The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1919-01-16
WV. c. A. WORKER
IS BIG SISTER
Industrial Woman's Service Club
Brings Home to Girls in New
Factory Community.
BLUE TRIANGLE MEANS CHEER
Club Stands for Hot Lunches, Clean
Towels, Comfortable Cots, Parties,
Games and Recreation to
Girl Workers.
Katherine Holland Brown.

nan. i am eighteen years
old, and i work In big fac
tory I'm Michigan More than four
hundred other girls work there too.
l don't aim to tell you about our jobs.
You can read about our work In the
labor department reports. But 1 do
aim to tell you about our Big Sister
and of the things she has done for US.
ITO begin with, our factory tow
isn't town at ALL It's huge barn
Of buildings stuck down I'm the country
nineteen miles from nowhere. There
Is n railroad siding. a station the size
of n dry goods box, seven farmhouses
ana one general store and postOfllcc
"Ombncd--it's pretty near as big us a
hot tamalc stand. And that's nll. No
Main street, no banks nor stores, no
icc-cream parlors, GOt one solitary
movie show, I'm all those nineteen
miles. Lo' some? It's the ragged
edge OF desolntion. that's what IT Is.
81 was one OF the first carload OF
forty girls that was shipped up from
Chicago The factory was Swnrming
with workmcn putting In the nnchin-
cry. and we girls couldn't begin work
for day or so, SO we began hunting
places to eat and sleep. That was II
triH" flat thc employment folks hadn't
thnrrI.t Of. The workmcn 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 thoS" seven fnrmhouscs,
so we ! "rchch straight to the farmers
wives and asked for board and room.
Farmers Wives HocpitabIe.
I will say that those women were kind
and h"Spiinhic. They fixed It up he
tween them to feed us forty girls. and
they gave us good food too. But for
rooms, that was the question. They
could "nch spare one room. That
meant sleep five or six In room. But
right then along came the boss OF tha
factory and told us the machinery was
ready and he'd expect us girls to work
double shifts. night and day.
"IIe wanted to make use Of every
minute, you see. But that gave us our
chance us to sleeping. We fixed It up
with the farm folks that we'd work
double shifts and sleep double shifts
too.
$50 we planned II. 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 slccp
till afternoon. 1t wasn't any luxurl.
GUS slumbcr, 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 full OF rosin
you could use 1t to calk ship. But
we mndc 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 II had turned raw cold
and maybe you know what late au
tumn nights in Michigan feel like. TIC
cap the climax the farm folks cut
down on food, md for week Il was
potatoes and beans and mighty few
beans at that.
Along Came a Miracle.
"But, right when we were nbou
ready to quit our Jobs and beat It for
nome, along came miracle. Two
quiet, busincSslike women climbed
down from the eastbound train one
morning. With them came eight work.
men, carload OF scantlIng and tn,
paper, another carload OF cots and
blankets and pillows and sheets and
towcls-brand new blankets and bed,
think OF the glory OF that land
bushels or dishes and rolls OF oilclotb
ana enough burlap to carpet the coun.
Try you won't believe me when I tell
yon That In ten days their wOrkmer
had scantling-and-tar-pa paper shack
put up and burlap tackled over the
walls, and the Y. w. G. A. secretar,
and her helper had got up board table,
and coffee kettles and were serving II,
the grnndest hot lunches everv dav
Ana bhck behind the burlap screeni
were set those rows Of clean cots, with
enough cover to keep you warm th,
coldest night that ever blew, and a
towel apiece for every single girl Do
you wonder that we all felt. as ON.
sir' Dnt II. I'll wager the Fritz-Carle
ton has nothing on this!
"Who were those wOmen7 Why
Y. w. 9. A. secretaries, of course. Tt
think you'd know that without being
told. All over the country whereyc,
we girls have pitched In to mnke nero
plane cloth or Overalls or munitions n,
canned goods youIl find aY. w q Al
body else TO make the girls comfort. F,
able and to keep them happy and weu
Sometimes they hn rnt money enoupt
to get all that we really need. Bur nj |
ways they stretch every cent to make |
1t do i's level best for us. DO you won.
der III. we girl workers have Iearne, |
10 call the Y. w. G. A. our Big Slste,
the very best E4g Sister Of alir
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