Evening star., 1941-03-02
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

III Tile IllSGOTlC dIllOSpleTe O1
what was once an old home in
Wheat Row." oldest of all the rows
of houses in Washington, there is
functioning what is believed to be
the only institution of its kind in
our country for training teachers in
handicrafts.
The National Craft Training Gen.
ter at 1917 Fourth street S.W. isn't
a slum project or a lobbyists play
ground, but a serious educational
project. Here, in an ancient house
built by sturdy craftsmen in 1888,
leaders are being trained to preserve
the art of achieving with ones own
hands.
Back of this endeavor is Mrs.
Harry L. Rust, jr., prominent Junior
Lacquer. Nationally known for her
own craft accomplishments with
marionettes in her marionette studio,
Mrs. Rust is also practical idealist
who for seven years served on the
Budget Committee of the Com
munity Chest.
Offer Peace and Accomplishment.
Mrs. Rust, president of the train
ing centers Board of Directors, de-
scribes herself as "an individualist
who doesn't yearn to be an eXecu-
tive" In fact, she prefers to be "a
newer of wood and a drawer of
water" but because of the joy she's
had in doing things with her hands,
she is interested in seeing that many
others are given an opportunity to
use their hands.
"Handicrafts, she said, "can be a
joyous hobby, as well as safe out
let for frayed nerves resulting from
the stress and strain of our daily
living. They also can be useful in
earning ones living. With the ad-
vent of the machine age, we have
neglected both angles in our educa-
tional processes"
Dartmouth College in practical
New England, she pointed out, re-
Gently installed a craft shop for its
students where they may have
made up to them, the very general
failure of the home and the pre-
paratory school to teach them the
value of working with their hands" 3"
For instance" she added, there
are thousands of neighborhood crafts
in isolated sections, as well as in
urban centers, where only wise di-
rection and sufficient training are
needed for self-respecting men and
women to earn adequate ivelihoodS
working on industries characteristic
of their communities. Their output
can be brought to the attention of
those who buy and require hand
made articles, If proper channels
are provided for skilled output and
the marketing Of it.
Factor in Defense.
"Handicraft training also is neces-
sary to defense. Had our educa-
tional systems in the immediate
past, or the requirements of our
daily lives necessitated the training
of the hands, the workers needed
today in defense industries for pre-
ciSion work could have been trained
quicker to fill the present shortage
in such trades as machine tools,
airplane parts and many others of
a similar nature"
Mrs. Rust also sees handicraft
occupations as answers to leisure
time activities with the thousands
of defense workers who are pouring
into Washington, as we'll as safe
outlets as recreationa1 activities for
drafteeS from nearby cantonments
who will make the Nations Capital
a mecca during their hours off duty.
This on-profit-making, educa-
tional craft center offers training in
handicraftS for commercial fields,
organized recreation, scout work,
occupational rehabilitation and leis-
ure time occupation, as well as ele-
mentary classes for Junior students.
In the field of therapeutic occupa-
tions the center is teaching six Of
the recommended courses, including
weaving, bookbinding, pottery, metal
and ieWelry work. Physicians gen.
orally are giving increasing recog-
milton to the value of such work in
enabling many who might not 9TH
erWiSe be able to earn a living to
be happy, useful members of their
communities.
Helps Fill Teacher Demand.
Zone of the chief reasons for Or
ganization of the CENTER" Mrs. Rust
said, was to meet the growing de-
mand for the limited supply of
teachers in craft fields"
The enrolment of students has
increased over 300 per cent during
the last year, and the center's fame
has gone far beyond Washington.
Requests for trained directors and
assistants here, and for State pro-
grams and educational institutions
are being received in increasing
numbers by its director, Frederick
J. Wallace, master craftsman in his