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THE RACINE JOURNALTIMES SUNDAY BULLETIN, JUNE 12, 19Spent Fortune to Perpetuate His MemorySilent, ghostly sentinels. these white figures in the Mt. Hope cemetery at Hiawatha. Kansas, are the fruits of the whole life of John Milburn Davis, retired farmer. Pictured from inside the granite screen that now keeps vandals away, the figures at right depict Davis and his wife during the invalid days that preceded her death. The other figure of Davis beside the vacant chair at left symbolises his bereavement and loneliness since the passing of his wife. Other figures show the couple at various other times of their married life.; unique memorial, and it has been failure to devote his money toj necessary to add a granite barrier | directly in front of the figures to | discourage vandalism. Visitors | have worn a deep path along the j edge of the memorial, often tramping over adjoining graves in their ; curiosity.Many of the visitors call on Da-j vis. Some praise, some abuse him. i He gets hundreds of letters, to which he fay no attention. He knows he is criticized locally forpublic purposes. He doesn’t care.“I’ve learned the futility of trying to please everyone,” he says. “So I’m trying to please myself and honor the memory of my wife, who was my helpmate for more than half a century.”And so, no doubt, for many half-centuries, the ghostly figures of Davis and his wife will sit and stand beneath the granite colonnade into which has been finally distilled the savings of their long life together.Talking Across the TableWith the Racine Community ChestMORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER8 Why are some families refused j are operated entirely independent relief by Community Chest agen- ! financially, cies? How is duplication of effortNo family which it actually In »voided »““* 01 th«need, and not being taken care 0f | Community Chest, and other wen-by public relief organizations, will cles not mcn»b*r» the chest?John Milburn Davis, above, la 83. Besides the vault of his wife, his own waits for him, but his declining yean have been occupied in transforming all his property into their joint memorial to their long life together.be refused help by CommunityChest agencies. However, a family would be refused help that was not eligible for it, and that would not co-operate with an agency in its program to help the prison orIn order to prevent duplicationof services among welfare agencies in Racine, the Community Chest carries on a Social Service Exchange in its office. This exchange maintains an index of theHIAWATHA, Kans., June 11.— (NEA)—John Milburn Davis is 83, and he probably hasn’t many years to live.| But he will not be forgotten | when he has gone. He has madej sure of that by sinking most of a tidy fortune into a memorial that nobody can forget, i And what a memorial! Grouped beneath a 19 by 19 square granite j pavilion, standing and sitting j stiffly like distant relatives at a !: family reunion, are six marble ! figures of Davis, and five of his I dead wife. They represent the;! couple at various stages of their, married life.■ Davis, who is believed to have • put $200,000 into the strange I monument, likes it. To local civic j ! leaders who tried to get him to ; turn the money into a park or j other public work, Davis answers I I only that it is his money and his memories that are being frozen I into white marble.The body of Mrs. Davis, who died in 1930, lies beneath the granite pavilion. A place waits for Davis himself.Couldn’t Stop.He began building a year after! his wife’s death. His first idea was for two statues of himself and his wife, facing each other across her | grave. Photographs and measurements were sent to Italy, where .•culptors produced the first figures. Davis liked them so well he soon sent for more.In one group, figures of Davis ‘ and his wife are shown facing each ! other on their tenth anniversary,| not long after they had settled in | Hiawatha as a young farm couple.; The 18th anniversary group shows Davis without a beard, as this facial adornment was burned off In a brush fire in 1898.Later figures of Davis show him with only one hand, as he lost one in 1908 from a scythe-cut. But the beard returned to the later sculptures, and is evident today on the living Davis.The same progressive changes mark the figures of Mrs. Davis, including one which represents her as a kneeling angel with wings. Davis, hat in hand, stands regarding his wife on their golden wedding day. Davis, deserted, sits alone beside a vacant chair to portray his desolation and loneliness after his wife’s death.Thousands of people visit thepersons in distress. When an names of persons and families who agency takes a family’s applica- j have applied for assistance to any tion the worker must know cer- ! agency in the community, public tain things about that family be- j or private. Whenever an agency fore a helpful program can be j receives an application it clears it worked out, and the members of j immediately with the Social Ser-the family must be anxious to cor- vice Exchange to see if any other rect the conditions which are caus- ! agency is active on the case, ing their trouble. Many families j Do social workers of the Com-in distress are so emotionally munity Chest family agencies take worked up by the time they reach a cold, condescending attitude to-the point of applying for relief that ward penon seeking help? they overlook some of their own; No quite the contrary is true, resources and abilities on which ; of all the M to whom a man they could draw if they would, j or woman in dl8tresa rould go, Sometimes a change of employ- no one would give him the sym_ ment, the borrowing on an in-1 pathy and understanding that he surance policy, the sale of some would recejve in handf of an security or the willing assistance experienced social worker. In the of some relative would tide them ; fir5t lace n0 one without „ sin_ over in their particularly emer- cere interest jn and theirgency. If a family will not co- j troubles would study for welfare operate with an agency, and make work In the second laee a use of !ts own resources, the agen- knowIedge o( psychologyt goclal cy cannot give it relief. j|ls their causes and cures, cou-Why aren’t all welfare agencies pled with experience in dealingof the community in the Community Chest?The majority of private welfare organizations in Racine are members of the Community Chest. One or two agencies do not need Chest support because they have sufficient endowments to meet their financial requirements. Other agencies prefer to make an individual appeal and conduct their own campaign. Any worthy welfare agency in Racine is eligible for chest membership, but it must satisfy the chest board of directors that it is meeting a definite need in the community, one that is not already being met by a chest agency, and that its work is of a high standard, before it may be admitted.Why are some religious charitable organizations supported by the Community Cheat, and othersThe Community Chest does not make any discrimination in admitting religious welfare organizations to membership, nor does it give preference to any religion, race or creed in distributing its funds. The Community Chest is what its name implies—a community wide enterprise. In admitting agencies to membership, the Community Chest is not concerned with what religious body they represent. It judges an agency only on the basis of its need in the community, and its standard of service. In no instance are the funds of the chest's church affiliated agencies used for the activities of the church body which they represent In fact such agencieswith unfortunate families, gives the welfare worker a deep understanding of the person’s problems. Their sympathy is not of the emotional type but of a sane, sensible constructive nature.If a penon la prejudiced against a certain agency in the Community Chest, is It possible for him to support the rest and exclude this one?In the opinion of the board of directors of the Community Chest,Developiag ft Priatiag Sboreliae Photo Shopnrtfc Street at Lake AreaaeMy Summer Sui READY TO W1Aia yours? I
Newspaper Details
Racine Journal Times Sunday Bulletin
Racine, Wisconsin, US
Sun, Jun 12, 1938
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Autumn H.
USA 27 Jan 2025
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