These Stories coming from different sized cities show how Kiwanis Objects are transformed into realities. Can your club use any of these ideas?
The Chicago Heights, Illinois, Minstrel Show and Review
For three nights the Kiwanis Club of Chicago Heights, Illinois, put on a very successful minstrel show and review. The name of the play was
"Headlines." With song, dance, music, minstrels, manikins and acrobats, the general subject of publishing a news- paper was portrayed with the editor making up his various features includ- ing the children's page, magazine page, theater page, sports section, music page features, fashion page, and the funny paper.
Space does not permit the listing of all those who took part but the reports and stories in The Chicago Tribune were most complimentary. Arthur V.
Bishop was general chairman of th.e show and the chairmen of other com- mittees were as follows: tickets, Gus Nelson; advertising, Ralph Hollings- worth; finance, D. H. Shapiro; pub- licity, Jos·eph Piatt; talent, Art Lam- brecht; stage, C. J. Bindley; and Keith K. Kappmeyer was the editor of the paper.
·fhe proceeds of the show went to the Kiwanis milk fund for under-priv- ileged children.
Mention should be made of the very successful job of selling advertising for the program which was handled by Messrs. Hollingsworth, Carrier, Shap-
iro, Ephgrave, Sher, Booth and Koel- ling.
The club has been active in furnish- ing milk to under-privileged children for thirteen years. It has furnished glasses and rendered free medical ser- vice to over 125 children. It has bought text books for needy children of the high school, and has taken an active interest in vocational guidance work-all of which are just a few of th.e worth-while things this club is doing. President Benjamin A. Sylla is very proud of the activities of this energetic club.
Beatrice, Nebraska, Club Active in Many Ways
The need for bodily repairs goes on and this club has been active in sup- plying glasses, having eyes tested, ear, th.roat, nose and teeth troubles elim- inated on the part of many under-priv- ileged children.
In the field of boys and girls work an elementary basketball league was started, as well as marble tournaments.
The club supplied funds to the Y. M.
C. A. for playgrounds and did much to promote the girls athletics program of activities in the junior and senior high schools, and donated prizes to the girls dress-making contest.
This club's glee club has a wide rep- utation in the field of music. The
club is working with other organ- izations and the Community Chest;
helped to organize and direct a city playground association and an advisory board for the Salvation Army; mem- bers met with i·epresentatives from other organizations and the city com- missioners to pass on the advisability of various WPA projects for the com- munity; and vocational guidance con- ferences have been held with 180 high school boys receiving the benefits of th.eir very fine program.
Newark, New Jersey, Has Key Club Essay Contest
The Key Club sponsored by the Ki- wanis Club of Newark is a very suc- cessful and going affair. Recently, Lieutenant Governor John F. Sher- man of Newark, was curious as to just what slant these boys of the Key Club had as to the reason for the Kiwanis club sponsoring them so he offered prizes for some essays.
Theodore Nithart and John Alercio won the first two prizes and in their essays they gave as their reason the facts that the Kiwanis club had worked to improve educational and social ac- tivities; improve citizenship standards;
sending the boys to the YMCA camp;
and getting the boys in contact with mature men.
In John's paper he said to keep the
The Kiwanis Club of Chicago Heights, Illinois, staged a very successtlul revue and minstrel show, playing four nights to capacitiy audiences. Here is the cast of their fifth annual ahow.
AUGUST, 1936
benefits of past experiences, either pleasant or ugly, within one's self is an act of selfishness; that to pass those on to the younger generation is a great benefit to the boys. He said that the association of young men in an or- ganized group operating under well developed plans where f·ellowship, good cheer, clean living and unselfish- ness is the order of the day, is a big step toward making the ideal Ameri- can citizenship. He added that the Ki- wanis club has given them the oppor- tunity to build their minds and bodies through activity and sports and clean competition.
493
Municipal Park Pride of Monmouth, Illinois
Ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the new band shell donated to the municipal park by the Kiwanis Club of Monmouth, Illinois.
