H. C. Fry gives club building to townspeople

H. C. FRY GIVES CLUB BUILDING TO

TOWNSPEOPLE.

THROUGH the generosity and philanthropic interest of H. C. Fry, the well-known glass manufacturer, Rochester, Pa., residents of the lower Beaver Valley are to have a community club.

Mr. Fry conceived the idea some time ago, quietly purchased the property of the Congrgational church, Adams street, Rochester, recently vacated, and sprung the pleasantest sort of a surprise on his townspeople bu announcing that they were to have it rent free for the establishment of a club, to be known as the Welcome Club.

The necessity of such a club has long been recognized, it is said, by residents of Rochester, and its possibilities for uplift and general physical and moral improvement ae large.

Starting as a social club, with equipment for athletic and gymnastic work, reading rooms and an auditorium for meetings of various sorts, the Welcome Club is destined, it is predicted, to expand into a much larger and more influential factor in the civic life of the lower Beaver Valley. Eventually, it is understood, the building will be made to serve all the purposes of the most modernly-arranged and equipped Y. M. C. A. building.

The announcement of Mr. Fry's gift was read by pastors in the churches in Rochester, Bridgewater, Monaca, and Freedom on Sunday morning and evening, and aroused enthusiastic interest. Leading business men have expressed the wish to participate in the good work, and it is likely that no time will be lost in fully equipping and opening the new club to the public.