Town And Country Recreation (1957)

[Music] if you haven't been in Spring Valley for a few years you'll probably be surprised at the changes remember the small town and the surrounding Farms that just didn't seem to be going anywhere well you'll be impressed now with many new things that will make you want to spend more time in the spring Valley area perhaps even the rest of your life it may be the homes with their cared for look or bustling Main Street or the plant that has taken on seven new men so far this year or it may be one of the nearby Farms also more prosperous than most even the corn is unusually high for this time of year we can tell that all crop yields will be good but if you're more Discerning than most the will be really apparent in the people of Spring Valley in the spirit with which they go about their chores the new pride in their work a feeling of purpose and you just know they like it here and they're going to stay in town you'll see it in the warmth of their greeting even to a stranger in the zest of their living and the tilt of their chins that seems to say bring on tomorrow go anywhere in town or far out into the country look closely at the people and you'll see that something has happened since your last trip something big that has affected everybody if you travel a lot you've probably seen a change like this before it's happening in many Town and Country communities these days but perhaps in most places it's not so easy to see how the change happened in Spring Valley it's quite a story it all started as it usually does with one man as it happened he was a physician young Dr Joe Gilbert perhaps his profession gave him a greater awareness of the needs of the community but it could just as easily have been a farmer or Merchant a minister or a farmand could have been anyone young Dr Joe's role in Spring Valley's future could have been filled by anyone who was sensitive to the physical and emotional well-being of his fellow men anyone who sees the Town and Country as a single community and who studies its problems with a concern deep enough to make him want to take action morning Joel hi Dad Amy here yet no we ought to talk to her about that Mrs Miller have a baby last night no thought maybe you were up all night we were in the city yesterday your mother bought some things for the children she'll probably drop in on Mars today fine driving to the city sure isn't my idea the way to spend a day off but mother enjoys it I guess look are you going to tell me what's wrong Sam Higgin stopped by yesterday oh his back bothering him again no mostly he wanted to talk he wanted you but when you weren't here he stayed and talk to me anyway about what Dad Sam and Martha are only a few years older than you and Mom I've known him since I was a kid and there isn't anybody more vigorous or full of life yes as sound as you could expect at their age both of them physically yes but Sam hasn't been the same in the last year or two you know what he asked for last night sleeping pills for Martha said she's Restless nervous poor digestion Martha well not just for her when I pressed him he finally admitted that he wanted them too what did you give him luminal sodium quarter grain B well it won't hurt him any but that W eliminate the problem either you know that as well as I do Joe this is an area of medicine that you and I can't do it's just one of those things when a man reaches retirement age and his children have grown up and moved away there's bound to be a feeling of emptiness and futility it's just plain boredom dad and it's not their fault it's the whole community dad I've noticed it ever since I got back when you've been away and seen other places you realize it Dad this community is dead but we have to do something about it not just for Sam and Martha and everybody their age but for young adults middle-aged everybody how many of the physical symptoms we see every day stem from the same cause if you look deep enough hypertension headaches indigestion and we're only beginning I'm not talking about the obvious mental disorders and what about the youngsters especially when summer comes ear infections from swimming at the pond you know there's a lot more to it than that a healthy outlook on life emotional stability the fact that the the pressures of daily living are constantly becoming greater and the fact that we have more and more time to think about our problems we've known for years that wholesome Recreation is a basic human need exactly but now I'm going to do something about it goodness knows something has to be done yes you know it and maybe I know it but this is everybody's problem but somebody has to start it Joe spring Valley's been waiting for someone like you but if you succeed we're going to have to find a new profession a merry heart doeth good like a [Music] medicine it's surprising when you have a really good idea how many neighbors you'll find who've been concerned with the same problem hoping for a solution and anxious to help all it takes is one person who will let enough people know that their problem is shared by many others and that all the others are looking for the answer too but now they need not look alone they can look together all ages all interests now all with a common desire for Action desire for action will usually find its focus in a committee formed to explore the whole problem thoroughly and make a start toward its solution the exact makeup of the committee will of course vary from one Community to the next but successful Recreation committees usually include such persons as the editor of the local newspaper a member of the school board or School principal and a minister or priest naturally concerned with the welfare of the community all interests in the community should be represented with spokesmen from leading organizations such as service clubs and lodges the PTA women's clubs Church groups leading farmers representatives of the various farmer groups businessmen perhaps the president of the Chamber of Commerce youngsters too should have a voice in the planning anyone who recognizes the need for