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National Geographic : 1919 Aug
Contents
THlE GEOGRAPHY OF GAMES try, and commerce, to weld these motifs into a game that puts a premium on skill, yet admits of infinite va riety; that rawest youth or trained ath lete may play; and that Presidents and S office boys steal away to watch. THE PLAYGROUND'S BIRTHPLACE If the Greeks paved the way for classic art by teaching adults to play and Great Britain followed in her footsteps with a more spontaneous and democratic fervor, America now appears as the most forward looking nation in her attention to children's playgrounds. In fact, the playgrounds for children may be con sidered the distinctive contribution of this country to the world's play. To gather statistics of play is like count ing the sands of the sea or the children of the nation; but it is TAKING A significant of the An officer of Cap awakening interest in Sea Islands, he har play to note that in they fell into the 1918 more than 400 them. Other trink cities maintained men and women d under the water sc nearly 4,000 p 1 a y- garding them as air grounds, and the chil dren who found relaxation on 340 of these playgrounds from which reports were had on any one day would have numbered scarcely less than the total population of Boston. Moreover, this was but a fraction of the opportunities for normal play, for it does not take into account the thousands of boys' clubs and provisions for their special clientele which churches, parishes, private schools, and organizations like the Photograph by Paul Thompson II EADER AT A FANCY DIVING MEET tain Cook's crew tells how, on a trip to the South ided some beads to a six-year-old youngster and vater. The child plunged from her canoe after ets were thrown into the water and the native ived for them, showing such skill and staying Long that the English "could scarcely help re phibious." Y. M. C. A., Boy Scouts, Knights of Columbus, and numerous others make. One of the most characteristic adjuncts of the American school, city, town, or country district is its playground; and few are the city parks where the old "Keep Off the Grass" signs have not been superseded by invitations to play, and special provisions for games. There is nothing artificial about the games taught to children on American 121
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