GIRLS' CLUBS READY FOR CLUB FUN! A Group of Y. W. C. A. Club Leaders, Blue Ridge, N. C. GIRLS' CLUBS Their Organization and Management A Manual for Workers BY HELEN J. FERRIS fj With an Introduction by JANE DEETER RIPPIN NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY 68 1 FIFTH AVENUE Copyright, 1918 By E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America TO AND CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION xv I. THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK i II. THE CLUB LEADER 14 III. THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 42 IV. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB . . . . . 71 V. PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM OF THE CLUB . . in VI. ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 131 VII. THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 159 VIII. THE CLUB'S RELATION TO THE COMMUNITY AND COUN- TRY . 195 IX. THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 221 X. THE CLUB IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE GIRL . 251 XI. LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT 271 XII. KEEPING UP THE INTEREST 285 XIII. THE CLUB IN ACTION 315 XIV. CLUB WORK IN WAR TIME OVER THERE . . . 325 XV. CLUB WORK IN WAR TIME OVER HERE . . . 338 APPENDIX HELPS FOR THE CLUB LEADER . . .355 INDEX 377 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A Group of Y. W. C. A. Club Leaders .... Frontispiece A Jewish Girls' Patriotic League Unit 6 Girl Scouts and Members of the U. S. Food Administration . 20 Italian Girls Learning Italy's "Tarantella" 40 Greek Girls in a Greek Dance 40 The Frieze of the Prophets 64 Inspection Day at the John Wanamaker Commercial Institute Encampment 90 Out-door Groups of Camp Fire Girls 120 The Athletic Badge 134 " The Pied Piper" Given at Hull House 144 A^Community Bungalow 170 Boys' and Girls' Club Exhibit 190 A Girls' Protective League Meeting 200 A. U. S. Department of Agriculture Club 224 Club Girls of the Vacation Association 260 Chinese Girls' Delegation 272 A Y. W. C. A. Pageant 296 Lunch Hour in the National Cloak and Suit Company . .318 "At Home" to Enlisted Men 342 INTRODUCTION THE layman has apprehended but dimly the movement toward the organization of women and girls into clubs which has been going on during the last few decades. Still less has he apprehended the possibilities for national service in such mobilization. But the work of such organizations all over the country could not be dispensed with without real loss. Big national problems have brought about big community problems with the result that responsibility and oppor- tunity for definite war service are being presented to girls of all ages. Through patriotic leagues and similar soci- eties they are having their hands and minds filled with wholesome, inspiring, helpful activities; they are learn- ing also to serve other girls and their country. Mere school-girls are helping to uphold the standards of woman- hood in war-time. They are learning team-work which cannot but develop in them a high state ot community consciousness which will grow ultimat nto national and world-consciousness. The impulse for the dramatic is very strong in every young girl when the call comes to prove her patriotism: she wants to wear a uniform of some sort, to be a nurse just back of the battle lines, to drive an ambulance. She wants to be in the thick of things the most natural impulse in the world. But there are other less thrilling xi rii INTRODUCTION duties that are just as vital to the future of the nation as these duties just as vital as those performed by the men in the front line trenches. They are harder, perhaps, because their importance is not so evident. Never before has the country so needed to realize to what degree the young women of the nation are mobilized and are capable of mobilization, physically, mentally, morally for the second "line of defense." The Government has appreciated the splendid achieve- ments of the girls' and women's clubs. Mr. Hoover has appealed to the girls to help win the war by conserving; the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense has deemed them worthy to be registered with the woman workers. In these stirring days when the supreme desire of every one is to serve, the message that the Government would give to young girls is to belong to one of these clubs, to be loyal to the ideals which it represents, and thus to serve. The best way to be loyal to your country, as has repeatedly been indicated, is to be loyal to that small part in which you are privileged to take an active part. Miss Ferris in this authoritative work on Girls' and Women's Clubs makes us realize the breadth and depth of the movement; she shows that the club can be a real, constructive, vital force to the individual girl, to the com- munity, nation and society. She points out to the com- munity its opportunity to avail itself of young girl enthu- siasm and young girl idealism in furthering its various interests and in furthering the enterprises of the war. She points out suggestively the opportunity before well- trained women with a genuine, sympathetic interest in young women and girls as leaders of such dubs. She INTRODUCTION xiii proves that this is not a mere peace-time movement but that it is an active potent force in England, France, and Russia as well as the United States in war-time. When the war is ended, these new organizations in Europe will not cease to exist, nor will the old ones become inactive rather will they multiply and enjoy a wider life for we shall be thinking in terms of the community's good where formerly we thought in terms of self. The future holds rich possibilities for the clubs and the faith- ful leaders who early caught the vision of their potential- ites for national service. Commissions on Training Camp Activities, Washington, D. C. June 24, 1918. GIRLS' CLUBS GIRLS' CLUBS THEIR ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT CHAPTER I THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK FOR many years, those interested in the development of girls have recognized the good that is to be accom- plished in organizing them. We have had Girls' Clubs organized for every conceivable purpose athletic clubs, sewing clubs, literary clubs, glee clubs, gardening clubs. We have seen these clubs flourishing in the country dis- tricts and in our cities in the tenement quarters and in the best homes. Every large organization that comes into contact with girls has used the Club method to hold their interest and to accomplish the work desired. The Young Women's Christian Association, the Young Women's Hebrew Association, Settlement House Asso- ciations, the Catholic Sodalities, the Girls' Friendly So- ciety, Sunday-School Associations, the National League of Women Workers, the Girl Scouts, the Camp Fire Girls in all these, organized groups of girls are busily at work. Their Club Leaders and Secretaries agree that GIRLS' CLUBS through organization much can be accomplished. There is inspiration and power in numbers. Nor are the Club Leaders alone in their approval of the Club idea. The girls themselves enjoy the Clubs. They know that there is "more fun" if a group of them get together for a good time. And even the more serious work of the Club is pleasure when they are all doing it together. For attendance at her Club rests with the girl herself : if she is not attracted she will not go. Thus, the rapid growth of girls' organizations in the United States in the past few years shows the increasing in- terest which the girls themselves feel in them. Such has been the popularity of the Girls' Club idea; popularity with Club Leaders because through organiza- tion they have found the opportunity to develop their girls and to help them attain high standards of woman- hood ; popularity with the girls because the Club is their own precious possession, in which they do the things they enjoy doing and make happy friendships. The outbreak of the war, furthermore, gave a new opportunity, and a new duty appeared before the girls of America and their Leaders. President Wilson said that the winning of the war depended on team work: every man, woman, and child was to join hands in the great cause of Democracy. From the first, those in authority at Washington turned to the girls of America as an important group and one whose power to help was great. Their appeals were made not only to girls in general but also to already existing organizations of girls. Here they saw groups of girls ready for active service, whose energy could easily be turned to the tasks necessary for helping the country. The President set THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK 3 his official seal of approval upon these organizations by consenting to become the Honorary President of the Camp Fire Girls of America. Herbert A. Hoover, Food Administrator, turned to the girls for help in his Food- Saving Campaign. He urged every Girls' Club to in- corporate the food-pledge idea into their activities, and in their own eating to conserve the needed articles. He asked them to help in spreading the idea of the "self-re- specting garbage can" and in securing the signatures of housewives upon his now well-known pledge card. He asked them to plant gardens and to preserve their prod- uce. All this, he said, was within their power to ac- complish. Miss Julia C. Lathrop, of the Children's Bureau at Washington, turned to the girls of America for help in the caring for little children. The demand for the work of older women was great; large tasks awaited these, tasks which could not be accomplished by youth- ful hands. But the care of children could well be en- trusted to younger girls, the mothers thus being released for other service. Miss Lathrop opened the way for real and patriotic work in asking the girls of America to help her in caring for little children. The Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense recognized the power of our girls by asking all over sixteen years of age to register for service to the country, using its official card. What needs might arise in any community, none could definitely foresee. But the Council of National Defense realized that the girls would be able to help, whatever the emergency. Upon its card, divided into ten different classes, one hundred and fifty-four kinds of work were listed which could be 4 GIRLS' CLUBS carried on by the women and girls of America. Of the ten divisions, one complete division was headed "Social Service," and under this came such heads as "Camp Work, Playgrounds, Recreational, Dancing, Music, Set- tlement, Social Clubs." Such a list, upon the official Government card of the Council of National Defense, showed a recognition of the good to be accomplished through Girls' Clubs and their activities; it meant that the Council of National Defense was urging young women to engage in Girls' Club work because it is one of the great constructive forces in our country and because, through their Clubs, our girls have been trained for responsible citizenship; but more than this it meant realization of what our girls had already accomplished along these lines, of the splen- did team work which they had already shown. For our girls' organizations had responded promptly to the appeal made to them by inaugurating war pro- grams of many and varied activities. The Camp Fire Girls of America, at the outbreak of the war, had adopted their Minute Girl program "Hold on to health ; Save food ; Care for children ; Work through the home." The Girl Scouts of America had drawn up a "Save for a Soldier" pledge which read, "I will give up wheat breads and cereals one meal a day, and candy two days a week." In the food-conservation movement, over 68,000 Camp Fire girls pledged themselves to help. Girls everywhere wrote food plays and food songs. Many helped in the distribution of food-thrift bulletins. Hundreds of girls planted gardens in response to the call. In Washington, the Girl Scouts, besides conserv- ing food in their own eating, and planting their own THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK 5 gardens, did unusually effective work in canning and preserving. These groups of Girl Scouts were trained under the direct supervision of the Department of Agri- culture. When the girls had learned the practical methods of war-time cookery, they went out to other Clubs, settlements, and schools, and taught others what they had learned. When the call came to the Girl Scouts to help feed the soldiers who were passing through Washington, they responded by making five hundred sandwiches a day, for a considerable time, using for the sandwiches the jams which they themselves had put up. Of work such as this, Mr. Herbert Hoover, Food Ad- ministrator wrote, "The training which the girls are re- ceiving in Home Economics at this time not only will help win the war, but also is a large factor in developing in them that home instinct which will prove so .valuable in later years." From all parts of the country reports were sent in to Washington telling of the work which Girls' Clubs had accomplished for the Red Cross, in making the needed articles, in caring for the rooms of the older members, in helping to raise the needed funds, in selling Liberty Bonds, in marching in parades where their fresh, happy faces cheered the spectators. Many books and maga- zines were collected and sent to the camps. Little French orphans were adopted and the necessary clothes made by the girls themselves. Such was the response of our American girls' organizations to the appeal for their cooperation in the work upon war-time problems. But the need of our country was and is not only for the already existing Girls' Clubs to take up the special kinds of work : the power which our organized girls can 6 GIRLS' CLUBS wield would be still greater if every girl in America were definitely connected with a girls' organization and were active in it. The war-time call was one for en- listment enlistment by girls with girls. A universal answer to the call would mean a better America. During the first months of the war, the call was most urgently sounded in those communities near our great training camps. Those interested in the protective work for girls near the Camps found that their efforts necessarily led them to cooperation with Girls' Clubs. It was not enough to patrol the streets and insure protection to the young women. In order to obtain permanent, constructive re- sults, the next step was to get these young women in direct touch with an organization that would influence them day by day, for weeks to come. Because Girls' Clubs gave not only the constructive influence but also the fun that all girls love, they were found to be the most effective of all organizations for this "follow-up." So it was that the War and Navy Departments' Commissions on Training Camp activities under the direction of Mr. Raymond Fosdick turned to our girls' organizations as the most effective means of creating a wholesome at- mosphere among the girls. The Commissions realized that those girls who were actively interested in a Girls' Club would have little time or inclination for those less wholesome pleasures which have made the training camp a problem always and everywhere, the world over. "This country will need trained women in the next few years as never before," wrote Mr. Fosdick, at the outbreak of the war. "Every Girls' Club, every useful class which helps its members to be the best kind of girls, is useful to the Government." THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK 7 So it was that the war brought to the girls of America not only the opportunity to serve, but also the duty to serve in the most effective way. That way was acknowl- edged to be through organization. And this duty and opportunity confronted not only the girls themselves but the organizers and leaders of girls as well. The Fosdick Commission turned to the Young Women's Christian Association for help in this great task. The Y. W. C. A. promptly organized a War Work Council. It was the function of this Council to study the needs of our Ameri- can girls and to send trained workers to those com- munities where help was most needed. It is an interesting and significant fact that, without exception, the method used by these special workers was to organize Girls' Clubs. The appeal to the girls was made on patriotic grounds. There was not a girl in America who was not intimately concerned in the war. Her brother or her friends had gone. Was she content to remain at home, idle? The enthusiastic response to the appeal showed that she was not. The American girl stood ready to do what she could. In general, this appeal to the girls was made through the Patriotic League idea an idea that can be as ef- fectively carried out in Club work in time of peace as in time of war. The Patriotic League is for all girls, whatever their race or creed. Just as the war broke down many other barriers, so in girls' work the patriotic stimulus brought our girls together as never before. In Philadelphia, the "recruiting" was largely done by means of the following circular : GIRLS 1 CLUBS THE IDEA. GIRLS, IS TO ENLIST! WHERE? In the Girls' Patriotic League. WHY? Because Patriotic League Girls are helping Our Country and Because Our Country needs YOU! WHO ARE THE PATRIOTIC LEAGUE GIRLS? They are the Girls who belong to Girls,' Organizations, and who have signed the Patriotic League Pledge. i- WHAT IS THE PLEDGE ?= By dofng better than ever- before whatever work I have to do; By rendering whatever special service 1 can to my community and country; liy living up to the highest standards oi character and ho DOS, and helping others to do the same. very girl who signs this pledge and lives up to it. is serving the country and is getting- behind the Boys in the Trenches. What do the Patriotic League Girls do? Right here in Philadelphia, You can join* Girts Club. Girls Clubs are lots of fun, and, besides the fun, the members learn and do many usef al things* If you don't know where to join a Girls' Club, the Patriotic League Headquarters will tell you. You can join a Unit Making Hospital Supplies. Do you know that the Red. Cross says that millions of bandages are needed at once? Are you knhting? Any girl can learn h Rot Aid Classes teach jrou whai every girl should know. You can save money by taking-up Millinery or Dressmaking, and making your own clothes, You can help at home by joining a Cooking Class, and learning How to Help Hoove*. You can cheer people up by helping to give Plays, and by singing in Glee GiuLs, Yoa can keep well and strong in Gymnasiums and Dancing Classes Are YOU making the most of your spare tint? Get 1 Dto the Recruiting Line Soon! r lecfge yourgplf At once to the Task Right 1 a Our own Town! 1 1 ia your Chance. Let. Enlist All Girl. Under the Emblem of tEcTcaguel RECRUITING STATIONS GIRLS' AND WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS Churches Settlement Houses Schools Recreation. Center* or at Headquarters, War and Navy Departments Comimssiona oa Training Camp* Activities, 135 South Broad Street The League is for You and Our Country! Won't You be- for Our Country and the. League? THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK 9 Such appeals as this were, in short, the recruiting call for the mobilization of American girls through Clubs. And what was the result? In almost unbelievable num- bers our girls responded. Many communities which had never before had any kind of girls' organizations erected Girls' Club buildings or fitted up rooms for the Clubs. In some Southern towns, where girls' organizations had been considered entirely superfluous, the citizens entered into the idea enthusiastically and placed rooms in the public schools at the disposal of the Patriotic League workers. In many places, the movement was city-wide, and all forces interested in girls' work came together and worked in organized harmony for the good of the community. The following organization of a Patriotic League committee was used, with some variations in many of our cities : Members of the Committee Y. W. C. A. representatives; Catholic representatives; Jewish representatives; Camp Fire Girls representatives; Girl Scout representatives; Public School representatives; Public Library representatives; representatives for the girls in Industry and Business. Such a representation meant that these workers per- sonally touched all classes of girls in a city. The ex- istence of such a committee meant mobilization not only of the girls but also for the girls. Large patriotic rallies and pageants, held by the girls, brought the work of the organizations before the public as never before. Upon the program of the Patriotic League pageant held in Syracuse in the summer of 1917 were written a few lines which show the spirit of the girls who worked upon it. "The Patriotic League of Syracuse is no longer a mere idea. It is a live, working force of noo girls, organized for better io GIRLS' CLUBS work and better play in the face of our National Crisis. The pageant to-night makes the League spirit truly a possession of the whole community. It is significant of the spirit of coop- erative endeavor which must inspire the larger city. The League belongs now to Syracuse. Syracuse belongs to the League." And so it has come about that the opportunity for organization among girls is greater than ever before. It is greater because the possibilities in organization have been universally recognized as an effective means of working. Not only have our Government heads ap- proved of the idea, but our prominent and influential business men have become eager to introduce such ac- tivities into the life of their employees. They, too, have come to see that it is of great and practical value to them to have within their commercial house a Club whose activities awaken new interests and broaden the horizon of their employees. Progressive Sunday-School super- intendents have introduced into their churches the idea of organizing the Sunday-school classes. Classes organ- ized in this way broaden their activities far beyond Biblical study. Librarians with initiative have formed book clubs among young girls and in this way have made the Library a more popular center. In many fields the Girls* Club idea has been introduced because those in authority have confidence in its effectiveness. But the opportunity before us to-day is greater also because of the spirit of the girls themselves. Girls have seen what girls can do and there is a spirit of action in the air. And because of this spirit, a larger task lies before those who are vitally interested in the growth of the work. Because of the increased interest and en- THEJ)PPORTUNITY AND THE TASK n thusiasm, there is an evident need for Club Leaders who can steady our girls and direct their energies wisely. To a Leader of girls is given the privilege of directing. It lies within her power to teach her girls that our coun- try needs and will always need dependable girls who can be relied upon to finish whatever they undertake. In every community to-day, there is a cry for "Girls' Club Leaders and more Girls' Club Leaders." It is a field for vital service which should appeal to many thoughtful young women who desire to invest their time in a work which will yield valuable returns. The Club Leader who so interests a group of girls that they will leave the street corner where they have been loitering and go to a Settlement to play basketball has rendered a real service to her community. Every evening which the girls spend in wholesome surroundings makes them better able to resist the influence of the other forces in their lives. The Club Leader will not always accomplish all the results for which she hoped. But wherever a real interest in her own development has been aroused in a girl, wherever ambition and purpose have been awakened, wherever she has learned cooperation and thought fulness for others, there the Club has become a vital force for good in her life. Perhaps but one of these valuable life lessons has been learned by the Club members. Perhaps but few of them seem to have gained any real benefit from the efforts of the Club Leader. Such apparent lack of results is to be expected. The reward lies in the response which some of the Club girls cannot fail to give, and in the effect of the Club's activities in their lives. It may seem to the new. Club Leader that her path 12 GIRLS' CLUBS is beset by difficulties and problems. These should not discourage her. Any work which has for its ultimate aim the development of the highest and best traits of character in individuals is bound to be rilled with diffi- culties. The test of successful Girls' Club work lies not in the presence of difficulties but in the way in which the difficulties are met. An understanding of the funda- mental principles of successful Club work has often enabled a Club worker to carry on a successful Club in circumstances which are apparently unfavorable and exceedingly difficult. A Club whose quarters were in a dark room in a factory of a large city extended its influence to every department and numbered among its voluntary members the leaders of the women employees. In another factory, in the same city, the directors wished to have a similar Club. They built a Club house and thoroughly equipped it. The girls refused to go to it and the Club rooms were almost deserted. The directors, who were clever business men, were at a loss for an explanation of the cause of their failure. "The idea's all right/' said one of them, "it must be, because it has worked so often. But something was wrong in the way we went at it." This director's remark is an excellent explanation of the reason why some Club Leaders fail where others succeed there is "something wrong in the way they go at it." But no Club Leader should feel that her prob- lems cannot be solved, nor that she alone is meeting them. The questions which she is trying to solve have puzzled many other Club Leaders. In the experience of others, she can learn and adapt much for her own Club. It is the purpose of this book to gather together THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE TASK 13 such principles and ideas of Girls' Club work as have proven valuable in many kinds of Clubs. Girls are girls everywhere. Plans which have been successful in one ' kind of Club can be adapted and happily used in another. Each situation has its special needs and problems. But there is, after all, something universal in the natures of girls and the plans which have proven successful in one Club will often be full of usefulness to another Club Leader. The girls of America are calling to-day for wise Club leadership. One has but to know them to realize their enthusiasm and their needs. One has but to have seen the attainments of vital Club work to have faith in its possibilities. Where a Girls' Club is organized in a com- munity and has been guided to render effective service, that Club will not be allowed to die away. It will live and it will grow. This is the opportunity which lies before leaders of girls to-day and this is the task. CHAPTER II THE CLUB LEADER The Need for a Leader THE necessity for having a Leader among any group of organized girls is evident to all who have had ex- perience with Girls' Clubs. The younger the girls, the greater becomes this necessity for the presence of an older person who can steady their impetuous enthusiasm and tactfully guide their activities into useful channels. No matter what the purpose of the Club is, the girls are coming together because of some need in their lives. This need may be social or educational in character. But, whatever it is, a Club Leader who is far-seeing, wise in her judgments, and sympathetic, can introduce into the Club activities the elements which will meet the needs of the Club members. Often the girls but vaguely realize that there is a lack in their lives. It is part of the older Club Leader's task to discover it and to meet it. The presence of a Club Leader gives to the proceedings of the Club a stability which is most necessary. The mothers of the girls are more willing to have their daughters attend the Club meetings when they know that the Club is under wise supervision. If the Club Leader is present at every meeting, on Hand early to welcome all comers, if she knows what must be accomplished and 14 THE CLUB LEADER 15 by her suggestions sees that the Club does not wander from its purpose she constitutes a help to any Club which it cannot afford to be without. When times of stress and disagreement enter into the Club life, the Club members often look instinctively to a fair and impartial Club Leader to make the necessary decision and to bring harmony to the ranks once more. A wise and tactful leader can frequently hold a Club together when, without her, the Club might have sud- denly ended its existence. The presence of a Leader is often necessary for the constructive development of the Club. Many groups of girls have but few ideas for the activities upon which their Clubs should enter. Given a good suggestion from their leader, however, they are able to enlarge upon it and add their own ideas. Other girls have suggestions which are practicable for Club work only after they have been adapted to the particular situation at hand. A far- seeing Club Leader receives such suggestions and tact- fully modifies them for her particular Club. Such func- tions of a Club Leader could scarcely be performed by one of the girls themselves, for it is the more mature judgment of the leader which enables her to meet and to solve the problems of Club life. To the uninitiated, it might seem a wise policy to allow one of the Club members to assume these duties of Leader. Such a course of action suggests greater op- portunity in the development of self-reliance. As a matter of fact, in most Girls' Clubs the presence of a Leader is needed in order to insure just this training to all Club members alike. A Club of young girls without a Leader a Leader who insists that all her girls, whether 16 GIRLS' CLUBS self-assertive or retiring, share equally in the oppor- tunities of the Club will almost inevitably see its affairs gradually drift into the control of a few natural "lead- ers," and its spirit of democracy lose force. A Club Leader is needed among girls to see that the honors and opportunities of Club life are distributed "share and share alike." Her presence should mean greater oppor- tunities for her girls and, because she is there, her Club should be a more helpful and happy one. Who is to be Leader? This is the question which confronts many a Club or- ganizer as she thinks of a group of girls whom she would like to see formed in a Club. For the majority of Girls' Clubs are formed at the instigation of some larger organ- ization or because of the interest of some social worker or other broad-minded person. The Head of a Settlement House gets acquainted with a few girls who are in- terested in sewing. She thinks it will be helpful to have them meet together and thus is born a Sewing Club. An extension Library worker finds some girls who are interested in reading. She sends out invitations for a "Book Party," at the close of which she suggests that they meet regularly to read and discuss what they have read. The idea is enthusiastically received and a Girls' Club is then under way. Or perhaps a Y. W. C. A. secretary finds a factory where the lunch hour is suffi- ciently long for some activity. She obtains permission to try out her plan and goes to the factory during the lunch hour. The girls gather around her. She tells stories or amuses them with "stunts." The girls show. THE CLUB LEADER 17 their interest and she asks them whether they wouldn't enjoy coming together once a week. They agree to do so and another Girls' Club has been organized. To be sure, groups of girls do organize into Clubs without any outside suggestion. Such groups sometimes apply for admission into a Settlement House organization. They have been together in school and now they wish to have a Club. In any case, the group of girls is there. They can be organized. Now what about a Leader? The obvious answer to this question seems to be, "a woman." And this answer comes naturally because women have successfully held the leadership of the majority of Girls' Clubs. Men have, at times, wisely directed such organizations, especially when the Club has met for some class work and the man in charge has been qualified to teach in that definite work. But a woman seems especially fitted for Club leadership be- cause of her understanding of the problems which the girl constantly meets. The Camp Fire Girls' Manual outlines the qualifications of a "Guardian" (as the Camp Fire Leaders are called) in the following way: "Camp Fire Guardians are older women, who, because of their larger experiences, are able to lead the girls into larger interests. Mothers are urged to become Guardians, and the meetings are usually held in the homes or out-of- doors." If, then, a woman is to be chosen as Leader of a proposed Girls' Club, what kind of woman is best qualified for the task? Shall the organizer search for a young woman, full of enthusiasm and energy, or for an older woman, with the wisdom of judgment that comes with years ? There can be no fixed rule to follow. Girls' Clubs have succeeded under the guidance of en- i8 GIRLS' CLUBS thusiastic young women, full of the "stunts" which girls enjoy. And they have been successful under older women who have had the spirit of youth in their hearts. The kind of Leader desired depends upon the situation at hand. The social worker hunts for a volunteer worker. The employer searches for someone to employ. In either case, the task is essentially the same. The social worker must find someone who is willing to take up the task and who will be faithful to her responsi- bilities. The employer must find a Club worker who is primarily interested in the development of the girls, rather than in the salary he will pay her for the work. Each Club presents its special problems and often the Leader should be definitely qualified to meet those problems. The Leader of a Girls' Canning Club in the country must understand the art of canning and preserv- ing. She will, whenever possible, introduce into the Club life those social elements which mean so much to the lonely country girl; but, first and foremost, the Club has been organized to can. And the leader must there- fore have this specific knowledge. The leader of a Literary Club will of necessity have a knowledge of books. Her girls have formed a Literary Club because of their interest in literature. Her own acquaintance with books will enable her to suggest those books for study which will be definitely helpful and inspiring to her particular group of girls. The Leader of a Girls' Club in a business house will grasp the various phases of the business life in which the Club is to grow, and will plan her work to appeal to and help girls who are in just that situation. The leader of a group of foreign girls will find it helpful if she is able to speak their THE CLUB LEADER 19 native language. This ability of hers is the door through which she can lead them to an understanding of American life^ and its ideals. Not every Club requires such specific talents. Most Girls' Clubs, especially those among the younger girls, come together to "have a Club." They wish to do many kinds of things in their hours together singing, play- ing, dancing and whatever else appeals to them. In the majority of Clubs, in settlement houses, in Y. W. C. A/s and in churches, the demand is for a general Club Leader, one who can rally the girls, interest them in the activities of the Club and carry those activities to a successful conclusion. It is always of great help, how- ever, in planning the work of any Club, to know at the outset what the prospective Leader is able to do in any special line. The Settlement or Guild director can then often suggest certain activities when she knows that the Leader is qualified to carry them on. The Club Leader herself does not always realize that her talents can be of practical use, until the questioning of the organizer brings the matter to her attention and points out the possibilities. This search for some talents often reveals others which are equally useful, and the Club Leader comes to realize this important fact that Girls' Club work is wide in its'possibilities and its requirements, and that whatever she herself can do well this very train- ing can be passed on to her girls. Special Qualifications to be Sought The following questions show the points concerning prospective Club Leaders which an organizer of girls has considered important in her own selection of them. 20 GIRLS' CLUBS Choosing the Club Leader Her appearance and personality. Is she neat and attractive in appearance? Is her personality winning? Her Training Education. Wha?. has been her education? If at a college or other advanced school, in what did she specialize? What did she most enjoy? Was she active in any non-academic in- terests? If so, which were they? Did she hold any offices or serve on any committees? Special Talents. Has she any special talents? Is she musical? Can she coach plays ? Can she direct athletics? Teach dancing? Can she teach cooking? Can she teach sewing? Art em- broidery? Crochet or knitting? Can she teach any special arts, such as weaving? Does she enjoy books and reading? Previous Experience. Has she held any position, volunteer or paid, previously to this? If so, what? For how long? Why did she leave? Has she ever done work of this kind before? Where? What was the extent of it? Who were the girls with whom she dealt? What were the activities of the Club? Did she enjoy it? If she has never been active in Club work before, how did she become interested in it? How much time can she give to it? What are her ideas about the conducting of a Club? Where are Leaders Found? The heads of our large social organizations naturally look to our educated young women for service as Club Leaders. They have enjoyed advantages for which many of these Club girls yearn, or, perhaps, to which they are looking forward. To those who will never be able to enjoy them, the college or school girl can bring some- thing of the happiness and of the lessons of school days. To those who will some day be college girls themselves, the Club Leader can bring through their Club team I & g o THE CLUB LEADER 21 work some elements of preparation which are not to be found in the pages of the Latin grammar. In Hull House, the evening social Clubs (self-governing groups of young people) organize and meet under the direction of Leaders appointed by the Social Clubs Committee. These Leaders are drawn from the Recreation Depart- ment of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy and are students in training. Such a plan is of great advantage both to the Clubs and to the Leaders. The Clubs enjoy the leadership of trained and vitally inter- ested workers, and the Leaders enjoy the opportunity of contact with a Club, while they are studying to be recreational directors. General Qualifications But such specially trained young people are not al- ways available. Many of our smaller and country com- munities have no specially educated women upon whom they may call for Club leadership. This should not mean that a Club cannot be started in these places. There can always be found a Club Leader for the girls, if careful search is made. Many a mother has been found who has welcomed such an opportunity to meet with her daughter and her daughter's friends and to be "chums" with them. Often school teachers have been persuaded to undertake the work; they have been glad to meet the girls in an informal way and to put aside the relationship of being the "teacher." The Camp Fire Manual suggests these points in the selection of a Leader. "Guardians should be appointed from among those ( i ) who personally know the families of the girls ; (2) with whom the parents will cooperate." If a woman 22 GIRLS' CLUBS is vitally interested in the girls, open to suggestions, and eager to develop her Club, that Club Leader will render a service to the Community through the organization which she is helping. A Fundamental Requisite Club Leaders of many years' experience often realize that, while the question of one's talents and specific abilities is apt to be a first consideration, it is, in fact, secondary to another. Without this other, the most bril- liantly talented Club Leaders have failed in their efforts. With it, those coming to their Clubs with apparently empty hands have made of their Clubs vital organiza- tions. This primary consideration is the spirit of the Leader. To have the Club do its most effective work, the leader must be wholeheartedly interested in its mem- bers and their development. Real interest in the girls means interest not merely in their meetings of one or two hours a week or a month. The influence of the best Club Leader extends far beyond these comparatively short periods of their being together in the Club, out into the lives of the girls, whether at home, at work, or in school. She gets intimately acquainted with them and knows their family life, their problems, and their interests. No matter who or where the girl is, of what age or nationality, she will respond to real interest and will instinctively go for advice to her who she feels is her real friend. "Do not go to your girls with any feeling of supe- riority," a successful Club worker once said to a new Club Leader, "and don't feel rather satisfied to think you are doing a truly good deed! They will feel your supe- THE CLUB LEADER 23 riority and will resent it. Instead, go to them as you would to a group of people whom you have wished for a long time to meet, and as friend to friend get ac- quainted." This key word "As friend to friend" is one which the new Club Leader may well remember through- out her Club work. A small, unattractive woman once approached a Superintendent in a city Sunday School and asked whether she might take a class of young women. Think- ing her services would be of no special value, he gave her a class of three. In the course of a year, the class had grown to seven. Two years passed and fourteen were in the class. The quiet woman had formed a Girls' Club which met regularly at her house. She had called in the homes of the girls and had come to know their families. She remembered their birthdays with cards and went to see them when they were sick. She gave parties for them to which they were sometimes in- vited to bring young men. She could not direct plays or get up a Glee Club, and yet when her girls wished to do those things, they had little difficulty in finding someone who was willing to help them in that special line. Such instances as this encourage tentative Club Leaders who perhaps feel that they have not sufficient ability for Club work. A true, wholesome friend is what every girl needs and it is possible for an earnest, interested worker to give and to win friendship of this kind. Other Desirable Characteristics To name all the personal characteristics desirable in a Club Leader would be to describe a combination of 24 GIRLS' CLUBS them which is rarely, if ever, found in one worker. A few, however, stand out as especially helpful in Club work and surely not unattainable. Faithfulness how often has the lack of it on the part of her volunteer workers brought despair to the heart of a Y. W. C. A. director! And, on the contrary, how often has she blessed the Club Leader who is always present at meetings, always on time, and who has always made the plans for which she said she would be re- sponsible! The best Club Leader places faithfulness to her word before her own personal pleasure, and her in- fluence upon the girls is strong or weak according as she considers her Club important or unimportant. One Club Leader once wrote a pledge which, in her opinion, was the most important for a worker among girls to observe. The pledge was as follows: "I will always keep my promises to my girls, unless some real reason prevents. By real reason, I do not mean an attractive social engagement." Ability to be fair and to treat all Club members im- partially is also desirable in a Club Leader. It is difficult to be constantly impartial when some of the girls seem so responsive and so well worth the effort expended upon them, while others are far from being attractive and are coldly indifferent. Unless a Club Leader is on her guard, she will quite naturally fall into the habit of referring to one or two Club girls as ideal Club members, and before she knows it, the rest of the Club will charge her with having "pets." Those who have had little interest before will seize upon this as an excuse for their indif- ference. One Club Leader found her work made suddenly difficult because she had held up a certain few girls as THE CLUB LEADER 25 a constant example before the others. This aroused resentment in the Club against the good workers and against her. She had, to be sure, honored those who most deserved it, but she afterward said that had she realized the consequences of her action, she would not have been so emphatic about the excellence of the few and would have worked more intensively with the others to bring them up to the high standard. The necessity for maintaining wholesome friendships is closely allied to this ability to treat all with impar- tiality. Any who have dealt with girls know what a "crush," or passionate hero-worship, is; and have come to dread its appearance as destructive to team work and Club cooperation. Incipient hero-worship is but natural in girls. They are at the hero-worshiping age. The wise Club Leader will not shun nor treat with disdain the young girl who dogs her footsteps. Rather, she will make of it the opportunity for developing a real and vital friendship. And by showing an attitude of simple cordiality and dispassionate interest, she will almost in- variably be able to win a steady loyalty quite different from flaming and fluctuating adoration, and far more lasting. A director of many Girls' Clubs once pointed with pride to the fact that this spirit of passion was lacking in all of her organization. "Some people will tell you that it is impossible to carry on Girls' Club work without it," she remarked, "but it is possible and we know it because we have done it. To be sure, we have had a policy of aiming at wholesome friendships and have kept it constantly before us. More than this, we have endeavored to have our own friendships for each 26 GIRLS' CLUBS: other on the high plane of balance and sanity. All of this has helped and we are proud of the result." Power to see things in the same way as her girls is of greatest value to the Club Leader. When she knows their home life and their training, or lack of it, there comes to her an understanding of their actions. "Be- fore I give any advice, I always try to put myself in the girl's place," one Club Leader has said. "It's sur- prising how often this changes what I had meant to say !" Lack of this very ability to put herself in the girl's place has brought misunderstanding and even failure into the life of many a Leader. A Club Leader in a business house once decided to organize a Club among some young girls to meet during the lunch hour. The girls were interested in dancing, so she taught them simple folk dances. At the outset, she had had in mind the conducting of a class like the Physical Training classes she had conducted in her gymnasium. She soon found that she could not do it in that way. At first she was inclined to reprimand the girls for getting out of line and for giggling, but when she stopped to con- sider the fact that lunch time was their only free hour during the day, she soon lost all desire to see them standing in rows, learning steps the entire time. So there was no reprimand for the girls who laughed heartily at their own efforts to do the dances. She provided songs and games for part of the half -hour with the result that when the time came for the dance work, the girls invariably gave earnest attention to it. The result of this policy on her part was the creation of an at- mosphere of sociability and enjoyment rather than of work to be done. THE CLUB LEADER 27 A visiting Club Leader complained of her inability to hold her girls during lunch hour in a similar Club. The first leader visited the other's rooms and talked with the girls. "She makes us work all the time on those dances," objected one, "and she says we're silly when we laugh. How would you like to work all day and never laugh even on your lunch hour?" The second Club Leader could not have made this mistake had she been able to sympathetically put herself in the place of her Club members. Self-Control. Perplexing situations are sure to arise in the life of a Club, such as try the Leader's patience to the utmost. If, through them all, she is able to preserve her self-control, she will have contributed vitally to the de- velopment of her girls, who are often sadly in need of that very self-control. The force of a good example is per- haps never exerted more powerfully than in showing control of one's temper when the Club work is difficult. "She never gets mad when you're bad," said one girl of a beloved Camp Director, "but she makes you feel pretty mean when you break rules, because she's always so sorry about it!" And so it would be possible to make a long list of personal characteristics which enable a Club Leader to exert a helpful influence upon her girls. Perhaps the best general rule for the Leader is to always try to be what she wishes her girls to be. If her ideal is suffi- ciently high, she will never attain it. But in the striving, she will help not only her girls but also herself, im- measurably. 