recreation and who can be counted on to carry a project through to completion out of such a group there's at least one person who's especially well qualified to serve as chairman it's not important that he have a knowledge of recreation more important are enthusiasm organ organizational ability and a talent for serving a spokesman for the group with a good chairman whose opinions will be respected and representation of all ages and all interests in Town and Country the needs are all too easily pinpointed I think what we need in this community most of all is a swimming pool and a tennis court let's get going on it I don't know Sam and how do we know what we really need most that's right I'm not sure any of us has the answer isn't there some way we can get some professional help on this someone who really knows Recreation I think there is I've already started checking into it and if it's all right with everyone else Frank why don't you let me go ahead and contact these people good idea good idea I can see if we can find a consultant or someone someone who'll come down here and talk to us well that's fine doc maybe we can have someone here for our next meeting a recreation consultant key of guidance in any well-planned Recreation program there is such a professional Recreation specialist available to every Town and Country Community all it takes is a letter to one of the government agencies or professional groups that promote public Recreation at your meeting he could be from the State Recreation Commission State Board of Education or University extension service or perhaps the state professional Recreation organization or the professional recreator from a nearby town and the presence of this Authority brings out everybody's questions and ideas all at once wait a minute the thing we all should remember is that we're not trying to set up a new organization or bring anything new into the community all we want to do is find out a better way to take advantage of what you already have I know you have certain needs or you probably wouldn't have called me in but unless Spring Valley is totally unlike like any other town or country Community I've ever seen your needs are more than matched by your resources so our first job is to find out what your needs and resources are I wouldn't spend one cent on facilities or anything else until we do find out that means a complete Recreation analysis here I'll show you a complete Recreation analysis the recreation needs and desires of everyone in town and the existing facilities to serve those needs that's the first step and a simple questionnaire planned with the help of the consultant will do it a simple questionnaire plus a lot of effort by many volunteers to interview as many people as possible to get the facts facts about the people their family living habits because Recreation is best as a family affair they're present recreation activities because a sound program is built on those worthwhile habits already established their preferences for recreation activities a good survey reveals Recreation desires never mentioned before even to members of the family here are the human statistics of community need in all its depth and variety a sound basis for planning but the benefits are far more than statistical just talking to people about Recreation generates increased interest and enthusiasm new support for the recreation idea and it's here that you begin to uncover your community's Human Resources you'll find some who have a hobby they're willing and anxious to share here are potential leaders in your community persons who have much to offer in the way of special skills and training abilities perhaps long since forgotten interests that can be rekindled here are untapped resources in every community your volunteer leaders for the program the people are asking for a second phase of the analysis is a survey of physical needs and resources in almost any Community one does not have to look far to find inadequate facilities physical needs are almost self-apparent but here again every Town and Country Community has its physical resources too untapped resources that would be the Envy of any Metropolitan Community buildings that lie idle all or part of the time no planning can be done until you've taken stock of your community's total needs and resources but when you have those facts the needs and the resources you can be sure your sound basis analyzing the facts you've gathered is a job that calls for the guidance of the professional recreator he can help you evaluate such factors as population Trends Financial considerations Community Resources you can see that Spring Valley has much more in the way of resources than you might have expected you have the activities of the churches the schools the organizations the golf club in addition to the tremendous untapped resources that we've found the leadership potential and so on now what we must do is to pool those resources expand the activities make them available to the entire Community seems pretty obvious then that what we need most is someone to take charge run the whole shooting match a recreation superintendent exactly with qualified leadership you can have good yearr round programs even with limited facilities and with definite economies in the long run well if we're all agreed let's investigate the possibility of hiring a full-time Recreation director find out how much it'll cost where we can get one completing the analysis is a matter of thorough investigation and discussion and all the problems involved in setting up a recreation program solved one by one comes the complete Recreation of a report that in all of the committee's basic recommendations your community recreation Council proposes one that Recreation be recognized as a basic need of the community to be supported through regular tax sources two that a fiveman recreation board be appointed to serve as the governing body three that a qualified Recreation superintendent be employed directly responsible to the board four that additional the appraisal is usually a springboard for Action it contains concrete