Wilmette Life (Wilmette, Illinois), 20 Jul 1933, p. 6

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J IY 1-'* Iyai Editor WitmE'rrE Lin: In answer te Mr, E. F. Briggs let- ter Ii iJuly l3th issue of WIiÎNEir LIIFE, wishi to state as a former inem- ber of. the' Wilmnette Board of, Trus- tees that the réal reason 'that. Wil- mette is not, now usingý, near the amount of water estimated .in the Water Bulletin of 1931 is becausé the residents west of the C. & N. W. tracks cannot get 'it during the dry summer months. I operated a drug. store on the corn er of Ridge road and Lake :ave- nue froni 1924 te 1932 and in '1930 1 knov thereý were over a dozen evçr nings When it wasfnot possible gît any1 water, through theý faucets il the store froni 7:30'p. mn. te 10 p. in., and on other warmn nights through~ the summer season the pressure was se low. that it Was nearly impossible to draw water'for..drinking purposes at. my soda fountain. Now tha.t. was inconvenient. So was thé fact that my neighbors in the west section cotald g'et ne water for dcimestit pur- poses during that tume. But the real worry was the ire hazard. If a fire should have started anywhere in the Ridgeavenue section it would have been abgolutely impossible -to have saved a thing during these times, which in itself should be reason enoughi for aIl members of the Board of Trustees to exert every effort. toward a solution of the water ques- tion. Every resident in the above section *wanted and would have been per- fectly happy te pay for more water but they had no choice because Ev- anston could not supply the demand. Hlad the pressure been adequate- I arn quite sure that the residents west of the, tracksr wouldhave used at least one-third more water during the summer season than they now are uùsing. This water shortage still exists -in, the western -area and will exist untîl Wilmefte's water plant is operating. The abov'is the reason why as a member of the Wilmette Board of Trustees 1 exerted every effort dur- ing the years of 1939-31 te get a home-owned water works plant for comparison betweén the 'beach as il now is and as it was in what seems -to me a happier pas t. My recollection of the water-front -some ten or more years ago is in most -respects, Elysian. We were. ac- -customéd at that tume to wade, swim, e, jump waves, picnic; or play, very e nearly anywherewe pleased,' froni é the'incompleted park 'near the canfal *on 'the south to Gage's pier on thé. y north. The prototype of the present regulated area of beach existed then, edistinguishable froni, the beach in -general-by the Presence, of a :bath Ihouse, a life line, and a lifeguard or ý&o. Those who preferred, could Iôckrs.And small çhildren i who came to the beach without their parents were assured of safety withinf 1 its limits. If onie had, drowned inside sits. boundaries, I suppose the, Park -board would. have felt culpable. B ut sas for the rest of the long expanse of 5beach, one was free to swim'where tand how one pleased, andl any ac- Scident that resulted was looked upon it H* gntly as the con sequence of a lfreee and individual act. In brief, as I recaîl the beach of those days, it,provided excellent saf e- guards f#W extremely young and the extre Y~y stupid within a certain regulated area, an~d outside that area any individual -who wished could take his life and bis conduct into his own hands and have a thoroughly enjoy- able time. If you chose to leave your'clothes on the sand, it did not distress. the Village fathers. If you waded out to your iteck on a whoop- ingly rough 4day, no ejectment follow- ed. If you stihsequently built a bon- ire for the purpose of prepai-ing sanded frankiurters and scorched mashmnallows, no.policemnan quenched the flames. Even-I dare say-if an ex-governor of the Commonwealth had visited the beach in search of a cause for litigation, lie could not have found one. For- we had flot yet'd- veloped toward our remoter neigh- bors that'attitude so redolenit of the reégard of the frontiersman for the Indian. We did not fancy that we bore the white man's burden. We seem to me to have got along, very well on the simple hypothesis that, since the And winînin tese cornnrng Iliis there is neither peace nor pleasure. Suspended in the water is a palpable mass of dlay from the excavation on wvhich the beach abuts. On the sand is the soot that blows over f rom the. same, source. A plethora of life-, guards strain their eyesand voices in pursuit'of minor infràctiObs. of minute