28 GIRLS' CLUBS Getting Acquainted with the Girls The earnest Club Leader will at once set about getting acquainted with her girls in as vital a way as possible. She has been given a group of girls to lead along the lines of useful development. The activities of the Club and her personal relationship with them must further this aim. In order to accomplish this, she must know each girl. Her help can then be given wisely. But such acquaintance cannot be gained at once, nor without definitely searching for it. For "knowing each girl" means far more than being able to recognize her upon the street and calling her by name. It includes ac- quaintance with her family and her home life, her educa- tion, her surroundings, her interests in short, an ac- quaintance with the forces which have made her what she is. If a Leader has definitely in mind what she wishes to know about her girls, any conversation will give her an opportunity to learn the desired facts. It may be some time before the Leader knows all that she wishes concerning her girls. Many Club Leaders have found it far wiser to approach the girls gradually than to go to them in the attitude of a cross-questioner and by constant questioning to arouse their suspicions and antagonism. A friend, however, confides in a friend. Once a Club Leader has proved herself a friend to her girls, girlish confidences follow and the Leader is in a position to advise and direct wisely. Just what it is helpful to know about a group of girls varies with the kind of girls who are members of the group. The following list of questions, however, includes many of the necessary facts and may be a guide THE CLUB LEADER 29 to Club Leaders in making a fundamental acquaintance with their girls. Miss Mary Richmond's book on "So- cial Diagnosis" (Russell Sage Foundation, Publishers) also gives an. excellent set of questionnaires which fit situations of all kinds. The Girl's Relationships. Her Family. How many are there in the family? Are the father and mother native or foreign-born? Do they speak English? What does the father do? Is his position steady? Does the mother work? How many of the family work? What is the girl's attitude toward her family? Her Friends. Who are her friends? Are they in the neighborhood where she lives? Are they in her church? Are they in her place of work? How did she come to know them? Is she engaged? What does the young man do? Does she expect to be married soon? Living Conditions. Where does the girl live? If she is with her family, has she a room of her own? Where does she board, if a boarder? How much does she pay for board? What kind of boarding-house is it? Are there any rules about the conduct of the girls who live in it? Physical Condition. Is her physical condition good? Does she need special attention of any kind? Is she sufficiently nourished? Does her physical condition bar her from the more strenuous Club activities such as basketball? Education. Is the girl still in school? What grade? If so, does she enjoy it? What is her rank? 30 GIRLS' CLUBS What studies does she most enjoy? Is her conduct good? If not now in school, what was her grade when she left? Why did she leave? Can she return to school? What studies did she like best when in school? Does she read or study now? Has she taken any course since leaving school, such as a business-college course? Occupation. Is the girl filling a position of any kind? What is the work which she is doing? By what concern is she employed? Does she enjoy her work? If not, what would she prefer doing? What are her ambitions? Is she suited to her present occupation? Has she talents which would enable her to pursue another better? Can she be directed into that other line of work? Financial Situation. What is her salary? Does she give it all to her mother and receive an allowance from her? What is the amount of this allowance? What is the salary used for ? How much goes toward clothes? Lunch? Recreation? Board? Does she save any and how? Does she keep any account of her expenditures? Religious Life. Does the girl attend any church regularly? If not, does she belong to any church? Why did she get out of touch with it? Is it a vital force in her life? Recreation. What does the girl do for recreation beside her Club meetings? THE CLUB LEADER 31 Know Your Community From the outset, the progressive Club Leader will realize that her Club is not the only force which touches the lives of her girls. The Club meets for one or two hours every week or two weeks. Think of the many other hours during each week when other forces, for good and for evil, are touching those same lives ! "What are they? How can I work with them, and in this way establish more firmly the work of my own Club?" These are the questions which come before every Club Leader. Often they present themselves through the de- sires or needs of the girls. One of the Club girls wishes to join a church. What is the best one for her, in the section where she lives? A Club member is eager to study stenography and typewriting. Where is the most thorough course given, and at what price? The father of one of the Club girls is living a life harmful to the best interests of the family. What organization should she consult for help? The Club wishes to give some financial help to some good cause in the community. What shall it be? Such questions as these arise con- stantly in a growing Girls' Club. The alert Club Leader who knows the organizations and opportunities of her own district or town is able to answer them with prac- tical, definite suggestions, which the girls can put into action. Margaret F. Byington in her booklet on "What Social Workers Should Know about Their Own Com- munities," has said of her suggestions: "This is not a plan for a Social Survey; it is rather an outline of those facts about local conditions which are a necessary part of the equipment for service of the volunteer or 32 GIRLS' CLUBS of the regular in the social army. In fulfilling his task, whatever it may be, every such worker must rely for help on the organized forces, on State laws and local ordinances, on city departments and volunteer agencies. He will, moreover, find his problem so dovetailed with other problems that all must be worked out jointly if anything is to be achieved. "The knowledge of these forces and agencies is of special importance to one who works among needy families, since he must utilize them constantly in the rehabilitation of individual families. Conversely, he should learn from the study of dependency in these families what reforms are most needed, and help to focus the efforts of all agencies with a social program on the removal of evils thus made real to him." The general outline of Miss Byington's suggestions concerning facts which the Club worker may well know is as follows : Historical setting of the community. City administration and finances. Housing. Health. Health activities. Recreation. Industry. The immigrant. Children. Child labor. Education. Juvenile delinquency. Child caring. Adult delinquents. Needy families. Private relief. The organization of charity. Ptfblic outdoor relief. Homeless men. The aged. Community organization. Fraternal orders. Women's clubs. Business men's associations. Local civic improvement associa- tions. Churches. THE CLUB LEADER 33 Many interested in the girl-problem have given this matter of community organization special study and have compiled outlines of definite help to workers with girls. In Columbus, Ohio, through the officers of the Girls 7 Friendly Society, a survey was compiled of opportunities for girls in that city. The list included opportunities for education, employment, amusement, protection, labor laws, legal aid, lodgings, lunch rooms, savings, settle- ments and churches. The Young Women's Christian Association, in its pamphlet on "Some Resources for Work with Girls and Young Women in Towns," places such a survey as an important part of girls' work. This pamphlet states: "The purpose of a survey is not for prying, but for a definite focus on facts, 'getting one's range/ so that there shall be neither haziness of aim nor waste of energy. Each place is a different puzzle, and the life and ambi- tions of girls are always more or less colored by the influence peculiar to each locality, so that one must never generalize." The outline suggested in this pamphlet is as follows: Sources of Information for the Survey 1. Direct conversation with girls and young women. 2. Private inquiry of employers, teachers, pastors, and parents. 3. Reports of public officials. 4. Study of methods and successes and failures of other town organizations. Survey for a Town, General, i. Population of town. Number of girls between 15 and 30 years of age. 34 GIRLS' CLUBS 2. Different nationalities represented. If any one nationality predominates, which is it? Is there any section of the town occupied principally by one nationality or race? 3. Number of occupations open to women. Number of women employed outside of their homes. State how many girls are employed in each of the following: Teaching, includ- ing music teachers; clerks in stores; telephone operators; stenographers and bookkeepers; factories, hotels, restaurants; dressmaking; milliners; domestic service. Discover for each group how many have homes in town. 4. Organizations for women and girls. Give names of clubs, indicating whether their purpose is literary, social, civic, philan- thropic, telling the name of the president and the number of members. Make separate lists of lodges and also of church organizations. How many of these organizations have in their membership girls between 15 and 25? What organizations, if any, are there whose membership is made up exclusively of girls? Educational I. Educational institutions in town with number of girls attending. Number of girls in High School. What percentage of girls finishing the eighth grade within the last three years have entered the high school? Give for each year separately if you can. What are the girls doing who did not go on to High School? How many girls from the High School have gone to college in the last three years? What determined the others not to go? What work have they taken up? (Con- sult the school superintendent or High School principal in get- ting these figures.) Is there a library in town? How many volumes? Open how much of the time? Does the town have a lecture course during the season? A Chautauqua in the summer? What occasions during the year attract the largest number of people to your town? Social and Recreational. How much social life and recreation is furnished by the churches of the town? By the schools? Are there groups not touched by either of these? Where do they find their social life? How many motion-picture houses in town? What would you say of the character of the films shown? What is the average THE CLUB LEADER 35 attendance in a week in one of these places? How many dance halls? Skating rinks? Gymnasiums in town? How much are they used? Is any organization making a definite effort to encourage outdoor activities for young people? Religious. Number of churches in town, giving denominations. Name of pastors and approximate membership. How many Sunday-School classes are there made up of girls between 15 and 25 years? What is the total membership? How many of the churches have active young people's organizations? Is there a city union of young people or any other interdenomina- tional plan for working together? A large, general survey of this kind, while suggestive for the individual Club Leader, is much more broad in scope than she may wish to undertake. Miss Eliza R. Butler, in connection with the problems of Secondary School girl work, has formulated an outline for a survey in that field which shows how the idea of a survey can be adapted to special problems. The following points are included in Miss Butler's outline : 1. Study of the nature and interests of girlhood. 2. Social programs to determine the amount of time avail- able for Club activities. 3. School regulations in regard to student activities and or- ganizations. 4. State laws and ordinances concerning the use of public- school buildings, etc. 5. The problems of school life in the given school or group of schools. (fl) Percentage of graduates going to college. (6) Percentage of graduates going into remunerative occu- pations. (c) Percentage of graduates who live at home. (d) Existence of other clubs and organizations which may be meeting student needs. 36 GIRLS' CLUBS Contact with Other Leaders of Girls Perhaps nothing is of more inspirational help to a Club Leader than meeting others who are also interested in girls and who are dealing with the same problems. Great benefit is to be gained from such personal contact and from informal discussion of these problems. Those who direct large organizations made up of many Clubs have long since realized the importance of gathering Club Leaders together. And so it is that we see the Club Leaders of a Settlement House meeting to discuss their plans; the Secretaries and the volunteer workers in a Y. W. C. A. coming together; we hear of Camp Fire Guardians or Girl Scout Captains conferring in special sessions. In many parts of the United States such gatherings are not limited to single organizations. Groups of leaders have been formed that are city-wide, county-wide, and even country-wide. In Philadelphia the leaders of girls in that city are united in the Girls' Conference. All organizations in- terested in work for girls are invited to join. The con- ference is an open forum for the discussion of city-girl problems. Four or more meetings are held in the course of the year, and the problems are then presented and discussed. The roll of the Girls' Conference includes organizations of all kinds religious (Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant) ; remedial organizations ; educational organizations; and recreational organizations. The ex- ecutive board of this Conference includes a Girls' High School principal, representatives from the Catholic, Jew- ish, and Colored organizations of the city, and repre- sentatives from such organizations as the Salvation THE CLUB LEADER 37 Army, the Y. W. C. A., the Girls' Aid Society, and the Travelers' Aid Society. A meeting of a committee of this kind gives many points of view concerning the girls of the community. The following subjects which the Philadelphia Girls' Conference has considered show the practical problems which have come before them : "Closer cooperation of all field workers"; "Vocational training and guidance and follow-up work of girls obtaining working papers, with special attention to recreation and character building"; "Social Service for cases heard in Magistrates' Court"; "Work with girls and women in War Times" ; "Constructive War Work with girls," and "Recreation of women affected by War-Time Activities." In smaller communities, it is possible to bring together the school teachers and the Sunday- School teachers as well as those directly concerned with Club work. The Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs, which have been largely promoted under the auspices of the United States Government, have used the county as a unit, and within a county have brought the Clubs and Club Leaders into personal touch with one another. In this way there has been created a cordial friendliness and cooperation. Training for the New Club Leader Contact with experienced Club Leaders is especially valuable to the new and inexperienced Leader. Many young women just starting out upon this work have re- ceived valuable suggestions by talking with those who have for years been interested in this line. Those who are in charge of many Clubs and of Club Leaders have prepared for these Leaders short courses to be given 38 GIRLS 1 CLUBS at summer conferences or winter meetings. The fol- lowing course for Leaders was given under the Girls' Division of the National Service Commission, New York City, in the form of six lectures by women of experience in girls' work : A. The Club and its Organization. 1. How best to reach the girls. 2. The value of self-government and how to obtain it. 3. The necessary steps in the first three meetings of a Club. B. The Club and its Activities. 1. How to work out a program based on physical-service recreational lines. This would include o. The different kinds of physical work possible for girls of different ages. The advisability of drill work. b. Different kinds of service work. c. Recreation in general. 2. Dramatic Work for Clubs. Plays. Pageantry. Com- munity Singing. o. Educational value of Dramatics. ^Esthetic and Community sense to be developed through pageantry. b. The director: The necessary point of view. Educational and Community Drama. c. The production; Formation of Committees, etc. d. Cooperation : Drama league. Community Choruses. 3. The Club and City Social Agencies. a. How to use Agencies for saving. b. How to use Clinics, Visiting Nurses, Hos- pitals, and Convalescent Homes. c. How to use the Public Library and the Art Museum. THE CLUB LEADER 39 4. Presentation and discussion of Club Plans which have been found to be successful for girls, such as, a. Girl Scout Work. b. Camp Fire work. c. Woodcraft League work. d. Protective League work. 5. Forum meeting for Questions and Discussions. Contact with Club Leaders through Publications Many books have been written which touch upon the various phases of Girls' Club work, and the periodicals which are published by the various organizations give to every Club Leader a splendid opportunity for gather- ing new ideas for her Club. The Camp Fire Girls' Handbook (fifty cents) ; the Handbook for Girl Scouts (thirty cents) ; the Woodcraft Manual for Girls of the Woodcraft League (fifty cents) all of these outline in greatest detail many activities for girls. The monthly publications of the large organizations of girls and young women give many suggestions for the actual carrying out of these activities. There is no issue of the following Girls' Club magazines which does not contain definite suggestions for Club work, either in the special articles written by trained Club workers, or in the reports which the girls themselves contribute. Any Girls' Club Leader will find help in the "Association Monthly" (Y. W. C. A. publication, one dollar a year) ; "Wohelo" (Camp Fire Girls' Magazine, one dollar a year) ; "The Rally" (Girl Scouts' Magazine, one dollar a year) ; "The Club Worker" (published by the National League of Women Workers, thirty cents a year). By subscribing to one or all of these publications any Club Leader can, at a 40 GIRLS' CLUBS small expense, receive a constant influx of new ideas. It matters little whether or not she has a group of girls under any of these particular organizations; there is suggestion and inspiration for her in all work which is being carried on among girls. Cooperation with Other Individuals Many Club Leaders have found that there are others living in the same community who are willing to help in the work of their Clubs. These others are not willing to undertake the work of a Club, but they are glad to give their help in coaching a play, in training a Glee Club for a certain concert, or in arranging for a special outing. The Club Leader who makes use of not only her own talents but also those of her friends finds help waiting for her where she may least expect it. One Club Leader in a large city successfully intro- duced the "Big Sister" idea into her Club work. Her girls were of a kind who needed a large amount of in- dividual attention. She herself was unable to give it. So she sought the help of a number of her friends, asking each one to take one girl in the Club and be her "big sister," taking her out to wholesome pleasures, watching her, and advising her. The plan was well worth the effort, and the girls profited by these helpful friendships. The New Club Leader The numerous possibilities in Girls' Club work should cause no young woman who is genuinely interested in it to hesitate in undertaking it. There is help for her (Photo by Brown Bros.} ITALIAN GIRLS LEARNING ITALY'S " TARANTELLA International Institute, New York City (Photo by Brown Bros.) GREEK GIRLS IN A GREEK DANCE International Institute, New York City THE CLUB LEADER 41 at every turn, through these many and various channels. She may feel that her talents are meager and that she is not well-equipped. But as her Club grows and de- velops, she, too, will grow and develop. The girls them- selves and those ready and anxious to help her will teach her. As Dr. Luther H. Gulick, President of the Camp Fire Girls, has said, "The paradox of life is that we keep that part of it which we give to others and that we lose that which we save for ourselves. The breath of the Spirit is like the breeze grasp it to hold and there is nothing. It is like the heart which grows by giving love. Without love, save it, and the heart is empty." CHAPTER III THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB THE question as to who shall be members in their Club comes before every group of girls who are organ- izing. If there are already a number of them who have naturally come together, the problem to be decided is whether or not they shall admit others into their circle. For some of them may move away or other girls may wish to come in. If so, what shall decide who they are to be and how many are to come in? On the other hand, there may be no natural group of girls, already drawn together, who form a Club nucleus. It is the task of the Club Leader and the Club organizer to find those girls who are in need of a Club and who will, if brought together, make a happy and useful one. What must a Club Leader do to find these girls, where no organization has existed before? What is to guide her in her approach ? How many shall she invite to join the Club? Fortunately, these questions which at first seem so complex have been carefully considered by many Club Leaders, and many valuable experiments and suggestions have been made by them. 42 THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 43 Forming a Natural Group The very nature of a Girls' Club calls for a common bond among its members, a united spirit of good-fellow- ship and cooperation, and a friendly interest in one another. The chief object of a Leader at the outset is to form a Club of girls who will so enjoy each other's society and who will work or play so harmoniously to- gether that they will voluntarily attend the Club meetings regularly and enter into its activities enthusiastically. There are, then, certain natural and common bonds of interest which Club Leaders have recognized as valuable in starting a Club. Girls of the same age, in the same neighborhood, in the same grade or in the same High School year, in the same church, in the same business house or line of business these have already existing ties which can be used to advantage in organizing a Club. Naturally much depends on the individual girl, when we consider the question of her congeniality in a certain Club; still a Club of girls at the same age is more likely to have common interests than is a Club with both twelve-year-old girls and twenty-five-year-old girls as members. Girls in the same neighborhood can come together easily and frequently: the Club meetings do not take them to remote parts of the city ; its activities can become a matter of interest to their neighborhood and therefore seem of more importance to all. Girls in the same grade or school have had an opportunity to know each other well and have, in all probability, already formed a common bond of interest. Girls in the same church are united in their religious life, a tie which with many is the strongest tie of all; Club activities in 44 GIRLS' CLUBS a church are often the means of binding the girls to what is already a strong impulse in their lives. Girls who have gone to work have the common in- terest of being wage-earners; they enjoy contact with others who have taken the same step. The Industrial Girls' Clubs of the Y. W. C. A. have been organized among the girls of the United States in Industry, and are constantly increasing in numbers and -popularity. The girls come to the factory every day. Their contact with one another has given them common interests, just as contact in the schools unites school girls, and the formation of a Club within a business organization is a natural development. Business Girls' Clubs have been successful in many places. They are open, for the most part, to ambitious business girls in the community where the Club exists. The young women enjoy con- tact with other alert minds, other young women who are daily meeting the same problems but who may sug- gest new solutions. These already existing bonds of age, of locality and of occupation have been successfully used by many Leaders in the organization of their Clubs. A word of caution, however, comes to us from thoughtful Leaders who believe that a democratic atmosphere is not always created by emphasizing through the Club organization the divisions which have already been made among the girls. "A Club Leader should be careful to avoid stratification," a well-known social worker once remarked. "What right have we to say that telephone operators will be friends because they are telephone operators? Or factory girls? Or salesgirls? Or Irish girls? Or Italian girls? Organizers too often insist upon follow- THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 45 College Settlement 95 RIVINGTON STREET CLUB APPLICATION Name of club Date of organization Number of members Average age No. in school No. at work Object of club On what day does it wish to meet at what time Where has the club been meeting Why did it leave Has the club or have any of its members ever been connected with any other Settlement or Recreation Center If so, what has the connection been Name of Responsible Officer Address PRESENT MEMBERSHIP LIST Name Address Age Name Addrtss Age Application Approved for College Settlement Rejected on account 46 GIRLS' CLUBS ing these divisions, forgetting the advantages which come in rubbing up against people with other ideas, with other viewpoints. A broader sympathy comes, too, when a Club is the forum for the interchange of many varying ideas. A girl is trained in a valuable way when she comes to know what girls of another kind are thinking, and when she learns to like them and to sympathize with them." This precaution, given by a woman of wide experience, shows the Club organizer where to be on her guard. Of its Industrial Clubs, the Young Women's Christian Association says : "A word of caution against the danger of unconsciously emphasizing class distinc- tion may not be amiss. We must not consider all the relationships of a girl's life as peculiar to her mode of employment. Human nature is the same anywhere. We believe that by approaching girls in their occupational groupings we can reach a much greater number than through ordinary methods, but we should be careful not to allow methods to define a line of distinction which would be opposed to the essential principle of democracy in the Young Women's Christian Association." If the existing divisions of society age, locality, religion, na- tionality, occupation allow for sufficient variety in the Club membership and sufficient possibility for congenial- ity, well and good. The Leader may then enter into her work of creating Club spirit among the chosen group, knowing that the varying ideas of the girls will keep the Club live and progressive. tTHE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 47 Congeniality Whoever the girls in a Club are and whatever they are doing, a spirit of congeniality pervades the successful Club. "One of the aims of Camp Fire," says the Camp Fire Girls' Manual, "is to cultivate intimate and lasting friendships. Congeniality is therefore essential. The girls must meet on terms of equality and the spirit must be absolutely democratic. The group should consist of a guardian and girls who would naturally be drawn to- gether and choose one another as companions and friends." When a group of girls goes to a Settlement House and asks to be admitted as a Club, the House Head knows that those girls are likely to be an excellent nucleus for a Club. They have come together naturally and of their own accord and have asked to be organized. This is a start in their Club life which the Settlement recognizes as valuable. The problem of getting together a congenial group of girls is not always so simple. Far more often it is the work of the Club organizer to hunt for the girls and to arouse in them the desire for organization. A study of the girls where she is to work will often give the Leader the necessary clue. One worker in a large store noticed that a number of her girls were getting together in a corner of the rest room to read aloud. No one had suggested their doing it: they met because they enjoyed reading. One day, the Leader joined the group and asked: "Girls, why don't you start a Literary Club? It would be fun, I know, to get other girls who like to read, and all of you read interesting books. You would 48 GIRLS' CLUBS' all learn more, too.'* The suggestion met with instant approval. A flourishing Literary Club was the result of this Leader's wisdom in seeing that she already had a valuable group with whom to work. Going After the Girls Chance opportunities for acquaintance often lead to the development of a Club. One or two young girls may have been lingering about a Settlement. The Settlement Leader talks with them and suggests that they bring their friends and start a Club. Several young girls may be lunching regularly in a Y. W. C. A. cafeteria. The Secretary suggests to a Club Leader that they may be interested in forming a Club. She gets acquainted with them, and often they respond to her plan, suggesting others who will be interested. Those others may then bring their friendi until enough girls have been gathered together. The vital interest of one or two girls has often made possible the organizing of a Club. Some Clubs have been launched by holding a party or rally for the girls among whom a Club has seemed desirable. In the course of the evening, the plan has been proposed and those girls enrolled who seem interested. This in- terest, even from a few, followed by personal work on the part of the Leader and the interested girls, has often given the needed start to a Club. The managers of a New Jersey factory wished to have a Girls' Club among their employees. Several Club organizers had unsuccessfully tried to interest the girls by talking to them about the plan. Two Club Leaders then volunteered their services. Posters announced a THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 49 "Stunt Party" during a certain lunch hour. This aroused the curiosity of the girls. They came in large numbers to see what a "Stunt Party" was. They learned ! The two Club Leaders, who were college graduates, gave every "stunt" of their college days. The girls laughed and received them as friends. When the Leaders an- nounced that they would come regularly for a program, the girls clapped delightedly. As the factory girls were leaving, a number came to the Leaders and talked with them. The Leaders were careful to take their names. These specially interested ones were, later, the charter members of the Club, and in it was afterward done work much more vital than mere "stunts!" The latter, however, had been the opening wedge. The following suggestions, given in the Y. W. C. A. pamphlet called "Eight-week Clubs" are helpful to Club Leaders, especially those in a smaller community. These "Eight-week Clubs" have been organized by the Y. W. C. A. as a means of gathering girls together during va- cation. The summer, when college and school girls are at home, is just the time to put them at work organizing Girls' Clubs among the girls of their home neighborhood. The plan outlined has already been tried in many com- munities. "In the country or in small towns where there will be one group of girls and a Leader, the first step is for the Leader to invite all the girls of the neighbor- hood to her home for a party or a picnic. Invite each girl personally, either by seeing her or by a written invitation. Make the invitation attractive. A general invitation at Sunday-School or over the telephone is not enough. A rhyme, or the promise of a surprise, or anything in the invitation that makes the girls see that So GIRLS' CLUBS you are really putting yourself into it, that they will have a good time if they come, and that you want each of them personally, will surely bring them. Before the party, talk over the plan for a summer Club with the mothers and with a few of the girls who are most in- fluential with the others. Ask these girls to be ready to help get things started by speaking for it when the time comes." Possible ways of forming Clubs among immigrant girls have also been suggested by the Y. W. C. A. in "Eight- week Clubs for Immigrant Girls an International Friendship Club." The means taken to extend real friendliness to these foreign girls are helpful in other lines of Club work. "Any Leader intending to gather any kind of Club has to begin by securing the interested understanding of some one person first. For that first foreign girl choose whomsoever you can get acquainted with most easily. Maybe you have heard of some foreign woman who works near you, or of several girls who work in one place. Or perhaps there is a family at the end of your street, or a farm over there to which a foreign family have come. You may be sure they are lonely and need friends. Take advantage of any simple excuse that occurs to you to go by and smile at your 'neighbor/ and then go and call, ostensibly to inquire about something which would make a natural subject of conversation for that locality. Any girl with a little imagination can devise ways of getting acquainted with some other girl. When you have made the acquaintance, quite simply and naturally, of one girl, so that she has come to look upon you as a friend, and when you have told her about the Eight-week Clubs and how the Ameri- THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 51 can girls enjoy belonging to such Clubs, and when you have made her understand what your idea is about the International Friendship Club, ask her if she has ever heard of one before. Ask her to introduce you to other foreign girls who she thinks would like to make the summer useful by learning more about America, by learning how to do something, and by having good times. She will introduce you to other girls who might like to come." The starting of a Canning Club has been suggested in "Wohelo," the Camp Fire Girls' Magazine. "Start a Canning Club. Get the mothers and daughters, or all the daughters and one of the mothers of your neighbor- hood and organize a Canning Club. Get in touch with your district leader and ask him for information about the Home Canning and Drying Clubs, or write directly to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and get information from there." It has been possible to organize a Club by bringing together two or more groups of girls, who have been meeting separately,, with the result that more has been gained by the girls from their Club life and more work has been accomplished by them in their Club activities. A Red Cross worker in the middle West had charge of two Red Cross groups, both small. The members of one were recruited from a nearby restaurant. The mem- bers of the other were from a store. It occurred to her that the groups could be united into a splendid Club. She therefore suggested to the girls that they meet to- gether. Each group at first raised objections: they did not care to associate with the others. The Leader, feel- ing that this antagonism was radically wrong, worked 52 GIRLS' CLUBS earnestly to bring the two groups into amicable relation- ship At last, they consented to have a meeting together. It was stiff and formal, but a few of the more cordial girls got acquainted and a start was made. The Leader did not let the matter drop with her first attempt. A second meeting was held. Gradually the girls got to know each other and at last thoroughly enjoyed coming together. The desired Club was formed and the Leader rightly felt that she had contributed to the enlarging of their sympathies and understanding. Such plans as these, which have already been put into practise in Club work, show that it is not necessary for a Club organizer to wait until girls ask for a Club. Leaders can go to the girls, interesting them in the idea and creating a desire where none has existed before. How Large Shall the Club Be? The membership policy of a Club should fit the par- ticular situation in which the Club is placed. The num- ber to be admitted will depend upon the purpose of the Club. The small Club unit is undoubtedly best adapted to personal work. The Camp Fire organization limits the number of a single Camp Fire group to not fewer than six nor more than twenty members. The Girl Scouts base their unit upon a Troop, consisting of two or more patrols, with eight girls in each patrol. The Y. W. C. A., in speaking of its Eight-week Clubs, says: "Since it is better to establish a real friendship with three girls than an impersonal acquaintance with a dozen, a Club should have from three to ten girls in it." The Woodcraft Girls of the Woodcraft League base THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 53 their organization upon bands of not fewer than five nor more than ten members. These limitations in number, drawn up by wise and experienced workers among girls, show a recognition of the fact that one Leader cannot give thorough, helpful, and intensive guidance to a large number of girls. They and she have many other interests in life beside the Club work and it is physically impossible for a Leader to accomplish in a personal way for a large number of girls what she can for a small group. In a large Club she cannot come to know intimately all her Club mem- bers, no matter how zealous she is. She cannot, there- fore, exert an intelligent influence upon the solving of their problems because she cannot find the opportunity to learn what those problems are. It is impossible to obtain the spirit of intimacy in Club meetings when the number is large. If, then, a Club Leader feels that the usefulness of her efforts will depend upon keeping a small unit, she will find it helpful to encourage the in- serting of a clause in the Club constitution definitely limiting the number. If the group is affiliated with the Girl Scouts or other national organization, the rules of that organization will automatically regulate the number. In the independent group, the girls can readily be made to see the advantage of the smaller number. There are, however, certain circumstances in which organizing a small Club unit is unwise and soon becomes a barrier to future necessary growth. In a small town, for example, it is often a great advantage to have one large organization to which any girl may belong. This larger organization may then offer special attractions such as basketbal^book clubs, or classes in which the 54 GIRLS' CLUBS girls enjoy their own kind of activity. But binding them all together is the larger organization which makes for unity and not separation. In Bennington, Vermont, the girls have been united in this way under the Public Wel- fare Association : all smaller Girls' Clubs, whether Camp Fire, Garden, or Athletic Clubs, are under the super- vision of one director, employed by the Association. An organization among the women and girls in a large store or a factory, which has as its aim the helping of the girls there employed, will of necessity open its doors to all. In such a case, from the outset no barriers are erected. Every girl is welcome to come in. And the Club is free to extend its influence throughout the whole business house. It is also entirely possible, in a Club of this kind, to combine these democratic advantages of the larger organization with those of the smaller units. The Club itself is open to all who wish to join. Many privileges of Club membership are open to all, the use of the Club rooms and equipment, the library, and other general activities in which the Club engages. In addition to these, there may be sub-groups, or smaller units, through which the direct personal work is accomplished. In the John Wanamaker Store, New York, this plan of Club organization has been successfully tried as follows : Any girl or woman in the Store may belong to the Look- ing Forward Club, upon payment of the dues. Within the Club there are lunch-hour Clubs for the messenger girls, the inspectresses, and other special groups. There are lunch-hour dancing classes for younger girls and for older girls, with a careful distinction made between the two. There are lunch-hour Current Events and Dress- making classes for the older girls, and evening classes THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 55 of many kinds for the more mature members. Such an organization of Club activities has combined the benefits of the larger Club with the personal contact gained through the smaller units. Work of this kind calls for the service of several Club workers. Necessarily there must be one who supervises the whole and acts as general executive. If the work is extensive and a large number of girls are members of the Club, the executive Leader will scarcely be able to undertake the leadership of the individual group Clubs. Leaders must then be secured for these, either from within or from without the business organization. It is often possible for the Club Executive in a large business house to secure for her smaller groups the volunteer services of a talented fellow-employee, willing to give of her free time to help the girls. Coordinating the Club with the Business In a business house, the actual lines of the business organization give a splendid means for Club develop- ment. Group Clubs, organized within the separate de- partments, have proved advantageous and helpful. In a factory one Club worker followed this plan. Each group Club was open to those girls who were in the de- partment where the group was organized. The Clubs thus formed eventually decided upon the same lines of activity. They met at different times, however, and each was a complete organization in itself. Friendly intercourse soon sprang up and was a great incentive to further endeavor. The climax of the year's program was an Inter-Club social evening, with invited guests and judges 56 GIRLS' CLUBS to decide which Club had attained the greatest degree of excellence in its singing, drills, dancing, and in the conduct of a model business meeting. Each Club (or Factory Department, as it was in reality) had as special guest of the evening its own business head. The songs and cheers frequently mentioned all the heads. The latter entered into the spirit of the occasion and the whole affair was a most successful "get-together" party. Friendliness and mutual understanding were fostered, as was shown by a remark of one of the Club girls: "I always thought our Chief was an ogre," she said, "but now I know he's very friendly underneath." The de- partment heads were delighted with the esprit de corps which the Club organizer had developed in the girls. They offered their active cooperation to her and made it possible for her to do more extended work. When new girls were employed, the Chiefs sent them to her as part of their first day's work. And where the Leader had formerly been forced to hunt for the new girls, now they came to her, sent by the department heads, who were convinced that her work was a helpful, if not in- deed a necessary part of the new girl's training. Many business houses to-day number among their regular paid employees a Club Secretary whose function is the super- vision of just such an organization. The Age Question There is one problem of Club membership which always looms large upon every Leader's horizon the age question. Every Leader who has had experience in grouping a large number of girls knows that certain THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 57 natural divisions seem to occur among them, based largely upon their ages, and that successful Club work must recognize those divisions. Recognition of these natural boundaries of age has been made by the national girls' organizations in their rules of admission. The Girl Scouts set the minimum age for membership at ten years. The Camp Fire Girls do not allow girls to come into their organization until they are twelve, although they provide a "Blue Bird" organization for younger girls from six to twelve years of age. The Woodcraft girls of the Woodcraft League fix the age of admission at twelve years. The Girls' Friendly Society in America has the same regulation. Where a girl is more than ten or twelve years old, the stage which she has reached in her personal develop- ment is often a more important consideration than the exact number of years in her age. The most important fact is her congeniality with the proposed group and her willingness