VOL. XXII, NO. 1

Orthophonic for Community House.-Gala exercises were held at the Moorestown, New Jersey, Community House on February the twentyeighth at the dedication of the outstanding gift made to the house. A new Auditorium Orthophonic Victrola, valued at $6,000, was presented by Mrs. Eldridge Reeves Johnson, wife of the donor of the Community House. The finest radio receiver available, of special Victor design, has been installed with the Orthophonic.

The giant musical instrument reproduces faithfully all tones from a whisper to the volume of several bands and can be heard for a distance of one-half mile.

Plant Orchestra in Toledo.-A string orchestra of forty pieces, composed of employees of the Toledo Scale Co., broadcasts its programs over the powerful station WJR in Detroit. This orchestra has attained a very remarkable skill after only a few months of practice. The Toledo News Bee says, "This example is an indication of the right spirit in industry and one which every employer may well take to heart. The chap who stands at the next bench or sits at the next desk may have possibilities of culture, development and skill of which neither you nor he now dreams. To start these unguessed abilities to working needs but a suggestion and the help of a friend. There are a thousand ways in which hobbies and the social arts can be developed within the membership of any business organization."

Facts About Detroit.-That an army of 2,250 boys between the ages of 6 to 13 are enrolled in the woodcraft classes of the Department of Recreation

That 846,563 persons made use of one facility or another of the Department of Recreation last. year

That a summer camp of 314 wooded acres for

APRIL, 1928

Detroit children is maintained by the Recreation Department

That 7,000 persons a week find recreation at one of Detroit's community houses.

Lake for Mitchell, S. D.-The population of Mitchell, S. D., wants to swim and fish and paddle canoes in the moonlight. For this purpose a huge. lake is being built, which will be two miles long and one mile wide, right on the edge of the town. It will furnish wonderful opportunities for recreation and will be ready about August.

Camps in Michigan.-Over 5,000,000 people went to the thirteen Michigan State parks last. summer for picnics, camping trips, outings and nature hikes. They came from every state in the Union-District of Columbia, Canada and Panama. In a great many of the camps playground apparatus is installed, rope swings attached to tall pine trees and slides stand in cool, shady places. Six of the camps have mess shacks and cooking facilities.

Recreation Sports Field in Richmond, California. The construction of a $20,000 recreation clubhouse, baseball backstop, quarter mile track and other sports facilities at Nichols Athletic Field near the Civic Center is being planned by the City Recreation Department.

In San Leandro, California.-Bull fighting may be the national sport in Spain but baseball is preferred by the younger generation of Spanish in this country. This fact is substantiated by the activities of the Trasher Park Playground Spanish Club, organized several years ago by Edward V. Henley, Superintendent of City Parks and Playgrounds. The names of the boys, in age from ten to fourteen years, have the soft rhythm of an old tango.

Hanford Makes a Start.-Hanford, California, a community of 7,500 people located near Fresno, recently opened its first municipal playground with a city-wide celebration. The city contributed a block of land, the water supply and a comfort station; the Kiwanis Club built a swiming pool and a special committee raised $1,300 for equipment and supplies. The playground will be supervised during the summer, after school and on Saturdays.

A Cottage Garden Contest.-A cottage garden competition was conducted last spring by the Grosse Pointe and Eastern Michigan Horticultural Society, associated with the Mutual Aid and Neighborhood Club of the village of Grosse Pointe Farms. Two classes-amateur and professional -were provided for, with generous cash prizes for each class. Gardens were visited by the judges once a month and advice given if requested. The judging was on neatness and general appearance throughout the season.

Flower Games.-The Brooklyn, New York, Botanic Garden has published an attractive little pamphlet called Flower Games, which contains some very interesting suggestions for games and contests designed to familiarize children with flowers and plants. For a number of the activities a green house is necessary, but many of them can be played outside the green house with very simple equipment. Copies of the pamphlet may be secured from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, for 10c.

Oakland's Municipal Auditorium. Oakland, California, has recently erected an up-to-date auditorium containing facilities of all kinds. The arena has a floor area of 96 x 213 feet with a total seating capacity of 8,800 4,000 on the floor, 800 in the boxes and 4,000 above the floor. The stage is movable and may be made in any size up to 50 x 90 feet at any location. The boxes, too, may be removed, providing a floor area 118 x 213 feet. The theatre on the second floor has a seating capacity of 916 on the main floor, 498 in the balcony and 537 in the gallery. The proscenium opening is 42 x 34 feet, and the stage is 30 feet deep by 65 feet high.

On the third floor is a ball room 38 x 80 feet with a seating capacity of 600. An art gallery has also been provided.

Stunt Night Closes Play Institute.-Over 150 men and women representing various local organizations attended the play institute conducted for two weeks by the Jacksonville Playground and Recreation Department. The stunt program which marked the closing night began with "Wild Nell of the Plains," a burlesque on a motion picture show featuring Sitting Bull and Lady Vere de Vere. Then came "A Meller Drama," in which signs and placards served as stage properties. A "good dance," shadowgraph plays and a humorous skit followed. At the end of the eve ning came a charming marionette show.

Polk County's Second Annual Orange Festival.-Polk County, Florida, has had its second annual orange festival, the county's most important fair of the year. This year August Fischer, Superintendent of the Department of Public Recreation of Winter Haven, served as general manager and chairman. An interesting recreation program was conducted in connection with the festival. Auto polo with all its attendant thrill and brilliancy was one of the outstanding events. There were, too, numerous free acts given by citizens of Kansas, Nebraska, Maine, Oregon and other states. Band concerts, baby parades, floats, archery contests and Boy Scout rallies were all part of the fun. It was a festival of fun loving America drawn south for the win

ter.

The festival involved the expenditure of $8,000. Sixteen committees, with an average of eight men serving on each, were in charge of arrangements. There was a profit of more than $500.

The Neighborhood Plan.-A special plan for a neighborhood district, prepared by Clarence A. Perry of the Regional Plan of New York, suggests a somewhat elastic pattern for laying out unit districts in new or replanned residential sections. Its desirable size may be defined, in general terms, as that populated area for which one elementary school should be provided. In sections where single family per lot housing is the rule, this means an area of about 160 acres and a population of 5,000 or 6,000 people. It has school and institutional sites suitably grouped around a civic center and shopping districts at the traffic intersections in its periphery. It is bounded and walled in by arterial highways and enjoys a special street system of its own which provides direct circulation.