Lusk Civic Club
It may not be uninteresting to our readers to get a little idea of what the Lusk Civic Improvement Club had done and what it is doing and has in contemplation. Its work certainly is not “all fun” as a perusal of the following will show.
The Lusk Civic Improvement Club was organized January 15, 1916 with a membership of twelve. After about two years’ time we boast twenty-five active members and seven associates. As civic work means “money raising” it might be well to state that Lusk consists of 500 population, with the different organizations of three churches, the Campfire Girls, four lodges, W.C.T.U., basketball teams, and a Juvenile band just in course of organization, all calling upon the public for help. You can readily understand that a Civic Improvement Club must use some ingenuity and tact to receive much recognition. However we claim the honor.
As the State provides no funds for Library rent, the Civic Improvement Club assumes the responsibility of keeping up the rent for our Public library at $10.00 per month. We have donated to the Longfellow fund, boys’ basketball team, wired and furnished beautiful fixtures for the assembly room and office of the schoolhouse. We took orders and delivered 250 trees for city yards of Lusk and prevailed upon the School Board to have 25 trees set out on the school grounds, the Club furnishing the dynamite for blasting the ground.
We have secured a lecture course for 1917-18, selling the entire amount of tickets necessary to cover the cost in advance. Our first lecture will cost us $100. We raise our money with home talent plays, baking sales, public card parties, rummage sales and have had $30 voluntarily donated by public-spirited citizens. We also cooperate with all movements for the general good of the town, such as selling tickets for educational lectures, etc. We have promised to help the Industrial club sell tickets for the Chautauqua this summer. We entered our protest to the City Council in regard to the “dump ground” with the result that the city ordered it to another location. Just now we are in communication with the Andrew Carnegie Corporation and have the promise of $11,000 for a Carnegie Library. The County Commissioners have been prevailed upon to levy the required tax for its maintenance. Funds for the building lots are also assured. It is our hope that we may entertain the State Federation of Clubs in this building in 1918.
Our time is not all confined to “money-getting,” however. The club is divided into two general committees, finance and social, and under the latter head was a card party, including the husbands of members, an evening during Baby week when a miscellaneous program was presented, everything pertaining to “Baby.” We have also had an evening devoted to the Gary school system. We visited our school as a club and donated and served a cafeteria dinner to the teachers and general public during institute week.