to work in harmony with them. If, however, a Club of Girls is of approximately the same age, that Club is likely to develop at about the same rate of progress, and the Club as a whole will go forward together. The Girl Scouts say that "girls in a Patrol should be from ten to seventeen years of age." In the West Side Y. W. C. A., New York City, the "Junior Clubs" are made up of girls from twelve to sixteen years of age. The Clubs with members over sixteen years are called "Senior" Clubs. Clubs are promoted together from the Junior to the Senior grade and their Leader goes on with them. In Hull House, the Junior Clubs are girls from four- teen to seventeen years of age and the Senior Clubs are made up of girls over seventeen. The reason given for 58 GIRLS' CLUBS such a division is found in a Hull House report. "It was found that interest and spirit at inter-Club parties was stimulated by a division which made possible en- tertainment suited to one general age. Regulation re- garding the lateness of meetings and parties is more readily made upon this basis. The committee on renting rooms makes this division a basis for variation in rents/' If, on organizing a Club, a Leader finds that one or two of the girls are scoffing at the work which the majority enjoy and are calling it "babyish," she may quietly suggest to those girls that they would more thoroughly enjoy another kind of Club work. "I never try to force interest from those who feel that they have grown beyond my Club's activities," once re- marked a Club Leader from the West, "but if I cannot give them what they want, I do try to suggest definitely to the restless ones where they will be able to find what will interest them." After a Club has been gathered together and the mem- bers themselves are at work upon their constitution, the general discussion concerning the clauses on membership will show the Leader what her girls wish in regard to the matter. The following clause was taken from the Dolly Madison Club constitution, College Settlement, New York City: "Any girl applying for membership shall be at least thirteen years old and in the eighth grade of elementary school." Through the following clause another Club was able to keep the new members within the range of age of the original members : "Any girl not younger than the youngest nor older than the oldest may be proposed for membership." In business girls' Clubs a minimum age is often set at twenty years. THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB $9 This regulation makes the appeal of the Club definitely to the older girls. It has been found best in Girls' Clubs to have a definite policy regarding the membership, any change from which must be voted upon by the girls themselves. This is especially true in smaller groups. One Club Leader, who is now a firm believer in having a definite membership policy, once told how she was won from the "bring any and everyone" plan. She had gotten together an interested group of young girls about eighteen years of age. They had progressed happily together for some weeks, when one of the members asked per- mission to bring her twelve-year-old sister. The Leader, glad to have the girl so interested and thinking not at all of possible results, cordially invited the younger sister to come. It did not occur to her, at the time, to submit the matter to the Club for decision. So the twelve-year-old came to the Club. In the course of a few weeks, another member asked whether she might bring her younger sister, and because the Leader had given permission to one she was forced, in all fairness, to grant the same to the second girl. It so happened that soon a third younger sister joined the group. About this time, the Leader noticed that some of those who had hitherto been numbered among the faithful were dropping out. She investigated and discovered that the girls no longer cared for the Club because "there are a lot of babies in it now!" She laid the matter before the Club with the result that the younger sisters were voted out. In order to save the life of the Club, the Leader was then confronted with the painful necessity of telling the three members that they could no longer 60 GIRLS' CLUBS do what she had so cordially invited them to do. They departed, accompanied by the younger sisters, all highly indignant, and could never be induced to return. This experience, which threatened to disrupt a flourishing organization, taught her the wisdom of having a fixed policy, departure from which should be made only by the expressed wish of the Club. Once the membership rules have been made, it is possible for the Club members to change them at their own discretion. A very successful reading Club once met under a Leader's personal direction. It was open to girls over twenty-one, and its members prided them- selves upon their work. A younger girl came to the Leader and asked whether she might join the Club. The Leader felt sure that the spirit of the Club would be harmed by the admission of any younger girls. So she refused. The great disappointment which the refusal brought led the Leader to consult the Club members about it. The Club said "they didn't mind" this girl, but if any others wanted to come in, she would have to go. The Leader then admitted the girl. What was the result? The younger girl was so pleased over being in the Club that she diligently read all the books sug- gested. The older girls, seeing her achievement, re- doubled their own efforts. When three more of the younger girls desired to come in, the Club Leader promptly started a reading Club for the younger girls, the first young member of the original Club to act as head. This is an illustration of a case in which a wise breaking of precedent led to the development of an individual and, ultimately, to an extension of the Club work. THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 61 In a Club of young girls in New York City, the sister of one of the members was proposed for membership, to be voted upon at the next meeting. So certain was the sister of being elected that she came to the meeting and waited outside the door. For personal reasons, she was not voted into the Club. The Leader felt that the girls were making a mistake, as the sister would, she knew, make a good Club member. However, she left the matter entirely in her girls' hands. The sister who was the Club member burst into tears. She went out to tell the other, and they both wept. The Club members were so touched that they at once took a second vote and admitted the sister. Had the Leader insisted upon the admission of the new girl, there would have been dis- sension in the ranks. As it was, the girls happily de- cided the matter for themselves. Voting upon New Members In Clubs where the membership is limited in any way, the membership regulations ( in most cases state that new members must be proposed by a Club member in good and regular standing. The number of "black balls" or unfavorable votes upon the candidate necessary to ex- clude her from membership varies. In some smaller Clubs, three dissenting votes out of ten will keep a girl out. In others, five out of twelve are necessary. In others, a favorable vote of two- thirds of the members is required. The importance of the number stated de- pends upon the size of the Club. In a very small Club, the emphatic objection of even two members to the girl proposed might be sufficient to bar her. For if she were 62 GIRLS' CLUBS admitted over these objections, the harmonious spirit might be destroyed. If a Leader is convinced that a certain girl should come in, and some of the Club mem- bers object to her, it is often possible to tactfully win over the dissenting ones to a friendly attitude toward the girl and a willingness to have her among them. Some Clubs do not take their first vote upon a girl until she has been present at several Club meetings. First, her name is proposed. Then she attends the meetings for two or three weeks. Then the final voting takes place, at a meeting at which she is not present. This plan was definitely outlined by delegates to an Industrial Girls' Conference of the Y. W. C. A. The Club girls themselves stated that "it is best that pros- pective members visit two or three meetings in order to become acquainted with what the Club stands for; that names be presented first to the executive committee of the Club, to be discussed; that the executive com- mittee present the names through the chairman of the membership committee at a regular business meeting of the Club; and that names be voted upon by the Club members." Another plan which has been tried is that of proba- tion. A girl is proposed at one meeting and voted upon at the next. This is not the final voting, however. In a month, two months, or six months (whatever time the Club has set), she is voted upon again. Thus she has been in the Club life sufficiently long to enable the members to get thoroughly acquainted with her. Their final vote is cast when they know her and how she will fit into the Club. THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 63 Forfeiting Membership in a Club Shall certain courses of conduct forfeit a girl's mem- bership in her Club? Many Girls' Clubs feel that they should and have included in their constitutions regula- tions concerning such possibilities. Two reasons are very generally given as good grounds for dropping a girl's name from the Club roll continued non-attendance and non-payment of dues. Absence for a certain number of times (three times, for example) without good excuse is sometimes made the cause for dropping a girl. In some Clubs, where such a regulation is enforced, the members are safeguarded by the granting of "leaves of absence" to those members who apply. "Any member in good financial standing may be granted a leave of absence by a three- fourths vote" is the provision made by one Club. The payment of a fine is also sometimes required for "absence without excuse." In addition to these reasons for forfeiting member- ship, the situation does at times arise when a Club member is no longer desirable. The Leader has ex- hausted every effort to keep her in the Club and influence her to change her bad habits. The girl remains obdurate. Her influence is bad and her continued presence will work havoc with the Club itself. What, then, is the Leader to do? Where the members themselves no longer wish to have the girl among them, the adjustment can easily be made. Action on the part of the Club members is most effective. But if, as may be, the Club is divided in its opinion and the Leader is convinced that the girl's removal is imperative, other swift and sure means may be taken. The Leader herself may have a 64 GIRLS' CLUBS personal talk with the girl, removing her from member- ship. Or, when the Club meets in a Settlement, church, or Y. W. C. A., the Leader may take the matter to the Director or the minister and ask him to assume the duty of expelling the member. 'The rules of the House" often forbid the presence of a member who casts discredit upon it. In this way the task is accomplished in as impersonal a way as possible. Although expelling a girl is at time imperatively nec- essary, before taking the step the Leader should make sure that it is the only possible action for the good of the Club. And she should first exhaust every means within her power for directing the energy of the girl into better channels. W. R. George, of the George Junior Republic, has said that it does not matter to him if a girl is very dishonest, very mean, very mischievous if she is only very something! Then he knows that she has the capability of being very good, if she will! A Leader in Boston once said: "It is sometimes neces- sary to remove a girl from a Club. I do not hesitate to do it when it is necessary, but I do not lose hold of the girl if I can help it. She may be the one who needs me most/' Enlarging the Membership When a Club is not limited in the number of its mem- bers and a large membership is desirable, as in a business house, there are many methods of adding to the roll. In some cases each member has made herself responsible for bringing in a new member. "Membership Contests" have often brought in the desired recruits. In general, U] O So II I! v- i ;/ <'.:'.".': : /. *'. ''* ..i /...* THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 65 the contest plan has been worked out as follows: Two teams, made up of energetic members, are appointed and named. In some contests, the members of each team have consisted of one-half of the Club. Sometimes the teams are named from the Club colors; for instance if the colors are red and white there is a Red team and a White team. The contest starts at a definite date and lasts for a definite length of time. Any special regula- tions as to where the members are to be obtained are clearly stated at the outset, to avoid any misunderstand- ings. Placards announce the beginning of the contest, and a regular announcement is posted in a conspicuous place, telling of the progress of the teams and their relative standing. Where interest is aroused in the con- test idea, the girls eagerly watch these posters and announcements. One Club had a large poster drawn, with a picture of the door of the Club House in the upper left-hand corner; as new members were added, paper figures of girls were pasted on the poster, repre- sented as going into the Club House; each girl standing for twenty-five new members. The Club colors were red and yellow. If a girl was cut from red paper, it meant that the "reds" had secured twenty-five members, and so on. A group of Clubs in Trenton, New Jersey, had a unique membership contest in the form of a Panama-Pacific Exposition. A Club representative has described their contest. "We had an enormous map of the United States drawn and put upon the wall. Twenty cities were marked across the country, via Federation Highway from Trenton. Each Club chose a certain make of automobile and pasted a picture of it on cardboard and had a tiny banner flying from it. 66 GIRLS' CLUBS The autos jumped by means of thumb tacks from one city to another, each city denoting one new member. The Club which got to San Francisco first (signifying 20 new members) won the contest." In many Clubs, the losing side in such a membership contest has given the winners a party or banquet. Such a plan gives a general good time to all, regardless of who won in the contest. When a large contest is being held, it is helpful to have the method of registering new members as simple as possible. One simple way which has been devised is to have books containing membership tickets printed. Each ticket is numbered and the books may be bound with any number in each. The girls who are seeking members take the books and are responsible for all pages intact or for the amount of the Club dues for every stub which has been torn off. When books of this kind are used, each competing member, as soon as she secures a new recruit, can at once give her a mem- bership ticket. If the stubs remaining in the book are of card catalog size they may be filed at once, and the necessity for making out a membership book is eliminated. If the contest member wishes to return some of the money before her book is filled, she can do so, and the amount can be recorded on the cover of her book as well as in the Leader's records. Contest Member Book No. Returns Cash Returns Book Record Page for a Contest. THE MEMBERS OP THE CLUB 67 \ r r ! 1 : I ( 1 * S oo J3 y4 i r Women'* e&0tte MEMBERSHIP TICKET Na Da OCTOBER 1. 1917 MAY 31, 1918 IM* ff ,.,, ^tf*J 68 GIRLS' CLUBS Welcoming the New Members When new members come into a Club, to welcome them with some special function or ceremony gives the newcomers a feeling of cordial good fellowship and often causes them to regard their membership as some- thing of great importance. In some Clubs a short cere- mony is in order, carrying in it the symbolism which many girls love. In Paterson, New Jersey, a Club president always addresses the new Club members as follows : "The name of our Club is Chi Tau Upsilon Come to us; or in other words, Come and join us! We are joined together by the Father's great love from above. He has shown us the sweetness of earthly fellowship. May we ever strive to share this fellowship as far as we are able, asking others to join us. Our great purpose is mutual helpfulness. We desire to help each other in every possible way, and we shall expect you to do the same. May the Chi Tau Upsilon Club be full of rich helpfulness and joy to you !" Club girls are often deeply interested in devising a little ceremony of welcome which they can use in their "welcome" parties. Shall Boys Be Admitted to Membership? In the case of Clubs of younger girls (under fourteen or sixteen years of age), most Leaders feel that the work is best carried on alone. Among older girls and boys, Clubs of mixed membership have been successful ; as, for example, in Hull House, with social programs, THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 69 practise in parliamentary law, debates and other activi- ties. Many Leaders feel that the encouraging of whole- some boy-and-girl friendships is part of a Club's task and that this can best be accomplished by actually ad- mitting boys to membership. Other Leaders feel that it is better to maintain separate organizations for the girls, introducing the social inter- course through frequent parties, dramatics, debates, and outings. This latter plan is especially successful in Settlement Houses where there are Clubs for boys as well as for girls. The Clubs entertain one another, entering into friendly rivalry through oratorical or other contests, and with it all establish a wholesome mutual regard among the members which helps them when they go out from the Settlement to meet other young people. Keeping Pace with the Club Members Every Leader recognizes the necessity of keeping pace with her girls in their development. A Club composed of girls of fourteen years, of fifteen years, and even of sixteen and seventeen years, may have worked amicably together for some time, when suddenly a few of the members seem to have passed a mysterious dividing- line which separates them from their chums of yesterday. It is now evident that a new and different appeal must be made if the Club is to hold their interest. In such a case it is often possible for a Leader so to adjust the activities of the Club that the girls are kept united and happy. In this way the members grow together. We see to-day, in some of our Settlements, Clubs of women* which were organized when the members were much younger. By having the Club life follow them as they 70 GIRLS' CLUBS grow, the girls come to look upon it as an integral part of their life interests. In some situations a series of Clubs with graded ac- tivities has helped in solving the problem of growing and changing girls. The girls may then be promoted from one Club to another. Such organization is possible where new and younger girls are constantly available to fill in the places of those who have been advanced. The graded activities give an opportunity to every girl to enjoy what appeals to her. One Club Leader in a large store tried the following general plan of organization successfully. The mes- senger girls of the store were organized into three lunch- hour Clubs of their own. No one who was not in that particular service of the store was eligible for member- ship in these Clubs. As the girls grew older, promotion in their store positions brought corresponding promotion in their Club life and they went on into Clubs organized for the older girls. When they had reached the age of eighteen they were eligible for the evening groups and could take up the most advanced work with the oldest girls. Such lines of distinction had the result of making each group of girls value their own organization as some- thing which was peculiarly their own. Who Shall Decide the Membership Policy? The matter of membership is primarily one for the members themselves to act upon. Only as they feel that they are directing the Club will they regard it as their own possession. With the Leader rests the privilege of tactfully suggesting and quietly guiding the Club to wise decisions regarding membership. CHAPTER IV THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB The Value of Organization THERE are few girls who are not fascinated by "be- longing to" a Club. The new group, now interested in the idea of having a Club with a name, colors, a motto, a pin, and all the other things which a real Club has, eagerly enters upon the task of organization. What such girls do not always realize is that back of all Club life must lie the definite Club organization, holding together all their activities and providing that all these shall be done with regularity and in order. At the outset, it will be the task of the Club Leader to interest her girls in planning a constitution, electing officers, appointing the necessary committees, and holding regular business meetings. Many of the girls have overlooked the neces- sity for this kind of Club work. Some may even object to it. They think that they have gotten together, ready for a Club now for the good times ! Yielding to this natural inclination of the girls, without insisting upon a business-like organization for the Club, is undoubtedly following the path of least resistance. But the wise Club Leader will tactfully insist upon some definite organization, however simple. For it is definite Club organization which gives to the girls that feeling 72 GIRLS' CLUBS of responsibility which they must have in guiding their activities. It would be entirely possible for the Leader to plan and direct the work, but such complete direction would take from the girls that most precious Club pos- session of all the feeling that they themselves are direct- ing the Club. Business methods in Club life give the girls valuable training in citizenship. They learn what a Constitution is, and what its purpose. They learn the value of order and dignity in a meeting. They learn how to conduct a business meeting, and what steps are necessary to accomplish certain work. They come to know the value of committee work ; of Club records ; of a Club budget. The Club business meeting gives the members opportunity to express their opinions upon all Club matters. Objections to any activities can be made clearly and openly, and will not smolder until the fire of active discontent is burning. When the organization has once become firmly estab- lished, the Leader will find that the girls are, almost invariably, proud of having a "regular Club." Holding office in their Club then means something. Membership upon a Committee is of real importance. The girls themselves will be the first to detect any artificiality in their Club organization; each will resent being awarded an office which is simply a name. In this way the girls come to know the meaning of responsibility. For they learn that, if the chairman of a committee fails to do her appointed task, the Club suffers. The necessity of having each girl do her share is shown in the reports which are made to them, and a sense of obligation for the work of the whole Club is aroused in the earnest Club member. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 73 The great value of definite organization has been recognized from the first by the large organizations of Girls' Clubs. The National League of Women Workers states as its principles for each of its Clubs: "Self- government; electing its own officers; submitting all de- cisions to the rule of the majority; developing Club policies; learning to use the machinery necessary to cooperative life." Just how these principles have worked out in its Clubs is reflected in the following statement written by a Club member in the Baltimore, Maryland, "Progress Club." "Three of the most simple and nec- essary safeguards in Club life are: i. Think of the good of the Club, not your own. 2. Express your opinion in open meeting. 3. When voted down, yield cheerfully to the majority." Such a spirit of fairness and coopera- tion is a valuable contribution from any Club to a community. Other large groups of Clubs the Y. W. C. A., the Camp Fire, the Girl Scouts all recognize the value of and necessity for definite organization by their insistence upon regular business meetings in all Clubs under their supervision. The Kind of Organization To what extent it is wise to introduce organization will depend largely upon the group of girls in the Club. Some organization is possible in all Clubs, even among those composed of girls ten to twelve years old. But the younger girls cannot be given so much work of this kind as can those who are older. An extended business meeting might make young girls restless and they would come to thoroughly dislike the times when the Club's 74 GIRLS' CLUBS business is before their group. On the other hand, the older girls often enjoy the extensive committee work, the long discussions and the voting upon Club questions. Every Club, however, can have its constitution, worked out, step by step, in a committee meeting and in Club discussion. At this point in the starting of the Club, the wise help of the Club Leader is of greatest im- portance. Through her own knowledge of what should be included in the constitution, she will be able to give practical suggestions which will make of the constitution that backbone of the Club which it should be. In all kinds of Clubs, a simple constitution has proved most practicable. In Hartley House, New York City, the Girls' Club constitutions are used mainly to settle the question of terms of office, dues, and absences. To fill a constitution with many detailed and specific regula- tions is to pave the way for future difficulties. Condi- tions change. The girls grow and develop. A detailed constitution may admirably fit a situation at the time when the Club is started and yet prove inadequate within a year. It is a distinct help to a Club to have a con- stitution under which the Club policy may be continually adjusted to meet changing conditions. A large Club in Pennsylvania once encountered just this difficulty. The constitutional regulation concerning its Membership Committee was, "The membership committee shall have five members, meeting once a month to consider ways of extending the Club membership." As time went on, the Club grew until a far larger membership committee was necessary, with an entirely new way of meeting changed conditions. It was then necessary to change the constitution to meet these new conditions. If the con- THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 75 stitution had included an elastic clause such as, "It shall be the duty of the membership committee to take charge of the membership problems of the Club," the Club could have made any changes necessary without the formality of changing its constitution. The Leader who is preparing herself for the discus- sion and formation of her Club's constitution will see that several points must necessarily be considered : Name and purpose, membership, administration, committees, meetings, finance, amendments, by-laws (including the duties of the officers and the committees). A study of constitutions which have been used in other Girls' Clubs will help the new Leader. CONSTITUTION OF THE DOLLY MADISON CLUB College Settlement, New York City ARTICLE I NAME This organization shall be known as the Dolly Madison Club. ARTICLE II OBJECT We believe that all members of this Club shall work for the best in girlhood. We further believe we are old enough to make up a line of conduct and to live up to it. We hope that all our members will remember the ideals of truth, sociability, 76 GIRLS' CLUBS service, self-reliance. We desire that our Club members shall be cheerful, and always work for good health. ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP SECTION i. Any girl applying for membership shall be at least thirteen years old and in the eighth grade of elementary school. SECTION 2. She shall be present at the meeting at which she is proposed and at the one following. She shall be voted upon at the third meeting, at which meeting she shall not be present. .SECTION 3. A favorable vote of two-thirds of the members present shall be necessary for her election. ARTICLE IV OFFICERS SECTION i. The officers of this Club shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. SECTION 2. Election of officers shall be once a year namely, at the first regular meeting in October. SECTION 3. A favorable vote of the majority present shall be necessary for election. ARTICLE V DUTIES OF OFFICERS SECTION I. The President shall preside at all Club meetings. She shall appoint all committees. SECTION 2. The Vice-president shall take charge in the absence of the President. SECTION 3. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meeting. SECTION 4. The Treasurer shall keep a clear record of the money collected and spent by the Club. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 77 ARTICLE VI MEETINGS The Club shall meet every Saturday afternoon from 3 to 5:30 o'clock. ARTICLE VII DUES Dues shall be three cents a week. BY-LAWS 1. Two-thirds of all the members of the Club shall make a quorum. 2. The constitution may be changed by a two-thirds vote of the Club. 3. Order of business shall be: 1. Meeting called to order at three. 2. Collection of dues quietly. 3. Reading of minutes. 4. Proposals. 5. Old Business. 6. New Business. 7. Programs. 8. Adjournment. Somewhat different in general scope as well as in its details is the following Constitution suggested by the Young Women's Christian Association for use by its Girls' Clubs: 78 GIRLS' CLUBS CONSTITUTION OF THE CLUB OF THE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION ARTICLE I NAME AND PURPOSE SECTION i. The name of this Club shall be . SECTION 2. The purpose of this Club shall be . ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP SECTION i. Any young woman may become a member of this Club upon recommendation of the Executive Committee and election by the Club at any regular meeting. SECTION 2. The membership fee shall be per annum, payable . SECTION 3. Members of this Club become members of the Young Women's Christian Association and are entitled to all its membership privileges upon recommendation of the Asso- ciation's Membership Committee and election by the Board of Directors. ARTICLE III ADMINISTRATION SECTION i. This Club is organized as a feature of the Young Women's Christian Association and its conduct and administra- tion shall meet with the approval of the Committee of the Association. SECTION 2. The management of this Club shall be vested in an Executive Committee composed of the officers and the Leader of the Club and the Secretary of the Association. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 79 SECTION 3. The officers of the Club shall be a President, Vice- President, Secretary, and Treasurer, who shall perform the duties usually required of such officers. They shall be elected by the members at the annual meeting of the Club and shall hold office for one year or until their successors are elected. SECTION 4. The general work of the Club shall be under the direction of a Leader appointed by the chairman of the Committee of the Association in consultation with the Secretary. ARTICLE IV COMMITTEES There shall be such standing and special committees as arc found necessary to direct the various activities of the Club in the fulfilment of its purpose. ARTICLE V MEETINGS Meetings of the Club shall be held regularly. ARTICLE VI FINANCE Since this Club is organized as a feature of the Young Women's Christian Association, of the money received from membership fees shall be paid to the treasury of the Young Women's Christian Association. The remainder of the Club funds may be expended for any purpose voted by the Club according to its budget. 8o GIRLS' CLUBS ARTICLE VII ^x AMENDMENTS Amendments to this Constitution shall require for their adop- tion the approval of the Executive Committee of the Club, notice in writing at a previous meeting, and a two-thirds vote of the members present at a regular meeting, except Article III, Sec- tions i and 2, and Article VII, which shall not be subject to amendment. BY-LAWS I. MEETINGS SECTION i. The regular meetings of the Club shall occur on . SECTION 2. The annual meetings of the Club shall occur on . SECTION 3. members of the CluB shall constitute a quorum. II. DUTIES OF OFFICERS SECTION i. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club. With the approval of the Executive Committee she shall appoint all standing and special committees and she shall be ex officio a member of all committees. SECTION 2. The Vice-President shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of the President in her absence. SECTION 3. The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Club. She shall collect the dues, pay bills approved by the President, and make a report to the Club at its regular and annual meetings of all receipts and expenditures. SECTION 4. The Secretary shall give necessary notice of meet- ings, keep the minutes and conduct the correspondence of the THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 81 Club. She shall also receive and file the written reports of officers and committees. III. COMMITTEES SECTION I. The work of the committees shall be planned in consultation with the Executive Committee, and monthly reports with recommendations shall be presented to the Club for action and filing. SECTION 2. The Standing Committees shall be as follows: (Insert names of the committees which are necessary to carry on the work of the Club.) SECTION 3. The duties of the Standing Committees shall be as follows: (Itemize the duties of each committee in order as named above.) IV. AMENDMENTS These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a regular meeting, provided days' notice for the proposed amendment shall have been given. Constitution for Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs (U. S. Department of Agriculture). ARTICLE I NAME OF CLUB ARTICLE II OBJECTS OF CLUB ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP Including badge or button, ami a provision for honorary members, if desired. 82 GIRLS' CLUBS ARTICLE IV OFFICERS A President, one Vice-President from each school district, a Secretary-Treasurer, and an Advisory Committee consisting of the county superintendent, the lecturer of the county grange, and the president of the county farmers' Club or Institute. ARTICLE V DUTIES OF MEMBERS As prescribed in the rules for contests. ARTICLE VI DUTIES OF OFFICERS Defined as usual in such organizations. SECTION . The Advisory Committee shall arrange for all public contests and exhibits, the procuring and awarding of prizes, the sending of letters and circulars of information, the general county meetings of the Club, and the reporting of statistics and other information to the State organizer. ARTICLE VII SUBSIDIARY CLUBS Each local Club having Club members within its dis- trict may organize as a local Club with its own officers, badge, local prizes, etc. Its Advisory Committee shall consist of the district school-board and teachers, and its President shall be one of the Vice-Presidents of the county Club. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 83 Working Up the Organization In making the Club organization a matter of vital importance to the girls, much depends upon the way in which the idea is introduced. The Leader can at once assume the larger share of the responsibility, giving the girls little or no opportunity to think out what is neces- sary; or she can, from the outset, try to draw out the girls' own ideas and give them a share in the planning itself. In the first case, she will be encouraging the girls to lean upon her. In the second, the Leader at once sets about to develop their self-reliance. The story of how two Girls' Clubs were started will show these two methods in practise. It was at the first meeting of a Girls' Club and the en- thusiatic Club Leader had carefully made all plans before- hand. "Girls," she said, "we must meet every two weeks. I think it would be nice to call ourselves the Friendly Club. And we must have officers. May, will you be President?" And so she went from point to point of the Club Organization, not realizing that the girls were having little voice in the matters to be decided. At the end of the meeting, a great deal had apparently been accomplished. The Club was splendidly started, on paper. Every office had been filled and the committees appointed, in precisely the way the Leader had planned it at home. Contrast this with the way in which another Club Leader worked. She, too, was enthusiastic and had made careful plans before the first meeting. When she called the girls together, she said : "Now, girls, don't you think it would be nice to have our Club work in exactly the 84 GIRLS' CLUBS same way as all big Clubs ?" The girls eagerly assented. So she asked them what they knew about other Clubs and the way in which they were conducted. After she had learned the extent of their knowledge, she brought out a book which, she said, a great many Clubs use in their work. The book was Roberts' Rules of Order, and she then read and discussed with them the list of officers and their duties. They discussed the problem of a business meeting and the Leader promised to tell them just what is done in one. So formidable a thing as "parliamentary law" was not mentioned, but in this simple, conversational way the girls learned the funda- mental requisites of Club organization. The election of officers and the choice of a Club name did not take place at this first meeting. The Leader urged the girls to think about it before the next meeting, when they were to start to organize. At the close of the first meeting, this second Club was apparently far behind the first in accomplishing Club organization. As a matter of fact, however, the second Club was much more nearly a real Club because of the spirit and interest which had been created by letting the girls take so active a share in the actual formation of the Club. In some groups, the necessity for organization is recognized as a matter of course. Other girls, however, have never thought of it as a part of their Club work; in such a case, a Leader can often interest the group, telling them how other Clubs are run, of their officers, their names, and their colors. One Club organizer has been able to arouse interest by showing the new girls attractive pictures of Girls' Clubs, and by telling stories of what these other girls have done. All of these Clubs, THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 85 she may say, have officers and committees and business meetings to help them do the work. Such conversations as these arouse among the girls the desire to do "what the rest of the Girls' Clubs do." Excellent suggestions for the first few meetings of a Club have been prepared by Miss Gertrude Gogin, in her pamphlet on "Girls' Work." The First Four Meetings of a Club I. There should be in general three divisions of the first meeting: (a) A short, interesting talk on what a Club is, and what kind of work is made possible through a Club; (fc) es- sential first steps in organization; (c) a social, time during which all may become acquainted. a. In the informal talk on what a Club is, emphasis should be placed on the fact that it is self-governing, that the girls are responsible through their own treasuries for Club expenses, and that the program of the Club is in the hands of the Club members. It is a good plan to tell concrete stories of other Clubs, describing Club parties and "stunts" so that the girls will feel that in joining a Club they are coming in touch with a country-wide movement in which many other girls are par- ticipating. A definite description of a Club program which includes class work is a good thing to give. Pictures of other Club girls, convention pictures and banners, printed Club programs, samples of Club yells and songs, all stimulate interest. b. After the talk on Club work, the question as to whether the group wishes to organize should be raised, a motion made, and formal vote taken. (It is well to insist upon parliamentary rules from the beginning, for while the girls may seem not to like it and also to need much instruction, this is often due to unfamiliarity with such a method and a certain shyness. See the Primer of Parliamentary Law for further information about parliamentary rules.) After the voting is over, the following steps should be taken: 86 GIRLS* CLUBS 1. Formation of a Committee on the Club Constitution. This committee should consist of five or seven members nominated by the girls and voted upon by all. Care should be taken, if the group includes several different "cliques," that each clique should as far as possible be represented. This committee should understand that it must meet with the Secretary or Organizer one or more nights before the next Club meeting and draw up the constitution. Be careful that the time for this com- mittee meeting is definite and clearly understood by all. Do not let the girls leave without arranging for it, as it saves much time and trouble. Suggested constitutions may be shown at this committee meeting, but should never be adopted in toto by the committee, for the girls should be made to feel that they are contributing something to the Club through the constitution which they write. Special emphasis should be laid on the sec- tion describing the Club purpose; it should be put in the words of the girls. 2. Formation of a nominating committee. If the group is fairly well acquainted with one another this committee can be nominated from the floor and elected at once. If the girls are strangers, it is often better to wait until the second meeting. In choosing the Nominating Committee, the girls should be warned to put on it girls who will make a wise choice of other girls for officers. 3. Club dues, when payable: Care should be taken that these are not excessive. Ten cents a month has been found a good amount. 4. Informal discussion as to desirable and possible class and program work. With some groups it is possible to have a program committee formed to confer with the secretary (or Leader). In other instances, it is better for the secretary to suggest possible programs and let the Club vote as a whole upon them at a later meeting. 5. Discussion of Club name and colors. If this is not decided, have suggestions brought to the next meeting. 6. Announcement of the time of the next meeting. 7. Girls should be appointed to pass Club membership cards on each of which there is a space for the name of the Club THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 87 and for the name and address of a member. These cards should be kept by the secretary pro tern and handed by her to the Club treasurer as soon as she is elected. c. To end the evening, have simple group games, marching, a sight-seeing trip through the building, ending in the "gym" for some kind of frolic in which all take part and so become better acquainted. Refreshments are not necessary, though in many instances it is well to have them. II. The Second Meeting for Organization. a. If possible, select a Secretary pro tern from among the girls. b. Have the girls seated formally even at the first meeting, as they should from the start be made to realize the dignity of a business meeting. c. Report of the Constitution Committee. (Have the girls on the committee rise and give their names so that the Club may know the girls who have done this work.) The constitution should be adopted one article at a time. Explain and make concrete by illustrations wherever possible. When this is fin- ished, have it accepted as a whole, as corrected. d. Report of the Nominating Committee, if this was appointed at the previous meeting. Voting by ballot should follow the report. Ballots (slips of paper) should be prepared beforehand and tellers appointed so that the voting may take place quickly. e. Voting on the Club name and colors. /. While the votes for officers are being counted, it is some- times possible to have the girls learn a cheer, or a short, snappy song which may be sung in honor of the incoming officers. g. Report on the results of the voting for officers. The newly elected President should take the chair. h. Announcement of classes and information regarding regis- tration. i. Election of a Social Committee to serve for a month. The immediate work of this committee should be planning for a party for Club members to take place at the next Club meeting. This is needed to vary the monotony of too many business meetings. ;. Adjournment by vote. 88 GIRLS' CLUBS III. The following work with officers and committees should be done before the next meeting: a. The Secretary (or Club Leader) should plan to meet with all officers and committee members to explain the responsibility and the specific duties of Club officers. b. The Club Secretary should be told of the importance of keeping her minutes up to date in a regular book, not on loose sheets of paper. The form in which minutes are usually kept should be explained, also the value of writing only on the right-hand page, and of numbering the pages. An example of Club minutes may be found in the Primer of Parliamentary Law. If this is shown to the girl, she will have a different feeling about her work as Secretary, for with a definite example before her any feeling of hesitancy about her work vanishes and she knows how to begin. c. In the same way, the Treasurer should be shown a simple system of accounting and told that, as soon as possible, Club funds should be put in a bank and Club bills paid by check. d. In meeting with the Social Committee, care should be taken to draw upon the ideas of the girls; even though the Secretary (or Leader) has a definite plan for the Club party, it is well not to seem to have one until some discussion has come from the girls. Definite work for the party should be given each committee member and on the night of the party this committee should act as hostesses. e. The third meeting is a party, needed to vary the monotony of too many business meetings. IV. The fourth meeting should include the following: o. Reading of the minutes of the last meeting by the Secretary. b. Treasurer's report. This shows which girls have paid dues, and makes all the girls feel the importance of the Club treasury. c. Report of the Social Committee on the party of the pre- ceding week and on any future plans which the committee may have. d. Formation of other committees, membership and service. It is often well to have the Vice-President of the Club auto- matically become chairman of the Membership Committee. e. Discussion of possible service work. /. Games, charades, etc. