"Your Recreation Department is supported by city taxes. Our purpose is to furnish you with activities (physical and cultural) to satisfy and stimulate your leisure time. We believe recreation to be for all - the young and old - and to include boys and girls, men and women, throughout our community. It is our pleasure to serve you." -statement from Rec. Dept. in 1957.
The Greenbelt community was designed and created during the Depression by the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The goal was to create a community of housing affordable to low-income families while maintaining an atmosphere that would attract a wider range of people. There would be strict guidelines for admittance into Greenbelt. The demand to live in Greenbelt would be enormous due to the unique privilages that the residents of Greenbelt would soon receive.
Recreation was a way for the organizers of Greenbelt to detract the thoughts of the Depression from the minds of the people living in Greenbelt. The residents of Greenbelt needed a way to come together during the tough times of the Depression. The FHA felt that a strong recreational department and program was just the thing needed to bring the new residents of Greenbelt together. Recreational clubs and activities were essential to the success and popularity that the city experienced in the 30's, 40's, and even today.
The Greenbelt Recreation Department was founded by the Federal Housing Administration in 1937 but did not begin functioning until September of 1938. The Rec. Dept. began working right away and by the spring and summer of 1939, the city of Greenbelt saw great recreational advances around them. In this time period, eight tennis courts(4 clay) were built as well as handball courts, one baseball diamond and three softball diamonds, and twelve row boats were made available at Greenbelt Lake. Yet Memorial Day was the big event of the summer, the opening of the swimming pool in the center of town. There was a fee to enter the pool: 35 cents for an adult or 20 cents for under 16. Today, an individual season pass can be purchased for $12 or a family pass for $20.
There were many other sports and activities offered other than swimming which were: basketball, badminton, volleyball, table tennis, shuffleboard, dancing, tumbling, calisthenics, deck tennis, dodge ball, baseball, softball, tennis, boating, fishing, arts and crafts, horseshoes, archery, hiking, playground activities, touch football, soccer, handball, and track and field. It is hard to find a sport or activity that is not on that list. The children as well as the adults and senior citizens had a huge array of sports and activities to choose from. In 1953, when Greenbelt was bought from the federal government by the residents of Greenbelt, the Recreation Department was expanded. A survey from 1960 showed that out of a population of 8000 in Greenbelt, 70000 people (Of course this includes repeat users) used the services and facilities provided by the Recreation Department. This meant that 70% of the people living in Greenbelt participated in recreational activities. Also, Greenbelt is the only Maryland city of its size with a recreation department.
One childhood activity that I think every child, boy or girl, should participate in is Little League. It is here where children learn the values of sportsmanship and teamwork. The Little League of Greenbelt was founded in the spring of 1951 by Sam Fox, then the Recreation Director. It was started and kept thriving by a small group of men whom both coached and held administrative tasks like finding sponsors for the teams. The games were played on McDonald Field which specifically designed for Little League play. The Lassie League was the complement to Little League. The Lassie League was formed in 1961 and designed for girls ages nine to fifteen.
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For information of the current Greenbelt Recreation Department, Click Here
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