Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on March 24, 1966.
GRADE STUDENTS URGED ENROLL AS JUNIOR “WARDENS” OF CITY, SPONSORED BY GARDEN DEPARTMENT, WOMAN’S CLUB, SAVE LAWNS
The Valparaiso Woman’s Club through the garden department, invites you to join in a bit of conservation work fostered by the National Federation of Women’s Clubs.
You upper graders know about the national conservation movement; what it means to us of today, what it means to us of today, what it will mean to generations to come. But you little folks are not concerned just now, with any dar away tomorrow, and perhaps, in explaining this invitation to simple service to you even the older boys and girls may sit up and take notice.
We’ll begin with a simply defined meaning of the word:
“Conservation”means to protect, to preserve. In a larger sense it means official supervision over our natural resources, our rivers, forests, etc. Conservation also throws protective care over wild life, animals, birds and yes, flowers, too.
You have heard, I know, of that fine organization, the Men’s Conservation Club of Porter County, have heard what they are doing to foster the increase of game life in the county. The Boy Scouts know about this club’s patriotic effortsーthrough birdhouse buildingー to provide protective homes for our song birds.
By this time you’re probably wondering what in the world is left for you, our juniors, to do. And when I tell you how simple the service will be, and how very much it will mean to every dweller in Valparaiso, this centennial year, I shall expect an overwhelming response of approval from you, not to mention others.
Well, last week in Chicago a young student of the Art Institute there won first prize in a poster contest sponsored by the park district in their city-wide conservation campaign to protect the grass in parks and on parkways. The prize winning poster was a six word, simply decorated sign, reading:
“PLEASE save this lawn for summer.”
Nowーwhat do you think of it? Mighty fine work for juniors, don’t you think so?
Well, that’s exactly what this invitation and message means to you children of Valparaisoーit means an invitation to cooperate in saving our lawns for summer. And you will, won’t you?
No child is compelled to join in this conservation work, you service must be voluntary, but if you do enroll, remember you are on your honor to do your bit towards making your city a lovelier place in which to live. I believeーI hopeーyou will find every adult in Valparaiso is with you.
To be sure of having the full approval of our school authorities, I spoke of our school authorities, I spoke to Rev. Fr. Sullivan of St. Paul’s parochial school, and to Mr. Roy Julian, superintendent of Valparaiso public schools, and obtained their consent to bring this to the notice of your teachers.
The plan is for the children of each school to be gentle, yet watchful wardens over their own residence block. Wherever you live, that particular block is under your supervision. Some city blocks may house twenty children, some only five, but in either case tha block belongs, in a conservation sense, to the junior or juniors living there. They are wardens or watchers of it.
You are not asked to perform any labor in this campaign, yet if you feel the impulse, sometime, to pick up a piece of old paper or rag off somebody’s lawn it won’t hurt your standing as a conservation junior to do it. One important thing you can do is talk to youngsters who forget and run over lawns and parkways, even their own; particularly weather like this when the ground is soft, and the least football crushes grass that someone has tended patiently. Then there are the bicycle tracks on soft lawns, (corner lawns suffer most), tracks that just miss the sidewalk’s edge and plow through good grass sod.
Right here I am reminded that when I was preparing plans for this campaign it was suggested by a loyal high school woman fan that students in the Valparaiso high school would hardly need a “please save our lawns” club, for they never offended. I wonder? Anyway, if there are high school students who wish to join this loyally with the “graders” in this job of presenting a city of clean, lovely, well supervised lawns to centennial visitors, you’ve surely welcome to our midst.
Remember this must be a voluntary campaignーno bossesーbut a mighty fine ideal of service that children, and others, will delight in.
If Mr. Whipple, editor of the VIdette-Messenger, will permit us a bit of space now and then in the pages of our paper, your chairwomanーmyselfーwill love to talk to you in print, and tell you all our news as it happens.
Your chairwoman was given this appointment a few weeks ago and thought at once if you children. Hundreds of you pass my door every school day, and you’re a credit, everyone, to your parents, and the homes you come from. Neat, and smiling always, a dandy lot of boys and girls.
I hope to be able to give each member some insignia to wearーJ.C.C.ーbadge or buttonーmaybe some group, or club of men not a thousand miles away, could help us outーor at least suggest a good plan to secure these things. Anywayーhere’s hoping.
Look for another message from me in a few days in the Vidette-Messenger.
And about the high school studentsーone unsightly picture on streets here, are the empty lots. Wouldn’t it be a splendid thing for a group or groups of high school boys and girls, to help school boys and girls, to help the grade children as emissaries of good will between the junior C.C. and owners of vacant lots? If no one wishes them for gardens and if the cost to each owner was not prohibitive wouldn’t a cleaning up and then - seeding of lawn seed on those vacant spaces make a grand change in the landscape? Or, a high school group might feel the urge to contact the owners of vacant property, west on Park avenue, say, and secure their cooperation in a weed exterminating offensive. Of course these last are mere suggestions. Goodbye for a while.
Chairman J.C.C. of Valparaiso Woman's Club