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 89 The planning and execution of some such definite program as this will almost inevitably find a response in the interest of the girls. That the girls do respond naturally to plans for organization is shown in the fol- lowing interesting report of a Club Leader in the National League of Women Workers : "In the Club which I know best we started with a nucleus of eight girls, members of a junior Club which had disbanded because, as one of the girls said, 'it was no fun/ Amusement will attract and hold people to- gether if only for a short time, and so for the first three months, with the exception of two informal talks, we had parties of many kinds. Incidentally, our member- ship increased to thirty. The first parties were the result of my own planning, but the later ones were suggested and carried out by the girls. Our first business meeting came from a desire on the part of the girls to plan more carefully for their parties. At that first business meeting, the simplest points of parliamentary law were explained. We decided that we had to have a business meeting from time to time and this brought us to the question of officers. That night we appointed three committees to select three possible tickets. Two weeks later we elected a President, Secretary and Treasurer and planned to have a business meeting every month, just as the senior Club did. That was the last time I presided at a meet- ing, and the last time I offered any advice or help except on request." 90 GIRLS' CLUBS What the Officers Shall Be In working out the constitution, many questions arise in connection with the particular Club with which a Leader is working. The officers of the Club should be created to meet the actual requirements of work to be done and their duties should be clearly outlined from the start. The usual officers are President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. In some Clubs other names are given to the officers who do this work. One Club Leader, upon finding that her girls were interested in military organization, suggested with great success the regulation names of army officers. In another Club, where the girls wished a Greek name for their Club, the Leader used the Greek words for President and the other officers, with the result that the importance of those offices seemed greater. A certain school teacher in organizing her girls decided that they should have some training in citizenship, and so duplicated the officers of the city administration; so that the "policemen" looked after the behavior of the girls, and so on. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the plan. Their interest was awakened in civic affairs and they gained a working knowledge of the methods of city government. A little ingenuity such as this in the naming of the officers or committees will often increase the interest of the girls or their pride in their Club. The Selection of Officers In the choosing of officers, there are, in general, two methods which are employed. These are the selection INSPECTION DAY AT THE JOHN WANAMAKER COMMERCIAL INSTITUTE ENCAMPMENT, ISLAND HEIGHTS, N. J. GIRLS' BATTALION OF THE JOHN WANAMAKER COMMERCIAL INSTITUTE, PHILADELPHIA THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 91 of officers by popular election, without any specific regu- lations concerning eligibility to office; and the election of officers from those girls who have accomplished certain desirable things in their Club life. With the popular- election system, great care must be taken to see that the offices are generally distributed and that the same girls do not repeatedly occupy them. This can be regu- lated by having certain rules about the election, such as that forbidding a girl's reelection to the Presidency im- mediately upon the expiration of her term. A more even and impartial distribution of offices gives many Club members an opportunity to show what they can do. Often a girl with hitherto unsuspected talents rises splendidly to the responsibilities of office. The use of a nominating board, with the Club Leader as ex-officio member, will often result in a wider and wiser distribu- tion of Club offices than is possible where nominations are made from the floor and with little forethought. The plan of having those girls eligible for office who have shown certain attainments has the great advantage of inspiring the girls to strive for the necessary quali- fications. The offices in the Club then mean more than popularity sufficient to win votes. They mean that the girls who occupy them have accomplished certain useful things. The disadvantage of this plan is that the girls with little ability sometimes become discouraged and say "they never have a chance" in the Club life, or that "there isn't any show" for the girl who is not "bright." It is possible to overcome this disadvantage by a general distribution of committee membership: making some offices obtainable through appointment by virtue of special ability, and others available through popular election. 92 GIRLS' CLUBS The Matter of Committees In the matter of committees, here again the actual needs of the Club should govern the number established. Each committee should have a definite work to do which does not overlap the work of any other committee. Each committee chairman should understand exactly what is expected of her committee; she should also be taught the value of dividing the work and of making each committee member responsible for her own part of the task. This teaches the girls methods of working and of organizing work. For example, the work of a Party Committte can be divided into the work on in- vitations, reception, refreshments, and program. The committee member responsible for each division submits her plans for that division to the committee. They dis- cuss it and decide on the plan of action. The committee member in charge is then responsible for seeing that it is carried out. Where the girls themselves are doing the work of the Club, it will often seem to the Club Leader that the task would be accomplished much more quickly and effectively were she to do it herself. This may be true, but were she to do it the girls would not gain the experience of actual practise. The most wide-awake and thriving Club is in most cases the Club whose members are themselves all busily at work upon its various activities. In general, there are two kinds of committees used in Club work: the standing committee, whose duties con- tinue throughout an entire term of office; and the temporary committee, appointed to perform certain tasks, such as arranging for a play, and whose com- THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 93 mittee work ceases when the specific task is completed. The following is a list of committees used in Club work : A. First Committees Necessary. 1. Constitution Committee to draw up the constitution. 2. Nominating Committee to nominate the officers. B. Helpful Standing Committees. 1. Membership 2. Program 3. Service 4. Social One Club Leader has suggested for the small Club group that each of these first three committees have five mem- bers and serve for six months ; that the Social Committee have seven members, with the chairman serv- ing for six months, but with a change in committee members every month. In this way, all Club members are given an opportunity for committee responsibility. 5. Auditing Committee to audit the books of the Club once a year. 6. Executive Committee including the Club officers, some- times given the power of appointing the Club com- mittees. Chairman of this Committee: the President of the Club. C. Temporary Committees. The following list of committees, compiled from the records of a large number of Girls' Clubs, shows the ways in which the Committee method is used to carry on the work of the Clubs: 1. Educational Committee to consider the classes to be given in the Club and to secure special speakers for the Club. 2. Dramatic Committee to select plays and arrange for the dramatic productions of the Club. 3. Song and Cheer Committee to solicit original songs from the Club members, and plan musical events such as song contests. The Song Leader of the Club is often chairman ex officio of this Committee. 4. Banquet Committee to arrange for the Club Banquets. 5. Poster Committee to prepare posters for the special events of the Club. 94 GIRLS* CLUBS 6. Flower or "Sunshine" Committee to send notes, flowers or other greetings to sick Club members. 7. Summer Outing Committee to plan for the Club's summer camping trip. 8. Thrift Committee to help the girls to save regularly. Such a list shows how the committee work can be directly adjusted to the Club's needs. The extent of each Committee's responsibility depends upon the specific organization of each Club. In a small Club a Committee's powers may be more extensive than in a large Club, where the object of the Committee work is to get every member as actively at work as possible. For example, in a small Club the Program Committee may be well able to plan for any dramatic productions which the Club may wish to have during the year. On the other hand, in a large Club the Program Committee will be amply busy in arranging for the regular meetings of the Club and cannot adequately attend to the special big task of producing a good play. In the small Club, such a task will often involve the active help of every Club mem- ber. In a large Club, it may not. But the underlying principle of successful committee work in any Club is simply this: to make the number of committees as large as is necessary, with a clear understanding always ex- isting concerning the exact task which each is to perform. Names, Colors, and Mottoes for the Club When the problem of the Club name, colors, and motto is brought before the girls, suggestions will often be numerous, and an immediate (and hasty) vote may be desired by the Club members. This choice should, THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 95 however, be carefully considered by the Club. The symbols are used frequently. The name appears on the Club banner, the Club pin and in the Club songs. The colors are used for decoration at the special functions of the Club. The motto is used in the Club ceremonies and meetings to convey an idea of the purpose of the Club. The problem of this choice may be suggested several weeks before the final vote is taken. In the time between the announcement and the decision, the Club girls may bring in their suggestions and there can be a general Club discussion upon the matter. There are many sources that are suggestive for names. The Camp Fire groups have taken their names and symbols largely from the folk lore of the different coun- tries, most often from the Indian legends with which their organization is so directly associated. The names of great women whose lives are typical of what the girls wish to accomplish have been frequently chosen by Girls' Clubs. The charm of Greek letters appeals to many girls "Gamma Epsilon" for "General Electric," for instance. Often a Club has wished to have its name directly signify its purpose and work as "Civic Club," or "Business Girls' Club." Groups of younger girls choose such names as "The Merry-Go-Round Club," or "On the Alert." The following list of the names chosen by girls shows a wide variety: Adelphia Amity Amo Blue Birds of Happiness Aimwell Brownie Aloha Bon Accord Alcott Circle Chickadee 9 6 GIRLS' CLUBS Chain of Friendship Chatter-Chatter Dickens Club Ever Ready Friendly Club Fidelity Florence Nightingale Froebel Favorites Greek Social Club Good Will Helping Hands Happy Hearts Jolly Friends Joan of Arc Jolly Girls Kismet Kindly Club Loyal Friends Little Women Loyalty Light House Lend-a-Hand Club Little Housekeepers Laf-a-Lot Marionette Club Merry-Go-Round Martha Washington Merry Makers On the Alert Play Hour Progress Club Rainbow Social Satellites Silver Sword Sunshine Steadfast Star T. M. T. M. (The More the Merrier) Thoughtful Girls Wide Awakes Willing Workers Popular combinations of colors are numerous red and white, blue and white, orange and black, green and white, maroon and blue, maroon and black. If colors are chosen w r hich are easily purchased in cheap materials, such as cheesecloth and tissue paper, the Club will find its future tasks of decorating for the Club parties com- paratively simple. Many a Club, in striving for original- ity in its colors, has later found that the shades chosen can be bought only in expensive materials and cannot THE ORGANIZATION OP THE CLUB 97 be generally used. Standard combinations of colors which have successfully stood the test of popular ap- proval are, for the most part, best for Girls* Clubs. In the question of mottoes, any standard dictionary is a help, and at any Public Library books may be found full of suggestions. The Club Leader may be of great help to the Club in this choice by herself preparing to give suggestions. The Business Meeting of the Club Regular business meetings in a Club are of great value in holding the Club girls steadily to their purpose. At each business meeting, through the reports of committees, the Club sees the progress which is being made. The dignity and procedure of the meeting teach the members the value of dispatch. Knowledge of parliamentary law is of value to any girl and may be quickly gained in the Club where the regular order is followed in the busi- ness meetings. The reports of the officers and com- mittees train them in ability to arrange facts in an orderly way. Nor is it necessary to make the business meetings mechanical. Club songs can be introduced, or other features. One Girls' Club, on the evening of its business meeting, gathers in the hall and marches singing to the Club Room, arm in arm. Roll-call is in some Clubs made a feature of interest by having the girls respond with something besides the regulation "present." One month, the girls may tell of some act of kindness which they have seen during the month; at another meeting, of some act for civic betterment which they were able 98 GIRLS 1 CLUBS to perform (such as picking up waste paper from the sidewalk). Or perhaps these Club members answer the roll with an interesting item of current news. A week before the business meeting, the plan which is to be used in responding to the roll call is announced. In this way, the girls are ready and the variety in the response gives an added interest. The regular Order of Business is: 1. Call to Order by the President. 2. Roll-Call, if desired. 3. Minutes of Last Meeting. 4. Treasurer's Report. 5. Unfinished Business. 6. New Business. 7. Reports of Committees. 8. Adjournment. Symbolism and special ceremonies can be introduced as a part of this regular monthly meeting. The initia- tion and welcoming of new members can be given a place in the program. Where the Club gives awards or honors of any kind, the presentation to the successful girls can be an occasion of special dignity. Music and poetry have in them an appeal to girls, and the Club which can infuse its special ceremonies with that which arouses the imagination of the young girls has awakened in them a desire which may lead to their larger develop- ment. These elements play an important part in the plan of the Camp Fire Girls. Their Council Fire is definitely planned to give to their members a sense of the beauty of what they are doing. When the fire is lighted, this Ode to Fire is repeated. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 99 "O Fire! Long years ago when our fathers fought with great animals, you were their protection. From the cruel cold of winter, you saved them. When they needed food, you changed the flesh of beasts into savory meat for them. During all the ages your mysterious flame has been a symbol to them for Spirit. So to-night, we light our fire in remembrance of the Great Spirit who gave you to us." "When we try to put our deepest thoughts into words/' says the Camp Fire Manual, "somehow the spirit seems to vanish, for words are too inadequate. For this rea- son, Camp Fire girls use poetry, music, ceremony, and ritual, color and drama to express their hopes, purposes and visions." The Records of the Club From the outset, a complete record of the Club's ac- tivities should be kept. Such a record is of great value in planning the programs for following years. The record of a successful year's work is an excellent basis upon which to make future plans. No Club should be without a carefully kept Secretary's record. Following a busi- ness meeting and writing the proceedings is excellent experience for the Secretary. Committee reports should also be included in this book. At a gathering of the Industrial Girls' Clubs (Y. W. C. A.) in Altamont, New York, the delegates, who were Club girls themselves, decided that committees should hand in to the Secretary written reports once a month. ioo GIRLS 1 CLUBS LI BADER NAME ADDRESS REMARKS A Report Sheet for Club Leaders, College Settlement, New York City. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE'XSLUB 101 1st MEETING 2nd MEETING 3rd MEETING 4th MEETING 5th MEETING TREASURY DEPARTMENT tpenses Dues Balance Fwd. A Record Blank for Club Meetings, College Settlement, New York City. 102 GiLS ; CLUBS In addition to the book of minutes, a Secretary may keep a "Happy Club Times" book or a "Log Book." Such a book is, in reality a Club Diary. In it is written, in an informal way, the story of the special events of the Club. If one of the Club girls enjoys writing, the keeping of such a book is a great delight to her. Another method of keeping records is to use a Club scrap book. A Leader of a large New York Club pastes in her scrap book a sample of every ticket, circular, poster or notice which the Club has sent out. Under the ticket she writes: Number ordered Cost of printing Sent out Criticism The criticism which is written under each entry is especially helpful. If too many tickets were ordered, she makes a note of that. If there was some omission in the printing copy, she makes a note of that. What- ever proves wrong in any of the Club's printed matter is entered in the scrap book at once, to guard against future errors of the same kind. In the scrap book are also pasted all press notices which have appeared con- cerning the Club, copies of all original plays, songs, verses and other "stunts" figuring on the Club programs. The Club members often borrow this book from the Leader to read again the story of the big events of other years. "Once you have started a scrap book," this Leader has said, "it takes little time to keep it up. And it is a chart and compass which you cannot afford to be without, once you have used it." THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 103 A collection of pictures is an interesting record for a Club to keep. Snapshots of hikes and picnics, of Club members all of these can be gathered together with little expense and pasted in a Club album. If any of the Club has a kodak and enjoys taking pictures, the Club may appoint her its "Official Photographer." Such' an appointment will insure pictures for the Club, when- ever pictures are possible. When the Club gives a big play or pageant, a pic- ture of the event should be taken by a professional photographer if the Club can afford it. Such pictures, framed and hanging upon the wall of the Club room, become a center of special interest. Visitors ask, "When did this happen?" And the Club girls tell of the good time, past, now but "We'll be having another before long!" A Club organizer in the Middle West never allows a special Club event to pass without having a picture taken of it. "My girls might forget all about a successful play if we didn't have a picture. taken of it," she has said, "but I have found that pictures of past suc- cesses are a constant incentive to the girls. More than this, they often buy a copy of the picture to take to their homes for their families and friends to see. The ad- miration which they receive there stimulates their own interest in the Club. Pictures are an excellent form of record for any Club to have." The Financial Organization of the Club Club Leaders are agreed that, no matter what the nature of the Club or the character of the Club members, the girls should pay definite dues and work for the finan- cial support of the Club insofar as they are able. io 4 GIRLS' CLUBS The regular income of a Girls' Club is derived from the payment of dues and from any special means which the Club selects. The amount of dues varies, some Clubs paying as little as two or three cents a week. When the Club members are voting upon the amount which the dues shall be, great care should be exercised to make sure that the amount decided upon will not press too heavily upon some of the Club members. There may be some girls who in their enthusiasm call loudly for a larger amount than would be fair to the Club as a whole. The girls should be made to realize that the dues are to be paid regularly, month after month, and should therefore not be so large that they will soon be- come a burden or, perhaps, even beyond the powers of the Club members to pay. Not every new Club Leader sees the wisdom in having a Club policy which involves financial support from the girls themselves. The girls in the Club are in poor circumstances and there may be people who will gladly contribute all that is needed for the Club work. It is a fact in Girls' Club work that the Club members appre- ciate more that for which they have worked and which represents the results of their own efforts than they do that which is given to them without effort on their part. A Club Leader in a large factory was once leading the Factory Head through the Recreation Room. A number of the girls were standing near by. "These are the girls who have been earning money to buy a piano for the room," said the Club Leader, smiling. "They have been working for a year,, giving sales and entertainments, and soon they will have enough." THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLTJB 105 The Factory Head stopped. "Why, I will give the piano," he said, "I'll get it up here to-day. Why didn't you tell me you wanted one ?" To his surprise, this plan did not arouse great en- thusiasm among the girls. When he and the Club Leader left the room, he asked : "Now, what was the matter? Didn't they want that piano ?" The Club Leader smiled. "You took away their in- centive," she said. "That piano, bought with the money they themselves earned, would represent real Club achievement. They could point, to it with pride, a big thing they themselves had done. Your gift will mean your kindness to them, and they will be grateful, but it is not quite the same." So it is that the Club which has a well-defined finan- cial policy resting upon active support from the girls will hold their loyalty because it is a possession of their own. When the amount of the dues has been decided upon, and a Treasurer elected, every effort should be made to have the financial part of the Club work car- ried on in a business-like way. The Treasurer may have a receipt book, issuing receipts to all paying their dues. The Club Treasurer should be encouraged at all times to have a model treasurer's book ready for inspection by the Club whenever they wish to consult it. The Na- tional League of Women Workers, New York City, has issued a Model Treasurer's book for Girls' Clubs, show- ing models for the monthly cash account, a financial report for any money-making entertainment, a financial report for any class with a special fee, a model for the loan accounts of the Club, the annual report, and the io6 GIRLS' CLUBS MODEL FOR CLUB'S This account should run from one Business just before the Business carried over to APRIL RECEIPTS BANK CASE April 5 from dues 6 20 April 5 from Initiation Fees 20 April 6 total from Play (pp 20) 99 95 Cash total to date i in in April 7 Deposited to Bank Account Cash remaining 56.00 11U. 1U 54 10 April 16 Profit Cooking Class (pp. 30) April 19 from Dues .27 .10 April 26 from Dues .20 April 29 Loan received (pp. 40) 15 00 May 2 Subletting room 1.00 TOTAL RECEIPTS 71.00 55.67 71.00 126.67 TOTAL EXPENSES 122.75 Balance on hand Mav 4. S 3.92 (Carry this balance to next left-hand page to May account and enter it as April 5 above) (When reading report at Business Meeting have listed below any money due club) CLUB ASSETS For subletting room April 26 1 . 00 bill sent " " April 27 1.00 " " The Treasurer shall be prepared to give upon request a detaikd report of any receipt or expenditure mentioned in the Monthly Report of these two pages, as for instance: "April 6 Total of Play." Her parenthesis "(see pp. 20)" shows where such de- tailed report is to be found. A Page from the " Model Treasurer's Book for Girla* 'THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 107 MONTHLY CASH ACCOUNT Meeting to the next. It should be balanced Meeting, and balance be start next page. APRIL EXPENDITURES April 6 Total Cost Play (pp. 21) April 7 Loan of Jan. repaid (pp. 41) . . April 10 Rent, March and April April 30 Last payment on piano TOTAL EXPENSE . . . . 122 . 75 ) CHECK CASH 52 75 >. 41) ... 10.00 40 00 20.00 70.00 52.75 70.00 If, instead of a balance, the club is in debt when these two pages are closed before the Business Meeting, the amount of money which may actually be in the Treasury may still be shown as a balance on the left-hand page, but the list of debts on this page will present a larger total, and in such a case the Treasurer should call the attention of the Business Meeting of this fact. The amount which the balance will not cover is known as the DEFICIT. (List below unpaid bills to date) CLUB DEBTS Electric light for April ? bill not received Piano tuner 2.50 Loan received April 29 15.00 Clubs. ' ' National League of Women Workers. io8 GIRLS' CLUBS record of individual dues paid. A study of such prac- tical helps as this gives the Treasurer a standard upon which she may model her own books. Such practise gives her valuable training in business methods. Sources of income other than dues are numerous. Plays, entertainments and fairs at which an admission fee is charged, add to the Club's treasury. When a special class is given under Club auspices, it is often possible to charge a small fee for admission to the class. In some Girls' Clubs, money has been added to the treasury by the promise of each Club member to earn a certain amount for the Club. In one Club, each girl was given ten cents from which she was to earn at least one dollar. One girl bought some thread and made lace which she sold. Another girl bought seeds which she planted in her garden. Simple plans such as this often stimulate the girls to unthought-of endeavors and teach them the value of money. Such experience is valuable to girls in their training for future responsi- bilities. Ability to earn money, to spend it wisely, and to keep a careful account of it is an asset every girl should have. Many organizations encourage such practise in the use of Club funds by plans which involve the direct ex- penditure of money from the Club treasury. In Hull House, the Clubs pay a small rental for the use of their Club room and the light. If they give an entertainment, they pay rental for the theater or hall. In the College Settlement, New York City, a self-supporting experiment has been carried on at Mount Ivy, the summer camping site. The Settlement gives the use of the land and the individual Club provides the shelter and equipment for THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB 109 its own Camp. The camping parties are self-supporting, getting their own breakfasts, washing their own dishes and keeping their own Camp in order. Dinner and supper are prepared in the central kitchen and distributed at cost to the various groups. The Clubs who have these camps have "Camp Funds" toward which they pay dues. When the financial ways and means have been decided upon for the Club, the next problem before the members is the division of the total amount, in short, the con- sideration of the Club budget. Each committee will wish to know the amount of money which it can spend for its work. The regular expenses of the Club must be met. Other special interests will claim the attention of the Club from time to time. Can the Club afford them? A carefully planned budget will show this. After a Club has been in existence for a year or more, the plan- ning of a budget becomes a comparatively easy task. The receipts and expenditures of the preceding year are an excellent basis for estimating what the Club can and should do in the coming year. Some girls' Clubs have successfully followed the plan of opening a bank account at a local bank, and of paying their financial obligations by check. Such a plan trains the Club girls in the use of those business resources upon which they will call in later life for their own transactions. The Standard Club The plan of having certain definite requirements which a Club must meet before it is a "Standard Club" has been an incentive for the individual Clubs in our large girls' organizations. A Club is not recognized as a Club no GIRLS* CLUBS unless the percentage of attendance is high ; the business meetings held regularly; the dues paid promptly; the committee reports made punctually; the projects of the Club carried to their logical conclusions. When a Club has met the outlined requirements (whatever they may be) it is admitted to the Settlement Council, or the City Federation, or the larger organization. Wherever a number of Clubs are united through inter- Club organization, the establishment of such a standard is an incentive to the girls. Other Clubs will do the required work and receive recognition. Shall theirs fall behind? Even the Club which is working independently, without definite inclusion in some larger organization, can set for itself a standard which should be attained by the end of the year. Perhaps no other phase of Club work requires such persistent, steady effort as does working for a business- like organization within the Club. It is a part of the Club work which must go on, week after week. It in- volves definite results from the girls in which they some- times waver. But the Club Leader who persists and who succeeds in putting the Club upon a business basis is helping to develop in her Club girls those habits of organization, of thoroughness, and of reliability which will make of them valuable citizens, whether in their own homes or out in the world of industry. CHAPTER V PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM OF THE CLUB The Need for a Program EVERY Club which has for its aim the broadest possible service both to its Club members and to the community where it works should have a well-planned program for the year's activities a program which, step by step, works toward the ultimate purpose of the Club. Rely- ing on the inspiration of the moment often results in a scattering of energy and a waning interest on the part of the girls: a carefully planned program leads toward definite accomplishment. A plan for activities, which extends over several weeks, months, or even over the entire year holds the girls' attention and causes them to regard the work of the Club as highly important. Finally, careful plans may be made to bring that neces- sary variety in activities which girls so often crave. It is not difficult to make such a program for the Club's activities. The Leader and the girls know the number of meetings which they will hold in a given time. Each autumn they can look ahead and plan the work which they wish to accomplish before the next autumn ; or they can map out their activities for six months in ii2 GIRLS' CLUBS ahead. The Camp Fire Manual suggests that the Camp Fire Girls plan their meetings definitely for two months at a time. The Business Girls' Clubs of the Young Women's Christian Association recommend that the pro- gram be planned at least six months in advance. What- ever unit of time is used, the work as a whole can be divided among the number of meetings to be held and the Club girls will see just how much each meeting must contribute to the desired results. The purpose of having a definite program is to steer the Club past the shoals of irresponsibility and wavering and toward accomplishment. This chapter, and succeed- ing ones, will present the ways in which some Leaders have worked to plan a program, and the means by which they have made the Club activities of vital interest to the members. When the Club year is opening, the girls themselves will have many plans which they wish to carry out. The Leader, too, should have desirable plans to suggest. From these plans and suggestions, the year's program of activities is to be made. The majority may wish to have a certain course of study, to hold a certain number of parties, to give an entertainment. A committee of the girls, working in cooperation with the Leader, can estimate the number of weeks over which each of the desired activities will extend. Any plan which is made for the entire year can be tentative, to be changed if new activities seem more desirable than those originally decided upon. Certain plans in operation may not prove so suitable for a Club as they seemed in the discussion. Although it is undoubtedly far wiser to complete a piece of work once it has been entered upon, it is often best PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 113 to continue on a certain line of work rather than to shift to one scheduled by the committee in charge. "Let's study more Shakespeare/' begged a Club at the close of a certain course. Other work had been planned, but the girls' eager interest caused the Leader to arrange for further study in the desired subject. In all Clubs, and more especially in those which are just starting, the plans which the Leader has to suggest are of greatest importance. The final decision as to what each Club is to do will rest with the wishes of the majority of the members. The Leader has a share in shaping the policy of the year's work, however, for, as a fellow-member, she can suggest plans which seem suit- able to her. Often, too, the girls will have little or no idea of what their Club can do at its meetings. The Leader's ideas are welcomed, and the final decision of the girls will often be in reality but an exercise of choice among the plans which the Leader herself has offered. Every Leader, then, should make a careful study of her own group of girls and be ready at all times with good suggestions for activities. The following aspects of a situation are important in all kinds of Girls' Club work and a consideration of them by the Leader will be helpful in planning work adapted to a particular group, and will often suggest to her what activities will be practicable and enjoyable for her own girls. The Right Kind of Program What to Consider 1. Personal Considerations, i. What is the average age of the Club girls? 2. What is their home and school environment? ii4 GIRLS' CLUBS 3. What is their nationality ? 4. What has been their education and what is their average intelligence? 5. If business girls, what are their occupations? 6. What do they wish to do in the Club ? II. Club Considerations. I. How many meetings are to be held during a month ? A year ? 2. How long are the meetings to be? 3. How much money can be spent for the Club work ? III. The Age Consideration. The age of the girls will greatly influence their choice of activity. Very young girls prefer active occupations: lively games, songs, and dances give a healthful outlet for their bubbling spirits. There is a great charm for them in winning emblems for certain attainments, and in symbolism. One reason for the success of the Camp Fire movement undoubtedly lies in its appeal to the imagination of the young girl. As the girls grow older, their interests develop and broaden. If the Club is to grow, the activities of the Club must meet and stimulate those interests. The Girls' Work Committee of the Association of Neighborhood Workers, New York City, has contributed the following age divisions, with suggestions as to the dominant characteristics of each. First Group. Six to ten years. At this age, children are essentially individualistic. The kindergarten plan in the main is followed, and group spirit is gradually developed through games, manual work and stories. Second Group. Ten to fourteen years. The dominant note to strike with this group is a development of their altruistic impulses : interest in persons outside their own group the settlement, the camp, the hospital, the district PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 115 nurse, shut-ins, etc. Much stronger group spirit is noticeable. Here we see the beginning of Club organ- ization: the simpler the better. The simplest sort of business meeting, carried on with formality, is very im- portant in its teaching of self-control and respect for law, order, and justice. Train the Club to sustain in- terest : finish whatever work or game they have begun guard against restless shifting. Third Group. Fifteen to eighteen years. The funda- mental idea here should be to fit the girl for the larger life for the business world and for civic interests. At this age, a bird's-eye view of civic interests may be given. Glorify the home and their relation to it. Develop home instincts, and discuss fully their coming responsibilities in home-making, the efficiency and the ideals necessary in such work. Senior Group. Eighteen years and upward. The key- note here is the subordination of the individualistic group-feeling to the larger, more representative organ- izations existing about them. IV. Home Environment as a Consideration. Although there is a certain similarity in all activities which appeal to girls of a certain age, no matter what their home environment, still the latter factor will have a large share in determining what activities it is well to emphasize with each group. Clubs are organized among Secondary School girls, and plans have been suggested for them; but the Secondary School girls in one city district come from refined and cultured homes in another, they are from squalid tenements, where home training is either non-existent or far from wise and helpful, and where opportunities for development are limited. So it is that n6 GIRLS' CLUBS the activities in Clubs made up of girls from the latter kind of homes must often be directed to supply the good elements of personal training which are lacking in their lives. Among Clubs composed of girls of foreign birth, it is found that the simplest American games and class- activities are full of charm; whereas in Clubs organized among girls who have enjoyed every opportunity for development, the Club life gives these an opportunity to do something for other girls less fortunate. The country girl often suffers from loneliness, isolation and a great longing for the books which are easily available to her city sister; thus her country Club becomes the means through which she is supplied with that which the community gives freely to the city lass. V. Nationality as a Consideration. In a Club composed of girls of one nationality, dominant racial characteristics will often determine the kind of activities in which the girls will be interested and which they should have. A young librarian who wished to organize a Book Club among the Jewish girls of a certain tenement district was amazed to find her Club members asking to study the most advanced modern drama, starting, preferably, with Ibsen ! Many a Club Leader has had just such an experience in working among Jewish girls, finding them alert, progressive, and eager to learn. Activities of real educational value appeal to them, and they will work energetically upon the things which they feel are helping them to help themselves. Miss Harriet Daniels, in her book, "The Girl and Her Chance," has characterized this problem of nationality in the Club as follows : "With the Jewish young people, literary meetings, dramatics, PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 117 and debates are popular; among the Italians and the Slavic races we find manual work popular; while the Irish and the American girls are more inclined to an evening of fun. But special stress should be laid on the necessity of every Club's doing something of real value if it be only for fifteen minutes. It is all too easy to spend the evening in a social good time, and (on occa- sion) this is right and wise; but to let week after week slip by with nothing done but dancing is neither wise nor right." The prevailing nationality of her girls often gives the Leader an opportunity to group Club activities about the mother-country. Its traditions and folk-lore form an excellent basis for a story-telling hour. Often the parents of the girls can give them a great deal of interesting material, and are delighted to be able to tell the old stories again. The songs of the mother-country, its folk dances, and its costumes, all these can be used in the Club activities ; and, through their use the girls come to have a greater reverence for the land of their fore- fathers and a greater respect for their own parents, who may not be "stylish" but who have noble traditions be- hind them. VI. Occupation as a Consideration. When the mem- bers are those who have gone out into the business world, the kind of occupation in which they are engaged will often influence the Club's program. A thoughtful Leader will see that a girl who is engaged in a certain occupa- tion day after day will find more actual benefit in some kinds of activity than in others. There are girls em- ployed in factories, girls whose powers of relaxation and sociability have often been dulled by the mechanical n8 GIRLS' CLUBS work in which they engage ; the hours of fun and games at the Club may supply just what these girls most need. The National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, in its Bulletin Number 23, has made a number of valuable suggestions concerning this problem. Among the types of employment which restrict the movements of the body during the working hours are: 1. Hand sewing or machine sewing; typewriting; operating an automatic machine, such as an envelope machine or a box-making machine. In these occupations, the worker sits all day with little change of position. 