The accompanying photograph shows the ground breaking ceremony held last March in Monmouth, Illinois, with Raymond S. Blunt, governor of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District, guest speaker on the occasion. This ground breaking ceremony was the visible preparation for the construction of a new band shell in the park sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Monmouth.
Back of that there is quite a story.
For years the citizens of Monmouth have felt the need of a park and the Chamber of Commerce was urged to think about it. So back in 1922, through their efforts a committee of eleven members was appointed, which committee was incorporated under state law, and after a year or so given to the consideration of plans, with lots of legal advice, a park district was formed and the Park Commission con- sisting of five members was elected.
Citizens responded in a very fine way because neither the city nor the park district had any connection in this special election. Judges and clerks served without pay and all printing and advertising costs were met by the Kiwanis club, women's clubs and other service clubs.
To L. E. Robison, president of the board, goes much credit for securing 182 acres of land from the Pillsbury sisters of Washington, D. C., former residents of Monmouth. It was agreed that a nominal rental fee would be paid to these ladies every year until their death, at which time Monmouth park district becomes the owner of the entire property. Then later Miss Sarah Gibson of Monmouth made a direct gift of 58 acres, both gifts mak- ing this park possible. A small tract of five acres was purchased to even up a cut-off and make the land acces- sible to entrance ways. A tax levy of two mills on each one dollar valuation of property was levied by the Park Board which provides approximately
$8,000 annually. For permanent im- provements a bond issue of $10,000 was passed.
Various organizations have helped to improve the park. The P. E. 0. pro- vided a wading pool for youngsters.
The Kiwanis club built a shelter in 1926 with tables for picnics and other gatherings. The Rotarians donated a lighted roadway. Many individuals made other donations. The park in-
In connection with the amateur hour and ladies' day program put· on by the Kiwanis Club of Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois, Mayor H. A. Proesel presented the key of Tessville (now Lincoln- wood), the "honor city," to Otto H. Bersch. In the photograph, left to right, are: James P. Ward,
Otto H. Berach, "Major" William Brownlie, Edwin Moll and Mayor Proesel.
eludes a playground section equipped with the latest and the best in play- ground equipment. Landscaping and floral decorations plus thirty different types of native trees make this a very attractive spot. Deep ravines, beauti- ful streams, winding roads make this a great beauty spot. That it is popular is proven by the fact that on a number of occasions fifteen to twenty thousand people will be present in the park at one day's program.
Amateur Hour Program at Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois
This club sponsored a special ama- teur hour and ladies' day program last May which drew a record crowd. Col.
(Kentucky) James P. Ward was re- sponsible for the program, securing some good outside talent which he in- troduced as part of the current Major Bowes' troupe at the Oriental theater in Chicago.
Edwin Moll was Graham "McNock- nee" and Past President William Brownlie took the part of "Major."
The "honor city" was Tessville, now Lincolnwood. Mayor H. A. Proesel was present and presented the key of Tess- ville to Otto H. Bersch.
The real purpose of the meeting was to honor Kiwanian Brownlie and he re- ceived a framed testimonial letter signed by five of the past presidents and all of the members donated pres- ents to him.
The Committee on Boys and Girls Work of which Ed. A. W eidenmiller is chairman, is doing a great job by sponsoring a camp on the Desplaines River. Several acres of ground were leased, materials were donated by dif- ferent members of the club and con- crete foundations for the first unit are already down. The building is to be completed this month.
Martinez, California-The club took an active part in the Martinez Yacht Harbor celebration, sponsoring one of the young lady contestants in the queen contest. Three members of the club are members of the executive committee of the Chamber of Com- merce, which organization put on the celebration.
494 THE KIWANIS MAGAZINE
guests, including the captains and lead- ers of various baseball teams in New Haven. The speaker on this occasion was Kiwanian Clinton H. Hoard of the Brooklyn, New York, club, a former newspaper baseball writer and enthu- siast of the sport. Kiwanian Hoard re- viewed a number of interesting base- ball incidents, history and stories.
The Kiwanis Club of Creston, Iowa, turned out for the dedication and erection of two road signs.
