The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1922-08-26
House and
Lot
BY ESTHER sQUIREs
&C by Mcclure Newspaner svnaioa,.

s"s"s:'s"s:s:.s:.s.. s:.s:.s:s:..
'0 by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate,
heien thompson, newest and Young
est of the reportorial staff O
lie Daily News looked with som,
in the assignment book q
uhe CITY editor. She hoped she Wouldn'
1--we - cover one of the society wed
uihss that usually fell to her lot. A
'uch events she always felt like al
outsider and intruder. Instant conteu.
c"ihe' however, when she saw sprawlet
III the city editors hand, "Homemak
ers' EXhibit-Patterson Hall. Ami,
ior tickets at business Office" Ant
'hen beneath, Make it snappy."
Ines three words of instruction
orought color to Helen's face. Just
as II my copy wasn't always snappy,'
said Helen to herself. Il always bring
u snappy copy and then Joe Brooks
takes it all OUT"
one 1elt a tinge of rebellion, but it
was only a reflection. Helen was 10y
airy itself toward her superior, Joe
brooks, the city editor, and had caused
more than n laugh among her asso-
GATES by her rapid-fire defense of
"Bossy joe"
In the main, however, Helen Thomp-
son was filled with satisfaction, and,
having taken a ticket for the Home
makers Exhibit from the business Of
nee, she set out on what seemed to
her an afternoon of real pleasure. For
Helen was essentially domestic. She
spent many leisure moments drawing
plans OF houses, perfectly possible little
slX-room houses that any young girl
IKE Helen might feasibly expect to live
IN. But she had no such expectation.
Necessity and circumstances had led
her to start to work at twenty, and
she assured herself that nobody ever
married a woman reporter. SO she
wore her bObbed hair straight, donned
trimmed ~spectacles, and never appeared
III the Office of the Daily News" in
any other costume than that of a man
nish tweed suit.
At least, she told herself, no one
could accuse her of being a vamp,
even if she did work in a
office.
Helen took her time at the exhibit.
She would not have to write her cOpy
until after a 6 o'clock dinner and she
could spend the afternoon in absorbing
atmosphere. SO she sampled minutes
lmal biscuits meagerly spread with
jam or jelly, drank coffee from micro
minutes beside the booth where a
l~arge-voiced young man demonstrated
a patent potato peeler, bought a jar
OF marmalade, and collected a pound
or so of pamphlets and several pounds
OF sample packages. Purposely she
put off till last visiting the section
OF the hall devoted to portable cottages
and bungalows. Some. half dozen Of
these had been erected by as many
rival concerns selling portable struc-
lures. 1t was 4 when she at last
reached this section. She sped past an
eager-vOiced young man who leaned
from the railing of his booth urging
her to buy a lot in Hawthorne Park,
a newly opened cottage settlement,
and passed several bungalow nests on
the six-room, one-stOry cottage that
occupied the central position in the
exhibit. Artificial rOsevines rambled
v e the white lattice of the front
porch, white birdhOuses were perched
on posts in the tiny back yard, rufled
white muslin curtains could be seen
through the open windows. So eager
was Helen to begin her inspection of
this house that she pushed her way
the crowd, leaving and enter
by the tiny front porch.
She walked through the entire six
looms with a quick, appraising eye
t came up to her well-formulated
standard of convenience In arrange
nent. Then she took each room in
urn. Apparently nothing was lacking.
There was the eating nook that she
lad dreamed of, with built-in c~upboards
hove the benches at either side of
he table.
"We could eat breakfast here and ,
very-day dinners" she reflected. ,
Then when there was company we
ould eat in the living room. So much 8
nore sensible than wasting space on a :
ocular dining room" /
In the kitchen Helen fingered be- 9
lde the sink and imagined herself i
dishes in a pan Of steaming
oapsuds. She looked at the window v
nd imagined she saw country roads I
nd blue sky and waving branches of f
.ees, instead Of the throngs Of visitors a
{ the homemakers exhibit. She took
deep breath and imagined that she V
sweet country air instead Of h
le vitiated air Of the hall mingled Il
18th the cooking odors of the food &
)Oths. 81
For q half hour Helen remained in
lis little ready-made bungalow, for ir
citing in that time that any one might n
been noticing her enthusiastic in
,ection or have heard the signs Of Ii
ingled regret and pleasure. She gave is