2. Laundry work ; selling in a store ; packing goods in a factory. In these occupations, the worker stands all day with little change of position. Workers in the foregoing occupations should have recreative courses from one of the following groups : 1. Gymnastics and drills ; games for free play and cooperation; folk dances suited to age and interests of the class; social dancing, accord- ing to the customs of the community ; camping and walking trips such as those of the Girl Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls. 2. Athletics, including basketball, hand ball, tennis and swimming, for those who are physically able to endure these vigorous types of recrea- tion. 3. Study of personal hygiene and health problems. This instruction may be given incidentally in PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 119 connection with cookery and clothing courses. Care should be taken to stimulate interest in good health as a business and social asset. Both store workers, meeting the general public con- stantly, and office secretaries, to whom have fallen ex- ecutive tasks, may require intellectual stimulus in their Club activities. Their daily occupations have developed in them poise, alertness, and desire to learn; and the Club activities must be adapted to meet their development. Acquaintance with the Club members and discussions with them will soon show to a Leader what their out- look upon life is and what are their greatest needs. VII. Length of Meetings as a Consideration. In choosing from the multitude of activities in which her Club may engage, a Leader must necessarily keep in mind the amount of time needed for the successful com- pletion of each. Some Clubs meet more frequently and have longer meetings than others. They can do the longer plays, the more elaborate class work. To under- take a greater amount of work than can be accomplished in the given time is most discouraging to the Club. Careful preliminary planning, however, often makes pos- sible great accomplishment. One Leader, whose girls met but once a week during their lunch hour, carried on a large number of activities as follows : The Club had officers and committees, with regular business meetings to carry on the work; Club songs and cheers; games; musical drills; folk dances; and even short, informal plays. These varied activi- ties were all carried out during the lunch time of the girls, and after they had eaten their lunches. The 120 GIRLS' CLUBS Leader was always ready for the Club meeting, before any of the girls appeared, and was prepared to help with the rapid execution of all plans. Because it was impossible to assemble all her girls at a certain hour, and because the time of their arrival often stretched over a period of five minutes, the first part of the half- hour Club meeting was devoted to learning and singing Club songs. The continuous arrival of the girls did not interrupt this activity, as it would have interrupted a folk-dancing lesson, for instance. When a goodly num- ber of the members had gathered together, the Club work of the day was introduced. If a folk-dance was being learned, old steps were reviewed, and new ones were added to the whole. If a special program or entertain- ment was being prepared, the Club work took the form of a rehearsal. If a business meeting was to be held, the necessary business was transacted. The regular schedule of this lunch-hour Club was somewhat as fol- lows: (a) Five Minutes. Club singing, around the piano. (b) Fifteen or Twenty Minutes. Club work; Folk dancing; or Drills; or a Business Meeting; or Story- Telling. (c) Five to Ten Minutes. Dancing or Games; Club Singing. The amount of time which could be devoted in this Club to each part of the work seems very limited. The key to such progress lay in careful and thorough prepa- ration, not only of the yearly plan, but also of the plan for each meeting, and in the consequent rapid execution of each plan. (Photo by Eddowes Co.) SUNSHINE, FRESH AIR, AND EXERCISE FOR OUR GIRLS A Camp Fire Group (Photo by Eddowes Co.) " OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY " A Camp Fire Hike PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 121 The Right Kind of Program Formulating It With such considerations as these in mind, and with a choice of desirable activities made accordingly, a Leader can go to the Club meeting, prepared to give good advice concerning the plan for the year. Some Clubs may at first rely largely upon the Leader and her suggestions. As a Club develops and the girls come to see what can be done in the meetings, their own suggestions become more numerous and should be welcomed. Sometimes the girls' ideas are vague. The Leader can take them and develop them into possible activities. In Hull House, Chicago, one group of girls came to the workers asking to be organized into a "Club where we may learn to vote." The Leader of this Club made a special point of Club organization and parliamentary order in its meet- ings. The little group of Jewish girls who applied knew little of organization or of parliamentary law. Their Leader saw that emphasis along these lines would give them what they desired; and the program of the Club was laid down accordingly. Again, the suggestions made by the Club members are not always practical or desirable. Where such ideas are elaborate or unsuitable, the tactful Leader can point out the difficulties. If she presents her objections reasonably and forcibly, the majority of the girls will respond to the appeal and will relinquish the idea. "I always try never to say 'No' arbitrarily," a Girls' Club Leader in New England once remarked. "And I never say it until I have exhausted every appeal to rea- son. By giving the girls my objections, I make them consider the practical side of every idea. This trains 122 GIRLS' CLUBS them to think. Moreover, if they can be made to see certain definite objections as to why a favorite plan cannot be used, almost invariably they will pleasantly drop all consideration of it." Another Club Leader has made it her policy to use every suggestion of her Club girls, if at all possible, enlarging upon it whenever necessary. "Let's take walks," remarked one of her Club girls one day. This Leader at once seized upon the opportunity to suggest walks to interesting near-by parts of the city. The girls at once planned the points which they would enjoy visit- ing. A city guide-book gave others. Before each walk, the Club studied interesting facts about the place which they were to visit. The Leader provided some sug- gestive material and referred the Club members to books in the Public Library. This adaptation of a chance suggestion from a member brought the girls into touch with local history. It gave them civic interest, as well as excellent exercise. There are often just such possi- bilities hidden in the girls' suggestions. A resourceful Leader can discover and use them. And the girls with whom the ideas originated feel a still greater sense of proprietorship in the Club whose program they have helped to form. Fundamental Essentials Common in All Clubs There are several kinds of Club activity which seem to exist in most successful Girls' Clubs, among younger girls and older girls, in city Clubs and country Clubs, with American girls and foreign-born: the kind of ac- tivities which are largely helpful in creating a spirit of PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 1*3 fellowship, sociability, and loyalty to the Club in short, they are those activities which produce "Club Spirit," and which can be introduced into every Club, no matter what its purpose. Club Singing. What fun it is to gather around the piano and sing the songs which have been written for the Club, to tunes which the members love! What fun it is, if you are a Club member, to write the words yourself, and, afterward, hear your own Club sing the very song upon which you yourself worked ! In helping the girls with their choice of tunes to be used, a Leader may do much to improve the girls' musical taste by pointing out the difference between the good and the bad in the popular tunes of the day. Nor is current music the only kind which can be used for Club songs. Many stirring "classical" melodies are admirably adapted to Club songs, and Leaders have stimulated the use of such by announcing a Word Contest, whose purpose is to determine which girls can write the most appropriate Club words to a given tune. The girls learn these songs in meeting, and go out from the Club singing them. They sing them at home for their friends, showing that their Club is "like the big colleges," with songs all their own. The Camp Fire Manual says that "singing together is essential for the developing of team-spirit. A successful Council Fire cannot be held without it." Where a number of Clubs are affiliated, as in a City Federation, a Settlement, or a Y. W. C. A., inter-Club singing contests have proved most enjoyable. All the Club members can take active part in a contest of this kind. Often its chief interest has centered in the original i2 4 GIRLS' CLUBS songs which each Club has written. Before such a con- test, each Club has been busily preparing a song which will be worthy of its name. On the competition night, these are judged on the appropriateness of the tune selected, on the words, and on their rendering of the song. To the winning Club may go a "Song Contest" banner, to be hung upon the walls of the Club Room until wrested from them by another Club in some future contest. The Club which has singing as one of its Club activities is ready to do its part in big community celebrations. Community Christmas-tree celebrations, now prevalent in many places are characterized by Christmas carols; the Club girls may have their share in making these carols a success. Big "Community Sings" are becoming more and more popular, and, where they are held, every organ- ized group which can help is welcomed. The Girls' Club which is ready can in this way help its community. Cheers, too, arouse great enthusiasm. To Clubs which have teams sent out to play with those of other organiza- tions, these cheers may be said to be a practical necessity ! A Club well-equipped with songs and cheers is prepared for any public appearance. Wherever it goes in a body, it can respond to a sudden call for a "stunt" or a "sing." The Social Interlude. Every Club can have its short times of sociability. In Clubs where little time is given to recreational activity, this is especially necessary. A little dancing, a few games these help in getting the Club members together in an informal way. One large Club, active chiefly in class work, had a half-hour of dancing for all class members at the close of the evening. Be- fore this plan was introduced, the members of the Mil- PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 125 linery Class did not come into personal contact with the members of the English class. The half-hour of socia- bility changed this, and the "Paul Jones" and other dancing games that involved changing partners soon brought the girls into intimate relationship with one another. Short periods of sociability, "get-together" times, are valuable to all Clubs. The Necessary Business Meeting. A Leader must never forget that the tusiness meeting plays an im- portant part in the life of a well-organized Club. The organization of the Club is the framework which holds together all the activities. The reports at the regular business meetings show what the committees have really accomplished and what remains to be done. The pro- cedure at the business meeting is valuable training for the girls, an important contribution to their training for citizenship. It is through the business meetings that the functions of the Club's officers assume an importance and a greater interest is aroused in the Club's activities be- cause the members come to see that they are "really running it," as one Club girl remarked. These are the important Club activities which every Club may and should have singing, times for socia- bility to promote comradeship and Club spirit, and regular business meetings to keep the Club's aims definitely before the girls. Variety Its Advantages and Its Dangers There are many activities which Girls' Clubs enjoy. There are the Recreational and Physical Development activities, with drills, dancing, games, hikes and Camping i26 GIRLS' CLUBS Trips. There are the dramatic activities, when the girls give plays, pageants or "stunts." There are the Literary Clubs and Debating Clubs. There are the large number of classes and courses which are constantly being given for the educational development of the Club girls. There are the series of special talks on a great number of subjects of interest to girls. And there is service work for community and country. Among such a multitude of possibilities, the new Club Leader stands bewildered. There are so many things which her girls would enjoy doing. What is to guide her in her choice? Many Girls' Clubs, by having what they call an "All- 'round Program," have been able to introduce into their work activities of many different kinds. One or two of these are selected for chief emphasis. The others are introduced as supplementary. Miss Eliza R. Butler, in her pamphlet on "Secondary School Work" (Women's Press, New York City), says, "While work should vary, it should not be entered into simply to supply novelty. Always having something new is not necessarily a mark of successful work. To select wisely for an extended period, with a true sense of pro- portion between pleasure and profit, never to forget the questions : 'How will this contribute to the fundamental purpose of our organization?' and 'How far is it helping the girls to persevere in the accomplishment of the pur- pose which they have promised to hold?' these are the true ways of building up a permanent interest and strong work." A clear statement of the Club's aim will largely influence its choice of activities. This Business Girls' Clubs of the East Central Field of the Y. W. C. A. recommend that PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 127 "a business women's club be social in form, Christian in purpose, educational in trend, civic in action, and demo- cratic in membership." They further recommend that theirs be a "balanced program, including social, physical, and educational work." The Camp Fire Manual says that "Camp Fire presents many phases. To some it repre- sents the social life; to others, the life of the great out- of-doors; again, there are those to' whom the ritual and ceremony make the strongest appeal; some consider it a channel for personal and community service. Yet all the girls find through Camp Fire the romance and ad- venture of the life in the home." This emphasis upon the variety of interests which a girls' organization should have is of great importance. It is comparatively easy for a Club to become so absorbed in one kind of activity that its whole life and energy is de- voted to it, while other activities just as necessary are neglected. A constant endeavor to have variety in the activities of the Club has many advantages. A Club with a variety of interests will have an appeal for different types of girl. Not all girls enjoy doing the same things. A girl who prefers dancing may attend a Club meeting, join in the business transactions, and even take part in the class work, all for the sake of the loved dancing which comes at the close. Similarly, the more serious- minded girl, who comes for the sake of the class work, may join in the merry dance, and get through it the exercise which she needs. A variety of activities will develop many sides of a girl's nature: Committee work on a play, a debate, or a party ; games ; singing all these bring different talents into use. The greater the number of channels in which i28 GIRLS' CLUBS a girl may use her talents, the greater the number of those talents which seem to come to the foreground. "I never knew I could speak before," said a girl, who had just taken part in a debate. "And I don't believe I would ever have found it out if we hadn't had this debate." The danger in having a variety of interests lies in the possible introduction of too many activities and a con- sequent scattering of energy, with small results. This danger can be avoided by careful planning and a resolute completing of all work undertaken. The Camp Fire suggests the following five steps toward success: 1. Select at least one interest that the Camp Fire will steadily try to support. 2. Use the out-of-doors. 3. Use the motion songs. 4. Use the ceremonies. 5. Meet regularly, and have each meeting planned beforehand. Many Club Leaders have found it profitable to take advantage of the seasonal divisions in the year and the natural changes of interest which go with those divi- sions. The following schedule of a large Girls' Club shows how one group of girls maps out its year's schedule : September. Vacation Reunion. Rally meeting. Appointing of Committees. Membership Campaign. Payment of yearly dues. Registration for classes and Class opening Night. (Some classes run through the year. Others are short courses.) PLANNING THE YEAR'S PROGRAM 129 October. Regular meetings of classes. Informal Club gatherings. Hallowe'en Stunt Party. Special Talk. November. Fall Dance. Special Thanksgiving Program. Preparation for Christmas Sale. December. Recess from Classes. Christmas Activities. Christmas Sale. Christmas stockings filled for children. Christmas Party. January. New Year's Reception to Parents. Opening of Classes. February. Special parties and informal social gatherings as desired. March. Special Talks speakers brought for special days such as "Fire Prevention Day," etc. Preparation begun for the Spring play. April. Spring Dance or Spring Play a "Club Benefit." May. Working toward the Final Exhibit or "Class Gradua- tion." June. All Club efforts bent on finishing the year's work. Annual Contests. Final Program and Exhibit. Election of Officers. July. Picnics and Camping Parties. Such a year's program is sufficiently elastic to allow for any changes which the girls may wish as the year goes on. And yet the planning at the beginning of the year gives a guide to the activities of the Club and assures the variety which is so valuable. Such planning also trains the girls in seeing the direct relation between successful Club events and careful, sufficient preparation. Just as the year is varied, so each meeting may be varied, with some time given to each of several activities. 130 GIRLS' CLUBS A Club in Hull House introduced into its constitution the regulation that no meeting should be held without some reading, sewing, music, and social features. The carefully planned program, with variety and with an aim which is within the reach of the Club that is the program which will mean success for the girls and that is the program which they will most enjoy. As the ship that follows its course is the one which reaches its harbor, so the Club that has a program and carries it out is the one which has the most far-reaching influence for good in the lives of its members. CHAPTER VI ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS FROM the multitude of activities upon which Girls' Clubs enter enthusiastically, there are several general lines which are universally popular. Girls in California seem to enjoy the very things which girls in Pennsylvania enjoy. And the reports of activities in Texas are not unlike those sent from Illinois. Physical Development Activities Every Leader realizes the necessity for interesting her Club in proper physical development. So it is that the activities of the majority of Girls' Clubs touch upon the problem of physical development in some way. One Club may have the opportunity of having games only ; another has teams of various kinds; still another gives class work in a gymnasium. Some Clubs give their girls every opportunity to dance, while others are organized among groups of girls to whom exercise in the out-of- doors is possible. In choosing physical development activities for girls, much depends upon the ages of the Club members and their physical needs. Too strenuous a form of exercise is often more injurious than none at all. 132 GIRLS' CLUBS "When I look back upon my early Club work," once remarked a Leader in Ohio, "I fairly tremble. I intro- duced the most strenuous kind of athletic games with no thought as to whether they were suited to the girls. I allowed basketball with no regulations concerning dress, the removing of their corsets, or of baths after- ward. My advice to Club Leaders now is not to introduce physical work of any kind without definite thought concerning the girls. Consultation with some recreational or physical development expert is helpful." Games and Teams. If there is enough space in the Club rooms active games can be introduced. Five or ten minutes is plenty of time to enjoy a merry game. Books on games give the Club Leader many suggestions concerning new and interesting games and are an in- valuable part of her equipment. The value in playing games lies not only in the excellent exercise which the girls enjoy but in training quick hands and eyes and accurate movements. "Fair play," "Team work" these valuable life lessons are emphasized as part of the sport and make their permanent impression upon the characters of the girls. In the course of a game, many personal characteristics of the members may be brought out which the Leader has not before observed in the quieter pursuits of the Club. This observation gives her a suggestion concerning the training which her girls most need. Games with a ball are fascinating to most girls. Musical games will often tempt even the reluctant ones from their seats. A Leader's ingenuity will often make of an old game something which the girls will enjoy. One Leader once invented a new name for the old game of changing chairs. It was a city ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 133 Club, and calling the game "Subway Rush" instantly appealed to them. Another Leader divided her Club into two large teams or "sides." Each week she introduced a new game which was arranged for two large teams. Each week the success of the teams was recorded on a large card upon the wall of the Club room. In this way she developed friendly rivalry between teams in- cluding every Club member. Basketball is a popular game in many Clubs. Al- though the number on the team is limited, still it is possible to have a basketball squad taking in every girl who wishes to play. From this squad may be chosen the first team, the second team, and substitutes. If many of the girls are interested in this particular sport and the Club is of sufficient size, there may be several teams, and a series of games may be played for the Club championship. From these an "All-Club Team" may be selected for games with outside Clubs. The inter-Club game has been the scene of many an enthusiastic conflict. Each playing Club appears at the match, waving its colors, singing its Club songs, giving hearty cheers for its own team and for that of its op- ponents. When the reward is a silver cup or a tablet on which the winning Club's name is inscribed and which it may keep until the decision of the next series then the girls work with special eagerness. The winners will carry home with them a symbol of their victory. The award of emblems or Club letters for excellence in athletic activities increases the interest of Club mem- bers in this work. They can sew the emblems on their sweaters, showing their friends that they are girls who can "do something." i 3 4 GIRLS' CLUBS Drill work. There are many kinds of drill work which Club girls enjoy doing. In some Clubs a gymnastic teacher conducts classes in Swedish or aesthetic drill, for which the girls wear gymnasium costumes. A Club which has gymnasium apparatus at its disposal may give its members a systematic course in apparatus drill. Few Clubs, however, have such equipment. Nor is it always practicable for the girls to don gymnasium suits for the short time allowed for drill work. But many Leaders have found that lighter drills can be introduced, even if cnly for a short time. A piano is a great help the girls enjoy moving in time to the music, and with it even the most simple drills become interesting and pleasant. Modified military drill such as has been successfully introduced into some Clubs, has several advantages. Girls are interested in it. They can do it in their everyday clothes. It develops excellent posture, quick obedience to commands, precision in action excellent training for young girls. Simple uniforms consisting of dark blue skirts, white waists and dark blue ties are most effective ; and the girls are very rightly made to wear shoes with common-sense heels. When one large Girls' Club introduced extensive military drill into its activities, it was divided into com- panies, with the regulation officers in charge. Each year a contest in military tactics was held and the judges who attended were military experts. Pride in her company led each girl to do her best, and the beneficial results of the work were evident to all, in the girls' erect car- riage and their eager interest in the exercise. THE ATHLETIC BADGE NORMAL GIRLS PLAYING VOLLEY BALL AT NEW PALTZ ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 135 The Athletic Badge Test for Girls The Playground and Recreation Association of Amer- ica, New York City, has drawn up an Athletic Badge Test for girls, in which certain standards are set in various tests given to the normal girl. Leaders wishing to test their girls may do so in accordance with these regulations, and award the badges to all who attain the standards. First Test. All-up Indian Club Race, 30 seconds; or Potato Race, 42 seconds. Basketball goal-throwing, 2 goals, 6 trials. Balancing, 24 feet, 2 trials. Second Test. All-up Indian Club Race, 28 seconds; or Potato Race, 39 seconds. Basketball goal-throwing, 3 goals, 6 trials. Balancing (with bean bag or book on head), 24 feet, 2 trials. Third Test. Running and Catching, 20 seconds. Throwing for Distance, Basketball, 42 feet, or Volley-ball, 44 feet. Volley-ball Serving, 3 in 5 trials. What the Badge Means. "Every girl ought to have poise and control over her body. "Every girl ought to be able to attain a minimum physical standard. "Every girl passing the tests is authorized to wear this badge, which stands for physical efficiency. "Girls from every part of America will pass the same tests and wear the same badges. "The girl who is physically efficient will be happier and more useful to society. i 3 6 GIRLS' CLUBS "To raise the standard of physical efficiency among the girls of America is to give greater freedom, beauty, and power to the women of America." Dancing. The lure of dancing beckons to girls of every age. Younger girls and older girls who would not be interested in anything else will often come for dancing. The old objection to every sort of dancing is rapidly disappearing, and most Club Leaders now see that proper kinds of dancing are a most healthful form of exercise. Girls who wish to dance are bound to learn it somewhere and somehow. This being the case, why not let them learn it in decent surroundings and in the right way? A Club Leader who allows or teaches dancing enjoys two advantages: Though the attraction of the Club meeting for some girls may be chiefly in the dancing, their interest, once they have come to the Club meeting, may often be turned to something else. Girls who come to dance may stay to listen to stories or to sew. One Club Leader allowed her girls to dance for a time, and then called for an intermission, during which she told them stories or read to them. Her next step was to plan a program for this period, and it was not long before the girls themselves shared actively in its preparation. The dancing had brought them together the Leader's wisdom created an opportunity to do other things. The second advantage of dancing is that instruction along other lines may be given incidentally to the work in dancing. The following description of what some Leaders have accomplished in this way shows what can be done. The work of the regular dancing class may be easily adapted to the needs and preferences of the ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 137 girls. Folk dancing, aesthetic dancing, social dancing all have their appeal and, aside from their value as ex- ercise may be of real educational value. Folk Dancing. Through this a Leader may arouse interest in the customs of the races among which the dances originated. One Leader, who had introduced dancing among her girls, took the Club to see the dancing of some famous professionals. She noticed their great interest in the folk dances on the program. She then bought some books profusely illustrated with pictures of many folk dances. The girls chose those which they would like to learn. Their enthusiasm spread and the result was that her little group became the leading spirits in a Community Pageant, in which all the nationalities found in that community were represented by their own dances. Not only did this Club's work on folk dancing do the community a real service by bringing its parts into sympathetic contact with one another, but also the Class itself had learned much through its study of the costumes and characteristics of many nations. In another Club, in New York City, whose girls the daughters of foreign-born parents were inclined to smile at the ways of their fathers and mothers, the Leader revived the dances of the "home-land." At the party at which the dances were given, the parents were the invited guests, and greatly enjoyed seeing their daughters give the dances of their own youth. Esthetic Dancing. ^Esthetic dancing emphasizes beauty and grace of movement. The work in such dancing should help the girls to be more graceful. Interpretative dancing, in which the various steps each express an idea or a part of an idea reveals to the dancers a new 138 GIRLS' CLUBS meaning in movement. One Leader introduced a Spring dance in the month of March; its steps brought in the arrival of the birds, the thawing of the snow, and other signs of Spring. She told the girls the story of the dance and, as they took up each new step, she explained its meaning. At every lesson, she gave the Club Nature talks, with the result that the girls became interested in Nature study. Later this same group took up dances interpreting Summer, Autumn, and Winter, completing the cycle of the seasons. One girl then suggested that they work out a dance for themselves in which they might represent the various activities of the Club. This they did, presenting the dance at their final program, and asking the audience to "guess" what each activity was as they danced it. This Leader not only gave an educational interest to the girls' aesthetic dancing but was also able to encourage original ideas in the girls them- selves. Social Dancing. A well-conducted class in Social Dancing accomplishes two purposes : it gives its members an opportunity to learn correct dancing, and it offers a wholesome place to which the girls may bring young men. Many cheap and vulgar dance halls are waiting to welcome young people, and if the dancing class ac- complished nothing beyond giving the opportunity for clean enjoyment, it would be worth while. But a social dancing class may accomplish a great deal more for it offers an almost unique opportunity for teaching courtesy and etiquette. One Club Leader who was unusually successful in holding the interest of her young people created a social atmosphere in her dancing class by simple means. Each ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 139 week, an Entertainment Committee was appointed from among the class members. The young girls on the Com- mittee "received" with the Leader, welcoming the others as they came in and saying good-night to them as they left. The young men on the Committee welcomed and introduced the new class members, saw that all had partners for the dances, and helped the instructor in maintaining a high standard of dancing. For it was generally understood that certain regulations must be ob- served. All young men must keep a good position in danc- ing, and at the close of a dance they must not leave their partners abruptly in the middle of the floor. Whatever disciplining was needed was done quietly and individually. One class member was heard to remark, "This is a regular place no funny business here!" The Leader gave this as one reason for her control of the class: "I am always there," she explained, "before anyone else has had a chance to start anything. Once mischief is started it is twice as hard to stop. I believe in pre- vention." Regulating the Dancing. Wherever dancing is allowed, regulation of some kind will be necessary. New members will come in who, not yet in the spirit of the Club, will introduce the "latest" and worst steps. No Club should allow dancing which is not of the highest stand- ard, and this should be understood by all members. The Leader will, of course, insist upon carrying out this rule. But it is also possible to throw a large share of the regulating directly into the hands of the members. Create a spirit of pride in the kind of dancing which is done in your Club, and the matter of keeping out 140 -GIRLS' CLUBS "tough" dancing will almost take care of itself. The loyal Club girls will then enforce the rules. One Leader who was faced with this problem made the rule that if the tough dancing continued, all dancing would be stopped. This had the desired effect. The girls who enjoyed the recreation watched the conduct of the dancers, and immediately stopped all violations of the regulations with, "If you don't stop, we'll put you out of the Club !" No word from the Leader could have been so effective. Dramatics and Pageants There are great possibilities in the dramatic work of a Club. The very word "play" has a charm for every girl. Even if she does not wish to be in the cast her- self, she enjoys seeing her friends act. There is perhaps no more popular means of increasing the Club's treasury than by giving a dramatic entertainment. Dramatics gives the Leader an excellent opportunity for developing her girls along useful lines. Poise, voice modulation, drill in memorizing, team work all of these lessons are constantly impressed upon the actors in their rehearsals. Girls who could never be induced to take a course in Spoken English absorb some of the necessary principles when the coach of the play insists upon the proper use of their voices, telling them of the unpleasant effect which harshness will have upon the audience. The kind of play which is selected is of great im- portance. It must, of course, be of suitable length, involving a cast of the proper size; its costumes and ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 141 scenery must be such as the Club can afford or make; and it must be of such a nature that it will interest the girls and the audience before whom it is to be given. The character of the play itself, the nature of the plot and the quality of the English used should be of as high a grade as possible; for the girls must memorize the lines, and the better the grade of the play, the more worth while will be the efforts which the girls spend upon it. A single year of the dramatic work in the Christodora House Settlement, New York City, shows great variety in the kinds of play chosen by the Clubs. One gave "Twelfth Night," and begged to have "just one more scene in." The Club members thought that the lines were so beautiful that they should give as much of the play as they could. "The Club that gave a play whose chief characteristics were loud talking, slaps on the back, and rough costumes, stands at the other ^end," says a Christodora House re- port. "But each group is trying to make a success in its own way. To make the roughness a little less rough, and the jokes and business a little less loud, is what we are working for on that side. To plant beautiful thoughts and words in the midst of the play-lovers, and to let them live a little while in the country of imagination that is the purpose of all the work spent on dramatics in Christodora House." Often, when the Club girls insist upon a kind of play which does not meet with the Leader's approval, it is wise to allow them to go on their chosen course and come to see their mistakes by virtue of experience. A Club Leader who tried this plan has told how she 142 GIRLS' CLUBS brought her girls to see the kind of play which they could best give. Her girls considered her too con- servative in her ideas. They wished to give a very long, very elaborate play. The committee chose one of great length and of complicated plot. The Leader acquiesced and helped them, although she quietly warned them that they had attempted a great problem. The girls strug- gled on. Little by little, however, dissatisfaction became evident. Soon, preparations began to slacken. At last, the committee came to the Leader and said they "guessed they didn't want to give a play now." The Leader did not say, "I told you so," but quietly suggested another kind of program for the proposed entertainment. When next the subject of giving a play came up, the girls were eager for the Club Leader's suggestions. On the other hand, many Clubs wishing to give plays know little or nothing about where they may be obtained, of what kind of play will be "funny and interesting." The Club members look to their Leader for guidance. In such a case she has an opportunity to guide their choice and to put before them a number of highly de- sirable plays from which they may choose. There are many sources of help to which she may turn. The Women's Press, New York City, has suggestions for plays suitable for girls. The Girls' Friendly Society and the National League of Women Workers have pre- pared lists of plays, some with casts for girls only. The Drama League of America, Chicago, has also published a list of selected plays. Many Clubs have greatly enjoyed writing original plays. Girls' Clubs have worked upon such a book as "The Birds' Christmas Carol" or "Little Women," and ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 143 from it have dramatized their own production. Such work naturally requires a longer period of preparation, but it gives the members splendid experience in actually writing a play. Such simple stories as "The Sleeping Beauty" or "The Frog Prince" haVe been put into dramatic form, to the great delight of younger girls. Original dramatic work, in which the entire play is originated by the Club members, is not impossible. Material which is familiar to them may be selected as the theme: the activities of the Club, historical events, civic interests. The following play was written by chil- dren in New York City after reading the food circulars sent out by the Mayor's Food Commission. It was given before the children's mothers. "Going to Market" SCENE i. Mrs. Berg tells Mrs. Klein how to purchase successfully. Her knowledge has been obtained from the food circulars brought from school by her children. SCENE 2. They visit the meat shop, fish store, push carts, etc., using the knowledge gained. SCENE 3. On arriving home, they find their children ready for school. This scene illustrates the training re- ceived in the Civic League: clean shoes, hands, clothes. A Club in a large store once gave an original play called "Courtesy to every Customer." The scene was in the coat department of the store and customers came in to buy coats. All kinds appeared, the "just looking" 144 GIRLS' CLUBS customer, the man shopping for his wife, the mother and daughter who disagreed; yet the salesgirl was un- failingly polite to all ! The larger field of pageantry has also been of great use in Club work. For years the pageant idea has been growing in favor. In a large Club, it brings together the many branches of the work and molds the Club into a closer unit. In a city, a pageant of all the girls' organizations unites them all in a common cause and gives an impetus to that democratic feeling among girls for which all Club leaders should work. In smaller communities, pageants have united all the residents and have created a civic pride which is an incentive to further activity. The theme of the pageant can be made of definite educational interest to the Club. The costuming and the general effects which are produced can give to the girls a realization of the beauty of color and of tableaux. As a rule, the pageant calls for few speaking parts, its significance being conveyed chiefly by means of groups, through pantomime, tableaux, or choruses. Where a small girls' group takes active part in such a pageant, the girls are made to feel that their Club is, after all, a part of a larger, broader work. In the jubilee celebration of the fiftieth year of the Young Women's Christian Association work in this country, a large pageant called "Girls of Yesterday and To-day" was given in New York City. Girls from all parts of the city participated in this pageant, girls from many Clubs and many walks of life. Only a few gen- eral rehearsals were necessary, as each group knew its definite part and had rehearsed that part in its own w E ftn =2 ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 145 Club room. The historic pictures of the Association which were given showed to all interested in girls the be- ginnings of Association work, something of its growth through the years, and its present opportunities. The Club girls who were in the pageant were brought into close relationship with one another and were inspired to go back and do better Club work than ever before. The type of dramatic production chosen is of great importance. A good choice, is, however, but a first step. The success of any entertainment depends largely upon the way in which a Club plans the work upon it. It is advisable to have some older person in charge from the outset to direct the work. If the Club Leader does not feel capable of doing this herself, it is often possible for her to secure the help of a coach. In Hull House, the dramatic work is under the direction of the graduate department of the School of Oratory, Northwestern University. In a large city, there are many college grad- uates who have worked in dramatics and who are well able to do the work of coaching. In smaller communi- ties, such technical help is not always at hand. There are, however, many teachers and mothers who enjoy work of this kind. The wise choice of the cast is of great importance. To base the selection on dramatic ability, to choose the girl for each part by "trials" such methods have proved satisfactory. The trials for the play may be held as follows. The choice of the play is announced. Copies of the play are given to the girls to read. Each girl is asked to sign for the part which she wishes to take. The trials are then held, with the girls reading the parts which they have selected. The coach then chooses the i 4 6 GIRLS' CLUBS cast, judging each girl's fitness for her part by the ability which she shows in the trials. Often, a girl has not signed for the part for which she is best fitted. A stout, matronly girl may yearn to be the dainty heroine ! Yet a tactful coach can place her in the role of a mother and so give to her the part which she can act well. Thus every member is given an opportunity to try for a part in the play. Once the cast is chosen, the work on the play as a whole may be so divided that every Club girl is given her share. Committees may be appointed to execute the various tasks a costume committee, a poster committee, a ticket committee. The greater the number of girls who are actively at work upon a play, the greater will be the interest in the coming event. General Directions for Amateur Performances The Camp Fire Girls' Manual has made a number of suggestions on "How to Give a Successful Entertain- ment." These are well worth consideration: 1. A play must be well advertised. This point is often omitted. You cannot expect good press notices unless you patronize the papers ; it will pay you every time. 2. Always send complimentary tickets to newspaper reporters. Take some special trouble to make their ac- quaintance, and interest them in the play and its objects. 3. A good way to get posters is to have a competition among the girls and a prize awarded for the best poster. This competition must be held well in advance of the play as the posters should be shown in prominent places in the town at least two weeks before the performance. ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 147 4. Tickets for the play should always be sold in ad- vance. This is the surest way to obtain good financial results. To encourage the sale, one ticket may be given away to each person who sells a certain number. It is always worth while to have some reserved seats. 5. Form a committee of influential people in the town who will act as patrons. The more people you can interest in your work, the more successful it will be. 6. Get your pastors interested. 7. If the play is of an ambitious nature, secure the best coach possible. 8. Photographs should be taken and exhibited in ad- vance. Newspapers will often accept material with photographs which would otherwise be refused. 9. Don't work too long on a play, as the actors are likely to become overtrained. 10. Plays should not be too long. 11. The main points to remember in an amateur per- formance are : start on time ; avoid delay between scenes ; have a smoothly running curtain ; keep silence behind the scenes; speak slowly and clearly; do not hurry. "A popular form of entertainment is to combine a short play with a variety program. Songs in character are always liked, as well as tableaux or well-known pictures, either still or with motion. Flower songs can be made attractive by making large paper flowers. It is always worth while to take a little extra trouble over costuming in order to make a song, a chorus, or a recitation attractive. Cheesecloth and colored paper can be used in endless ways." (From the same Manual.) Beside these formal dramatics, informal programs may play a very pleasant part in a Club's activities. Many i 4 8 GIRLS' CLUBS a happy evening has been spent in giving a "minstrel show," its program filled with local jokes and topical songs. Parties have been turned from failure to suc- cess by the introduction of charades and "stunts." Every college girl knows what a "stunt" is. She re- members the party for Freshmen when her class gave a melodrama in all its vivid detail. She remembers the time when they played "Fat Ladies' Basketball" with a maid in active attendance on each player and the frequent use of the step ladder, which the players laboriously climbed and languidly dropped the ball through the basket. She remembers the "Old Family Album" which her classmates illustrated with living models. Such "stunts" as these are received with shouts of joy by any party, and the giving of them awakens the girls' own ideas and ingenuity. Literary Activities for the Club Every Club should give part of its time to literary activities of some sort. No Leader should be satisfied with her efforts until she has made an earnest attempt to interest her girls in good reading. Among some girls the very mention of books and reading meets with a chilly response. Such girls as these must be gradually interested. To other types of girl the literary activi-. ties of a Club are of so much interest that they would like to devote a large share of the Club meeting to them. When the girls are already interested in books, the task of the Leader will be to direct that interest along the best channels. Her suggestions about the books to ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 149 be read and discussed will depend upon the type of girl in the Club, and will call for both wise judgment and a deep and intimate knowledge of the individual girl. A mistaken choice may take away a girl's con- fidence in her Leader. A Club girl once went to her Leader and, explaining that she enjoyed reading, asked for suggestions. The Leader, knowing only that the girl did clerical work in an office, did not question her further but turned at once and took a book from the Club shelf. "You probably haven't read this," she said, casually, "but Dickens is really very good." The girl took the book with never a smile, but that night at home she and her family laughed over th6 % advice, for it chanced that the family were all book- lovers. The girl's request had sprung from her desire to know of some good new books. The Club Leader could have learned this easily by a few questions. In- stead, her careless choice cost her an opportunity to be of definite help. When a Leader knows the type of books which will interest her girls, there are many sources to which she may turn for help. The Public Libraries in towns and cities are her aid. In rural communities, the Girls' Club*} can become the agent for circulating the traveling' libraries which the State Library Commissions send out. The American Library Association, the Library of Congress, and the United States Bureau of Education have prepared and printed helpful lists. Publishers' catalogs are full of suggestions, especially their lists of inexpensive editions of standard books. By the use of these editions, a Leader can often encourage the girls GIRLS' CLUBS to start gathering their own libraries. One Club has adopted the plan of having each member in its Book Club pay a certain amount each week. With this money, books have been bought and circulated throughout the Club. When the members have all read the books, the girls "draw lots" and each Club member receives one of the books for her own. Such a plan has encouraged the careful handling of the books, as each girl knows she will receive one of them. In the Girls' Friendly Society, "Fifteen-Minute Read- ing Circles" have been extensively organized. The girls in these circles pledge themselves to read for fifteen minutes a day from the books on the selected list which has been prepared for this work. Should any girl wish to choose her own book, she submits her choice to the Leader, who tells her whether, in her estimation, the book is worth a place in the Reading Circle's list. The more thoroughly a Club's reading list is prepared, the greater will be the results obtained from this literary activity. Such a list should have variety and the girls should be encouraged to read different types of books: fiction, history^ biography, travel, etc. If the girls re- quest a certain kind of reading, their wishes should be met so far as is possible. A group of young Jewish people meeting in a Chicago Settlement house requested a course, saying that they wished to "know and appre- ciate literature better and at the same time to improve their knowledge of English." They decided on a course in Modern Drama, and before they left the subject they had considered Norwegian, Belgian, German, French, and English plays. Each meeting included a study of ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 151 the author and of the drama under consideration, a critic's report and a discussion. A Leader can often enlist the interest of some lover of books who will come into the Club and give special talks or hold discussions upon books. Girls who are vitally interested in literary study should be given in- telligent guidance and encouragement. If the Club girls do not enjoy reading, the first task before the Leader is to create interest. Story-telling is a popular means of introduction to the world's best literature, and younger girls and older alike enjoy it. One Leader has interested many of her girls in reading by concluding each story with the remark: "I have some books here by the man who wrote the story I have just told you. Wouldn't you like to look at them ?" The girls then gather about the table and almost without exception the books get taken home. Many a Public Library staff nowadays includes a story-teller who will go out to Clubs, upon request, and tell stories to the girls. Many other interesting methods have been used by Leaders to draw the attention of the girls to reading. One who was in the habit of taking her girls each year for a trip up the Hudson, would tell tl*em beforehand the story of Rip Van Winkle, mentioning incidentally the many other interesting legends whose scene is the Hudson Valley. Then the girls went to the PrbUc Library for books on the subject, and for a month be- fore the trip, they told in the Club meetings what they had learned. When at last they took the trip, the wind- ing river and beautiful hills had a new meaning for them, and in their imagination they saw the Indians i S 2 GIRLS' CLUBS coming down to the river or the old Dutch people em- barking in their quaint boats. To a Club of colored girls, meeting for art embroid- ery, the Leader suggested the reading of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poems while they sewed. The girls at once became interested in hearing the work of the colored poet, and at the close of the year they gave a program in which a number of his poems were recited and sung. Another Leader stimulated her girls by reading aloud interesting stories from well-known authors and com- paring them. One evening she said: "Girls, most of you have younger brothers and sisters, so that you know how children talk and act. I want you to tell me which of the two stories I shall read to-night you consider the better picture of children." The passages which she read were chosen from Charles Dickens and from Ken- neth Grahame. The girls listened with eager interest and voted on the question at the close of the evening. Such simple plans as these often give a girl her first desire to read. If she is interested in that first book, she will return for a second, and a third, and so on in a never-ending chain. Even the parties of a Literary Club may be used to call attention to books. Games of "Authors" may be played at tables. Pictures of authors may be pinned about the room and used in a guessing contest. Or pin the name of an author on the back of each girl, and make her, by asking questions, discover who she is! Many pleasant evenings have been held in Clubs when each girl has come in a costume which represents the title of a book. Such games make of books something far more interesting than mere titles in a list. ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 153 Debates, oratorical contests, and mock trials are also popular in Girls' Clubs. In Christodora House, New York City, the Girls' Clubs greatly enjoy investigating some live topic for debate, such as "limiting immigra- tion"; then reading articles and books on it; and, at last, debating it with the Boys' Clubs before special judges and an interested audience. If a love of debating can be aroused, there is no better way of getting the girls to read. The very success of the debate will depend largely upon the kind of reading which they do upon the subject and the care with which they note the various points. In an oratorical contest of any kind, the girls receive training in memorizing and, where careful coaching is given, work in voice modulation and poise. When standard selections are memorized, great care should be used in choosing those passages which will be of actual benefit to the girls. If original papers are written for the occasion, every paper should be of a certain minimum grade of excellence. In this way, the appear- ance of the girl in the contest will mean that she has been able to write as well as deliver a good paper. In one Girls' Club, which had held such contests for a number of years, the subjects for speeches were passed to the girls on the evening of the contest. They were given ten minutes in which to arrange their points, and at the close of that time were called upon to deliver their speeches. The results showed that the girls had been trained through their oratorical work to think quickly and logically. Mock trials upon subjects of special interest to the Club have been a source of great merriment. The pleas iS4 GIRLS' CLUBS of the attorneys, the procedure of the Court, the stories of the witnesses all these quicken the ingenuity of the Club members. Some members in their desire to make their Mock Trials successful have consulted lawyer friends about points of Court etiquette. All of this has been of definite help in broadening the interest of the girls and has given them some knowledge of the conduct of a trial in Court. Special Talks and Informal Discussions Special talks and informal discussions upon a variety of subjects occupy a prominent place in many Club programs. Often a special speaker is brought in from the outside and the girls are thus given the opportunity of hearing what an expert has to say about his own work. Or, perhaps, a subject of general interest is announced ahead for discussion under the leadership of one or two of the Club girls and at the following meeting the girls come ready to discuss the chosen sub- ject. This kind of Club activity broadens the interests of the girls and is of direct educational value. In Clubs of very young girls, as well as in those of older girls, these talks have been introduced with profit and popu- larity. They may occur as often as once a month if the subjects chosen are of vital interest and are presented in such a way as to appeal to the girls. A wide range of subjects has been used in Girls' Clubs, even as the interests of members are many and varied. ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 155 Topics Chosen for Special Talks and Informal Discussions I. The Girls' Physical Development. The foot and footwear. Digestion and diet. Constipation, menstruation. Control of nerves. Reproduction. Sex hygeine. Health as it affects appearance and real attractiveness. Physical exercise in its relation to beauty, health, and social attractiveness. Personal and family hygeine. Games and their Significance (from the Y. W. C. A. pamphlet "Social and Mission Programs for School Girl Associations and Clubs"). a. Games and their significance. b. Types of games and the spirit of play. c. Games of all nations. Health. a. A healthy body. b. A healthy mind. c. All-around health as a life value. d. A healthy community. Recreation. Why re-create? o. Recreation of mind. b. The good times of a community. c. The re-creation of a life in Christ. Talks on First Aid to the Injured. Infant Mortality. Summer Pleasures. The Right Kind of Vacation. 156 GIRLS' CLUBS 2. Subjects Touching Girls the World Over. A Girl at Her Best. (From a Y. W. C. A. pamphlet by A. G. Moore.) a. Our best always. b. A girl at her best physically. c. A girl at her best mentally. d. A girl at her best at home. e. A girl at her best among her friends. /. Being true to one's best self. g. A girl at her best in church. The best school life in the world. How can it be shared? The Immigrant Girl in America. The Art of Housekeeping and Home-making. Matrimony. Dress. Qualities of Womanhood. a. Purity. b. Appreciation. c. High Ideals. d. Cheerfulness. Kinds of Women. a. The woman who is always late. b. The woman who forgets her appointments. c. The woman who talks too long. d. The borrower. e. The woman who makes personal remarks over the telephone. Famous Women and Points in Which We may Imitate Them. Social Relationships. (From "Social Ethics" The Women's Press). a. Being introduced. b. What do you talk about? c. Respect from the other person. d. Spending his money. e. Chivalry. ACTIVITIES THAT INTEREST GIRLS 157 Customs of Polite Society. a. The art of conversation. b. Conduct in public places. c. Private entertainments and social gatherings. d. Customs of Oriental countries as contrasted with those of our own countries. Women and Girls in Industrial Life. a. Labor laws. b. Wage-earning women. c. The American city and its industrial life. Some Camp Fire Talks. a. Seek beauty. b. Give service. c. Pursue knowledge. d. Be trustworthy. e. Hold on to health. /. Glorify work. g. Be happy. Subjects of Interest to Clubs in the Country. (From "College Women and Country Leadership," by Jessie Field.) a. A country community that has achieved through leadership. b. What the census tells us about the country. c. Plans for community gatherings. d. Ways for community service in the country. e. My dream of an ideal country community. /. Modern Sunday-school plans and how they may be used in a country Sunday-school. g. The story of a community-serving country church. h. The country school and the community. t. The nr -.1 schools of our State. /. A modern country home. k. The extension work being done with country women of our State. /. The best farmer I have known. i58 GIRLS' CLUBS m. Making two blades of grass grow where one has grown before. n. How can country people get time to play? o. The country life of to-morrow. The Club. The purpose of our Club and the characteristics of a good member. Fun in the Club. Work in the Club. Business meetings. A night in the Club. The Club in summer. CHAPTER VII THE QUESTION OF CLASSES THE problem of the definite class work of a Club presents itself to most Leaders. Many have found that such definite educational work produces more tangible results than any other activity. If a class in dress- making is added to the activities, for example, and a girl learns how to make her own clothes, this training is a tangible, personal benefit derived from the Club and in its practical usefulness a continual reminder of the Club and its good work. Class work trains the girls* minds, 2nd often their hands. Class study gives them useful knowledge, presented in logical order. Be- cause it is progressive, and there is something new to be offered each week, class work has often proved a valuable means of holding the Club girls. If, therefore, part of the Club's time can be invested in class work of such a nature to appeal to the girls and be useful to them, the Leader may well feel that such time has been well spent. Some object to such definite educational work because they feel sure that their girls will not join classes. They do not wish to propose the plan because they are con- vinced that some of the members will leave the Club rather than be forced into class work. Leaders of work- 160 GIRLS' CLUBS ing Girls' Clubs know that many of their girls have left school just because they were tired of the lessons. Further education, these Leaders say, must be made incidental to the Club's activities and not given through a formal class; on the other hand, when the Club mem- bers are still in school, many a Leader feels that they already have sufficient class work. These are some of the problems surrounding the question of classes. It is true that too often girls are not interested in study or class work. Yet it is often possible to arouse the necessary interest and ambition. The skilful Leader who can make a girl wish to study and learn has made a valuable contribution to that girl's development. Awakening ambition is a first step which may lead to greater things than any other Club activity can accomplish. Never to make the attempt, not to offer the opportunity of class work, may be to deprive a Club's members of the very chance which they need. No matter what type of girl is being considered, there is sure to be some kind of educational work which she can profitably do. Many courses have been planned for Girls' Clubs, covering a wide range of subjects. The Leader who selects for class work a subject within the mental grasp of her girls and adapted to their needs will often meet with an unexpectedly cordial response. To be sure, there will often be some members who strenuously object to work of this kind. Any attempt to force it upon them may indeed send them away from the Club. But provision can be made to keep these girls happy in the Club life, and their objections need not stand in the way of carrying out the plan. A large Club may offer a choice of subjects to be studied, and THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 161 at the same time give the unwilling ones plenty to do beside the class work. Such a varied program will then appeal to all the members to those who desire the class work, and to those who do not. In Clubs where but one class can be given, the class session may be made but part of the program. Thirty minutes is, in some subjects, often ample for the presentation of a carefully planned lesson. The general activities will then still remain for those who prefer these to the class. And, in some cases it has proved that those who at first refused to enter the class work have been eventually drawn to it, because they are there and "might as well." Making the class work appeal to her particular group of girls and fit into her own Club is the task of the Leader. A study of the subjects which have been given in Girls' Clubs and of the methods which have been used to hold the interest of the girls will help her in solving the problem. The Club Curriculum What Kind of Classes to Offer. Many kinds of classes have been given in Girls' Clubs. Before any Leader offers study in any subject to her girls, she should ask herself the following questions: Do the girls need it? Have we proper facilities for conducting it? Can I teach it myself, or get a competent instructor? Before promising to give the girls a class, it is far better to make sure that the plan can be carried out. To make no mention of it is better than to awaken the girls' in- terest, and then when it is found that the class cannot be given disappoint that interest. Such a disappoint- 162 GIRLS' CLUBS ment has a bad effect upon the response which the Club members will give to any future suggestions for class work. So, before inaugurating a class, the wise Leader care- fully considers what equipment will be necessary and whether she can obtain it. An instructor is needed who will stand by until the course is completed. This latter requirement is one which is especially understood by those who must rely upon volunteer service ! More than this, the instructor should be able to teach her subject. Girls will be better off without any instruction at all than with the wrong kind. The amount of necessary equipment is another consideration. Some kinds of classes require more than others. Consider always what is the indispensable equipment. A little ingenuity will often devise plans for giving a Class, even when the equipment is not ideal. A New York Club of girls was very eager to have a cooking class. The Leader knew that it would be impossible to give the class in the ideal way: a burner for each girl. But the interest of the girls led her to secure an instructor who gave lessons by the demonstration method. The girls assisted her, and received instructions which they could later carry out at home. The equipment in this case was limited, but that did not prevent the Club Leader from offering a valuable cooking class. Just which kind of subject shall be selected depends primarily upon the type of girl in the Club. In general, the Club classes can be considered in two divisions those in which the girls work with their hands and those which require book study. Where several different sub- jects can be offered, both kinds should be represented, THE QUESTION OP CLASSES 163 each girl choosing the kind in which she is especially interested. Moreover, wise Club Leaders will ascertain what com- munity educational opportunities are already offered to her girls. In some cases, duplication is unwise and even harmful. Other better means for certain classes may have been provided than the Club channels. The char- acter of the educational opportunities already existing within easy access of her girls should be known to the Club Leader who is considering extensive class work. For it is sometimes preferable to send the girls to outside classes rather than to start such within the Club. The Club can then offer work in new and needed subjects. On the other hand, the kind of class which she is planning may not involve serious duplication. Her girls may be the kind who would not go elsewhere for any educational work. There may be other available courses in dressmaking, but the girls may wish to take the sub- ject in the Club and not be willing to enter an outside class. In such cases, the class in the Club meets a direct need and should be given. The following list of the many classes which have been given in Girls' Club is full of suggestion : Domestic Arts. Art Embroidery. Knitting. Crochet. Dressmaking. Millinery. Homemaking. Household Demonstration. 164 GIRLS' CLUBS Cooking. Interior Decorating. Novelty Classes. Bead Work. Christmas Presents. Hammock and Rug Weaving. Jewelry. Paper Work. Language: Written and Spoken. Business English. English Grammar. English Literature. Elocution. Dramatic Expression. French. German. Spanish. How and What to Read. The Short Story. Business Courses. Bookkeeping. Business Efficiency. Memory Training. Salesmanship. Stenography and Typewriting. The Romance of Modern Manufacture. Musical Courses. Choral Work. Glee Club Work. THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 165 Course in Opera Music. Course in Orchestra Music. Musical Appreciation. Musical Composers. Art Courses. Art Appreciation. American Painting. Poster Class. Water Color Class. Red Cross Courses. First Aid to the Injured. Hygiene and Home Care of the Sick. Dietetics. Surgical Dressings. Physical Care and Development. Dancing Classes. Folk Dancing. Esthetic Dancing. Social Dancing. Gymnasium Classes. Health Lectures. First Aid to Beauty. Massage. Manicuring. Swimming. Civic Training Courses. Current Events. Know Your City. Know Your State and Nation. Parliamentary Drill. 166 GIRLS' CLUBS Social Ethics. Customs and Courtesies. Personality. Conversation. Miscellaneous. Women of Yesterday and To-day. Stars, and Indian Legends about Them. Birds and Plants. Travel. Ten Great Religions. Advertising the Class When the Leader has chosen the Class which is to be given, or has suggested several to the Club and they have selected one, her task is then to awaken the interest and desire of all her girls for it. That Club Leader is indeed fortunate who has numerous requests for class work, or who meets with an unanimous response when she suggests a plan. Many Leaders face the prob- lem of making their girls wish to learn. Such a wish can often be aroused by attractive advertising. Printed circulars announcing the opening of the class or classes are a good means of arousing interest. A plain state- ment of the fact of the starting of the class may bring forth no response at all. Take the same material, how- ever, head the circular with some "catch" phrase such as "What about your spare time?" describe the classes in an attractive manner and the circular will make the girls want to come to the class to see what it is all about. The circular which appears opposite was used by the Women's League of the John Wanamaker Store, Phila- THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 167 delphia, and proved a great aid in the task of enrolling new class members. WHY JOIN THE WOMEN'S LEAGUE? BECAUSE in the classes you have an opportunity to learn. Do you wish to be informed on every-day happen- ings? Then come to our Current Events Class and hear the discussions. Keep well and strong and beautiful. Exercise in our Physical Training and Dancing Classes. Apply First Aid to Beauty in our Manicuring Class. The alert business girl should know what to say and how to say it. You will find practical help in the Business English, Literature, and Elocution Classes. Stenography is a useful business subject. Our soldiers are going to France. Why not study French at home and be able to write to them and to talk to them when they come back? In response to a growing interest in Spanish, we offer a class in that subject. First Aid to the Injured will give you a valuable training for Home Service, in time of peace as well as in time of war. Help us to make this the best year the Women's League has ever known. We are responding to the wish of the Commissioner of Education at Washington, when he said, "It is of the utmost importance that during the con- tinuance of the war, and through the years immediately following, there be no lowering in the efficiency of our systems of education. Therefore, no school should close its doors now or shorten its term unnecessarily." i68 GIRLS' CLUBS Posters are also an excellent means of attracting girls to the classes. Pictures, short rhymes, striking phrases all of these help in the publicity work. "Dancing is a useful art, There's none of us would doubt it, So join our class on Monday nights And thus learn all about it!" What girl wouldn't stop to read such a poster, smile and go away thinking about the class? A New York City Club has had a good plan of in- troducing new classes into its work. At a special party or meeting of the Club, an expert in the work which the class is to take up is invited to be present. In the course of the evening, this expert demonstrates her work and tells the girls about it. A jewelry craftsman once came to the Club in this way. She told the girls about jewelry-making, and as they watched her she took a piece of silver and worked upon it. The girls eagerly crowded around her, asking many questions. The Leader then asked how many of the Club girls would like to take up such work. An energetic, interested class was at once formed. Had the Leader suggested "jewelry- making" to her girls, without first showing them what it meant, they would probably have had no interest. A large Club in Philadelphia which annually offers twenty or more courses starts its educational year with a mass meeting at which the members themselves speak, telling of the benefits which they have received from the classes. Announcement is made of the plans for the coming year, and registration slips are passed out to the young women attending the meeting. Exhibits THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 169 of work done in the classes have been shown at these meetings and have aroused great interest. Such methods as these, which have been successfully tried, show that "it pays to advertise" in Club work as well as in other fields. Interesting the Girls in the Class Work The girls' active interest in the work which the class is doing plays an important part in the success of the plan. In any activity where the attendance is voluntary, it is interest which holds the girls. So it is that a wise Club Leader takes advantage of the current interests and desires of the girls to arouse enthusiasm for the class. The ways in which Leaders have gained and held the attention of their girls are helpful and suggestive. The following pages show how some have adventured in this field. Millinery and Dressmaking. One Club Leader has said that she takes advantage of seasonal interest to keep her girls in the Domestic Arts courses. Early Spring and Fall have been splendid times to renew zeal for Millinery and Dressmaking. "Make your own Fall hat and save money" is an appeal which reaches many a young woman, particularly the one who is earning her own living. In the Spring and Fall, too a young girl's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of clothes, and the dressmaking class becomes important to her. The appeal of dressmaking can be presented in many ways. In one class, where the girls showed little interest in drafting patterns, the instructor got a full-to-overflowing class by announcing : "Make anything you wish. Bring i;o GIRLS' CLUBS your last year's clothes and make them over." Another Leader, in a Club of younger girls, introduced sewing with her fourteen-, fifteen-, and sixteen-year-olds by an- nouncing a doll-dressing contest. Each girl who came into the class was given a doll, for which she was to make a complete set of clothes in a way which should be satisfactory to the instructor in charge; the doll and its clothes to be given to her when her task was properly completed. A final exhibition was held and prizes were given to the best three outfits. The outcome of this popular class was a request from many members for a shirtwaist class a request which, it is needless to say, was promptly acted on by the Leader. Crochet, Art Embroidery and "Christmas Presents." In the Fall of the year most girls are looking toward Christmas and planning presents, and at this season crochet and art-embroidery classes are especially popular. Many girls will join such classes when they are reminded that their friends value highly those presents which they have made with their own hands. One Club Leader offered what she called a "Christmas Present Class." The teacher in charge knew how to make many fancy articles, inexpensive, dainty, and useful. Some of the class sewed and embroidered, while others made baskets and boxes with the Dennison Company's paper materials. The class met in the autumn for eight lessons only, yet the amount of work done was surprising. Cooking. One Leader took advantage of a "high price" season to start what she called a "Hard-Times Cooking Class." "Learn to save money in the kitchen" was the slogan for the course. Response came from Older girls who had already kept house as well as from Exterior Interior A COMMUNITY BUNGALOW BUILT BY THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS OF PAWLING, N. Y. THE QUESTION OF CLASSES , 171 the inexperienced. Besides giving sensible receipts the instructor was able to introduce many valuable lessons on food values and the proper balancing of meals. Another Club Leader successfully introduced a lunch- hour Cooking Class among the younger girls of a large store. The course was given by the demonstration method, the instructor appointing two assistants from the class for each lesson. Only thirty minutes was allowed for each lesson, so the instructor often found it neces- sary, before the class came together, to partly cook the dishes to be made. Each class member, however, re- ceived a copy of every receipt demonstrated and was urged to try making it at home. On a large card, hung on the wall, were registered the names of all the mem- bers. At the opening of each session, the roll was called, and a silver star was placed after the name of every girl who had induced her mother to cook the receipt used at last week's lesson. A gold star was given to any girl who had herself prepared the dish. A "mothers' party," given at the close of the course, revealed the fact that the majority of these reports had been honest and that the printed receipts had actually been experi- mented upon in the homes of the class members. Homemaking Course. Another Club Leader, noticing a number of engagement rings in her group, drew up a Homemaking Course, in which was discussed the prob- lem of making a pleasant, artistic, healthful home. She found her girls especially interested in making posters representing the various rooms of the home. Samples of wall-paper (or paint) and appropriate hangings were pasted on the poster, as well as pictures of suitable furniture, cut from furniture catalogues. With a knowl- 172 GIRLS' CLUBS edge of her girls and their ideas of homemaking, to- gether with the books on the subject, almost any re- sourceful Leader can plan a valuable course in this subject. The following list of subjects, from which Leaders may choose, is suggested by the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, Bulletin Number 23 : 1. Foods. Purchase and care of foods. Preparation of three home meals. Serving of meals. Preparation of the school or the dinner-pail luncheon. Food for infants, growing children, and aged people. Nutritive value of foods. Invalid cookery. Use of meat substitutes and left-overs. Canning and preserving. Planning menus. Use of the fireless cooker. Pure food legislation. 2. Care of the House. Simple methods of cleaning wood, metal, china, glass. Use of disinfectants, deodorants, and exterminators. Cleansing of pipes, traps and drains. Care of refrigerator. Cleaning the cellar. Cleaning furnished rooms. Labor-saving devices and equipment. 3. Health. Personal hygiene. Care of infants. Home nursing. First aid to the injured. Food and clothing in their relation to health. Municipal health regulations. THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 173 4. Clothing. How to choose underwear what to buy what not to buy. Purchase of ready-to-wear clothing. Making of infants' and children's clothing. Making of shirtwaists, skirts and housedresses. Use of commercial patterns for garment-making and dressmaking. Mending and remodeling. Renovating and cleansing clothing. Laundering. Millinery renovating and remaking hats; making and trimming hats. 5. House-planning and household decoration. Arrangement of the house for comfort and efficiency. Arrangement of a convenient kitchen. Selection and arrangement of furniture for living-room, dining-room and bedrooms, with reference to comfort and attractiveness and to economy of time in the care of these. Draperies. Wall finishes. Floor coverings and finishes. Renovation of household furnishings. 6. Budget. The Personal Budget. The Family Budget how to plan and keep expenditures within the household budget. Household accounting. Teaching children the value and use of money. 7. Household management. Scheduling the work of the household. Dividing labor and directing others teaching the children to work and to take responsibility. Directing household employees. Short cuts in the household work. 174 GIRLS' CLUBS This extensive list of subjects was drawn up as one from which those making such courses could choose. A shorter homemaking course was given in the Girls' Club with the following lessons: i. and 2. Color and color combinations. 3. Making the living-room attractive. 4. Making the dining-room attractive. 5. Making the bedrooms attractive. 6. Making the kitchen practical. Classes Requiring Home Study English. It is often far more difficult for a Leader to introduce classes which require study than to arouse interest in those where the work is done largely with the hands. Courses which call for study and preparation outside the classroom make many demands upon an in- structor's ingenuity. The class members must not be- come discouraged, and their interest must be kept alive to an extent which will make them wish to study. One Club, which had unsuccessfully tried for several years to introduce the study of English, at last fostered a suc- cessful class, because the instructor whom they obtained brought the work into direct relation with the girls' lives. On connection with the grammar study, she took up "Common blunders we hear every day." And a part of each lesson was given to a consideration of the blunders which the girls had heard during the week. Synonym drill was the occasion of much merriment but it also gave the girls an enlarged vocabulary. The "spell-down" method was used not only for spelling but THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 175 also for drill in pronunciation and sentence structure. The girl who could not correct the sentences given orally by the instructor was forced to go to her seat. The oral and written work in this class was upon subjects which touched nearly every phase of the girls* lives. Here are typical assignments for short written themes : 1. Write a letter telling me about your work. What part of your work is most interesting to you? 2. If you could have any kind of position, what would you choose and why? 3. What are ideal habits of health for the young girl ? 4. Why ought a girl to form the habit of saving? How can she form the habit ? Such assignments as these brought up for class dis- cussion subjects of vital importance in the development of the girls. The instructor's suggestions often brought out other original ideas. One telephone operator wrote a splendid theme on "People I have never seen." The instructor's success was due to the fact that she related the English study directly to the lives of the class members. The way in which another Club Leader introduced English is interesting. She overheard a number of her girls discussing letter-writing. They all said that they didn't know how to write good letters but they wished they could learn. The Leader at once proposed the in- troduction of a "letter-writing" class. The girls received the idea with enthusiasm. Around the central idea of letter-writing, the Leader then grouped actual grammar study. Taking advantage of her girls' spontaneous in- terest, she was able to accomplish her own real .purpose. Current Events. In another Club, a Leader was able 176 GIRLS' CLUBS to develop an interest in reading and study by means of a Current Events Class. She had come into contact with a group of girls who said they didn't have time for study and would not join a class because they were afraid they would be "called on." The Leader sug- gested that they meet for a discussion of Current Events. The girls seemed interested and agreed to meet for the class if she would not call on them! During the early lessons, the Leader took them at their word and the class work consisted of a talk on Current Events given by herself. When the girls seemed to feel more at home, the Leader began gradually to suggest problems for their consideration. "What would you do, in this situa- tion, if you were President of the United States?" she would casually ask. The girls soon began to volunteer answers. It was not long before they were bringing in clippings on subjects which had been mentioned in class. The Leader no longer did all the talking, for the class members were soon exclaiming, "Oh, I saw that in the paper !" The next step occurred when she put questions directly to the girls. When they answered, she would raise objections, thus precipitating informal discussions. About this time, she asked for a written expression from the class, telling her what work the class would prefer continuing. To her surprise, a number of the class requested an assignment of work. The Leader then organized the class, dividing it into groups, making each group responsible for a weekly report on a certain type of news. A bulletin board was put up and each group was further responsible for clippings for the board. The divisions of the class for news-gathering were as follows : THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 177 Foreign news, National, State, Civic, Literature and Art, Science, Invention. One girl, who on her own initiative was to report on the free lectures given in the city, secured tickets to a certain lecture and took the entire class with her. Special speakers, brought in to speak upon subjects of interest, aroused fresh enthusiasm for the class. At election time, ballots were made by the class and an election took place. The class was elated when its choice for President was the same as that of the nation! The Leader also intro- duced into this class practice in parliamentary drill and a short coursje in civics. The parliamentary drill enables each girl to understand thoroughly the correct method of conducting a business meeting. The course in civics definitely covered a study of their city's machinery of government, thus giving the class members a new under- standing of the significance of the city's current events. Red Cross Course in First Aid to the Injured. The courses offered by the National Red Cross seem to have a special appeal for girls. The subjects First Aid to the Injured, Home Hygiene, and Dietetics interest the average girl. They have been carefully planned by ex- perts, and textbooks can be obtained at small cost. That the certificates, awarded to all who pass the examinations, have upon them facsimiles of the signature of the Presi- dent of the United States seems to arouse a general desire to possess them. In teaching these Red Cross courses, it is possible to emphasize many simple lessons in the care of the person which every girl should know. A certain Leader took immediate occasion at the begin- ning of the war to push all Red Cross classes. Another Leader objected to this, saying that these Club girls 178 GIRLS' CLUBS could never go into a hospital and use their nursing training. "What of that?" responded the first Leader. "These courses are teaching them to have better homes and to take better care of themselves. And that is Home Service, isn't it?" This great advantage of the Red Cross courses that they train the pupils for Home Service is important. Another point is that by joining the classes the girls are taking an active part in a world-wide movement; girls in touch with Red Cross work find their interests taken far beyond their own immediate surroundings. Many Leaders have found it comparatively easy to arouse interest in the Red Cross courses. The Leader of one Working Girls' Club found that her members responded immediately to the idea of a First-Aid class when she told them that graduates of women's colleges all over the United States were studying that identical course, and were working for the same certificates; this fact seemed to give the course a special value in their eyes. In one club-house, where girls were occasionally taken ill, the Leader never let prompt action of a First- Aid graduate pass without remarking upon it to all the girls nearby. As this Club had a number of First Aid graduates, it nearly always happened that when a girl fainted one of them appeared promptly on the scene to open the windows and get the crowd cleared away before the Leader herself could get there. When the sick girl had been cared for, the Leader would often say: "Isn't it splendid that Miss So-and-So knew just what to do ? She learned it in our First Aid Class. Have you girls ever thought of joining that class?" etc., etc. THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 179 So, while the attention of the girls was fixed upon the practical benefits of the course, this Leader turned that attention to the matter of taking up the work for them- selves. The graduates of the First Aid course in a large store Club were often able to give help not only to their fel- low employees but also to customers. One department head suggested that these graduates be officially listed and every department notified about them. His idea was that they could then be called upon for assistance in case of sudden illness when it was impossible for the store nurse to arrive quickly. The list was prepared and circulated. The fact that the Red Cross certificate was recognized by the chiefs of the store aroused fresh interest in the class and brought in new members. Adapting the Classes to the Girls Club Leaders have often found that the kinds of classes most generally given are not suited to their girls. Members are not interested in dressmaking, cooking or grammar classes. They wish something "new," some- thing which they have never before studied. Salesmanship. It is often possible to arouse the in- terest of business girls in subjects which relate to success in business. Salesmanship classes have attracted many ambitious salesgirls. The points and problems discussed and the demonstration sales have all been of very prac- tical value to members. In the demonstration sales, in which one member takes the part of customer and another that of salesgirl, the attention of the class is unusually keen. There are many books on salesmanship i8o GIRLS' CLUBS which are of practical help in planning such a course. One Leader, whose Club members were young depart- ment store girls, found this demonstration sale of value because the "acting" in it appealed to the girls' dramatic instincts. To be the customer questioning, hesitant, or even irritable that delighted their girlish hearts ! Practical Ways of Teaching Salesmanship The United States Department of Education Bulletin Number 9 suggests such teaching points as these: 1. What do you mean by the "talking points" of an article? Select the most expensive piece of merchan- dise in your department and explain all of its advantages. 2. A mother wishes to buy a dress for her child, who is with her. The mother likes one style, the child another. How will you conduct the sale so as to satisfy both ? 3. Discuss in detail the daily care which must be given to your stock to keep it in perfect condition. Explain the importance of well-kept stock to the store, the sales- woman, and the customer. 4. The following remarks of salespeople were over- heard by a customer. Discuss in full the customer's probable impression of the saleswoman in each case, giv- ing reasons for your opinions. "You did not ask for white dresses; you asked for colored." "Look those over, and when you find what you want, I'll have them done up for you." "This is just the thing for you, dearie." "Don't you like it? Why not?" THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 181 5. Suppose you have three customers, one right after another. One is small, nervous, daintily dressed. She says, "I don't know what I want." The second walks slowly past the counter. "Only looking," she says. She pauses to examine an article. She is stout, capable- looking and very determined. The third is so tired she can hardly walk to the counter. She has a baby in her arms and is leading another child. Her clothes are shabby and she looks discouraged. How would you ap- proach each of these customers, and how would you give to each a genuine service? 6. Describe an interesting sale which you have made or lost recently. If lost, tell why you think you failed. Hygiene. A Club Leader in New Jersey interested her girls in this very necessary subject by putting the material for it into a First Aid to Beauty course. The name "hygiene" would have attracted but few; but First Aid to Beauty the very phrase was full of charm ! The course offered was practical and scientific, but the constant relating of the lessons to the question of good looks held the girls' attention from start to finish. Some of the points considered were these: 1. Eating as it affects beauty. What to eat, how and when. How different foods nourish different parts of the body. Processes of digestion. Constipation; its effect on beauty. Patent medicines, good and dangerous kinds. Drinking water, coffee, tea, cocoa. 2. Fresh Air and its effect on beauty. Why fresh air? Why deep breathing? Ventilation in stores and factories. i8 2 GIRLS' CLUBS Effect of dust in potteries. Exercise; kinds; reason for it; developing exercises. 3. Correct Posture and its effect on beauty. Advantages of correct posture, standing, sitting. Backbone, its connection with all parts of the body. Sleep. Balance between rest and recreation. Breaking-down and building-up of tissues. 4. Clothes and their effect on beauty. Proper kinds. Tight shoes and corsets. Good taste in dress. Fat and thin people. Care of the body at special times. 5. Cleanliness as it affects beauty. Care of the skin, feet, eyes, ears, nose and throat. 