Evening star., 1938-11-26
Glen Echo Project
Held Up as Typical
IMP. W. A. Broadcast
Mayor and Council
Re-enoct Meeting
Asking Allotment

Citizens of little Glen Echo, Md,
swelled with pardonable pride today
In realization that their> little red
brick frehouse and community hall
had been mirrored before the Ma
ton as typical P. w. A. project.
Mayor Henry T. McCuen and
members of the Town Council met
In the hall yesterday afternoon and
dramatized for national radio au-
dience the story of the $4,000
project-a minnow among the big
fish of the P. w. A-and the val
liable service it has rendered to the
community.
Glen Echo proved an important
link in the radio chain that was
hooked up with cities from coast to
coast as the significance of the P.
w. A. program was dramatized
through other typical" projects.
Howard A. Gray. assistant admin
istrator took part in the broadcast
with Carl Farbach, director of the
legal division; Benjamin w. Thoron,
director of the finance division, and
j. r. McGuinness. acting director of
the engineering division.
Re-enacted 1888 Meeting.
The Town Council session at Glen
Echo re-enacted the meeting in 1888
at which it was decided to apply to
the P. w. A. for a loan. In another
scene Mr.. Gray and his assistants
considered and approved the appli-
cation as involving a worth while
project for the community and one
that met all tests.
Lewis Odell, one of the council
men, clinched the argument for the
application at the town meeting by
saying: The population has in
creased SO per cent in the last three
years--it's going to increase devil
of lot more in the next few years"
Later the broadcast again switched
back to Glen Echo and Mayor Nc
Cuen said that 400 people were as
sembled in the community hall for
a discussion of civic problems. One
of the topics was the maternity
clinic which now occupies space in
the hall. Thirty-seven eXpectant
mothers visit the clinic once a
month, he explained. Since we ded-
icated this building more than
1900 meetings of various kinds have
been held in this hail." he added.
Fire Call Staged.
Outside the firehouse a volunteer
fire call was staged for the radio
audience.
, The Conduit Road Fire Board,
Inc, it was pointed out, serves an
area II miles square, with 1000
homes worth over 100000. The
area embraces a number of small
communities. Now that the area has
a modernly equipped firehouse
there has been considerable saw
ing to the community through re-
duced insurance rates. What the
town has saved in this way has more
than paid for the whole project.
Mayor McCuen described the ia
eilities of the town hail. as we'll as
the firehouse, stressing proudly the
ambulance and hfeboat used in flood
emergencies when the hall twice
served as refuge. Two of the 38
workmen employed in building the
project also took part in the radio
drama.
The theme of the broadcast was
Men at Work-the Story of P. w.
A." AS symbolic of what this meant,
it started with the shrill whistles of
factories calling men back to work
and the welcome sound of drills.
Those who participated in the
broadcast were guests at a luncheon
served by the Ladies' Auxiliary of
the Glen Echo Fire Department. A
chorus from the Glen Echo-Cabin
John School provided music for the
broadcast,