In the photograph, left to right, are: Kiwanians Hillyer, Fischer, Hauz, Matthews, Swanson, Coey, Drake, Camp, Keating, Scott, Heaton, Spriggs, Watsson, Chase, Merboth, Gustafson, Werner, Beatty,
The guests of honor at this meeting included District Governor John P. Harbison of Hartford, Connecticut, District Governor Franklin C. Haven of· Brooklyn, New York, Harry B.
Kennedy of New Haven, former lieu- tenant governor, Lieutenant Governor Robert D. Pryde of New Haven, Past District Governors John C. Tracy of New Haven and Ernest F. McGregor of Norwalk, Connecticut, and Franklin H. Kean, International Field Service Representative.
Freeman, Baker, Randolph, Swanson and Martin.
Memphis, Tennessee, Has Successful Minstrel Show
A large crowd attended the club's annual minstrel show put on with great success recently under the di- rection of Joseph A. Henkel, the pro- ceeds going to the various club proj- ects, which include junior safety work and work among under-privileged boys of the city.
Interlocutor Blanchard Tuai, past district governor, furnished the clue for the antics of the end men. Other Kiwanians taking part in the program were J. A. Angus, Henri Benner, C.
H. Glover, C. C. Trenor, Leonard Graves, J. A. Angus, Edwin Phillips, Martin Zook, C. L. Montgomery, B. M.
Raborn, Angelo Cortese, L. Kerr and Frank M. Grout.
Committee members in charge of arrangements included President S. W.
Polk, Joseph Henkel, B. M. Raborn, C.
L. Montgomery, Clarence Quinn, Charles Goodrich, Edward Traylor, Angelo Cortese, E. W. Carroll and Leonard Graves.
Successful Social Affair at New Haven, Connecticut
The Kiwanis Club of New Haven, Connecticut, raised funds by a bridge party and dance with which the vari- ous service clubs of New Haven co- operated. General committees were ap- pointed from each club to have charge of ticket sales and other arrangements.
They were able to secure the state armory at a cost of only $25 which merely covered insurance for the night.
They received a large amount of ad- vertising in the local papers so the principal items of expense were the
La Jolla, California-The club was recently successful in raising funds amounting to $1,700. With this money the club purchased a lot in a good Io-
In attendance aa the "Baseball Day" meeting put on by the Kiwanis Cub of New Haven, Connec- ticut, were the Kiwanians in the above photograph. Reading from left to right: Past President Sidney Stokes of the New Haven club; Clinton C. Hoard of Brooklyn, New York, the speaker of the day;
Past District Govern.or Ernest F. McGregor of Norwalk, Connecticut; President J. Herbert Hunter of the New Haven dub; District Governor John P. Harbison of Hart:ford, Connecticut; Franklin H. Kean, Field Service Representative; Past Governor J. C. Tracy, former Lieutenant Governor Harry
Kennedy and Lieutenant Governor Robert D. Pryde, all of New Haven.
prizes, the orchestra and the decora- tions. The total receipts were almost
$1,200 and the net profits were $700.
Almost 2000 people. attended the affair.
Several years ago all of the clubs in New Haven sponsored a camp for under-privileged children and gave it the name of Camp Cedarcrest. There are seven acres of ground, six log cabins, a swimming pool, playgrounds, etc. The purpose of this party was to raise money to pay off the mortgage. Unusually interesting was the club's recent "Baseball Day" when there were present nearly 200 Kiwanians and
cation on a farm upon which two cot- tages will be built and turned into a home for orphans. A store building will be built on part of the property and will be occupied by a welfare or- ganization. Proceeds from the sale of donated goods in the store will help to operate the orphanage.
Decatur, Alabama-An interesting activity of the Decatur club is their establishing of wagon yards in differ- ent parts of the city for the use of the rural trade and to promote a better understanding between rural custom- ers and merchants.
A cast of 40 participated in the second annual minstrel show put on by the Kiwanis Club of Memphis, Tennessee, for the benefit of the club's junior 1afety work and work amon11: under·privile11:ed boy1 of the city.
AUGUST, 193b