The Lexington Civic League: Agent of Reform, 1900 - The Filson ...

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1988] Lexington Civic League 841 They viewed the playground as a first step toward reforming the whole section,l° The Woman's Club gave $200.00 for the project; it required much exhausting work to prepare the Manchester Street lot. When the playground opened on 17 June, benches, flowers, and play equipment transformed the grounds. Kindergarten and sewing classes met each weekday, with Elizabeth Cloud, a trained teacher, serving as head of the kindergarten. For ten weeks the League maintained the playground at a total cost of $275.00. Most importantly, the Civic League persuaded city officials to install a hydrant with filtered water from the reservoir which was made available to everyone in Irishtown, providing residents there with their first safe source of water.11 A variety of other activities were held at the playground; some of which were open to the entire community. On one occasion nearly 150 Irishtown residents attended an open-air concert. Almost all of them expressed to the sponsors their pleasure at the effect the playground was producing on their children. A policeman from the area noted that in the evenings the children gathered to sing the songs they had learned during the day at the playground. 2 When it closed at the end of the summer, Madge Breckinridge summed up her thoughts in an article, "The Passing of the Playground." She viewed the effort as a supplement to the public schools, noting that out of 124 children who had attended the playground, only twenty-seven had ever attended elementary school or kindergarten. Almost all the children were of school age and, reportedly, more planned to enroll in public school than ever before. Despite this encouraging sign, she pointed 10 Davis, Spearhead8 for Refcrm, 60-65; Raymond G. Fuller, Recreation and Child Welfare (New York: National Child Labor Committee, 1919), 3-11; Lexington Herald, 21 August 1977; Wright, Lexington, 139; Breckinridge, Madeline MeDowell Breckinridge, 48-50. llLexington Herald, 16, 18 June, 1 July, 4, 12 August 1901; Breckinridge, Madellne McDowell B 'eckln idge, 48-50. 12 Lexington Herald, 4, 12 August 1901.
342 The Filson Club History Quarterly [July out, many Irishtown parents were reluctant to allow their young children to go to public school because they had to walk long distances and cross dangerous railroad tracks. This situation highlighted the need for building a kindergarten and elementary school in Irishtown. 13 While on a trip in early 1902, Mrs. Breckinridge studied the playground system in San Francisco. On her return home, she informed the community of her findings as she continued to promote the cause in Lexington. She announced at a Civic League meeting, held at her home, that the Manchester lot would not be available for the coming summer and that the Woman's Club would not pledge financial support as it had the previous year. The League ultimately decided to hold a vacation school and a playground for two months during the summer. The playground committee chose a house on Willard Street for the school and a lot on South Upper Street for the playground. They hired a young woman who had taught in a social settlement in New York City to teach cooking, sewing, and housewifery, and employed Elizabeth Cloud as head of the vacation school. When the school opened in July, seventy-four children enrolled, fifty of them in the kindergarten division. Mrs. Breckinridge also persuaded the mayor to install a hydrant and a water fountain at the Willard Sireet location.14 The Upper Street playground with basketball and tennis courts opened in late July. The Combs Lumber Company, owned by Thomas A. Combs, a friend of the Breckinridges and subsequently Lexington mayor and state senator, had moved the equipment used the previous year and had set it up on the lot without charge. Berkeley M. Fontaine of Hanover County, Virginia, became the playground supervisor. Baseball and basketball teams from the playground and the school competed against each other during the summer. All of these activities were supported 13 Ibid., 8 September 1901. 14 Ibid., 2, 5 March,. 29 April, 4 28, 29 May, 2. 8, 11, 13, 15, 22 July 1902; W. C. P. Brecklnridge to Sophonisba P. Breckinridge, 28 Febi"uary, 12 April 1902, Breckinridge Family Papers, Library of Congress.
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The Lexington Civic League: Agent of Reform, 1900 - The Filson ...

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