Title

A history of the Stockton Recreation Department, 1910 to 1947, including its early background, and the development of its program and facilities

Author

Bert Edward Swenson, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

1950

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Education

First Advisor

James William Harris

First Committee Member

Walter S. Knox

Second Committee Member

J. Marc Jantzen

Abstract

For a period of twenty years beginning in 1918 when the writer became Superintendent of the Stockton Playground Department, annual reports of its major activities and accomplishments were made and submitted to the Mayor and later the City Manager for their information. They helped in securing the next budget. Throughout the thirty years of service additional reports of activities and improvements in facilities were kept on file in the office of the department for the information of its officers and a permanent record.

The writer finds that he has been a part. of the supervised public playground movement since its inception when President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 called together at the White House the eastern leaders in physical education, recreation, camping and children's playgrounds. (The year 1906 was the year the writer started college.) As a result of President Roosevelt's White House meeting the National Playground Association was formed. Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick was elected and served as its president until 1910 during this formative period. Henry Curtis, Director of Playgrounds in Washington, D.C. became its first secretary.

Pages

223

Recommended Citation

Swenson, Bert Edward. (1950). A history of the Stockton Recreation Department, 1910 to 1947, including its early background, and the development of its program and facilities. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1113