MAKE WAY FOR YOUTH

[Music] if you've ever been in a small town in the midwest on saturday night you have a pretty good idea of what mine looks like the sidewalks won't hold everybody it's a friendly crowd a man will say hello to another man and ask his wife who was that fella i just spoke to children get sleepy while the grown-ups stand around and talk winder shop or see a westernist medicine in this town for 25 years sunday night's always my busiest time the sick get restless and lonely when everybody else is stern they want to be sure they're coming along fine yeah the whole town likes to know what's coming fine we all want a peaceful place to live and raise our families and we have it but we had to work for it because this wasn't a peaceful town a year ago we had trouble it flared up on a saturday night high school boys fought a pitched battle on a back street this was the fever from an infection called prejudice kids from the south end of town fought their bitter enemies from the north side [Applause] [Music] when the fight was over ed crandall's boy frank lay quiet on the street [Music] somebody telephoned ed he got there as fast as he could i knew the boy signed his birth certificate 17 years ago brought him through measles and took his tonsils out the boys who fought against each other waited all night for frank there wasn't anything more i could do for him he died before we could operate [Music] ed didn't want me to drive him home he said he'd walk i understood we've known each other a long time and i knew that ed was thinking hard under his grief by now of course the whole town knew what was on his mind that night ed couldn't believe that his son had enemies frank was a friendly good-natured boy why would he fight those kids from the other side of town the other side of town that was it ed crandall's boy died why because there was an invisible fence standing between two neighborhoods ed was a lonely man dazed and shocked by the real reason behind his loss he began to think of some other fences he had seen in this town that day in the candy kitchen where the high school kids hang out a fence was there separating one race from another [Music] it didn't seem too important at the time just an incident or was it a symptom of an evil growth on the character of our kids now it began to understand the meaning of other incidents he had seen there was the day he looked in on football practice [Music] the coach read off the names of the boys who've made the varsity team frank crandall pullback bill o'connor right tackle and jerry kaplan quarterback most of the losers took it gracefully but johnny stetson didn't he'd worked hard for the position jerry earned but when he didn't get it his prejudices blinded his sportsmanship another fence this one between two religions ed crandall's editor of our daily newspaper he thinks square and he's not afraid of facts when he sees them the night his son died the facts came home with a heart crushing jolt ed laid them bare with the tools at his command he wrote a fence busting editorial for the front page that's how the whole town learned what was on his mind like everybody else i clipped the editorial dear mayor it began this won't be a very formal letter i don't feel very formal i just lost my son because there are fences in this town fences between neighborhoods races religions together we've got to tear these fences down somehow we've got to get our kids working together as americans right now the next morning ed's editorial was on the desk of betty ainsworth betty's the secretary of the community welfare council's recreation division it reminded her of a youth program she knew about maybe that was the answer to ed's editorial she made the first move by calling a meeting of the recreation division to explain the idea the idea of a youth council composed of teenage delegates from all the youth serving organizations let this youth council be directed by the kids themselves she said and let a few adults advise them when advice is needed phil greenberg a businessman interested in kids john latham city commissioner parks liked the idea mrs simmons of the campfire girls and fred andrews of the board of education agreed that it was worth a try mrs duncan wasn't so sure her point was that adults should take complete charge otherwise the kids would get out of control carrie young dismissed the idea as impossible entirely benny was present because she knew what kids can do john argued that kids must learn to think for themselves and make their own mistakes that checked with phil he thought the youth agency city and voluntary alike would welcome a chance to see their groups working together at that point mrs duncan changed her mind finally the committee decided to accept the idea that he presented to give the youth council a try in our town it was a real event that first meeting of delegates the kids came from the well-to-do part of town the not-so-well-to-do sections and from a section some people call the swamp a lot of fences between neighborhoods were kicked full of holes that day the kids were delegates from the ymca the ywca the jewish community center boy scouts girl scouts junior red cross 4-h clubs youth hostels future homemakers and campfire girls the high schools church clubs and settlements sent delegates and that accounted for every youth organization in town the kids got right down to business election of offices went smoothly but framing a constitution wasn't so easy every paragraph that was suggested touched off debate but they argued it through to the finish feeling their way along advisor fred andrews could hardly keep quiet in that first meeting he did quite a lot of listening when the chairman finally hit a snag and asked for help fred felt pretty important [Music] after the meeting the newly elected officers posed for ed crandall's news photographer on the steps of the city hall pepper monroe was the first youth council president jerry kaplan was vice president kathy clark secretary amy trent another vice president and warren westover treasurer i should say stuffy westover that's what the kids call him he's my youngest boy well a few weeks later the council called a final meeting on the constitution meanwhile the delegates reported back to their separate organizations and when they convened again they ratified their constitution [Music] my son who seems to get most of his bright ideas when i'm not present suggested a big get-together of all the kids in town to have fun and learn what the youth council was all about another delegate proposed that the shindig be held in the ywca the biggest hall in town nobody opposed that some more fences were going down [Music] the big get together was an unexpected hit with everybody so successful in fact that it embarrassed the council officers they had to turn some of the guests away at the door the committee got together in a huddle here was the biggest place in town but it just wasn't big enough the kids really wanted to get together it was clear that none of their organization had facilities large enough to take care of the crowd why not get a place of their own with everyone chipping in their enthusiasm took a nosedive when they learned that the housing shortage was real and applied to everybody every member of the council went out hunting real estate but results were discouraging until jerry and amy found a warehouse that was owned by the town the building was filled with dusty old equipment but the kids were sure they could fix it up my boy warren came up with another one of his big ideas to go direct to the town council and ask for that warehouse well pepper monroe did the talking i understand he asked the town fathers if there were any reasons why the youth council shouldn't get the warehouse there were what about remodeling and upkeep pepper didn't exactly know what about fire regulations who's going to administer the building pepper fumbled for the answers but he wasn't prepared that warehouse is for equipment not for jitterbugs that stunk this was one of the times when paul bauer wished somebody else were mayor he told the kids to get more facts they walked out of there three spanked kids with their heads full of problems like fire laws building maintenance administration and taxes spanked but not linked they wish they'd talked to their advisors first it still wasn't too late they called an emergency wiener roast meeting the advisors got royal treatment as usual stuffy wasn't hungry that evening he told me the advisors knew exactly how to handle the warehouse problem a complete campaign was mapped out not only to get facts but support from the townspeople first the youth council organized a speaker's bureau to spread their ideas to the women's clubs unions pda vets everybody pepper was booked right away for a speech at a men's luncheon club next jerry went to the municipal engineering department to get facts about remodeling the warehouse repairing it and maintaining it then the question of money came up the town's welfare council recommended the project to the recreation commission the commission provided funds for remodeling and upkeep then the community chest offered a temporary director while this was going on all the kids went to the people for support they rang doorbells all over town they made a lot of new friends people of all nationalities and races of all religions and different points of view encouragement and support came from ministers of all denominations in town from the local parish priest and from the rabbis the whole town warmed up to those kids and the kids warmed up to the town their enthusiasm bubbled up in a weekly column they wrote for ed crandall's newspaper a column with humor surefire news value and for readers of all ages the campaign brought results mayor bowers was bombarded with letters asking why the kids couldn't have the old warehouse paul told me that everyone felt that kids were more important than idol equipment then the youth council with a full backing of their organizations sent the mayor a formal and carefully thought out petition in the end the people and the facts had their way the teenagers and the adults agreed that there was a real need for a large center where members of all youth organizations could get together betty tells me this is necessary in many towns and most youth councils don't have to undertake a building project right off the reel the kids planned a gala opening of their new place that week there was a mysterious shortage of paint brushes and stepladders all over town the housewives had no dust claws and the hardware store did a land office business the kids hammered and painted for days the tensions and hostile feelings that used to divide them melted away as they work together when they gave their headquarters to adult groups four nights a week i knew they were recognizing other people's needs too [Music] i heard in a roundabout way that my son discovered a hidden talent in himself i think the less said about that the better [Music] as i see it the youth council has helped to make fine citizens of our kids they've taken an interest and pride in our town that has strengthened the whole community it's always been a neat looking town but the kids decided it should look a little neater that's how the big cleanup campaign was started [Music] thanks to the kids were a town with not only a clean face but an understanding and a kind heart the youth council helped organize welcome stranger clubs in the schools and now when a teenager comes to town he's welcome shown around and accepted as one of the gang and then just about the time everybody was wondering what the kids would do next they came up with a gesture of gratitude and a contribution to our common future to thank the town for its cooperation the kids went out on the edge of town to plant trees where trees were needed [Music] charlie hansen supervised the job he's been a forest ranger for 45 years and the gang was his command fred andrews saw to it that there was music to work by he arranged for the board of education's loudspeaker system there they were charlie brown mary gallucci jack rosenbaum mike o'hara hank plowsky kids from all parts of town working together having fun together the spirit was contagious the grown-ups couldn't stay away harry young the fellow said it wouldn't work turned a hand to make it work the doings of these youngsters and their youth council have been a tonic for this town the kind of tonic that democracy needs from north and south east and west from all parts of town people were getting together what are differences when there's work to be done what's the difference if arms are black or white if they belong to catholics protestants or jews just so long as they're steady and willing to work together and not against one another it's been a year since ed's boy was killed it's been a year since the fight on the football field but johnny stetson and jerry kaplan now partners in all youth council projects planted a tree together a tree's being planted here too a young tree with tender roots and twigs it seems to me that our way of life is like this tree we've got to tend it in mutual friendship and trust it can only grow strong when you and i care for it together its roots thrusting deep into the land we love its branches reaching upward into the fresh clean air of freedom foreign