Village Improvement Association (VIA)

A man in the constant employ of the V. I. A. at one dollar per day attended to these receptacles, emptying them when filled, and collecting the stray debris, which is all too easily abundant upon Southern streets. Property-owners were visited when circumstances demanded, and were delicately, but firmly, urged to fall into line and put their premises in a condition which should not shame a tidy town. The school-house grounds were thoroughly cleaned once each week, and the building itself made more comfortable and attractive. Through several hundred dollars raised by subscriptions, donations, and a series of clever entertainments, God’s Acre was put in the order which should always characterize such sacred spots, and a new fence put about it.

Just in front of Mr. Borden’s home cottage, and along the river, lies a delightful park with inviting shelters and rustic seats, and fountains made of inverted cypress trunks, all under the spreading trees. This was kept in fine condition, and naturally became a favorite rendezvous. Very near it, and along the same street, is a picturesque cottage known as the ” Little Villa,” which was loaned by Mrs. Borden as a club-house for the V. I. A. reading-room, was equipped and thrown open for visitors, and a maid was kept in attendance who dispensed the free hospitality of the club in afternoon tea each day.

It was inevitable that such a place should be much frequented, and many friends were made for the aggressive organization which was responsible for it. One of these, an honorary member, Mr. Isaac Merritt, suggested that there should be a circulating library added, and he gave Sioo as a nucleus for the necessary funds. It was not a great while before other donations from members and friends made the library possible, and the present splendid selection of fifteen hundred volumes has grown from the beginnings of that winter.

All the while that this association has been carrying forward its work of beauty and health, the children have had their full share of attention, and have been educated up to correct ideals of civic responsibility, through the Star Branch, which has provided many attractions for them. At each meeting they still repeat the pledge: “I promise not to litter the streets with paper, fruit skins, or anything that will make the place untidy: neither will I mutilate or deface fences, kill birds or rob their nests, and will also use my influence to prevent others from doing so.”

They have their own organization, officered from their members, and their meetings are conducted under parliamentary rules. They have their own nature library, and at one time the boys had a military company, with a hired instructor, a band with fine instruments and a good teacher, and an armory in which to meet. There was a kitchen garden for the girls, physical culture, and instruction in brass hammering and other lines. Thus it was not hard to bend the children s thoughts in the right direction, and they bore their part in the real work. One special thing that interested me was the ” Hammer Brigade.” The streets of Green Cove are so sandy that plank sidewalks are a necessity, and the boys, by twos would go about with hammers, driving down the heads of nails that obtruded themselves, and were a menace to pedestrians.

The Green Cove V. I. A. was chartered under the laws of the state, and is the mother club of Florida, and has from its inception been well abreast with every forward movement which comes within its scope. It was through a call issued by this club that the State Federation was formed. The Little Villa remained the club home for some years, but it now occupies a most attractive clubhouse of its own, which was made possible by the generosity of a friend. The library is there, and the rooms are restful and inviting, with their rugs and easy chairs, their pictures, and the open fires in season. Various gifts have come to it from time to time, and among these, one of the most conspicuous is a splendid old grandfather’s clock, bearing a silver memorial plate,—the gift of a member.

During the administration of one mayor, the ladies were assisted with city funds, and, for several years, the council paid for the dumping of the trash barrels, but it must be regretfully admitted that there was not a sufficient amount of civic pride there to perpetuate the support of the work so bravely begun, and carried on for a space. Sometimes we hear nowadays of short-sighted policy. Such it proved to be, when the assessments were made so exorbitant on the property of those who had stood most staunchly for the development of Green Cove; for the altruistic spirit was somewhat chilled, and further enterprises were not prosecuted.

Physically, Green Cove Springs is not what it once was, though much of V. I. A. work still remains, and there is no doubt that conditions are vastly better than they would have been had it not been for the agitation, and the educational influences that it set in motion. The club-rooms of the V. I. A. are still a favorite gathering place, and the plucky little club, not at all set back by the way some of their plans have been thrust aside, have given the word “Improvement” a liberal interpretation, and, without entirely dropping any department, have concentrated their energies of late in the interest of education. For four years, they furnished room, teacher and equipment, and maintained a kindergarten. It was through their instrumentality that the bill was first presented to the Legislature which asked that a kindergarten department be added to the public school system. This bill lacked only three votes of passing, but later was made a law, and in the Green Cove public school, at present, there is such a department.

Thus endeth the story. I think there are morals in it which will bear thinking upon; and I am quite sure that the Green Cove V. I. A. deserves an honored place in the annals of public-beauty sentiment in our country.