Evening star., 1943-05-09
Open Air Canteen Near Lincoln Memorial
Joy to Many Because of Able Leadership
Mrs. E. Jared Bliss
And AWVS GROUP
Handle Biz Job

Mary MacCracken Jones.
Down on Constitution avenue,
near the Lincoln Memorial, Is the
open-air canteen run by the
American Women's Voluntary
Services for the Army and Navy
personnel and for any one who
wishes to come and enjoy lunch
and fresh air at the same time.
Close by the entrance of this
park lunch bar young woman
wearing an air of efficiency atop
an AWVS uniform sits at a card
table, smilingly juggling a dozen
matters at once. She answers
the telephone, keeps an eye on
cash boxes, looks after the VOL
unteers, makes out lists of work.
ers for the next week and mean
while keeps every one in good
humor.
This is Mrs. E. Jared Bliss,
chairman in charge of personnel
for the two AWVS canteens. It's
quite a job, for it takes some 80
persons a day to staff the two,
and the supply must be kept up
with no one on duty more than
once or twice a week. 1t isn't
hard to do with figures, but Mrs.
Bliss does it with human beings,
which is quite another matter.
In fact, she is starting on her
third year of keeping the can
teens stated with volunteers and
she hasn't developed a wrinkle
yet. She began her canteen work
in Morristown, N. j., where the
family lives, except for its sum-
mer migration to Oyster Bay to
enjoy sailing and cruising on the
Ballerina, or its predecessors, for
week ends on the water is the
family idea of happiness.
Mr.. Bliss is we'll known as
racing skipper and has an impos-
ing array of trophies to attest
his skill and the speed of his
boats. From his earliest days
he has had passion for horses,
also, especially hunters and rae
ers, but he turned his back on the
joys Of sailing and riding when,
in 1941, he came to Washington
to help put the Army on a good
footing, for he is chief of the
footwear section in the Office of
the Quartermaster General.
Established in Georgetown,
Mrs. Bliss has been keeping open
house for her many friends ever
since. 1t must be an interesting,
if lively household. for its mis-
tress seldom knows how many
will sit down to dinner, but a
Skillful and devoted cook is al
ways equal to the occasion and
both husband and wife are nat
urally gregarious.
The l4-year-old son has as
great a passion for railways as
his father has for horses and has
transformed the lovely, prim
French parlor into the setting for
a full railroad system, with model
engines that work" tunnels.
switches, scenery and signals
lights. He joyfully runs them for
the entertainment of onlookers
who become so fascinated as to
forget the war and the AWVS.
Mrs. Bliss herself has two
hobbies - practical ones. She
makes gloves. beautiful things
from fine skins to fiji the individ-
ual hand. An Englishwoman
once taught her the mysteries of
cutting and hand sewing and she
loves to do this as some women
love knitting or bridge.
Then she is interested in the
problems of cooking afoat, and
has book on the subject almost
ready for the printer. Her ar
tlcles have already appeared in
Well-knoWn magazines.
The problem of good food,
cooked quickly in rough sea
at an angle of As degrees is
something" she says, but food
has always interested me-"