Throughout the early years of the Garden Club of the Back Bay, much effort was expended attempting to encourage building owners to beautify their front yards. In conjunction with the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, Block Captains were appointed to contact owners and suggest solutions. One exceptionally diplomatic letter was sent by Mrs. Hazel P. Chapin to a local school President and is excerpted below:
“We are making an effort to contact all building owners or key personnel of the various schools in this area. It seems an unrelenting task to keep the Back Bay area an attractive place in which to reside, or for tourists to visit. We are appealing to you … to see if it wouldn’t be possible to motivate your students to take a collective pride in the outside appearance of their dormitories and classrooms …
We realize it is difficult, with so many young people, with a propensity for snacking, not to become inundated with trash carelessly thrown about. However, if you could imbue them with an idea of some civic pride, I am sure the end result would not only be a more attractive block but also elevate the prestige of the school. “
Today the need to take property owners to task is less urgent, since more front yards are meticulously maintained. We do wonder if Mrs. Chapin ever received a reply, or if the students in question were ever asked to curtail their littering. Image from www.upcity.com.
