I era (inset) with modern play
grounds like the spacious Detroit beach center (below).
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TRY
THIS
TO AVOID
IRREGULARITY ON
fOUR VACATION TRIP
Take along a box of Kel
Iokk'b All-Hran. Kat a
nerving cup) with milk
every morning. TIuh tfives
you all the natural laxa
tive bulk you need daily
to keep on schedule. Deli
cious, inexpensive, ready-to-cat
KellnKK All-Hran.
Also available in the alu
minum foil "Individual"
packages at restaurants
along the way.
THISI HORRID
AGE SPOTS'
C3
FADE THEM OUT
'Weathered brown apota
on the surface of your
hands and face tell the world you're
getting old perhaps beforo you really
are. Fade them away with new
ESOTKR1CA, that medicated cream
that breaks up masses of pigment on
the skin, makes hands look white and
young again. Equally effective on the
face, neck and arms. Not a cover-up.
Acts in the skin not on it. Fragrant,
greaaeless base for softening, lubricat
ing skin as it clears up those blem
iBhes. At leading drug and toiletry
counters. $2 plua tax. If you have these
age-revealing brown spots, blotches,
or if von want clearer, lighter skin,
use ESOTERICA. At all Drugstores.
WAKE UP
RARIN' TO GO
Without Nagging Backache
Now t You can net the fast rHief you .need,
from nmrKinfi ttackiiche. ht-nctitrhf anil mus
cular Hh'H and pain lhjU often cruhc rent
Ichk niKhlBiiml minernhle liieil-out feelinKH.
When tht'H iliKComfortn come on with over- ,
exeilion or streH mid strain yo" nt
relief want it fnnt ! Another diatu ' e
, may be mild bladder Irritation folk .tin
wronti fotxl and think often Betting up
a restk-Hs uncomfortalile feel inn.
For quirk relief net Uoan's Pilln. They
, wnrk fitHt In t Kcimratc wayK : 1. by aneedy
. im in-relieving action to ease to ("merit of najf
g'mK lutckache, headaches, miiKrulnr arhea
and painn. 2. by their noothinir effect on
1 bladder irritation. 3. by their mild diuretic
- action tending to increatu? output of the 15
miles of kidney tubes.
Kind out how quickly thin 3-way medicine
', ROfH to work. Enjoy a wood niiiht's sleep
; and the same happy relief millions have for
' over 60 years. Ask for new, larre size and
save money. (et Uoan s rills today !
Family Weekly, July 21, 1957
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