Great ‘joy-ride’ for needy children

April 11, 1911: Under the headline “Great Joy-Ride Planned for Little Shut-In Kids,” The Times asked its readers to lend a hand in the community: “On May 1 The Times intends to give a big May Day party. The guests are to be little children -- little shut-in children from the hospitals -- little wistful children from the orphanages and children’s homes.” The purpose of the “joy-ride,” the paper said, was to give poor children “an uproarious, scrumptious good time.” The Times said it would take such children on automobile rides, and it asked readers who had cars to offer them for the big event. “It is not enough to send your automobile with a hired chauffeur. We want you,” the newspaper said. “This has got to be done from the heart out.” A day later, The Times announced that a number of volunteers had come forward, including “five of the city’s most brilliant women.” One volunteer, Perry A. Howard, offered his seven-passenger Locomobile. “It’s a big car and you can pack it as full of kiddies as possible,” he told the paper.