HILDA MAKES A PLEA FOR CITY BEAUTIFICATION

Well, said the chick with a funny little squirm. 

I wish I could find a nice little worm.

Said another little chick, with a queer little shrug,

I wish I could find a nice fat bug.

Said a third little chick, with a shrill little squeel,

I wish I could find a nice yellow meal.

Look here, said the mother from a nice green garden patch,

If you want any breakfast, get busy and scratch !

So it is with city beautification, or any other project.  If we want results we must get busy and SCRATCH !!!

Patriotism as religion and charity begins at home.  And it is the duty of every American Citizen, man and woman to join hand in hand in the making of all America a Beauty Spot.  The beauty of a community depends upon the individuals of that community.  Each common individual is personally responsible for their own as well as rented property, and should in any way possible help to create a sentiment for improvements on public grounds, as well as an interest in the needs of that town in general.

It has been said that a man is the head of the house, but woman is the head of the home.  Attractive home surroundings have a great influence upon the young folks, in creating a love of beauty and love for their hometown.  Home is more than four square walls, even more than a mansion of costly stone.  The most costly mansion would be barren and cold without suitable surroundings.  There is a certain comparison between the interior of a home and the grounds.  When a carpenter finishes a room it is only four bare walls, and does not become a place to live in and enjoy until there are some furnishings, rugs, tables and chairs.

The yard is very much a part of the home life and environment.  When the ground is graded, it is only a barren spot, uninviting and uninteresting. As the room, it requires furnishing.  First a carpet of green, then trees and shrubs; later as in the room other details are worked out.

The home is life's greatest school.  Respect for private as well as public property should be taught by example in the homes.  It is surprising how destructive children and some grown people can be.  I have seen flourishing trees deliberately broken off or marred, supposedly by children.  I have also seen prominent citizens, probably wishing to fill a vase or probably for no reason at all, deliberately break large limbs of shrubs on public grounds.  Thereby, stunting the growth and marring their beauty.  I know these persons would resent the passerby, breaking limbs from plants on their own grounds.

It is not always a mansion that is the most attractive.  And it does not take a great deal of means to make a home an inviting place.  One can make a most beautiful place out of the most humble home with a little careful planting of trees and shrubs for permanent beauty and a few flowers for variety.  Of course, if we are to build a new home, and plan our grounds anew, we have a better chance to get things as we like them.  And yet, even then, later on there are improvements to make.

Every yard and community would benefit with a little careful constructive criticism, backed up with co-operation and ambition.  Sometimes there are things about our yards and community, we have become so used to, we do not notice them and thus take them for granted as a necessary evil.  Yet, they may be outstandingly ugly spots in our neighborhood or community.

Some of the worst conditions in our smaller towns are there because we take them for granted and are unwilling to change.  OUR TOWN IS AS WE MAKE IT !!!

taken from Hilda's Scrapbook