The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1919-02-07
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 PartIss,
Games and Recreation to
Girl Workers.


| OLD, ana L work IN q Dig Ia
tory In Michigan. More than for
hundred other girls work there to-
don't aim to tell you about our job
You can read about our work In tn
labor department reports. But / d
aim to tell you about our Big Siste
and Of the things she has done for III
ITO begin with, our factory tow
J isn't a town at all. It's huge bar
of buildings stuck down in the countr
nineteen miles from nowhere. Thor
is railroad siding. a station the siz
Of a dry goods box, seven farmhouse
and one general store and postoffic
combined-it's pretty near as big ~
hot tamale stand. And that's all. NJ
Main street, no banks nor stores, NJ
ice-cream parlors, not one solitar!
movie show, in all those nineteer
miles. Lonesome7 It's the ragged
edge of desoiation, that's what 1t Is.
IT was one Of the first carload Of
forty girls that was shipped up from
Chicago. The factory was swarmins
with workmen putting In the machin
cry. and we girls couldn't begin work
for q day or so, so we began hunting
places to eat and sleep. That was q
trif1e that the employment folks hadn't
thought of. The workmen were sleep
ing and eating in the cars that hao
brought them there, backed on the
siding. Our only chance for beds and
food was with those seven farmhouses,
80 we marched straight to the farmers
wives and asked for board and room.
Farmers Wives HospitabIe.
81 will say 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 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 1t up
with the farm folks that we'd work
douNIe shifts and sleep double shifts
too.
$50 We planned 1t. Three girls
would use a 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 luxurf-
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 1t to calk a ship. But
we made out till the next three car
Dads of girls came rolling in. Then
We went most distracted. Those poor
drls had to sleep in tents and In the
,ars that the workmen had abandoned
~ this time, and they were lucky II
hey got a straw tick and blanket.
3y this time 1t had turned raw cold,
ind maybe you know what late au-
umn nights in Michigan feel like. To
ap the climax the farm folks cut
lown on food. and for a week 1t was
potatoes and beans and mighty few
'eans at that.
Along Came 4 Miracle.
But, right when we were about
sady to quit our Jobs and beat 1t for
pme, along came a miracle. Two
MET, businesslike women climbed
own from the eastbound train one
FORMING. With them came eight work
len, a carload Of scantling and tar
aper. another carload Of cots and
lankets and pillows and sheets and
,weIs-tTand new blankets and beds
think of the glory of that land
ushels Of dishes and rolls Of oilcloth
nd enough burlap to carpet the coun-
". You won't believe me when I tell
on that in ten days their workmen
ad a scantling-and-tar-paper shack
ut up and burlap tackled over the
,alis, and the Y. w. G. A. secretary
nd her helper had set up board tables
nd coffee kettles and were serving u
le grandest hot lunches every day.
nd back behind the burlap screens
ere set those rows Of clean cots, with
nough cover to keep you warm the
oldest night that ever blew, and
wei apiece for every single girl. Do
gu wonder that we all felt, as one
|rI put It, I'll wager the Fritz-Carle-
-. hoe nothing IN fhia +