The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-12-04
By DOLLY DALRYMPLE

| xxx ' HEN the beautiful Christmas. l WNW tide spreads it's joyous spirits i OCT all the earth and the vi 1 brant words of the long ago Peace on earth good will toward men" are echoed
 from hovel to mart, 90 soldier boys who are spending their first Christmas in | lonely camps, away from the Yuletide cheer and loving affection of their own fresides, will be made happy by the ! thoughtfulness and generosity of one sweet woman who has, with the beauti- ful spirits of generosity and loving 1 kindness which characterize her life, stitched into 90 beautiful gifts her ten der love and gentle heart sympathy.
 The woman who has done this (need
 tell you?) is Mrs. William H. Kettig;
 to those who know this sweet woman and love her it isn't necessary to say that if was she, because each one of us would instinctively say:
 Tt is so like her; nobody else would have thought of such sweet thing" But to others who do not know her it
 may be said en passant that just such
 generous, thoughtful things have made
 her life the beautiful example it is a
 life full of heart fondness and generous
 deeds, a life full of all the sweetness
 and sunshine and joy which makes it a
 thing of beauty and an inspiration be-
 cause of it's tender thoughtfulness of
 others.
 When the call came from the Red
 Cross for Christmas packets for our soldier boys Mrs. Kettlg was among the first to hear the call and heed it.
 In her quiet, unpretentious way she said nothing to anybody; she didn't even So much as hint that she would respond to the call, but as is her wont, she straightway went to work, studied out her plans and before anybody realized what she'd been doing, she had made with her own dainty fingers 90 of the most beautiful and the most artistic little Christmas packets imaginable.
 And such packets; oh, how happy they arc going to make the soldier boys who are lucky enough to get them; there are wonderful scrap books made of
 black shiny leather bound with bright coloreds ribbons, the leaves of which are of gaily colored plaids and checks and stripes; in some of the scrap books are CldSSllieu DlId llle ana dninal lie with little stories bright and happy, pasted beneath the pictures, and which a con valescent soldier would revel in read ing; others, Our American Christmas Girls of 1917," while still others show fla vorite movie people, actresses, singers and pictures of celebrities worth while | There are 20 or more of these books all made by Mrs. Kettig's own hands and the time and the effort required just to make them, not to speak of classify | Ing the contents which tax the energy of the most valiant.
 Then there are 20 or more wonderful | bags-made of gaily coiored cretonnes 1 Everything is gaily colored, because you | must remember they are going to conval- | escent, lonely soldiers in dreary, lonely | camps), and these are sort of "personaP' | gifts. A soldier will find by peeping into l one of these pretty bags a lovely sur | prise-a brand new comb, brush, tooth- | brush. soap, talcum powder, and all i sorts of refreshing, delicate things. The ! bags are big enough and pretty enough ! bed and add little note of color to an i otherwise bleak hospital environment
 And I wish you could see the adorable 1 little Comfort Kits.' Mrs. Kettig has made each of these in the daintiest man. ner. They are of black leather, bound with red ribbons, blue ribbons yellow colors, in fact-and they contain complete set of comforts-nail | file. scissors, comb, brush, and all the dainty necessary articles for first aid' to comfort.
 And the beautiful packets containing