Building A Rural Community Center (1954)

[Music] you West Hampton Massachusetts is a rural town tucked into the hill but sloped sharply up from the Connecticut River Valley its houses many of them more than 150 years old they're the strong imprint of early New England craftsmen some of the names of West Hampton families are as old as the houses or older dating to the first years of the community but change the names change the style of the houses and West Hampton could be any one of a thousand small towns in rural America there is a church a single general store nearby one three-room school serves the town's younger generation the 423 citizens and its voters lists are by and large farmers and the families of farmers like their counterparts throughout the nation they are held close to home by the daily care of their stock and the tending of their crops thus though they may have an easier gentler pace of living and their City cousins their ties to the land often keep them from entertainments and social activities but city dwellers enjoy this does not have to be so a man was selected from this area to see what could be done to provide for rural people's artistic recreational and educational needs mr. Harold watts a man with a degree of Master of Education and community organization was chosen by the rural Research Institute to work with the community this building and grounds were set up as the Hampshire County Center in West Hampton several years ago I came to West Hampton to start what was called a research project in rural activities my assignment was to find out what the needs of the people in West Hampton were and then do something about those needs we began with an old empty house and a new wide-open idea let me show you in only a few years the hampshire county center has served thousands of people but in the fall of 1949 both the house and the idea needed a lot of work it was hard to know where to begin five small boys were the start of the program and the center has been busy ever since from the very beginning it has been the people of the community who advised what the center's program should be many existing rural agencies have found help in realizing their various programs here first aid is one of the many things that has contributed to the success of the center mrs. watts who is a registered nurse has taught home nursing as well as the Red Cross first aid classes the center has aided 4-h clubs Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in many of their projects once the people's needs and desires were known mr. and mrs. Watts helped translate them into action for example in cooperation with the West Hampton mothers club the center has made possible a kindergarten unusual in a community of 400 most of the equipment easels blocks and blackboards have been made right here using simple and inexpensive materials but not only the children's equipment is made this way for the tables also built at the centre do double duty with easily added leg extensions the tables are quickly raised to normal height for the parents so that the room can get its maximum use since the first five boys appeared at the Hampshire County Center attendance has passed 11,000 split apart equally between young people and adults [Music] with every age group although pride in their projects is important it has been found that probably the most important fact of all is working together getting to know more people and enjoying each other's company well the women work upstairs down below the men begin a class and methods remember to keep it training too much pounding in one spot will weaken the metal and it'll spit on you just keep it turning slowly and evenly see Harold I'd like to get a high glossy finish on mine how would I do that okay Jamie I'll show you know what we're gonna do is do it finely put it on from its very start the center's biggest theme has been to make itself a model on which other community centers can be patterned for this reason crafts that demands special and hard-to-get materials or expensive tools and equipment have been avoided a hardwood baseball bat can make mallets for metal the value of hobbies learned here is multiplied many times if a person can continue them at home with tools he has or can make scrap wood can be jigsaw and fashioned into hundreds of items such as letter openers or napkin rings an end of copper piping may become a bracelet wall bracket or a candleholder by keeping methods and materials simple it has been easy to train leaders in these crafts these leaders then teach the clubs and groups to which they belong and individuals take into their homes the same created pastimes for members of their families to learn in three years knowledge learned at the center has spread an ever widening circles far beyond the county boundaries the Hampshire County Center programs serve as laboratory tests for a series of pamphlets which any community may obtain only after the actual accomplishments of say a class in woodworking is the experience of teaching it assembled for publication written for the non expert volunteer group leader a guide to serve similar community centers in any town these pamphlets will continue to be issued as different programs are completed at the center other publications covers still other aspects of rural research to help guide the activities this community center has called upon various important people in the community to serve on the board of directors here are the photographs of still another project under study it is the removal of snow from sidewalks by electrical heat a test sidewalk strip was put down by mr. watts according to designs by electrical and steel engineers and aided by the local electric company the cable providing the radiant heat is wire rope which is readily available in most communities [Music] concrete was poured directly over the wire rope this photograph shows how the electrical heat melts the snow a continuing survey is being made on this project these booklets like furniture refinishing are simple and easy to follow let's see how this one works out in practice many of barn and Attic holes discarded furniture that can be brought back to useful life while providing satisfying creative craft work as it is taught at the center refinishing in foods repairs missing pieces are replaced warp surfaces straightened and split wood reglue the first step however is getting the old finish all four legs of tables and runs of chairs scrapers are best while for most flat surfaces paint and varnish remover is necessary it must be spread in only one direction on small areas at a time after 15 minutes the finish can be removed with a broad-bladed putty knife [Music] after 15 minutes the finish can be removed with a broad-bladed putty knife [Music] finally the surface is flushed with remover then wipe with burlap or coarse steel wool the P should be sanded to a satin smooth finish using medium sandpaper first and then find the oil finish is a favorite simple to do although it takes time the first coat a mixture of 1/3 turpentine to 2/3 boiled linseed oil is applied with soft lint-free rags and rubbed until the wood has absorbed it all in a few days when the coat is thoroughly soaked in a mixture of 1 hat shellac and 1/2 alcohol is applied when dry it is rubbed with fine steel wool two more coats are applied after which it is waxed and now from a discarded useless item a fine piece of furniture has been made at little expense and not too great an effort there are other reclamation projects the usually tricky technique of stenciling has been simplified at the center and several West Hampton homes have trays in use which were literally salvaged from the junk heap in this demonstration tray the upper right half has been left exactly as it was 5 while in the lower left portion holes have been filled in the tray completely redecorated the sewing-machine Clinics of Hampshire County Center have been of real service to women of the community all right ladies you won't need to worry about having any special mechanical Talent you won't need it in the last two years we've put several hundred machines back in running condition in our clinics and none of the ladies was a garage mechanic as far as I know now we'll take it slowly pot by pot first look on the left-hand side of your machine many machines allowed to get out of adjustment or slightly rusted are abandoned as useless a day spent like this in simple reconditioning and readjusting brings them back to life and ready for years more service the varieties of uses and services to which a community center can be port is apparently endless Hampshire counties has introduced children to the fun of camping out at first in the Indian village and the center's grounds and later in state parks far from home the center has scheduled excursions for boys and girls to many places of interest in New England besides adults arts and crafts classes it has initiated self-perpetuating programs of leader training for both adults and children on Fridays for instance older children are briefed as leaders of the younger prize Saturday morning clubs some of the young leaders are only a few years older than their pupils the children are grouped in classes with such names as the flying fingers and the busy bees their accomplishments show how much can be done with little or no expense for materials and tools candle making is another inexpensive activity [Music] all this from a simple start an empty house and a wide-open idea even the house is not vital if any space at all can be had and no community needs search hard for ideas of what to do the people themselves supply those crafts and hobbies artistic appreciation or just plain fun [Music] we have tried to show you how our Center developed in Westhampton serving the countryside for miles around you could do the same thing in your town the plan of role research is to go on developing new programs distilling our experiences into these booklets available without charge to any community that would like to start a center think of us as a pattern a testing ground for the best way of bringing interesting useful and pleasurable programs to the people of rural America [Applause]