The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1942-01-08
Red Shield
Board Meets

The Advisory Board of the Red
Shield Reading Room met yester-
day at the reading rooms at 4 o.
clock There were present Messrs.
B. D. Stewart, Michael j. Haas, B.
F. Heintzleman, John w. Jones and
H. L. Faulkner. The members met
with Adjutant and Mrs. Stanley
Jackson. An examination of the
reading rooms was made, and par
ticularly of the new books and pub
locations on hand, and the work
for the past six months was gone
over in detail.
The reading rooms are situated
in the Decker Building and have
been open since about May Is, l941.
Most of the furnishings have been
given to the rooms by various per-
sons and organizations in Juneau.
Shelving has been provided for
large number of books and tables,
chairs and desks have been fur
nished. The object of the establish
ment of the rooms was to provide
place where men without homes
and where Juneau boys could go
! and spend the evening in reading
or writing letters. Very wide use
, has been made of the rooms, not
, only by men without homes or
other places to go, but by large
number of boys of the community
who go there to read the books
and publications and sometimes 70
get instructions in Boy Scouting
and other matters of wholesome
interest. There is room in the
rear where many boys prepared
their model airplanes for the Ro-
tary Model Plane Contest.
The rooms have been of particu-
lar and valuable service at times
when Coast Guard vessels and ma
val craft are in port.
Through the voluntary gifts of
various persons in Juneau, the
reading rooms have on hand up
to-date copies of practically all
magazines which are fit to read,
including some which are not found
on the newsstands, and some vail
able publications not found else
where in Juneau. The Empire keeps
the reading rooms supplied with
daily copies of its publications
These magazines and papers are
all kept up to date.
! There is need and space for more
good books, and there is also need
of a good radio and the Board de-
cided TO make inquiries to see
whether someone would not furnish
a radio for use of the men who
frequent the reading rooms. There
is an old one on hand, but it IS
of very little use.
! During the recent blackout, the
room in the rear was lighted with
out the light showing ON the street,
and coffee was served there dur
ing the entire evening.
The Board discussed the matter
of having on hand first laid ma
terials and appliances for use in
case of emergency.
4 The Board was very niue II
pleased with the service which this
i institution Is giving to the men
1 and boys in Juneau, and they
( would be pleased to have the public
I generally inspect the rooms and
the facilities The rooms are stu
ated in the Decker Building on
Front Street and are open from Z
O'Clock to 10 o'clock each evening.
Efforts are being made to procure
the services of some man or sew
eral men who would volunteer to
be on hand to keep the rooms open
and in order during the afternoons
for there seems demand for the
facilities furnished Many homeless
men have expressed desire to
have the rooms open during a part
of each day.
| The Board decided to give a lit
tie more publicity to the work being