regulations, and, policemen, to whomn more urbane vocatives than "Hey, you!' are unfamiliar, reinforce. conm- mands withi the person, if tiot thed<ig- nity of0te law. One may flot swim,, save in the. crowded lane betwe.ený raft andl life mne., The young may 11 1ot club upon the 'raft, even when evidently-better swimmners than their ý-eIders. Youth may flot throw youth into the, vatcr,' nor dive over anyone, n or under any- one, nor. in certain directions, etc., etc. To rest the weight of the body on a.life line'is a misdemeanor, and to loosen, a shoulder strap is tol invite incarceration. If the locker check is carried concealed for a moment ini theýhand, the outcome is an argument with the police as to whether one has a right to tread the sands. If one washes one's feet a yard or two out- side the technical boundaries, one is whistled at and herded back ,into conformity. Thou shaît flot mun, nor play games, nor leave a towel to pro- tect thy cigarets, for the Park board, thy God, is a jealous God. Lt need flot be said that hie who wvould go to the beach on a rough day for that niost venerable of sports, bucking the waves, is an optimist and an imbecile. On the occasion of cer-i tain mildly rough days, the authorities appear~ to permit adults to wade in to a depth of perhaps ten inches, where they may stand and pretend to enjoy it. What the penalty would be for going out to the children'.s life' une I cannot imagine. And as for a picnIic under any circunistances, I1 am con- vinced that electrocution must, be, .andatôryin the. local court, 50 in- conceivable..is such a diversion. I have no quarrel with beach regulated for the chiidren too young to be rg a bathing safety 0f] tives are app pres ident. ,te' I JohriSton la Chafrmia Members of the board whô served from May 1, 1932 to May 1, 1933 were : R.* M. Johnston, chairman and reresentative at large,, Henry *Fow- 1er,. Park board, repré'sentatwie.:, Mrs., Herbert J. Leach, Fepresentatiye at large; George E. Leal, board oif-edu-, cation representative; Stacy. C. Ben- nett (deceased), Village boardrepre- sentative. Harry C. Kinine was ap- pointed to fulil the unexpired -terni of. Mr. Bennett. Need Siielter Hlouse- Each of the recreational acti.vities is- explained in detail' by Mr. Davis in his eleven-page report and at the, end of his explanations he lists two important improve. nents which he> hopes to achieve for the recreation. departmnent'during the, enuing year. They are a drinking fountain and shelter. house at the Village Green playground,1 and mfore tennis courts. Both of these needs are imnperative Mr. Davis adds and should b achieved before another summer. In his list' of acknowledgements, r..Davis expresses his appreciation to the entire official group of the Village of Wilmette, especially to Village President C. P. Dubbs; Vil-. lage Manager C. M. Qsborn, the Vil- lage :board, the board of education, and the Park board. He also pays tribute to WILMETTE LJËF for publjcity afforded the board during the year. This acknowledge- ment reads as follows.: "The director wishies to extend his thanks to Mr, Lloyd Hollister of Lloyd Hollister Inc., and to Mr. E. W. Weber, editor of WILMeETT LIFE. for the generous publicity afforded the Playground and Recreation board' during the. past ye 1ar. Two pa ges were alloted this. board each week in the' above. pa .Per and. news of the various activities were kept befoire the public under, the tities of JUN-ioR .Lie and Ngws oh RECREATION AcTivi- TIF. I should like to question whether this encomium of Wilmette's bathing *facilities is not eulogistic beyond the facts. I amn no longer a resident of Wilmette, and I can theiefore write properly only as an expatriate; but1 almost, every, summer. I revisit this * Villags el 1 grew u p, and I feeli it myseit, and I venture to suggest à.- - Dwiigh .Ctnan,1 J., that anyone who finds a bronzed tom- Dwigh ElW. wood anue.r so too lascivious for. endurance is90 lwoavne not to be taken seriously, except as potential cas e-material for psycho- Mr. and Mrs. Albert Frost of New patholo)gy. York, formerLWilmnette residents, week- 0f ýlate,*'and especially. this sum- ended with the Albert Websters Of 1601 mner, I fiod the picture much changed. Tenth street recently. * -o-0 Catherine Taft entertained. at a bridge luncheon Wednesday of last week at her home, .900 Central avenue, in hnorof arian Megginson of St. Louis and Martha Miller of Cleveland wvho2 are visiting in' Wilmhette.

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