The Ordway new era., 1919-02-21
Y. w. A. Worker
Is Big Sister in Camp
kashsc,"s Holland Brown.

<(N EY name 10 May Isabel Carna-
M han. am eighteen years
old. and l work In big fac
tory in Michigan. More than four
hundred other girls work there too.
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 the things she has done for us.
ITO begin with. our factory town
isn't town at all. It's huge barn
of buildings stuck down In the country
nineteen miles from nowhere. There
is railroad siding, station the size
of dry goods box. seven farmhouses
and one general store and postotiice
combined-It's pretty near as big as
hot tamale stand. And that's all. No
Main street, no banks nor stores, no
movie show. in all those nineteen
miles. Lonesome? It's the ragged
edge of desolation, that's what it is.
"I was one of the first carload of
forty girls that was shipped upIfrom
Chicago The factory was swarming
with workmen putting in the machin-
cry. and we girls couldn't begin work
for a day or so, so we begnn hunting
places to eat and sleep. That was
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.
II will say that thosewomen were kind
and hospitable. They fixed 1t 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 five or six in room. But
right then along came the boss OF the
factory and told us the machinery was
ready and he'd expect us girls to work
double shifts. night and day.
HE wanted to make use of every
mipste, you see. But that gnve us our
chance as to sleeping. We fixed 1t up
with the farm folks that we'd work
double shifts and sleep double shifts
too.
$50 we planned It. Three girls
would use room from eight Mt 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. II wasn't any luxuri-
Gus slumber, believe me. The farm
women had SO few sheets and pillow
cases that most of us went without.
And towels were scarce us diamonds
on blackberry bushes As to soap-
well. the general stole kept yellow bar
soap. that kind that is so full OF rosln
you could use It 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 II
they got straw tick and blanket.
BY this time 1t had turned raw cold,
and maybe you know what Inte nu-
tumn nights In Michigan feel like. To
cap the climax the farm folks cut
down on food, and for a week 1t was
potatoes 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 miracle. Two
quiet, businessIike women climbed
down from the eastbound train one
morning. With them cnme eight work
men, carload of scantling and tar
paper, another carload of cpts and
blankets and pillows and sheets and
towels-brand new blankets and beds
think of the glory Of that t!-and
bushels of dishes and rolls of oilcloth
and enough buriap to carpet the coun-
try. You won't believe me when I tell
you that In ten days their workmeD
had scantiing-and-tar-pap shack
put up and burlap tackled over the
walls, and the Y. w. c. A. secretary
and her helper had set up board tables
and coffee kettles and were serving us
the grandest hot lunches every day.
And back behind the burlnp screens
were set those rows of clean cots. with
enough cover to keep you warm the
coolest night that ever blew, and .