Evening star., 1941-09-16

R biggest and most
"S"''S'''' sSS''S''s''" successful black
McLemOre. out ever held in
this country, and the reason for its
success was the manliness with
which the housewives of the COM
munity took charge of it. from the
moment a Mrs. SO-and-So barked
at the police chief and told him it
was time to sound the alert" siren,
until another Mrs Son-snd-So
decided it was time for the "all
clear" signal
The men of Port Washington for
the most part just stood around
with armbands on and did their best
not TO get in the way Of their wives
and daughters. The men had no
more authority or importance than
a Republican in Mississippi
A man standing next TO me during
the demonstration Of first aid fire.
fighting, incendiary bomb removing
and refugee" feeding that followed
the blackout asked me to take par
ticular notice of a woman who was
changing tire on an ambulance.
That's my wife" he SAID, and
she'll change that confounded tire in
minutes 10 seconds"
There was no pride in the hus-
bands voice. In fact he spoke
almost with complete resignation.
Il always used to change the tires
when We had fats on the road" he
said. But last week We were
coming back from our vacation N
Canada and had a fiat, and my wife
almost had a fit over the way I
started to change the tire. Here, let
me do that she said. You get back
in the car and sit down. I hold the
record in our group for tire-chang-
ing and you're so clumsy it nearly
runs me crazy.
IF you don't think she knows her
stuff, take a look at her right now.
looked and I never saw a tire
get changed so fast in my life The
average man always loses the tire
Iugs or puts the jack under the
wrong place on the bumper when he
changes a tire. but not these women,
who are training for national
/ defense.
- =
Another husband. also downCast.
| Joined US there under the fOodnghts
on the high school grounds.
II haven't had any dinner he
complained, because my wife is in
charge of feeding 1900 refugees in
half an hour from mobile kitchen.
| There it comes now. and am going
over and join the refugees in the
hope of getting a sandwich and a
cup of coffee"
The mobile kitchen tore up at
I high speed. slammed 10 a stop and
/ within a minute food was being
served the refugees" at breakneck
speed. I watched the hungry hus-
band. He Joined the crowd and was
about to get away with q bite when
his wife. trim in her uniform,
spotted him. She chased him away,
/ saying he would get his dinner
when she got home. not before.
Perhaps the most amazed hus-
+ band was the one whose little
woman almost ran over him when
/ she came tearing in to the demon
stration grounds on a high-speed
motorcycle.
She is a dispatch carrier he ex-
planned. and has developed streak
/ of recklessness that frightens the
/ children and me TO death. A few
months ago she didn't want the
youngest boy to have bicycle but
look at her now. She had been
trying to get me to let her take me
for ride, but you couldn't drag me
on that thing with her at the
| handlebars."
All over the grounds husbands
stood around with their hands in
their pockets while the one-tims
gentler sex went about the rough-
est, toughest sort of work. Overalled
women rushed up to cars that had
purposely been put out of. order,
ierked up the hoods and repaired
| them in record time Women led in
the direction of f1re-hghting and
rescues by ladder of persons trapped
in the burning" building. Above
the sound effects. which were re-
cordings of actual London bomb
ings. could be heard the shrill COM
mands of the women volunteer
workers.
At the finish Of the blackout and
demonstration the husbands showed
no wear and tear whatsoever. Their
sport jackets and flannels were i'm
maculate. But the wives we're grimv
and disheveled, with grease on their
faces and hair down in their eyes.
Every man left the place feeling
pretty darn useless and unneces-
Sary.
Our only consolation came in the
knowledge that if worst comes to
worst, we have some efficient skirts
to hide behind and some very
stout apron strings to cling to.
distributed by McNaught Syndicate, IncD
Businessmen's Group