6. Care of the hair. Treatment of the scalp. Shampoos. Arrangement of the hair. 7. Care of the nails. Course in the Opera. One Leader, whose girls were especially fond of Victrola music, planned a course in opera for them. Using the Victor Company's "Book of the Opera," she secured records of a number of well- known operas. Each lesson was then centered upon one opera. Its story was told, and records played. The finale of the course occurred when the entire Club went to hear one of the operas of which they had learned. The Method of Conducting the Class The wisest method of conducting the work depends upon the Club girls themselves. All teachers and Leaders wish to have the girls take as active a part in the classes THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 183 as possible. Younger girls, full of life and energy, will often not attend a class which is presented in lecture form. On the other hand, many girls are shy and timid; they do not wish to enter into the class discus- sions because they will then show their lack of training and they are afraid they will then be the object of their classmates' smiles. A teacher can soon tell the extent to which the girls are willing to take active part in the class discussions and can plan her policy accordingly. If the girls refuse to talk, she can start with informal lectures, gradually leading the girls to express them- selves. If a number of the class are too talkative, she can insist that a fair opportunity be given to all, to the timid as well as to the assertive. An interesting discussion of this question was once held at the Industrial Girls' Conference, Altamont, New York (Y. W. C. A.), The girls themselves considered the problem of the method by which classes are best presented. The following reports and conclusions were made: "Eight cities voted in favor of a class that neces- sitates activity. Buffalo and West Side, New York, voted for the lecture form ; in these cities, they have had lectures of exceptional value. Phillip sburg said that the lecture form is most satisfactory for mill girls. Albany wished a combination. Hartford said two Clubs of younger girls believe in taking part, but that the older girls prefer lectures. Paterson thought that the course itself would determine the answer; unless the lecturer be a wonderful exception, it is best to have activity. The discussion of this question brought out the fact that class discussion helps a Leader to discover how 184 GIRLS' CLUBS much the girls have understood and what they want to know further. It teaches the girls to talk and to think clearly. Two things are necessary: information, given by the teacher; and discussion or demonstration by the students." How Long Shall the Course Be? The plan very generally followed by Girls' Clubs, of maintaining a class for a year or for half a year, has its advantages in the large amount of ground which can be covered in the longer period of time and in the resulting thoroughness with which the subject can be taught. The giving of shorter courses, however, is coming to be especially desirable in Girls' Clubs. Leaders have found it a big problem to sustain interest for an entire year. Absence from a number of lessons has sometimes discouraged the girls and they have left the Club rather than make up the lost work. In this connection, many Leaders have successfully tried the plan of giving courses of four, six, or eight lessons in certain subjects. Completing a short course does not seem so stupendous an undertaking, and absence for several lessons is not so discouraging. To be sure, the girl may have missed several lessons in the course, but it will be completed in a short time and then something new will be taken up. Will she not come for the remaining lessons, getting from them what she can, and entering the new course when all the Club is ready? Such an appeal will often hold a girl in the Club and in the class work. In a thorough education, the longer, progressive THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 185 courses are a necessity. But when the Leader must de- cide between the girls' taking a short course or none at all, the first alternative is undoubtedly the better: A small amount of educational work is better than none. These shorter courses have been in many instances the means through which ambition and a desire to learn have been aroused; they have constituted a first step toward a more thorough education, and as such have been of value. The following have been used as subjects for short courses: The Short Story. Homemaking. Art Appreciation. Hygiene. Musical Composers. Business Efficiency. One advantage of the short-course plan is that so- called "popular" subjects can be used as a basis for the lessons. The Time for Holding Class Sessions Whatever the nature of the course which is intro- duced into a Club, it is necessary to set a definite and regular time for the class session. It is best to hold a class at the time when the girls can come together with least difficulty. To make the meeting time convenient is to make the first step in attendance easy. If the lunch- hour is to be used for class work, the best time is that period which the largest number habitually use for their lunch recess; in this way the class work fits into the business schedule. And the greater the extent to which these activities can go on without interfering with the business organization, the better the Department Heads 186 GIRLS' CLUBS like it and the more enthusiastically they will support the work. When classes are held in the evening, the earlier they meet the better. In a store or factory, the plan of serving supper to class members is a splendid aid to attendance; the girls can then go directly from their work to supper, and from supper to the class, and more- over they are saved the wear and tear of a trip home and back again to class. In many Y. W. C. A.'s this plan is carried out by serving supper in the place where the class meets. Making the Most of the Amount of Time Available, The Leader should select for her Club those courses which can be given in the amount of time allotted to the sessions. Each lesson should be planned so that the pupils themselves will have a feeling of definite accom- plishment at its close. Handicraft classes of all kinds need much more time because the pupils must assemble their materials before beginning to work on them; much more can be accomplished if all the materials are ready for them to start on as soon as they come. The more limited the amount of time, the more careful should be the planning. At one lunch-hour Club the time was short and the attendance of the members intermittent, but classes in current events, sewing and cooking were successfully introduced. In the case of evening classes, held after many of the pupils have done a hard day's work, a one- hour session is better than a two-hour, especially if sub- jects other than handicraft are taught. The longer the session lasts after the hour limit, the greater the fatigue THE QUESTION OP CLASSES 187 evident among the students, and the harder it is for them to follow the discussion. The instructor is sure to accomplish more if but part of the session is devoted to class work, and the instruction is given early in the evening, followed by "playtime." Keeping up the Class Attendance. All who have had experience with classes in which the attendance is voluntary know that irregularity is one of the greatest obstacles to progress. Arousing a girl's in- terest to such an extent that she will come to class even when other attractions are offered her is, of course, the aim of every instructor. It is a very powerful interest which will dominate even when a girl's best friend is at her elbow on class night, urging her to "come on to the Movies!" If it is possible to put another girl at her side, who at such a time will urge her to attend class, this personal influence will often bring in the wayward one. The Leader may forward this personal work by calling upon the absentees or writing notes to them. The problem may also be met if there is included in the class organization an officer or a committee whose func- tion is to maintain attendance. In this way, the class itself shares the responsibility with the Leader. One class secretary each week made a list of the absentees, and appointed other members of the class to call upon them and try to induce them to come the next time. In this way each absentee had one friend urging her to come to class, possibly counteracting the friend who had been urging her to stay away. Still another method is to determine on a certain i88 GIRLS' CLUBS minimum attendance which the class must have at each session or the course will be stopped. One Club set this number at ten. The instructor explained that it was not fair to the Club to ask it to pay the expenses of a class which had fewer than ten in it, for those expenses were the same for five or for twenty-five members. After the announcement of this rule, each falling-off in attendance set the enthusiastic class members actively at work trying to bring back their faltering sisters ! It has sometimes proved effective to charge a special fee for admission to the class. It seems to be a human failing that what we get for nothing has not the same attraction as that for which we must pay! So, in Club work; classes for which the girls pay are regarded as a little more desirable than those to which no admission fee is charged. Awarding Certificates The plan of awarding certificates to all who success- fully complete the courses has been tried by many Clubs. If the girls can be induced to regard the certificate as highly desirable, an objective is held before each one toward which she can work during the year. Great care should be exercised in making the award of the certificate mean a certain, definite attainment. It is in those Clubs whose work has been carefully standardized that the certificate has the greatest value in the eyes of the members. The rule should be that a girl becomes ineligible for a certificate after she has been absent more than a de- termined number of times. The American Red Cross THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 189 for the award of its First-Aid certificate, requires an attendance at 80 per cent, of the lessons. In general, whatever the number of absences allowed, it must be relatively small in comparison with the total number of class sessions, and excuses for absence should be rarely given. Moreover, certain definite requirements in the mem- ber's class work must be fulfilled if she wishes a certi- ficate. In manual classes, such as millinery and dress- making, the members have been required to do a specified amount of work and to prove themselves able to do certain things ; the exact amount of work to be required depending largely upon the amount of time allotted to that course. But always and in every course the re- quirement should not be low, not within the easy reach of any and every class member. In other than manual training classes, the instructors have often required an examination, the reading of specified books, the writing of assigned papers, or formal oral reports in class. Establishing such definite and high requirements as these has resulted in making the certificate represent real accomplishment on the part of the girls. In most Clubs the certificate states the definite work which the student had done to win it. In this way, each class member has a tangible regard for her work, which she can proudly exhibit to her family and friends. Provided great care is exercised to hold high the requirements for winning a certificate, the plan is an excellent stimulus to educational endeavor. GIRLS' CLUBS The Club Exhibit Closing the year's class work with an exhibit has been found an excellent plan. The members of the Club all enjoy showing their friends what they have been able to accomplish. An annual exhibit which is in a sense a "Commencement" ends the year with a flourish. It is a time when the Club may point with pride to what it has done and say, "Just wait till next year." The good effect upon Club life of holding an exhibit is very apparent to all who have tried the plan. If the exhibit is to be worth while, preparation must be made ahead and the class work must be finished in time. When the date has been set, the Millinery girls know that they must finish their hats; the Art Embroidery girls their centerpieces; the dancers, their dances; the play cast must know their lines and so on. The very thought of holding an exhibit to which outsiders will come often spurs the girls to special endeavor for weeks before the important day. The concentration necessary in preparing for a program constitutes valuable discipline. One great advantage of the public exhibit is that it seems to bring out the best of which the members are capable. "My girls always do better in the swimming exhibitions than at any other time," a Camp Leader once remarked. Those who train girls for exhibits are often surprised at the excellence of their perform- ance on the final evening. It may be the thrill of hav- ing an audience, but whatever it is, they seem to rise to unexpected heights. And when they have once made such an accomplishment, they are encouraged to go on and try to do still better. The saying, "A pleased THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 191 customer is the best advertisement" applies in every phase of Club work. A "pleased" Club girl is the best assurance of continued success. And nothing pleases the average girl more than to appear in a successful exhibit which has interested her friends and has proved that she belongs to a live organization. There are four general ways in which class work can be effectively shown: through display of the articles made; through posters telling of the activities; through actual class demonstration ; and through special dramatic numbers which center around the idea of the classes. A Club in Pennsylvania successfully carried out a combination of all four of these ideas on its Exhibit evening. As the invited guests entered the hall, they walked past a display of hats, dresses, embroidery work, and crocheted and knitted articles. As many as possible of these articles had been brought in by the Club mem- bers and had been artistically displayed on the tables and in cases. Attractive posters told what each display was : "Perhaps you think such hats as these, Were made in France across the seas? Not so ! We made and trimmed them, too They show you what our girls can do!" The English class exhibit consisted of a number of books piled on a table, under the sign: "These books have been read and discussed by our English class during the year." Around the hall, small enclosures had been roped off with ribbon, and within, class members demonstrated their work. In the manicuring booth, the instructor and the class girls were busy manicuring. In the iQ2 GIRLS' CLUBS stenography booth, several class members were working at the typewriting machines, while others were taking dictation. These "active" exhibits attracted unusual attention and were a valuable means of showing class work, in the case of courses not especially adapted to a display exhibit only. The program at this Club's exhibit was planned to show the work of the various classes. The Spanish Class gave a short play in Spanish, ending with Spanish songs. The Elocution Class gave a play. The Dancing Class members gave several fancy dances. And the finale centered in a pretty, young girl who, in the open- ing scene, was sad and lonely. Her mother, in panto- mime, became exceedingly angry because her daughter did not study and learn. Then a Club girl entered and asked the daughter to join the Club. This the girl did, and forthwith each class came to her, with a gift. The Dressmaking Class brought her a dress, which she put on. The Millinery Class gave her a hat. The Manicur- ing Class helped her with her appearance. The Art Embroidery Class gave her a bag; the Knitting Class, a sweater. By this time she had become a smiling and well-dressed young girl. Then the English and French Classes presented her with books, and the Current Events Class handed her some current periodicals. The whole pantomime was explained in verse, recited by a Club member standing over at one side of the stage. At the close of the pantomime, all the class representatives over one hundred in number joined in singing the Club songs. One club of business girls closed its exhibit in the spring of 1918 by the following invitation to its Store THE QUESTION OF CLASSES 193 friends in the audience, using the tune so popular then, "What Are You Going to Do to Help the Boys?" What do you people think of our Exhibit? Wouldn't you like to join our happy band? If you want to have some fun, We provide it by the ton, And all we ask is fifty cents and a joyfully helping hand. In all the pleasant things you see about you, There's none that means hard working or fatigue ; We insist we cannot get along without you So when are you going to join the Women's League? Where a program is given in addition to the exhibits of handicraft, as many of the Club members as possible should take part in it. Nothing will bring friends to an exhibit more quickly than the prospect of "seeing Nelly in it." The greater the number of Club members included in a program, the more wide-spread will be the interest and the larger the audience. And when the audience is large and the interest in the program great, the girls feel special pride in their Club. In the days immediately following the exhibit, it pleases them to hear many of their acquaintances say, "I hear your Club gave a fine entertainment the other night." The approval of friends is sweet to all. And in no better way can a Club rightly earn this approval than by means of a splendid exhibit of their work. Introduce the Exhibit Idea Often The Exhibit idea need not be confined to the close of the Club year. There are many times throughout the year when it can be effectively used. Informal exhibits are an excellent means of calling constant attention to 194 GIRLS' CLUBS what the Club has been doing. One Leader of years' experience has said that she never loses an opportunity to introduce one or more exhibit features into every gathering of her Club to which guests are invited. If the occasion is a dance, she prepares a few lantern slides which tell about the Club work, and these she throws upon the screen in the course of the evening's fun. Or, perhaps, she has some Club member sing a bright, catchy song which tells of the delights of Club life. Or, over in a corner of the Club room, she places a table, upon which are shown a number of pretty hats. "These hats are being made in our Millinery Class now!" To this Club Leader, even the social gatherings present an opportunity to extend a knowledge of what her Club is doing. She does not allow these small exhibits to be- come so extensive as to exclude part of the Club's good times at a party this would defeat her object. But she does constantly advertise the Club's many activities by effective use of the exhibit idea. Try Classes as an Experiment The Leader who has never tried the plan of having educational work in her Club would do well to try it. The start may not be extensive or pretentious, but through such an attempt greater things may grow: if even one girl is aroused to enter upon a steady effort to- ward self -development, the work can be called worth while. CHAPTER VIII THE CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY THE most live and worth-while Girls' Clubs to-day have a vision of service through some constructive work in addition to those Club activities in which they are en- gaging for their own especial benefit and enjoyment. Clubs of even the youngest girls have come to share in a kind of social service which gives them their first glimpse into what true citizenship really means. Such work leads them to consider the welfare and happiness of others. Many Leaders have already recognized the great opportunity nay, the duty for service which lies before their Clubs, and have given such activities a prominent place in the work which their members do from week to week. Perhaps, for example, the neigh- borhood from which the Club is recruited is dirty and carelessly kept; the members then join in the "clean- up" crusade and are active in interesting others. The "Better Babies" committee decides to hold a Baby Week; the Club can assist in distributing its literature and in arousing a general interest. The State organizes an anti-tuberculosis movement; the Leader arranges for a speaker on the subject in a Club meeting. Whatever subject presents itself, the girls themselves are given .195 iQ6 GIRLS' CLUBS vital information on it and then assume their share in the campaign for spreading this information. Every time a girl is brought into direct contact with movements of this kind, a forward step is taken in her education: not only is her sense of responsibility awakened, but she is also shown channels through which she can work wisely and in which her efforts will be most effective. The following report, written by a member of a Pitts- field, Mass., Working Girls' Club is typical of the re- sponse which many girls have given to the opportunities in which they can be of service : "The value of a Club to its community assumes very great proportions when we realize that the word 'com- munity' does not mean merely ward or city, but family, village, city, State, nation society at large. In city life, the right sort of Club is a real help. In our town, for instance, we have tried for years to close the stores on Tuesday evenings. Nearly twelve years ago, at the re- quest of the Merchants' Association, we discussed the question and the Club cast its vote in favor of such closing and has talked of it ever since. Finally the matter has been decided, and the majority of stores are open on Saturday evenings only." The Leader who wishes to add such social service work to her Club's activities is not lacking in oppor- tunities to do so. Wherever the Club, and whatever its nature, there are openings at every turn in which the efforts of its members will be welcomed. The problem becomes, then, one of choice, and it is for the Leader to decide which forms of these activities will be best for her girls. In many Clubs, the social service programs are so arranged that the girls give financial support to CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 197 the work of some other organization, and, in addition, personally engage in work which they themselves can do through the week. The Club as a "Good Neighbor" One of the most successful means of arousing the girls' interest in service work is to suggest that they be of real help to their fellow-members, to their families, to the people in their neighborhood, to other Clubs in the same Settlement or church. These are the people whom they know. They can see the needs and can themselves observe the results of their efforts. Their opportunities are definite and concrete. Many girls who would have no interest in a Children's Aid Society will become very enthusiastic in working for the Day Nursery around the corner. Once a real interest has been aroused in this particular work for little children, the next step that is, interesting the Club girls in the wider movements for Child Welfare can often be taken naturally. "You have been making a baby outfit for Mrs. Smith," said a Club Leader in New York City one evening, "Now I want to tell you about the woman in Washing- ton who is looking after all the babies in the United States" She then explained the work of the Children's Bureau in Washington. The girls' interest was great, and the Leader was easily able to enlist their efforts in a Baby Week campaign. So it is that the little things which are at every Club's door, waiting to be done, are often the very form of service in which the girls will be immediately interested. Nor should these be an end 200 GIRLS' CLUBS tures; another, for games; at another time, they had dancing to Victrola music; during two noons informal entertainments held sway. What had formerly been an empty, uninteresting time was changed to a period of fun for the whole factory. And, incidentally, many new girls became interested in the Club. Some working girls in New York City, whose quarters were attractive and comfortable, formed the hospitable custom of lending their Club rooms to other organizations for special parties. A Girls' Friendly Society in which one of the Club members was interested was the first to come. A small committee of the working girls' Club was present to extend the good wishes for the organization to the visitors, but, aside from the presence of these, the rooms temporarily belonged to the Girls' Friendly. Since that time, the idea has grown and many less fortunately situated Clubs have used the pleasant rooms for special occasions. A friendly hand extended by one flourishing Club to another just organized is often just what the beginners need. Settlement workers, recognizing the helpfulness of such inter-Club cooperation and neighborliness have long since introduced the idea of a Federation or general organization for all the Girls' Clubs in each Settlement House. The Young Women's Christian Association has carried out this idea in several ways. One example of such organization is in its Federations of Industrial Clubs; the Clubs thus bound together meet together to pass on good ideas and to help each other in solving their problems. In the College Settlement, New York City, the Girls' Association is comprised of the girls who are members in good and regular standing of the 200 GIRLS' CLUBS tures; another, for games; at another time, they had dancing to Victrola music; during two noons informal entertainments held sway. What had formerly been an empty, uninteresting time was changed to a period of fun for the whole factory. And, incidentally, many new girls became interested in the Club. Some working girls in New York City, whose quarters were attractive and comfortable, formed the hospitable custom of lending their Club rooms to other organizations for special parties. A Girls' Friendly Society in which one of the Club members was interested was the first to come. A small committee of the working girls' Club was present to extend the good wishes for the organization to the visitors, but, aside from the presence of these, the rooms temporarily belonged to the Girls' Friendly. Since that time, the idea has grown and many less fortunately situated Clubs have used the pleasant rooms for special occasions. A friendly hand extended by one flourishing Club to another just organized is often just what the beginners need. Settlement workers, recognizing the helpfulness of such inter-Club cooperation and neighborliness have long since introduced the idea of a Federation or general organization for all the Girls' Clubs in each Settlement House. The Young Women's Christian Association ha3 carried out this idea in several ways. One example of such organization is in its Federations of Industrial Clubs; the Clubs thus bound together meet together to pass on good ideas and to help each other in solving their problems. In the College Settlement, New York City, the Girls' Association is comprised of the girls who are members in good and regular standing of the CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 201 Settlement Clubs. A meeting is held once a month. The plans for the meeting are in the hands of a joint com- mittee made up of representatives from the different Clubs. "These general gatherings," says a Settlement report, "helped to break up the intense individualism of the Clubs." The Association as a whole has at times taken up work in which they have all been interested. When the girls all worked together upon the Anni- versary Fund entertainment of the Settlement, the results of their cooperation were evident. "Even on that occa- sion, when serious thoughts were banished, one was con- scious of the fine spirit behind the whole effort which made success possible. It was the girls' contribution to a common cause the Settlement a recognition of their sense of obligation to help in its work." In some cities such inter-Club organization is city- wide. Each delegate to the general board comes to feel her obligation for carrying to the other Clubs ideas which her own Club has found helpful and useful. Where no general organization exists, it is often possible to start one. If made a vital factor in the Club life, these general meetings become a clearing-house for ideas, and each Club benefits : in its giving and in its receiving. What Girls Can Do for Girls The interest of any Girls' Club is quite naturally aroused in the possibilities of what it can do for girls in general. The members quickly grasp the significance of such effort because they are girls themselves and so realize the purpose of the work they are undertaking. It is because of this natural appeal that the Girls' Pro- tective League, organized by Miss Maude Miner, has 202 GIRLS' CLUBS been welcomed by many Clubs. "Girls, help to make the world safe for girls!" is the slogan of the society, and they have pointed out many practical ways in which this aim is to be accomplished. The League has been de- nned as "an organization of girls banded together for the purpose of securing protection for all girls." Its objects are "to protect girls from moral danger; to promote moral education; to encourage right thinking and clean conversation; to improve conditions of work for girls." In order to accomplish these aims, it is necessary first to educate the girls, impressing upon them the value of a high code of conduct, the ways in which a girl may stand for these high standards every day, and the specific laws which relate to girls in their work. This moral education has been promoted in the League by lectures, talks, and discussions. The following have been a number of the subjects used in this way: The Girl and Her Rights. Standards of Dress. Protecting the Children. Abolishing Child Labor. Ways of Protecting Girls. The Dance Hall Problem. Protection of Immigrants. Our Responsibilities at Home. Business Opportunities for Women. The Minimum Wage. Standards of Work. Promoting Efficiency in Work. Using our Leisure. Making Vacations Worth While. Faith in the Possibilities of Life. CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 203 Informal talks upon subjects such as these give to girls, especially those who have gone out to earn their own living, a realization of the importance of their own daily conduct and the help which they can be to those with whom they come into contact. What girls them- selves have done and can do is suggested in the League's report which tells of their work. "Girls themselves do the real work of the League by reporting illegal, unsanitary, or immoral conditions in places where they live and work and play; by talking to girls who are in danger or in need of protection ; and by seeking in every possible way to carry out the objects of the League. Members are urged to watch for viola- tion of labor laws, dance-hall laws and motion-picture ordinances. Girls are not sent out as detectives to dis- cover violations of law, but are instructed in the laws which protect them, and taught to keep their eyes open when violations of the law take place. "Girls who realize that 147 of their factory sisters lost their lives in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City because exits to fire escapes were locked, are eager to see that there is no such condition in their places of work. "When members know that in New York State it is illegal for a girl from 14 to 16 years of age to work after 5 o'clock at night in a factory, and for any girl to work in a store between n P. M. and 7 A. M. (except at Christmas and stock-taking time), they are interested in reporting violations of these laws. "Girls report violations of moving-picture ordinances, including unlighted and badly ventilated halls, over- crowded aisles, and bad conditions of toilets; they tell 204 GIRLS' CLUBS of films which they consider to have a pernicious in- fluence, and of bad conditions in amusement parks and on pleasure boats. "Reports from League members have included the following : "Advertisements in the daily papers which attract girls to dangerous places under the guise of giving work or training for work. "Employment agencies which send girls to danger- ous places of work. "Employers and men in stores and other places of work who make immoral proposals to girls. "Conditions in some streets of the city where girls are constantly accosted by men. "Girls loitering around recruiting stations, navy yards, and tunnels and bridges guarded by soldiers. "Girls who have run away from their homes to live in furnished rooms or who are on the point of running away. "Girls who have immoral or very bad homes. "Girls who remain away from home at night and associate with dangerous companions. "Reports are made by League members on slips pro- vided by League Headquarters, and are given to the League Leader. Through the Protective Bureau of the League, investigations are made or the complaints for- warded to the proper department such as the Police Department, the Labor Department, or the License Bureau. A Protective Officer visits and helps the girls who are reported as in danger." CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 205 Not every Club Leader feels that it is advisable to introduce into her Club such activities as these. Much depends upon the age and the type of girls. Leaders of wage-earning girls who every day go out from their homes into the business world will find many concrete suggestions for their Social Service work in the plans of the Girls' Protective League. Many Girls' Clubs are trying to reach the lonely girls in our large cities, giving them the welcome which reveals the fact that there are friends waiting for them. The Girls' Friendly Society is carrying out a plan by which a member who moves from one city to another is given an introduction to the Girls' Friendly Branch in her new home. The Pennsylvania Sabbath-School Associa- tion, which indues in its work the organizing of Sunday- School classes into Clubs, has inaugurated this same plan in its "Meet-My-Friend Movement." In this way, any girl who is anxious to meet others has the way opened for her by the work of the organization with whom she has been associated. A Girls' Club in an Albany (New York) church, has given Sunday after- noon teas for the young students of the city. These gatherings of young men and women have been especially enjoyed by those who are "rooming" and away from home privileges. The value of such active work on the part of a Girls' Club in helping to solve the problem of our social evil cannot be doubted. Girls can render to other girls a service which no other group can accomplish 206 GIRLS' CLUBS The City Club's Relation to Its Community Know Your City. Real help can be given by a Girls' Club to its city or community when its members have an intelligent grasp of the machinery of the City's government and of the functions of the various depart- ments and organizations. Such knowledge gives them an understanding of local events and an appreciation of the value of their own efforts. A group-study of Current Events, or a series of special talks by city officials and others, gives to the girls just such necessary training in citizenship. Knowledge first then action: this is the motto of many Girls' Clubs in their social service work. The following outline for training in citizenship has been drawn up by the Young Women's Christian Association in its pamphlet called "Federation of Industrial Clubs." It is suggestive not only of a scheme for a course, but also of subjects for talks to be given by those citizens who have direct knowledge about the city. Citizenship 1. The Modern City. Steps by which it came into existence. Chief advantages of city life. Increase in city popu- lation since the last census. Locations of well-known American cities. Reason for such locations. 2. Location of Our Own City. Its natural resources. Leading characteristics as a city. Its contribution to the State and the nation. CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 207 3. The People of Our City. Size of the city in comparison with others of State and nation. Different nationalities represented here. What brought them here. What each contributes to the city life. Map of the city, with location of different races and industrial groups. 4. How Our City is Governed. City charter. Different boards and officers. How selected. To whom responsible. Names and char- acter of present officials. Effect of public opinion on government and on the action of officials. Influence of women on the government of our city. 5. What the City Owes to Us. Safety: Police and fire protection. Comfort : Building regulations. Street paving. Clean- ing. Lighting. Health: Inspection of food. Pure water supply. Sewage system, etc. 6. What We Owe the City. Working out the beginnings of a code of good citizen- ship based on the preceding studies, to be modified and completed as the course goes on. 7. The City and Recreation. Outdoor: Playgrounds, parks, boulevards, boating facilities, etc. Indoor: Commercial and non-commercial amusements. Moving picture shows regulations for ventilation, fire protection, character of films. How ought the recreation of our city to be improved? What can girls do about it? 8. The Industrial Opportunities of our City. Leading occupations of the people. Occupations and industries open to women and girls. Number employed in proportion to population. 208 GIRLS' CLUBS Map showing location of factories and establishments. Laws governing the employment of women and chil- dren. Aids and hindrances to their enforcement 9. Cultural and Religious Opportunities in Our City. Schools, libraries, museums, etc. Churches and church life. Strong and weak points. Our responsibility. In the Christodora Settlement House, New York City, this training in citizenship is given through the very organization of the Club's government. The charter of the Club is, wherever possible, identical with that of the city. A Club Council has developed, modeled along the lines of the New York City government. Each Club represents a ward and sends two aldermen to the monthly meeting of the Board. In this way, the Club members are familiarized with the details of the city government. An imitation "National Political Convention" was or- ganized at the time of our real conventions; each Club represented a State and sent its delegates. Three hun- dred Club members (boys and girls) participated, and a Settlement worker reported that "the fervid oratory of the occasion rose almost to the heights of the regular conventions !" The following talks have been given in the Larkin Company's Girls' Club of Buffalo, New York, in con- nection with their "Know Your City" work : Buffalo Commission Government. City Depart- ments explained. Health Department. Food inspection. Department of Public Works. Department of Education. School System. CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 209 Department of Parks, Policewomen, City Courts, Children's Courts and Probation Work. Buffalo Public Library. The South Park Conservatory. Civic Exhibits Exhibits held in the Club rooms are a splendid means of giving necessary facts to the girls. Many local and national organizations have exhibits which they gladly lend, free of charge, to an interested Club. If a Leader wishes to have such an exhibit, inquiry at the offices of the organization will give her the necessary informa- tion as to where and how she may obtain it. In Trenton, New Jersey, a Girls' Club arranged for such an exhibit by their own ingenuity. Pictures of good and bad spots of the city were shown; charts giv- ing the danger of drinking impure milk and of allowing flies to live in a city; charts showing the necessity of having food protected from the dust. This exhibit also showed samples of the city drinking-water before and after going through the process of filtration used in the city. A counter containing a glass case was placed in the Club room. Inside it was food protected from flies and dust; on its top were pies and biscuit dusty and covered with flies. A member of the City Hall Depart- ment of Weights and Measures demonstrated true and "fake" weights and measures, giving in his talk practical suggestions about marketing. Civic pride in the indus- tries of Trenton was aroused by showing samples of the many different articles manufactured in the factories there. 210 GIRLS' CLUBS Even among the youngest girls, talks can be given on civic subjects such as these, to be followed by a certain definite course of conduct on the part of the Club mem- bers. In one New York Settlement, the Club members kept note-books in which they reported their observa- tions on the condition of the streets, tenement-house sanitation, and fire protection, and their own activities in regard to what they had seen. The following reports are interesting and significant. "Picked up a banana peel which was on the sidewalk and put it into a barrel." "Told a woman to take off the boxes which she had on her fire-escape. She obeyed." "Tried to put out a bonfire, but was stopped by a punch. I looked for a policeman, but it was in vain." Such relating of civic betterment work to the lives of the girls is of greatest importance. In this way the members come to realize that they can be of constant, every-day help. In accordance with this idea, girls have cooperated with the Street-Cleaning Department in keep- ing the streets clean, in "Clean-up Week," and in beauti- fying back yards. They have cooperated with the Housewives' League in trying to enforce the health laws in regard to the protection of food from dust, dirt, and flies, and by signing petitions to Boards of Health asking that no milk be sold in the city unless it has been pasteurized or unless the cows giving the milk have passed the test for tuberculosis. Girls' Clubs have helped at Christmas time in raising funds for a Community Christmas tree and in assisting in the program given about it. A Girls' Club in Indiana placed flower boxes in the "policeman dummies" in town. Another Club in Texas raised funds for extra park CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 211 benches, to be used by the soldiers coming into the city. A Club in Illinois presented the town with a beautiful American flag for the playground. Work of this kind gives the girls a definite part in the life of their city and so helps not only the city but also the Club members themselves. The Country Club's Relation to Its Community Girls in the country have found a splendid means for service to their community through the Agricultural, Poultry and Pig Clubs which have been started largely through the efforts of our United States Department of Agriculture. In these the girls do the actual work of planting and caring for gardens of all kinds ; of canning the products; and of raising pigs and poultry. Many girls have entered enthusiastically into this plan and have raised splendid vegetables and fruit, pigs and poultry. Each Club has kept careful records of the expense in- volved, of the methods used and of their success. Those who have come into contact with this work of the country Girls' Clubs know what it has done for the communities in which the members live. The Canning Clubs, for example, have given many public demonstra- tions of their methods of working. The girls have in- vited their families and friends to the demonstrations, which are usually held under the direction of the County Agent. In this way many people have been taught the best and latest methods of preserving. The example of the younger girls has been a source of great stimulus to the older people, and they have started organizations of their own. 212 GIRLS' CLUBS These Clubs have brought together lonely girls who had been missing the intimate comradeship which girls in the city can so easily enjoy. The work which they have accomplished has been not less valuable than the social relationships which they have established. Often the work of these rural Clubs has extended beyond the original purpose of gardening and poultry-raising, and the girls have, in addition, beautified their school grounds, have built community fireplaces in the county picnic grounds, and have contributed to funds which have been raised for causes of general welfare. A New Jersey Camp Fire group were awarded badges of merit by the State Department of Conservation and Development for services rendered in connection with the prevention and control of forest fires. Such work as this shows that the country girl has not been far behind her city sister in seeing what she can do for her community. The Club's Relation to Local and National Organizations Many Club Leaders have found it helpful to interest their girls in the work of some national or local organiza- tion which has for its aim social betterment in some one field. To interest the girls in this way has two great advantages: they learn about the work of the other or- ganization and so broaden their interests, and they also come to see the wisdom of giving support to an organ- ization which exists for the purpose of intelligently meeting the problem confronting it. Through such means, a Leader can teach her girls what wise giving involves. CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 213 The specific organization which will appeal to the girls depends upon the individual Club. In the Y. W. C. A., a number of business girls' Clubs have as their aim an active cooperation with the Consumers' League. In addition to the financial support which they give, the members exert their efforts to create a demand for labeled goods, and to promote early closing of shops and early Christmas shopping. Other Business Clubs have taken out memberships in the American Association for Labor Legislation in order that they may keep informed concerning the laws affecting women which come before the legislatures of the various States and before Con- gress. Younger girls are often interested in the Day Nurseries of their town, or the Children's Hospitals, where they can go to play paper dolls with the little invalids or read to them. In some communities, the Girls' Clubs have cooperated with the Playground Association and have gone to the playgrounds to help the supervisor in organizing games. Wherever a Leader can relate the work of the Club to a larger organization not in financial support alone but through the personal efforts of the Club members as well there the Club becomes an active social force in its community. The problem be'fore the Leader is to choose wisely, from the multitude of possibilities before her, those chan- nels for service which will appeal to her girls and in which their efforts will be most telling. The following list of organizations has been compiled from the records qf a large number of Girls' Clubs and suggests the many ways in which the Club girls have already worked help- fully: GIRLS' CLUBS Organizations with Which Girls' Clubs Have Cooperated I. Organizations Interested in Children and Education. Children's Bureau, Washington, D. C. National Child Labor Committee. Visiting Nurse Associations. District Nurse Associations. Children's Aid Society. Juvenile Protective Associations. Juvenile Courts. Playground and Recreation Association of Amer- ica. Parent-Teachers' Associations. Public Education Associations. School Extension Societies. Better Schools Committees. 2. Organizations Interested in Labor Conditions and Greater Opportunities for Women. Women's Trade Union League. National Consumers' League. National Civic Federation. United States Department of Labor. American Association for Labor Legislation. Factory Sanitation Commissions. National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education. Employment Bureaus. Equal Suffrage Societies. 3. Organizations Interested in Health and Living Con- ditions. Tenement-House Commissions. CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 215 Anti-tuberculosis Society. Street-Cleaning Departments of cities. Housewives' League. United States Food Commission. United States Department of Agriculture. "Safety First" Society. Boards of Health. Life Extension Institute. 4. Organizations Interested in Community Activities. City and Town Departments. Associations of Neighborhood Workers. Committees on Amusement Resources of Work- ing Girls. Merchants' Associations. Women's Clubs. Boards of Education and Recreation. Granges. Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union. County Improvement Associations. Sabbath- School Associations. 5. Organizations Interested in the Sick and Needy. American Red Cross. Charity Organization Societies. Belgian (and other) Relief Commissions. Hospitals. Salvation Army. National Sunshine Society. Shut-in Society. 6. Organizations Interested in New and Isolated Americans. Home Mission Societies. U. S. Bureau of Immigration. 216 GIRLS' CLUBS 7. Organizations Interested in Animals. Audubon Society. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 8. Organizations Interested in Thrift. Vacation Association. National Education Association. Postal Savings. War- Saving- Stamps Committee. The Need for a Varied Program The social service activities of any Girls' Club should be such that they broaden the girls' interests to the greatest possible degree. Only careful thought in map- ping out the program will give them that variety. With- out bringing too many projects into the Club life, the girls can, in one year, easily support other work for girls, some special community interest, and some national interest. A Camp Fire group in East Orange, New Jersey, carried out just such a year's program, giving constructive support to a variety of organizations. This was their program : "We supported a little French girl by sending money for two years $74. We paid $25 for the education of a bright, ambitious Indian girl in Santee Mission School, Nebraska. We gave $12 to help two girls in Crowley's Island, one of the lonely islands off the Maine coast, that they might finish their High School course. Our group of Blue Birds (the younger girls), gave part of their earnings to the Day Nursery. Our girls have done Red Cross work. We bought a $50 Liberty Bond. Our CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 217 girls earned all the money for these things by sales and entertainments." William Norman Hutchins in his book called "Graded Social Service for the Sunday-School" gives a sug- gestive table for varied activities for an organized Young People's Department, ages 18-21. Selection of one form of service from each of the larger divisions gives a balanced and varied program. Object of Service. Home Church. Form of Service. 1. Regular contributions to the current expenses of the church. 2. Promotion of class welfare and friendly oversight of class members. 3. Personal interest in the boys and girls of the church. 4. Conducting walks and talks on Sun- day afternoons. 5. Editing a class paper. 6. Ushering. 7. Rallying of the young people to attend church functions. The Community. I. Entertainment at the home church of a group from a settlement. 2. Friendly visiting. 3. Making layettes for District Nurse Association. 4. Tutoring backward children. 5. Outings and picnics for poor children. 6. Serving at social centers teaching, conducting games. 7. Providing pleasant Sunday afternoons for young men and women who live in boarding houses. 8. Reading to the sick, aged, and the blind. 218 Object of Service. The Community. The Larger World. GIRLS' CLUBS Form of Service. 9. Singing at the Old People's Home. 10. Giving entertainments at almshouses and asylums. 11. Auto rides for shut-ins and con- valescents. 12. Disposing of work made by inmates of almshouse. 13. Clerical work at district office of United Charities. 14. Accompanying patients to clinics and friends of patients to visit them at the hospital, House of Correction, etc. 15. Community Survey. 16. Cooperating with the United Charities in assisting a family. 17. Assisting in Sunday-evening services at the County Hospital. 18. Contributing to an outgoing patient's wardrobe. 1. Adoption of some Church scheme of benevolence. 2. Missionary Plays. Forms of Personal Service Which Club Girls Have Given A reference list compiled from reports of Girls' Clubs and from the Social Service Review: For Sick People or Invalids. 1. Wheeling invalid chairs. 2. Assisting in providing crutches for injured children. 3. Providing spectacles for children who have eye trouble. CLUB'S RELATION TO COMMUNITY 219 4. Giving entertainments or reading, speaking, singing of playing instruments for the entertainment of the in- mates of city hospitals, homes of the friendless, city and county infirmaries, homes for the blind, widows' homes and orphan asylums. 5. As members of children's choirs or carol clubs, singing for the entertainment of other children and of institu- tional shut-ins. 6. Writing postcards and letters to people who are kept at home, and sending stamped postcards to institutions whose inmates wish to send out greetings to others. 7. Cutting out puzzles, making scrapbooks, collecting tops, magazines, pictures, etc., for hospitals and other in- stitutions. 