Evening star., 1943-06-13
Var Work Is Privilege Rather Than a Duty
The Bethesda Red Cross Chairman Believes
Mrs. Aubin0e Says
All Must Meet
Responsibility
Bv Lillian Arthur

By Lillian Arthur
Mrs. Alvin l.. Aubinoe began
her work with the American Red
Cross in 1922 when she was lit
tie blond girl in Western High
School.
That was more than 20 years
ago and now she again is work
ing for the Red Cross, and is, in
fact, hallway through her third
term as chairman of the Be-
thesda branch, which has nearly
5000 members.
Mrs. Aubinoe doesn't remember
much about her work with the
high school Red Cross chapter.
She had almost entirely forgotten
that she had served as its presid-
ing officer until she came across
her picture recently in an old
yearbook under which Is the cap
ton, Dorothy Barron, Red Cross
chairman" But one OF her
former teachers at Western re-
members ner in those days as a
serious little girl who did what
ever she was asked to do and did
it well and says that she was an
efficient chairman.
She must have carried the at
tribute of dependability that
characterized her in her school
years over into her later life, for
they say of her at the Bethesda
Red Cross Branch: Mrs. Aubinoe
does what she says she will do
and does it we'll" And then they
add: Her Red Cross job is a VOL
unteer job but she works as hard
at it as she would If she had
full-time job with the salary Of
a high-priced executive"
Mrs. Aubinoe has had many
interests in the time that has
elapsed since she was in high
school. After she was married
and moved to Bethesda she gave
a good bit of her time to the work
of the Florence Crittenton So
ciety. She still is interested in
the society's work although she
is no longer an officer in the local
circle.
She gave parties and some
times had as many as 400 guests
at one time-and she did the
usual things popular young
matron does in any community.
Her only contact with the Red
Cross during this period was
through her membership in a
sewing unit that met at her
home in Greenwich Forest once
a week and which turned over
its finished work to the Bethesda
branch.
When she was asked to take
over the Craftsmanship OF the
local branch in 194l Mrs. Aubinoe
did it reluctantly-"just until
you can get some one else"-she
told the Nominating Committe.
When she was asked to serve
for a second year she accepted
from a sense of duty and she said
quite frankly, NO woman should
shirk her responsibility under
present conditions"
When she was asked to serve
for a third term she was so thor
oughly interested in the work
that she felt it was no longer
just a duty to serve as the
branch chairman-it was a privi-
lege.
Since Mrs. Aubinoe has been
in Office the branch has secured
headquarters on Wisconsin ave-
nue., where it has turned out
S,UOu SeWeu garments SlIlCe llle
beginning Of the present year
and 500 knitted garments. A
blood donor unit has been or
ganized and canteen unit that
was the first to arrive on the
scene at the time of the Dicker-
son, Md, train wreck a year ago
and which stayed on the job
continuously for "a hours. These
are only a few of the activities
of the Bethesda Red Cross
Branch.
During the last few weeks Mrs.
Aubinoe has been helping in Or
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