The lights were subdued and somewhere offstage a piano intoned Mozart. Nodding beneath their powdered wigs, while they did the furtive heel-and-toe-and-one-two-three of the ambitious acolyte of the dance, the performers bowed in the minuet salute. Remarkably fat was the woman on the end, but to the intricate turns of the dance she brought a weight of poise for every pound of flesh. And as she and the others disappeared behind the cuclorama after this final number of the “Council House Frolics,” there was nothing left but to applaud.
One really must applaud the work of Mrs. William de Young Kay, chairman of the New York Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, and her colleagues in their Council House project in the Bronx. Through their agencies the drudging housewife may now approach her problems with intelligence, elevated from the status of perennial immigrant to that of enlightened unitized. At the disposal of the Council House Mothers’ Club are adult classes in the three R’s, cooking, art, child psychology, clinics in child care and feminine hygiene and a summer camp.
STARTED AS PLAY SCHOOL
Started six years ago as a play school for undernourished children, Council House met its own needs as it grew. It amused and fed the neighboring youths according to the lights of science and psychology. Meals, planned by trained dieticians, included such culinary burdens of childhood as carrots and spinach. And the little beneficiaries devoured the fare. Soon after the first dinner, curious mothers called at the center to demand the secret of the cook’s success.
“What was in last night’s meal that made an epicure of little Oscar?”
“Apple sauce, madam,??? was the polite reply.
“But I give him apple sauce and he won’t eat it. You put apples in it, don’t you? So Do I.”
After a comparison of recipes it was obvious that classes were required to show these women the ways of the new world.
“We had to bridge the gap between parents and their children.??? said Mrs. Kay. “At first they were shy. But that soon changed. When you really help people, go into their home???s know their lives, the results are amazing. Their initiative, too, is wonderful.”
As an example of that she recounted the founding of the Mothers’ Club Summer camp, a unique organization in these parts. The women made it possible through their parties, bazaars, club projects, cake sales and other permutations of domestic wills to establish a resort near Milford, Conn., within a year.
Upon the arrival of the pioneer contingent, the director, a member of the Council, called for volunteers t begin camp work. There was a deep silence in response. indignant at this lack of cooperation, she turned a hypnotic stare upon her would-be aides. But the eyes before here were all raised and the mouths open. it was the first time these women had seen the country. after the first surprise they behaved splendidly. It became a matter of course to see an elephantine matron in a bathing suit dashing about for firewood or darning baby’s socks on the diving board. And at the end of the allotted two weeks, the group composed a camp song, as lilting and rob-rash as you please, and left it there for a rival group to better.
It is interesting that this whole project was developed during the depression, and that its tremendous clientele is non-sectarian, although under the auspices of an organization of Jewish women. Emerging from a melee of obstacles, it has rendered bright the dregs of white-collar romance, making of Council House the rendezvous of the Bronx.
THE SUTTON PLAYERS
The Sutton players gave a performance last week, with Mrs. Charles Marcus of 1160 Park avenue playing her leading part so effectively that many members of the audience doubted her amateur standing.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