8. Distributing flowers and fruit to hospitals and homes. 9. Canning fruit for hospitals. 10. Distributing literature or reading to shut-ins. 11. Making "surprise bags," filled with little presents, cards, stories, etc., for invalids. For Children. 1. Giving parties at Orphans' Homes. 2. Telling stories at Settlement kindergartens. 3. Caring for children while mother is away. 4. Adopting a French orphan. 5. Taking a Belgian child to educate. 6. Helping support an American orphan. 7. Making outfits for children. 8. Filling Christmas stockings. 9. Filling Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. 10. Giving a Christmas party for children and their mothers at a Day Nursery. 11. Helping on Playgrounds. For the Community. 1. Starting a clean-up brigade. 2. Distributing valuable literature for other organizations. 3. Caring for the church. 4. Furnishing a Rest Tent at a big fair or a picnic. 220 GIRLS' CLUBS For Other Girls. 1. Entertaining Clubs of foreign girls. 2. Raising money to help a girl with her schooling. 3. Friendly visiting. 4. Giving a girl a necessary outfit such as a nurse's outfit for a girl going into a hospital. 5. Visiting sick girls. 6. Paying the hospital expenses of needy girls. 7. Sending girls to the country. 8. Furnishing a Club room. 9. Sending supplies to foreign girls in hospitals or schools. CHAPTER IX THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS "A PICNIC," "a hike," "camping out" more and more are Club Leaders hearing of these from their girls. It is the Call of the Out-of -Doors which the girls have heard and which they wish to answer as a Club. In the outskirts of almost any city or town, groups of "hikers" are now a familiar sight. On our vacations in the summer time hay-wagons, loaded with girls, pass us upon the road, and we say, "There go the camp girls." The young voices, joining in a merry song, the bright eyes, and the pink cheeks all tell the story of a love of the out-of-doors and of all it can give to a girl. It is difficult to believe that many of these girls who now take long walks regularly and who spend their va- cations camping would never have known the delights of Nature and outdoor life had not a wise Club Leader aroused their desire for this kind of enjoyment. Yet many Leaders can tell of their girls' breathless delight when first they saw the stretches of grass and the blue sky. Perhaps the girls left their noisy and exciting city home a bit unwillingly, finding the country wo fully empty and quiet for the first days. Yet these same girls two weeks later will leave the fresh air, and the large glasses of fresh milk, and the outdoor games with re- 221 222 GIRLS' CLUBS luctant hearts and a fervent resolve to "come again next year." Even when girls come from homes where they have had opportunity to enjoy the out-of-doors, a hike or a camping party with girls of their own age holds a new charm and fascination. The Leader of a city Club often faces the task of actually teaching her girls this enjoyment of Nature. There may have been no one in their lives before to call their attention to the stars shining above the city streets, or to tell them that a five-cent car ride will take them to a lake or a river or a "zoo." There has been no one to offer them the opportunity of two weeks' camping at a cost which their pocketbooks can meet. The Club Leader who points out the way, who makes it easy for her girls to get into the open, is starting them upon a path of enjoyment which will lead them into pleasant ways all their lives. Strangely enough, the Leader of a Club of country girls may face this same problem that of interesting her girls in the out-of-doors. They have always lived in the country. They see the fields and the trees and the sky every day. What, then, is of such great interest in these everyday surroundings of theirs? But no one has ever told them the story of some nearby historic spot, where they may meet for a picnic, cooking their supper outdoors for the first time. No one has ever suggested that they can build an outdoor fireplace in the Grange picnic grounds, or a log cabin in which to put couches for tired mothers at the big gatherings of the country folk. With such help as this from their Leaders, hundreds of girls have come to know the delights of fresh air and ex- THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 223 ercise. The sun and the wind have brought pink to many cheeks which had grown pale and brightness to many eyes which had become dull because of montonous work. Besides this gift of health, these Club activities in the open have brought fresh interests into the lives of the girls. The beauties of Nature have been opened before them the wonders of the sunrise and the sunset; of the birds of many colors and tuneful songs; of fragrant flowers. "I never knew there was anything like this in the world," exclaimed a young Club girl, as she stood on a high hill, looking down into a broad green valley, far below, "No one ever told me it was like this." And she stood silent, before a picture which she was to re- member for many a long day. Realizing the gift which the out-of-doors can give to girls, the large organizations of Girls' Clubs have con- sistently sounded the Call to the Open the Young Women's Christian Association in its many summer Camps and outdoor conferences; the Camp Fire Girls, the Girl Scouts and the Woodcraft League. Indeed, the very names of the latter are suggestive of the out-of- doors. The watchword of the Woodcraft League is "Blue Sky." "For under the blue sky in the sunlight, we seek to live our lives; our thoughts are 'blue sky' thoughts that mean cheer; and when there are clouds, we know that the blue sky is ever behind them and will come again." "Do you know the twelve secrets of the woods?" the Woodcraft League asks. "Do you know the umbrella that stands upspread to show that there is a restaurant in the cellar? Can you tell why the rabbit puts his hind 224 GIRLS' CLUBS feet down ahead of his front ones as he runs? Can you tell why the squirrel buries every other nut, and who it was who placed those shag-barks along the fence ? Have you learned to overcome the poison ivy that once was so feared and is now so lightly held by those who know?" These questions arouse the curiosity and sug- gest the many mysteries which girls can fathom in their outdoor activities. The Woodcraft Manual for girls suggests many things to be done in the out-of-doors City woodcraft, camper- craft, wood-lore and handicraft, and friends in the out- of-doors. The Camp Fire bases the attainment of many of its honors upon its members' knowledge of Nature. Forty-five honors are to be won in healthcraft, open to members who "sleep outdoors or with wide-open windows for two consecutive months between October and April inclusive skate twenty-five miles in any five days (not necessarily consecutively) swim one mile in any six days (not necessarily consecutively)." In the Camp Fire division of "Nature Lore" there are one hundred and fifty-nine honors to be won: "identify and describe any fifteen trees in such a way as to assure future recognition (a) in summer and (b) in winter. Identify and describe twenty wild flowers. Identify and describe twenty wild birds. Do all the work in a suc- cessful garden. This may be for use or for beauty or both." Winning any of the one hundred and thirty honors in "Camp Craft" means that the girl who accom- plishes this has fitted herself in one branch of outdoor life. Winning many of them fits a girl to live comfortably there. "Erect a tent, having selected its location. (Two girls may work together on this.) Make a shelter and a *TO MAKE tg BEST BETTER" A HOME GARDEN AND CANNING CLUB POSTER Department of Agriculture CANNING WHAT THEY HAVE GROWN A U. S. Department of Agriculture Club THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 225 bed from material found in the woods. Build an open fire in wind and rain with material found outdoors and build a proper bonfire. (No fire is credited until it is properly left or put out.) Do all the camp cooking without help or advice for one day for four or more persons; this includes getting the wood, and making an open fire. Suitable character, variety, and amounts of food are to be furnished. The menu must be written; quantities and prices stated. Know the proper disposal of Camp garbage and refuse, and dispose of it for one Camp Fire for one week." Such knowledge as this gives a girl confidence, and is useful to her whether at home or in camp. Such is the emphasis which is being placed upon out- door activities in Clubs all over the country. The re- sponse of the girls and the ever-increasing interest in these pursuits tell the story of the possibilities which lie before every Club which includes those activities in its plans. The Outdoor Country Club There are many Girls' Clubs whose activities lie largely in the out-of-doors. For years, the United States De- partment of Agriculture has deemed this Club work of such vital importance that the Club plan has been directly incorporated into the official program of that Department. This policy has included the organization and promoting among boys and girls of Sheep Clubs. Pig Clubs. Cow Feeding and Testing Club. 226 GIRLS' CLUBS Baby Beef Clubs. Dairy Herd Clubs. Poultry Clubs. Corn Clubs. Potato Clubs. Bean Clubs. Sugar Beet Clubs. Fruit Clubs. Apple Clubs. Home Garden Clubs. Flower Garden Clubs. Miscellaneous Field Clubs. 1. Better Seed. 2. Wheat Seed. 3. Cotton. 4. Tomato. Mother-Daughter Home Canning Clubs. Farm and Home Handicraft Clubs. This Club work is under the cooperative guidance of the local farm agency, the county bureau of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Every member conducts at her home a definite farm or home-making demonstration for the year. The variety of Club projects makes it possible for each prospective Club member to choose that which is best suited to her own individual taste and to her own opportunities. Each girl who wishes to enter the Club work fills out an application, stating the kind of Club she wishes to join. (State.) (County.) Date , 191 I hereby make application for membership in the National Boys* and Girls' Club, (Name choice here.) and if admitted I shall endeavor to follow all instruc- THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 227 tions, attend meetings, and exhibit products from my crop at a local or district fair. I will keep an accurate *-ecord of my work, expenses, and receipts, and will make a complete crop report at the close of the season and forward same to the State Agent or the United States Department of Agriculture. (Signed) . Age P. O. address . R. D. Once enrolled, she asks her father for a plot of land which she may use for growing corn or other vegetables or for raising pigs or for whatever project she has decided upon. These steps necessary for success in each experiment have been carefully worked out by our Gov- ernment experts. By reading the pamphlets which have been prepared for each of these Clubs, a girl can get an exact idea of why the Club has been organized and what she must do to be a successful Club member. Concerning the Sheep Club work, for example, we read : "All sheep Club work done in the various States shall be part of the Agricultural Club work of the extension service of the respective State Agricultural colleges (since the colleges have the plan and the force for executing the plan, and the work is cooperative with the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture). The live stock specialists and Club Leaders in the extension forces in cooperation with the college animal husbandmen will supervise the work." The objects of these sheep Clubs are: "i. To stimulate interest in sheep production by teaching farm boys and girls how to raise sheep cheaply through the use of well- bred stock, and the utilization of pastures, grazing crops, 228 GIRLS' CLUBS wastes, etc. 2. To increase the number of sheep in the United States to help lessen the meat and wool shortage. 3. To enable farm boys and girls to earn money for themselves while at home. 4. To instruct the farm boys and girls in judging, selecting, feeding and caring for sheep, and marketing wool, in order that they may be trained flock masters as they become the farmers of to-morrow. 5. To vitalize the agriculture taught in rural schools by utilizing the love for animal life inherent in young people. 6. To insure a balanced husbandry by developing the live-stock industry along with crop pro- duction and to supplement the Club work along crop production lines/' Once a Club member is well on her way, she finds that she is not working alone. The County Agent gives her constant help and suggestion. In her record book she finds many little hints, prepared by the Government officials. In the Sheep Club Record Book, she reads "Shepherd's Don'ts. I. Don't keep sheep on wet land. 2. Don't feed timothy hay, moldy or spoiled hay or spoiled roots, silage, or grain. 3. Don't forget to keep fresh water and salt before the sheep" and so on. When the Club members meet, they tell of the work they are doing and of the difficulties which they are find- ing. Often, one Club member has found an excellent way of solving a difficulty. This knowledge she gladly passes on to her fellow-members, for one of the objects of these Clubs is mutual helpfulness. Each girl keeps a careful record of all that she does. These records are valuable as a guide from season to season. For many of the Club members who started this work five years ago are still faithful and enthusiastic THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 229 United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Industry and States Relation Service SHEEP CLUB RECORD BOOK EWES AND LAMBS Name Age. County P. O R. F. D.. . . Name of Club Club Leader County Agent BASIS OF AWARD TO BE STAMPED HERE BY EACH AGENT 1. Number of sheep 2. Breeding (whether grade or pure bred) 3. Ages 4. Date of record started . 5. Value of sheep at start 6. Weight of sheep at start 7. About how many minutes did you spend each day caring for your sheep before lambing?. After lambing? 8. How many hours for whole contest? (Signed.) Date when contest and record are finished . 230 GIRLS' CLUBS members. Their notebooks show all the details of the work, the cost of seed or other materials, the date of starting the work, and a record of methods used. In MATES DEPARTMENT OF ACRICULTTOB, Burtiu of Autoul Industry, CtofMtat with the Sut. ColJ.g. of Aericultwt. P00LTRT CLDB REPORT HO. 1. taVBT OF HATCHING A^D BROODING CHICKS. Hen. -- - . - Ap - TOTTED STATES DKPARTUKfll OF AGWCD1TDBH BureiuofAaiaj.lIr.daltry, Coopertllnj with th SttU CoUe< f t POULTRY CLUB REPORT BO. J. YEARLY EGO REPORT. FMtofBe*. Ooimty . Oounly lUnie of Poultry dub Yw in club wo* JfKMofpoiiltryclak YWlndubwxxfcj. I5redorTrietyoffcTrI.. of nriety of fowls... t\ How brooded Kind* of tod Jed Arner: To the bet of nd i'ie work uu been done Parent's ntme , Teacher 'snwne . Now.-TtM dona ind held > report must be filled out u won u work ii unttl clled tor by the agent. The most auc. r ia all club work v* tiuM who keep complete Record Blanks for Poultry Club Members, U. S. Department of Agriculture. addition to this record, each girl writes an essay which describes the story of it all in a connected way. In the work upon the essay many school teachers cooperate with the County Agricultural Agent,, thus combining THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 231 Club and school work. The form for a record, suggested in Farmers' Bulletin No. 385, U. S. Department of Agriculture, on "Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs" comprises forty- four entries, among them (for a Corn- Growing Club) the following: How the Corn Crop Was Grown I. Grown by , school district . 2. Post Office address . 3. Area of plat in square rods . (Not less than acre. ) 4. Kind of soil (loam, sand, clay) . 5. Kind of crop grown on it the year before . 6. Kind of crop grown on it the second year before 7. Kind and amount of fertilizer used . 8. Cost or value of fertilizer . 9. Date of plowing . 10. Hours required, self , horse . After the Club members have worked through the season, many of them hold exhibits in connection with the County Fairs. The best of the products of each Club member are entered here in the regular classes in which premiums are given. The exhibit may be a pair of chickens, some pigs, corn or whatever the Club mem- bers have worked with. In some Clubs, the members not only raise the vegetables or fruit but later preserve them as well. Where a number of Clubs have been at work in a County, a combined exhibit of the results of their work has been most impressive. The following Demonstration Program has been suggested for such an exhibit by the Department of Agriculture : 232 GIRLS' CLUBS Demonstration Program 1. Rope tying. Show how to tie and mount knots; how to conduct a contest. 2. Hen coop and brooder. How to make and use. 3. Fruit grafting. Three methods. 4. Tree surgery. Three types of tree surgery. 5. Road drag. How to make and use. 6. Soldering outfits. Two kinds. 7. Mixing cement. Walk, post, tile, and floor. 8. Sharpening saw, scythe, and ax. 9. Repairing shears. Three kinds. 10. Home mechanics : a. Pull a nail. b. Use a wrench. c. Make a spring. d. Make a coat hanger. e. Repair leak in pipe. /. Repair crack in iron. g. Make solder. h. Make flux. t. Tin the copper. /. Remove grease. k. Remove a blue print. /. Wire a door bell. m. Make an extension cord. . Sharpen a bit and chisel. o. Develop pictures. p. Remove spots from clothing. The great increase each year in the number of these Clubs shows their popularity among the girls and boys of our country. Official word from Washington has constantly assured the Club members that their work is a practical service to the nation. The splendid quality of the exhibits shown at the county fairs proves the success of the efforts. No small number of these exhibits THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 233 have been prize winners, and many older workers upon the farms, looking at them, have been stimulated by the efforts of the young people to try the progressive methods for themselves. And so it is difficult to estimate the many beneficial results of this work. Not only have thousands of young people been trained in scientific farm methods, but, through them, their homes have also been reached. Some idea of the great good which is being accomplished, however, may be gained from the follow- ing summary for the year 1917, a report issued by the Department of Agriculture : SUMMARY OF RESULTS SECURED BY CLUB MEMBERS PROJECTS. No. of members making complete reports. WHAT THEY PRODUCED. Corn clubs . . . 7 24Q 4.58 87^.4.7 bushels. Potato clubs 8 QQQ 325 786 bushels. Bean clubs 121 126,460 pounds. Grain sorghum clubs. Garden clubs 335 80 512 203,383 pounds. $999 967.68 fresh vegetables. Canning clubs 25,64.1 217,160.75 jars, jelly, 1,578,510.5 Sugar beet clubs A Ql6 quarts fruit, vegetables, meats, and soups. 38 864 tons. Poultry clubs 4.776 106,358 chicks (35,370 doz. eggs). Pig clubs 7.T.82 10,583 animals (1,797,196 Ibs.). Baby beef clubs 486 415 animals (531,319 Ibs.). Sheep clubs 6l 178 animals (32,657 Ibs.). Calf clubs 4.87 599 calves. Bread clubs e 2A2 T.4.6 608 loaves. Garment-making clubs Cooking and Home Economics clubs . . . Handicraft clubs. . . . 13,165 1,244 707 92,189 garments. $5,753-10. 1,288 pieces. 234 GIRLS' CLUBS Other Outdoor Clubs The idea of the Outdoor Club is, however, not entirely limited to the country. Vacant lots in our towns and cities are coming to be used more and more for vegetable gardens. Clubs of girls have been organized to cultivate and sow this ground. In many communities, their efforts have been encouraged by the gift of free seeds to all undertaking the work. Often, too, a medal or certificate has been awarded by city or town officials to those who have faithfully cultivated their gardens. Leaders are agreed that work such as this gives to the girls a new appreciation of the value of food products, in addition to the practical knowledge which is theirs by the end of the season. Records kept by the City Garden Club members are just as valuable as those kept by the coun- try girls. The necessity for keeping a record trains the girls in making careful observations and in writing what they have seen. Not all Outdoor Clubs have been organized for the purpose of gardening or other agricultural pursuits. The Audubon or Bird Clubs have aroused great interest in birds. Long walks in the country, listening to the sweet bird-calls, eager searching of the tree for the little warbler all of these give a pleasant and profitable basis for Club activity. Once a girl has been interested in the birds, there are many opportunities for her to carry on her observations. The tree in her back yard, the city square through which she passes on her way to school or work, these, too, are often filled with the feathered visitors. Audubon members have built bird houses and have scattered seed and crumbs to attract the THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 235 birds. A bird notebook, kept from year to year, gives a record of the birds seen and the dates of their first appearances. In one State the Audubon Society has conducted a paper to which the Club members have written, telling of the birds which they have seen. An "honor badge," to be worn for one month, has been awarded to the Club member writing the best letter dur- ing the previous month. Special contests have been held from time to time, stimulating the interest of the Audu- bon members in what they have been doing. One Club girl was awarded a book on birds for her success in gathering the largest number of bird proverbs. Careful search in the public library gave to her the necessary material, and the total collection numbered several hun- dred proverbs from many countries. Outdoor Activities in Any Club Not all Clubs, however, have an opportunity for ex- tensive outdoor activities. There are the city Clubs who are far distant from real country and whose Club mem- bers are busy all day and every day in the week. In Clubs such as these, interest in the out-of-doors may be aroused in a number of ways. There are the stories which the Club Leader tells from time to time. Some of these may center their interest in Nature and her romance. Pictures, on the wall or in magazines, and travel talks are often of great interest to the girls. One Leader whose girls had enjoyed a three-day hike in the mountains in the Eastern part of the United States took them all to an illustrated talk on the mountains of Switzerland. The pictures of mountain-climbing had a 236 GIRLS' CLUBS special interest to these Club members because they them- selves had gone up steep paths and had become acquainted with climbing difficulties. Even in the city there are walks to be taken, and the birds in the city squares are often more numerous than the casual observer may think. The stars shine down upon the city girl as well as upon her country sister. The alert Leader sees in such channels as these the opportunity for Nature study which she is seeking. She can investigate her own locality and plan "hikes" to points of interest. If the girls are able to go for a camping trip in the summer, preparations for the trip have often been the basis for many enjoyable Club activities. One city Club, whose members decided to make a special study of birds on their camping trip, spent several de- lightful afternoons in the city museum, looking at the collections of stuffed birds. These trips not only helped them in their bird study but also gave them an ac- quaintance with the museum and the interesting treasures there. The "Hike." Every Club can have "hikes" or walking trips. The idea is appealing to most girls. To be suc- cessful a hike should be carefully planned before the girls start. Its length should always be adapted to the strength of the girls ; a walk that is too exhausting may bring the members to dislike the plan of hikes, and future suggestions for walking trips will not be met with delight. A definite objective in the trip will always add interest. Every one knows that it is "more fun" to walk to a certain place than it is to walk merely for the sake of walking. The objective of the walk may be a high hill from which there is a beautiful view, or a place THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 237 where the girls may build a fire and cook their lunch. At a meeting before the hike the girls can choose the place which they wish to visit, and the date and hour. At the time appointed, the Club meets, dressed for walk- ing, with special attention to shoes with flat, sensible heels. Some member of the Club is made "pacemaker" and the Club agrees to follow her lead. As the girls walk along, perhaps they sing some marching songs,. Tired feet are often forgotten as the girls swing into rhythm and march along together. Or perhaps they play a little game, counting the horses, or cows or birds which they see by the side of the road. Many trips have been made interesting by such devices. When the hike ends in a picnic supper, the girls have the added joy of building an outdoor fire and cooking. A simple menu, and plenty of it, is easily planned. Many happy outdoor suppers have consisted of nothing more than rolls, bacon (cooked and put inside the rolls) and fruit. The exercise and the fun of cooking have made this simple fare seem like a sumptuous repast to hungry girls. The Camping Trip. All the pleasures of hikes and picnics are but a foretaste of the joys of the camp- ing trip. To live for a time in the out-of-doors is a great experience for a Club. On such a trip, the girls come to know each jther more intimately than ever before. By daily contact and by working together, they learn team work in the truest sense of the phrase. The camping idea has come to the Girls' Club to stay. In general, there are two kinds of camping trips : that on which the girls take their entire equipment, including tents, cots, and cooking utensils, and themselves do the 238 GIRLS' CLUBS work of the camp ; and the trip which is made by Clubs of girls to large camps already flourishing, where each girl pays a definite sum for her board; where the cook- ing for the camp is done in a central kitchen and served in a central dining-shack. In these larger camps, the activities are under the direction of a trained recrea- tional Leader who plans a variety of interests which will appeal to the girls. For some Clubs, the experience gained in building a camp, in caring for it, and in cooking is just what the girls need to develop their self-confidence. On the other hand, the plan of going to a larger camp where the girls are relieved of these duties is often wise. Such a relief from responsibility may be just what the tired young business girl needs. Time to rest and relax, to take long walks, with a hearty meal awaiting her return this is what she craves. All through the year she has worked in business and perhaps has helped with the home tasks. During her precious two weeks' vacation, she may not wish to cook or to wash dishes. But whichever kind of camping trip is planned, the preparations for it occupy many Club meetings. There is the problem of clothes to be discussed. Every pro- spective camper should understand that a good camping outfit need not be elaborate but should be suitable for outdoor life. Bloomers, tennis shoes, and a "middy" have come to be the popular costume for every day in camp. Add to this a sweater and a coat, a skirt, rubbers and raincoat, and the girl is equipped with all the nec- essary outside clothing. Beside the all-important ques- tion of clothes, there are other camp details which have interested Clubs. Camp banners have been made, ready THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 239 to hang in front of the camp. Song leaders have been appointed and the members have learned special camp songs. Sometimes a committee on Camp Stunts and Entertainment is appointed, its duties being to plan for* surprise occasions in camp. With an energetic com- mittee, such plans as these have often solved the rainy- day problem. The Club that is planning an independent camping trip must have more extensive preliminary discussions. All points must be carefully worked out in advance, and each girl should be made to feel her own responsibility for a share of the work. The Club must consider the following points: Site of the Camp. Tents, Cots, Bedding. Cooking Utensils. Fuel. Provisions to be taken. Resources for the purchase of milk, eggs, etc., near the camp. Transportation. Nearest doctor, in case of accident. Provision for First Aid to the Injured. An estimate can then be drawn of the probable expense of the trip. The Leader who has had little experience will do wisely to consult an experienced camper. "Be prepared for anything that may happen" this is the motto which a Girls' Club Leader says she takes in preparing for trips. There will be many daily questions to be met. Rainy days may come to any camping party. A nearby barn on the land of a friendly farmer will help to make such times pass pleasantly. The estimated 2 4 o GIRLS' CLUBS amount of provisions may prove too small, and when supplies run low the knowledge that a country store is not far away will help. A careful survey of all details and a visit to the proposed site will help a Leader when the time comes to establish the camp. Many Leaders have followed the plan of sending a man to the site a few days before the camping party arrives, to see that all is in readiness the site cleared, the wood ready, and other hard work done. If too heavy work is put upon the girls on the day of their arrival, they may become exhausted and the second day of the trip will find a weary group of girls. From the outset, the Leader will find it greatly to her advantage to make a definite schedule for the daily life of the camp. Following it will assure the prompt per- formance of the daily tasks and place the fun of the day at the most advantageous times. The following is a Camp Fire suggestion : A Day in Camp 7:00 Bugle exercise and morning dip. 7:30 Breakfast. 8:00 Sing and daily announcements. 8:30 Tent in order. 9 :oo Craft and First Aid Work. 1 1 130 End of Craft Work. 12:00 Dinner. i :oo Quiet Hour. 2:30 Swimming. 4:00 Walks and preparation of outdoor supper. 8:30 Bugle. 9:00 Lights Out. THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 241 Camp housekeeping is a most important part of any camping trip. Each girl should understand just what it expected of her. Where the more extensive work is done by the girls themselves, a regular division of the work should be made with the campers working in shifts. In this way, the more difficult parts of the work are divided and each girl does her just share. Arouse an interest in "Tent Inspection," and the girls will come to take great pride in the appearance of their camp. In one large camp, each year there has been much friendly rivalry among the girls to see which section of the Camp can be made most artistic in its appearance. The campers have made little hanging baskets filled with ferns, to be hung in their tents, while others have carefully trans- planted daisies, placing them by the steps leading to their tent platforms. So zealous have been their efforts that visitors to this camp have never failed to remark upon its attractive appearance. The Rest Hour. It is a wise rule that there be a rest hour each day, and that "lights out" in the evening means "silence." Many arduous campers may object to this: the time is so short for the trip why waste any of it in resting? This is the way in which the periods of rest first appear to the campers. But when the girls are forced to observe the rest hour, most of them come to see that the plan is wise. They come out from their naps and relaxation with fresh energy and enthusiasm for the activities of camp life. Without a sufficient amount of rest, they will return to their homes tired and unre freshed, and their mothers* enthusiasm for future camping parties will be greatly dampened. 242 GIRLS' CLUBS Special Camp Activities. Aside from the regular duties of Camp, the special activities are also carefully scheduled. Every day should give the girls opportunity to enjoy the sports which mean vigorous exercise base- ball, basketball, tennis, games such as Hare and Hounds, or swimming. Just what sports are selected will, very naturally, depend upon the location of the camp and the special opportunities there. Those sports are good in camp which cannot be enjoyed at home. When the party is sufficiently large to be divided into teams, a contest for the camp championship can be held. Each team is named, and the songs, cheers, and "rooting" make the games occasions of great excitement. The Camp Fire idea of honors has been adopted by many Leaders on their short trips, in order to induce the girls to participate in the games. Certain credits are given for playing on the teams, going on hikes, excellence in swimming and in whatever the Leader feels is worthy of recognition. At the close of the trip, the Honor Roll is announced, and the Camp emblems awarded. In some Camps, where there are teachers qualified for the work, the girls are taught handicraft of various kinds weaving, basket-making, carving, and jewelry work. Girls who do not care for the more active pursuits find a special interest in classes of this kind. Special Nature talks are given in many camps. Walks, organized with the purpose of looking at the birds, the flowers, or the trees, are greatly enjoyed by the campers. If these walks are taken in small groups, accompanied by someone who knows the birds or the flowers, the girls gain much in actual knowledge. Here they learn that what they have read in their Nature books is a living THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 243 truth. Here they may gather and press the wild flowers, labeling them carefully as they paste them in their note- books. Here they may use their kodaks, taking pictures of interesting birds' nests, or of their Club members standing near a curious tree. The trip is just the time to arouse the interest of the girls in the stars and the constellations. It is so natural, when walking just after dark, to look for the "Big Dipper" and the "Little Dip- per." A good map of the stars helps the girls in their observations and often arouses their interest. Many girls have loved the quiet "story-telling" hour at the close of the day, when the whole camp has gathered together. These are the quieter pursuits which may be introduced into any camping party and which it is all too easy to ignore. Yet, when they are definitely planned, there are always some girls who love them best of all. "I shall never forget my first camp trip," a Club or- ganizer once remarked, "I had with me a lively crowd of girls who heartily enjoyed the baseball and the hikes and the hayrides. We had established the idea that it showed 'good spirit' for a girl to enter into all these activities and that those girls who did not were not 'good' camp girls. There was one girl in our party who did not join in gladly, but did so under protest. One day when she refused to go on a hayride, the girls and I were agreed that she did not appreciate the trip. But when we came to go home, I noticed a book in her hand. In it were pressed ferns of all kinds. She had been collecting them while the rest of us were riding. I had sadly misjudged her and felt that I had given her no help. The next year I was ready to interest the girls in Nature as well as athletics. And I found, to my sur- 244 GIRLS' CLUBS prise, that even the enthusiastic athletes were more than ready to combine a hike with a little Nature study." The "big" events of Camp the hayrides, the athletic meets, the parties, and the Camp Fires should also be carefully scheduled so that these times of special interest will be distributed throughout the stay. Contests be- tween teams can be supplemented with an athletic meet. In addition to the regulation athletic events, such as racing and jumping, special features have often been introduced. Carrying an egg in a spoon, obstacle races, the standing broad grin such events as these bring shouts of glee from the participants and the onlookers as well. In one large camp, a successful meet of this kind was held and the teams represented the big col- leges, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell. The re- porters, the officials, the cheer leaders, the visiting mothers and sweethearts were all present and added to the excitement of the games. A little ingenuity can produce special parties in camp quite worthy of the name of Social Functions. Many a "Baby Party" has been a success, when the girls have come dressed as small children, lisping and gleefully playing children's games. A "Stunt Party" with each girl or group of girls doing a "stunt" never fails to amuse. A "Circus" can show many features a pony (made from a blanket), who can tell the age of anyone; a trained bear; a fancy dancer; a fortune teller; a speaking doll. These are but few of the many special attractions which girls have shown at their camp circuses. Informal dramatics are popular. The very fact that the resources are limited makes the girls use their own ingenuity in getting up their plans. An interested woman once offered THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 245 to equip an elaborate property room for a working girls 1 camp for use in their camp functions. "No," said the wise Camp Director, "don't make it so easy for them. Our present way makes them think for themselves, and that is what we want." Familiarity with the surrounding country will enable a Leader to plan special hikes and rides which the girls will thoroughly enjoy. A careful preliminary planning of all special events desired will bring into the camping trip a maximum number of pleasurable times. The Story of a Typical Camp Day It is morning and all is quiet in the camp. The white tents stand in silent rows. Suddenly, from the dining-shack, comes the sound of a bell the rising bell ! Instantly, there is a change. The tent flaps are fastened down, there is a sound of merry chatter, a song or two. Soon, a few girls come out from their tents, dressed in their bloomers and their "middy" blouses. Gradually, more girls appear, to walk slowly in the direction of the dining-shack. Again, a bell rings breakfast! Many girls hurry from their tents, into the shack, taking their places at the long tables. All is silent for a short "grace," and then the merry chatter begins. To-day is the day of the baseball game for the Camp Championship. The camp is divided into "tribes," each being named for one of the Indian tribes who formerly lived in the very regions where the camp is situated. Each tribe has had a team in the championship race, and to-day the two 246 GIRLS' CLUBS surviving teams the Mohawk and the Oneida will clash. Breakfast time passes swiftly in a discussion of the coming game. A young woman rises to make the an- nouncements for the day. After tent inspection, she says, the championship baseball game will be played. The large roomful of girls knew this before, but they clap energetically at her announcement. The later pro- gram of the day includes a hayride and the Camp Fire. The girls hear these last but dimly. After the Recreation Director has finished speaking, the girls hurry from the shack to their tents. Every- thing is soon put into immaculate order, for tent inspec- tion will be held in a short time and each girl will be rated according to the appearance of her tent. The glory of each tribe rests upon these things as well as upon its athletic prowess. When all is in order, the girls gather in groups for a final cheer and song prac- tise. One tribe has a comb band which adds greatly to their vociferous efforts. Another has secured some tin pans. Several have gay banners. The scene is one of great excitement. Now the girls are marching to the baseball field, where the teams are already "warming up." Cheer after cheer is given, assuring the players of the heartfelt interest on the sidelines. Now the umpire has come and the command "Play Ball" is given. The game is full of exciting moments of slides for base, of flies caught, and other professional features. Between two of the innings, a party of clowns amuse the crowd with a game of baseball all their own. When at last the game is over, the team which most of the camp had thought THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 247 would win has gone down to defeat. After some final cheers, the girls go back to their tents, some to read, some to sew until lunch time. At lunch time, the camp gathers once more in the dining-shack. The losing team and their rooters are absent from the throng. All are wondering where they can be, when suddenly from without comes the sound of a mournful song. The losing team and their friends enter the shack. All have tied deep black bands around their heads and their arms. Their banner is draped in black, and handkerchiefs are much in evidence. The song which they are singing is a short one, written by one of the girls just before lunch. "We thought we'd win that baseball game boo hool But now we have no claim to fame boo hool" The sad procession files into the shack amid a shout of applause. Everyone cheers the losers, and the losers cheer the winners, assuring them that there are no "hard feelings!" "Isn't it splendid?" remarks a visitor. "It means that those girls have learned how to take defeat." During the meal, the girls have a veritable song-fest, singing all the old songs they know and some new ones invented on the spur of the moment. After lunch, many of the girls pile on to a hay wagon for a long ride, while others build a huge camp fire on the top of a hill. The fire is not yet lighted that is to happen this evening. The girls on the hay wagon go bumping along for several miles, singing and laughing. At last they reach an old Indian trail. Here they dismount, ready for the climb. As they follow the narrow path the Leader tells them 24 8 GIRLS' CLUBS the legend of the Indian girl who once ran on this path to escape an unwelcome lover. She got away by climbing up a rock-and-root ladder. The girls are interested in the story of the long ago, and in the curious rock- forma- tions to which their Leader calls their attention. When at last they, too, have climbed the ladder and have come out into a large open field, they are quite ready for their picnic supper. What fun it is to eat outdoors, and how good the sandwiches taste ! Soon after supper, they climb into the hay wagon once more and start for the camp. The sun is rapidly sinking and they must get home for "Camp Fire." Many songs are sung on the homeward trip, and a new one is learned as a surprise at the "Camp Fire." Soon the white tents are seen through the trees, and a turn in the road brings them into camp. Calls are heard, urging them to "hurry up," as every one is ready. The wagon comes to a stop and the girls jump off, hurrying to their tents for blankets on which to sit. Out by the huge pile of wood, the other girls sit, singing heartily. The hay- ride girls find their places and join tfie others. The camp song-leader announces a song contest. Each tribe in camp is to sing the familiar camp songs and three judges will award the honors for the week. But first she will call the roll. As the name of each tribe is called, it answers with a singing response. Then the contest! The judges have the greatest difficulty in rendering a decision, so tuneful are the efforts of each tribe. The hayride girls sing their new song and the entire camp at once delightedly learns it. Now for the "Stunts!" One tribe announces some wonderful me- chanical dolls. The dolls appear and do all that their THE CLUB IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS 249 owner has claimed for them, and more. A small but talented cast gives a short melodrama, in alphabet style, followed by a Grand Opera soloist whose range, all agree, is remarkable! Now a girl in Indian costume stands up by the fire. With a torch, she lights it, calling in a musical voice. As the flame leaps up, other Indian girls steal in to sit by the fire. The girl who lighted the fire now turns toward the campers. In her hand she holds a paper! The camp eagerly waits for the reading of it. Many of them have sent in contributions. The editor begins: "Historic Clash on the Baseball Diamond this morn- ing. Society attends in large numbers." Not a word is missed. Editorials, advertisements, cartoons, per- sonals, fashion notes all are here, in the camp paper, written and edited by the girls themselves. The story of the last "Camp Fire" is written in the style of "Hiawatha." How picturesque it seems the young girl, in her Indian suit, standing by the beautiful fire ! As she reads, the fire gradually becomes less bright, and the stars have appeared above. When the last word of the Camp Echo has been read, the Head of the camp stands up by the fire. In her hand are the badges of honor, given to the groups who have kept their part of camp in the best order, and who have shown the best spirit in their camp life. There are badges for individual girls, too, who have gained prowess in the many activities. "And now," she says, when she has completed this list of honors, "I have two ribbons to give for the Big Sister honor. These go to the two girls who have been most thoughtful and considerate of others, who for two weeks have made us all happier because of the way in 250 GIRLS' CLUBS which they have lived here at Camp." She calls the names of the two girls. They step out in front. The Camp sings to them heartily. And the "Big Sisters" take the ribbons, pinning them to their sweaters. The honor of being a "Big Sister" is greatly prized by every- body. All is quiet as the camp Leader takes her seat, and another young girl rises by the side of the dying fire. She has a Bible in her hand. "I shall read a Psalm this evening," she says, "a Psalm which I think of almost every day here in camp." And she begins, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills." As the campers sit there upon the hill, they make a picture never to be forgotten. At the close of the read- ing, they softly sing a familiar hymn, and then steal off to their tents. Here the candles shine for a few moments ; then, one by one, they go out. Above them all, the "Mammy Moon" of their song looks down upon them all, watching them and promising them a happy to- morrow. CHAPTER X THE CLUB IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE GIRL THE meeting time of any Girls' Club, however active, is rarely more than one or two hours a week. What, then, of the many other hours when the Club members are out among other influences, some, unfortunately, not for the best? How can a Club become of such im- portance in a girl's life that it will be a vital factor in her everyday problems, that she will remember its ideals, no matter what she is doing? The Club which is extend- ing a wide influence of this kind is that one which is best fulfilling its purpose of real helpfulness to its girls. The keen interest of the Club Leader in all that the girls are doing is often a source of great inspiration to the members. They quickly respond to her friendli- ness and tell her of wha