Evening star., 1938-03-06
Girls Spend Less Than S. and Turn
Basement Into Rumpus Room
Pass on Clever Ideas
for Games and
Decorations.

to entertain when you please without
. soul to say: "sssh! Not so much
noise! Less rumpus over there!"
Sounds pretty wonderful, doesn't it7
And a little expensive. perhaps. But
it doesn't have to be. as Joan Row.
land and Jean Donovan, le-year- old
seniors ut Roosevelt High. School, have
demonstrated
Their rumpuS room in JOan's base.
ment WAS built at cost Of only $4.95.
So II you are looking for = bargain in
recreation rooms. their plans are just
the thing for you.
About the time the rumpus-room
idea was becoming too strong for
Joan and Jean to resist, Jeans mother
decided to furnish her home with new
window shades. That gave the two
girls an idea.
They asked for and received the dis
carded shades and Immediately started
fixing up place Of their own In Z
corner OF Joan's basement.
The stifY. light colored shades were
fastened together and attached to the
steel sirders and supports Of the base
ment so that they formed two sides
OF q room. The red brick basement
walls, which were to form the other
sides. were white-washed to blend
with the color Of the shades.
Then 1t became necessary to spend
q GttIA Ipll fpr
beach chair and another dollar for
some red paint, for the girls had de-
cided on red and black color scheme.
In the meantime, an old cot, pack
ing box and . few cushions had been
secured and so cents worth OF black
and red cotton material for coverings
sufnced to make them attractive ar
ticles of furniture. That accounted
for all the large items on the budget.
For decorations, pictures and maps
were tackled on the wall. An old table
was painted red. An old photograph
was placed in one corner and book
case was painted and arranged TO hold
= collection Of china dogs.
A border Of comic pictures on two
sides Of the room helps to entertain
guests, but the crowning achievement
in the way OF entertainment Is Joan's
invention OF q picture game which
decorates the ceiling.
For this game Joan chose pictures
Of movie stars and pasted them ON
the ceiling, numbering them from /
to 20. Players are given list Of COM
ments on the stars cut from movie
magazines and numbered to corre-
spond with the pictures. The player
naming the most stars from the pic
lures and comments is the winner.
The idea Of the room, rs you can
see, is to have fun, and when it was
completed in the early winter Jean
and Joan decided to have . house.
warming. Their friends knew that
something had been going on in Joan's
basement. but they had been unable
to discover just what. 20 there was
an undertone Of mystery about the
whole affair.
As the guests gathered in Joen's
living room each WAS given = red
candle. When everybody had arrived,
the candles were lighted and 4 pro-
cession started down the steps and
across the basement. Soon the red
and black rumpus room was diScov-
cred. After the quarters had been
thoroughly admired, games were
brought out and the sueats ended up
by making taffy and pulling 1.-THE
sort Of thing for which = rumpus room
is especially suited.
Since then life down there has been
just one grand party.
At the door of the rumpus room is
q poster with this heading: Rules for
Rumpusing in the Rumpus Room"
Here they are:
Negative-Do not let your first visit
be your last. Do not bring your dig
nifty with you. THAT only applies If
you have any,
Positive-Do come often. Do leave
all seriousness upstairs. Do leave q
comment In the Vox Pop box.
The Vox Pop Box Is = painted to-
bacco can In which guests are re-
quested to put comments, suggestions
and criticisms. 30 far there have
been no criticisms. Everybody has a
grand time-eo grand that they are
apt to make rhymes about 1t, like this:
When 1t comes to poetry,
I'm . flop,
But I think your rumpus room
Is the top"
New furnishings are added con-
stantly to the room, and Josn's aunt,
who donated rugs, says that whenever
her niece pays her visit and sits
staring at = piece of furniture with
= far-away look in her eye. she knows
Joan is picttring it In the rumpus
room.
The next addition to the girls re-
treat Is to be q red hAssock, they said.
Recently they were walking in Rock
Greek Park, it was explained. when
they happened to see small keg lying
in the road At the foot Of . hill and
in the path Of truck. Both had the
same idea at once. What = fine thing
for . hassock! Shouting to the driver
not to run over the ksg, they man
aged to save 1t and rescued their booty
At once.
80 We walked home" sid Jean,
down Sixteenth street carrying the
keg!"
BY the time it has been dressed up
In paint and cushions they feel quite
sure the driver would never recognize
their hassock aS the keg he almost
ruined in Rock Greek Park!
Scotland Took
An Irish Name
SCOTLAND takes it, name from .