proposals agreed on by the entire committee now the effort has a direction and a drive now volunteers can show all the people what they can do to get the program they want there are still a few obstacles like the inevitable question how do we pay for all this but the basic truth is Recreation pays for itself sometimes a recreation district is formed with neighboring communities getting together to share the cost sometimes public funds are available for recreation immediately but the per capita cost is amazingly small and more often than not the people pick up this Challenge and raise money by volunteer efforts until funds are available from regular tax sources the Only Rule is that where people people really want the benefits of community recreation they'll find some way to solve financial problems even the fundraising activities themselves can bring some of the benefits of recreation a feeling of personal accomplishment the satisfaction that comes with working together toward a common [Music] goal the day the recreation superintendent arrived was the start of a new life in Spring Valley this man faced the most demanding and exacting Challenge and he was most carefully selected he must be administrator planner teacher counselor in the very smallest communities it may be necessary for him to serve in some additional capacity but in no case should Recreation be considered a secondary responsibility with the growing Recreation needs of persons of all ages the job more and more requires a trained specialist concentrating on his most important job he's responsible only to the recreation board working closely with them he's free to develop all those resources uncover during the survey and Appraisal by planning facilities far into the future working toward a long range goal you'll get much more for your Recreation dollar some communi is can start right out with a building program perhaps a complete recreation center but most can afford no such luxury they must work toward that goal bit by bit beginning with the one most needed facility adding to it over the years it's surprising how much you can accomplish with volunteer labor donated materials and Equipment building a multi-purpose hard surface play area converting unused land into a park remodeling an old school into a recreation ation Hall there are many facilities that can be acquired with very little cash expenditure but facilities alone do not make Recreation fortunate indeed for the Town and Country Community what better nature laboratory and Club room is there than the Great Outdoors how fortunate that any body of water meeting Health requirements is an outdoor pool with natural advantages unsurpassed so long as there is the program that provides the necessary supervision and cannot a school or church building idle most of the week serve well as a community center or recreation hall provided there is the program that makes the best use of what is already there as the program gains momentum additional leadership is required and now the recreation superintendent starts to use the human resources discovered during the survey but first he trains them carefully in the philosophy and theory of recreation and in practice and the entire Community benefits the participants discover the values of recreation far beyond their expectations and the volunteer leaders enjoy a most important game an outlet for the natural desire to bring pleasure to others benefits that cannot be measured in any way known to man what greater satisfaction than to share a lifelong pleasure with others whose life ahead will be enriched as yours is by the knowledge and skill you share with [Music] them Sports and games provide an outlet for man's competitive instincts as well as the natural desire of the individual to participate in group activities but fundamental in lifelong enjoyment of sports is the need to learn the basic skills of sports good leadership and a good program provides this instruction and it doesn't stop with the changing seasons because Recreation needs continue throughout the year a good program is balanced with full activities for All Seasons all ages and all interests particip ation in quartets choruses instrumental groups and other musical activities satisfies a basic human urge just as Dramatics and pageants provide creative outlets for personal satisfaction and the entertainment of others story hours discussion and hobby groups answer a universal desire for new experiences and so it is with all activities in a well-rounded Recreation program whether participation is on an individual family or group basis each person derives whatever it is he needs new purpose in life new reason to look forward to tomorrow a sense of accomplishment greater appreciation of the world around him a feeling of belonging recognition that gives one new stature as a person the closer relationship that develops in the family when its members learn how to get more out of life together by learning how to play together the values continue to grow as families get together to share each other's resources now they have a new reason to get together and learn to understand each other better by enjoying their leisure time together and opportunities that once were open to only a few are made available to all more and more a new spirit seems to spread throughout the community even today spring Valley's Recreation program continues to develop and mature just as any social moral or spiritual Force must continue to grow with the community it starts with one man grows to Encompass everyone in town and far out into the country and then grows with the community's inevitable growth in ever growing numbers there are those who are making critical appraisals of their own communities if you too want your community to be a better place place to raise your family if you're concerned with making it possible for every person to lead a richer healthier happier life it becomes your obligation to determine whether your community is taking full advantage of all the rich resources that are the natural heritage of every Town and Country community [Music] time