Cleveland County herald., 1919-02-13
hdustfia! 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, k Games and Recreation to Girl Workers.
Katherine Holland Brown.

You can read about our work in the isaar department reports. But 1 do a..l 10 tell you about our Big Sister and of the things she has done for us.
 "To begin with, our factory town Isn't a town at all. It's a huge barn of buildings stuck down in the country nineteen miles from nowhere. There Is railroad siding, station the size nf dry goods box, seven farmhouses aRd one general store and postoflice combned-it's pretty near as big as a hot tamale stand And that's all No MaiR street, no banks nor stores, no fce-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.
 "I was one of the first carload of forty girls that was shipped up from Chicago. The factory was swarmins with worlmen putting in the maehin- cry. and we girls couldn't begin work for day or so, so we began hunting places to eat and sleep That was a frifie that the employment folks hadn't thought of. The workmen were sleep tng and eating fin the cars that had brought them there, backed on the siding. Our only chance for beds and food was with those seven farmhouses, eo we marched straight to the farmers wives and asked for board and room.
 Farmers Wives Hospitabie.
 'I will sny that those women 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 aeaeh spare one room. Thai meant sleep five or six in room. But y!ght then along came the boss Of the factory and told us the machinery was ready and he'd expect us girls to work douhle 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 it up with the farm folks that we'd work double shifts and sleep double shifts t0o
 "So we planned it. Three girls would use a room from eight at night t.ll six the next morning. Then they'd hustle over to the factory, and the three girls who'd been working ali night would take the room and sleep till afternoon It wasn't any luxuri- ous slumher, believe me The farm women had so few sheets and pillow caves that most of us went without. And towels were scarce as diamonds N blackberry bushes. As to soap well, thc general store kept yellow bar soap. that kiEd that is so full of resin you conld use it to calk ship. But We made out till the next three car loads of girls came rolling In. Then we went most distracted. Those pcor Eirls had 10 sleep ir tents and fin the cars that the worllman had abandoned hy this time. and they were lucky if they got a straw tick and a blanket. Ey this time it hai turned raw cold. | and maybe you know what late au- tumn nights in Mich gan feel like. To rap the climax tne farm folks cut , down on foed, and for week it was potatoes and beans and mighty few beans at that.
 Along Came Miracle.
 Put. right when we were about ready to quit oar jobs and beat ii for home, along came a miracle. Two l 1nih. businessiiNe women cllmheG | town from the casthound train one morning, Nth them came eight work l, ne", a carload of seantlng and tar rapcr, anc,hcr carload of cots and ' 'nkets and pillows and sheets and
 = brand new blankets and beds
 of the glory of that !-and 1 .sriS of dishes and rolls of ofcloth ,h though hurlap to carpet the coun- x You won't believe me when tell s. that in ton days their workmen hai scanting-and-tar-paper shack a#i ID and burlap tackled over the
 and the Y. ". C. A. secretary
 ,g helper had set up board tables
 csffee kettles and were serving us
 srandest hot lunches every day.
 .i back behind the burlap screens
 -.. set hose rows of clean cots. with
 'eh cover to keep you warm the
 iicsi night that ever blew, and
 ve! apiece for every single girl. Do
 T wonder Hat we all felt, as one
 T put it. I'll wager the Fritz Carle- ,e.r has nothing on thisv
 "Nho were Il nse women? Why. I. " C. A. secretaries, of course. I'd iink you'd know that withou. being ed. All over the country wherever re ~ir.s have pitched in to make aero : s,s1ne cloth or overalls or munitions or 'aunca goo's you'll find a '. w. c. A. .,>. rpi.,ry working harder than any ,.nly .slsn 10 make the girls comfort 'ale and 10 keep chem happy and we'll 'mnetis1es fhey haven't money enough 5 ret ,,ll that we really need. But al- rars tilcy stretch every cent to make [ do It's level best for us. Do you won ier that We giri workers have learned
 he Y. " c. A. our Big Sister ,>tae very best Big Sister of alll