The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1919-01-24
Y. ". c.
IS BIG SISTER
Industrial Woman's Service Club
Brings Home to Girls in New
Factory Community.
BLUE TRIANGLE MEANS cHEEF
Club Stands for Hot Lunches, Clear
Towels, Comfortable Cots, Parties, Z
Games and Recreation to
Girl Workers.
BLUE TRIANGLE MEANS CHEER
Katherine Holland Brown.

tory In Michigan. More than four
hundred other girls work there too.
i don't aim to tell you about our Jobs.
You can read about our work in the
labor department reports. But / do
aim to tell you about our Big Sister
and Of tile things she has done for us.
ITO begin with, our factory town
isn't town at all. It's a huge barn
of buildings stuck down in the country
nineteen miles from nowhere There
is railroad siding. a station the size
Of dry goods box. seven farmhouses
and one general store and postoffice
comblned-lt's pretty near as big as a
hot tamale stand. And that's all. No
Main street, no banks nor stores, no
ice-cream parlors, not one solitary
movie show, In all those nineteen
miles. Lonesome? It's the ragged
edge of desolation, that's what 1t Is
81 was one Of the first carload Of
forty girls that was shipped up from
Chicago. The factory was swarming
with workmen putting in the machIn-
cry. and we girls couldn't begin work
for day or so, so we began hunting
places to eat and sleep. That was a
trifie that the employment folks hadn't
thought of. The workmen were sleep
ing and eating In the cars that had
brought them there, backed on the
siding. Our only chance for beds and
food was with those seven farmhouses,
so we marched straight to the farmers
wives and asked for board and room.
Farmers Wives HospitabIe.
1T will say that those women were kind
and hospitable. They fixed It up be-
tween them to feed us forty girls, and
they gave us good food too. But for
rooms, that was the question. They
could each spare one room. That
meant sleep Ave or six In room. But
right then along came the boss Of the
factory and told us the D,achipery was
ready and he'd expect us girls to work
double shifts, night and day.
"He wanted to make use of every
you see. But that gave us our
chance as to sleeping. We fixed II up
with the farm folks that we'd work
double shifts and sleep double shifts
too.
so we planned It. Three girls
would use room from eight at night
till six the next morning. Then they'd
hustle over to the factory, and the
three girls who'd been working all
night would take the room and sleep
till afternoon, It wasn't any luxuri-
ous slumber, believe me. The farm
women had so few sheets and pillow
cases that most of US went without.
And towels were scarce as diamonds
on blackberry bushes AS to SOAP
we'll, the general store kept yellow bar
SOAP that kind that is so full of rosin
you could use II to calk a ship. But
we made out till the next three car
loads Of girls came rolling In. Then
we went most distracted. Those poor
girls had to sleep in tents and In the
cars that the workmen had abandoned
BY this time, and they were lucky IL
they got a straw tick and blanket.
By this fine II had turned raw cold,
and maybe You know what late au-
tumn nights In Michigan feel like. To
zap the climax the farm folks cut
Town on food, and for week It was
and beans and mighty few
beans at that.
Along Came Miracle
But right when we were about
ready to quit our jobs and beat 1t for
home, along came a. miracle Two
luiet, businesslike women climbed
Town from the eastbound train one
morning, With them came eight work.
men, carload of scantlIng and tar
PAPER another carload of cots and
blankets and pillows and sheets and
owels-brand new blankets and beds
think of the glory of that land
bushels of dishes and rolls of oilcloth
md enough burlap to carpet the coun-
.ry. You won't believe me when tell
rou that In ten days their workmen
had a OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES shack
out up and burlap tackled over the
walls, and the Y. w. G. A. secretary
md licr helper had set up board tables
md coffee kettles and were serving us
he grandest hot lunches every day,
And back behind the burlap screens
we're set those rows of clean cots, with
enough cover to keep you warm the
oldest night that ever blew, and a
owel apiece for every single girl. Do
you wonder that we all felt, as one
,irl put ii. I'll wager the Fritz Garlic
on has nothing on this 7
"Who were Il use women? Why,
Z. w. c. A. secretaries, of course. I'd
hink you'd know that without being
old All over the country wherever
We girls have pitched in to make aero
blame cloth or overalls or munitions or
'anncd goods you'll find Y. W. G. A.
secretary working harder than any
,ody else to make the girls comfort
lble and 70 keep them happy and well.
Sometimes they haven't money enough
% get all that we really need. But al
ways they stretch every cent to make
t do Its level hest for us. Do you won
Ter that we girl workers have learned
% call the Y. w. c. A. our Big Sister
the very best Big Sister Of allf,
PLEASANT RIDGE Il