The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1919-01-21
wv. c. A. WORKER
IS BIG SISTER
Industrial Woman's Service Cut
Brings Home TO Girls in New
Factory Community.
BLUE TRIANGLE MEANS CHEER



old. and l work in a 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 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
combined-it's pretty near as big as a
hot tamaIe stand. And that's all. No
Main street, no banks nor stores. no
Ice-cream pariors. not one solitary
movie show. In all those nineteen
miles Lonesome7 It's the ragged
edge of desolafion. that's what II is.
Il was one of the first carload OF
forty girls that was shipped up from
Chicago. The factory was swarrning
with workmen putting in the machin-
cry. and we girls corldn't begin work
for day or so. so we began hunting
places to eat and sleep. That was a
trifle that the employment folks hadn't
thought of. The workmen were sleep
ing and eating in the cars that had
brought them there, hacked 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.
twill say that thosewemen 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 five or six in a 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 !
minute, you see. But that gave us our
chance as to sleeping. We fixed IL 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 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. 1t 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 as diamonds
on blackberry bushes. AS to soap
well, the general store kept yellow bar
soap. that kind that is so fun of rosin
you could use 1t to caIk 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 It 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
iown on food, and for a week 1t was
Do'atoe~ asd scans and mighty few
beans at that.
EIoIg ca'rs h.iracI..
'But right when we we're about
ready to quit our jobs and beat 1t for
home, along came a miracle Two
luiet, buslnesslike women climbed
iowR from the eastbound train one
With them came eight work
men. carload of scantling and tar
,aper, 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 oilcIoth
md enough burlap to carpet the coun-
ry. You won't believe me when / tell
Tou that in ten days their workmen {
lad a OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES shack
nut up and burlap tackled over the
walls, and the Y. w. @. A. secretary I
md her helper had set up board tables '
ND coffee kettles and were serving us
he grandest hot lunches every day !
Ind back behind the burlap screens
we're set those rows of clean cots, with I
nough cover to keep you warm the
Oldest night that ever blew, and q
owel apiece for every single girl. 10
on wonder that we all felt. as one
fri put IL, IN wager the Fritz-Carle- /.
on has nothing on thisr
"Who were II use women? why.
:. w. c. A. secretaries, OF course. I'd
link you'd know that without being
Did. All over the country wherever
'e girls have pitched In TO make aero
lane cloth or overalIs or munitions or
aimed goods you'll find Y. w. G. A.
ecretary. working harder than any
ody else to make the girls comfort
Bile and to keep them happy and well.
they haven't-money enough
get all that we really need. But al 4
avs they stretch every cent to make
do Its level best forSus. Do you won 4
er that we Girl workers have learned y
call the Y. w. G. A. our Big Sister 4
the very best Big Sister OF am y