The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-27

stove, the baby's highchair, and the pots and pans are clanking against the cars deluxe paint job.
 The father of the family generally still wears overalls, but this time there's real folding money in the pockets.
 They're the same 'okies' and 'arkies' that came through here four years ago." said J. c. Fitzgerald, quarantine inspector at the Cali ornia-Arizona border. "But they're richer ones now"
 The exodus of workers through his station has doubled in the past few days. Before the end of the war and the uctback in workers about 2,328 persons returned home daily.
 On one day I saw 5,760 headed for Oklahoma and Arkansas, pull in at the inspection station. Cars were lined along the highway as many as 48 at time.
 Fitzgerald says he expects the fig ure to grow every day.
 I climbed on couple hundred running boards to find out where they are going. how rich they are, and what they {, were going to do with all their money.
 Ed Rhine, toothless farmer, was going back to Arkansas and pay off the mortgage on his farm. His car was loaded with Mrs. Rhine, granny, five little Rhines, brother Rhine, and all the household belongings
 Everyone Worked
 ''We all worked but granny and the littlest," he grinned. wen be big shots when we get home, what with all this dough we got"
 s. P. Bordman. an elderly welder who lost his Kaiser job in Rich mond, Calif., was one of the few home-hound "Okies" who drove a truck instead of shiny automobile.
 All us 'Okies' ain't fools," he said. Saw this comin', so we didn't splurge on no fancy extras. Look"
 He opened burlap bag and scooped out $5,000 in small bills.
 A. w. Renfro. Fresno farm work CT, was hauling behind his Ford convertible a battered trailer com- plete with wife, five kids, rocking chair, wash tub, and pots and pans. He said yep, he's saved his money.
 But it ain't none of yore dang ed business what I'm gonna do with it." he snapped.
 Clyde Summers, jubilant over the savings of his three year job as Kaiser welder in Richmond, zoomed into the station, wet diapers flap ping from the car windows. He saved enough, he said, to buy new Buick. get his wife and three children fancy clothes, and still buy a big farm in Oklahoma.
 "The California dough's good anywhere" he said. Ma Summers had her feet soaking in pan of water under the brakes. It was IA in the shade.
 Over-Night Wealth
 But the record for the fabulous rise to riches goes to the H. V. Shoreman clan. Four years ago, with his wife, three grown sons, and daughter, he coaxed his pickup truck from Oklahoma to oakland and five shipyard jobs.
 "Iived in an old chicken coop," Shoreman said. Everybody worked and clipped in for the farm"
 They kept their cash in old cigar boxes.
 And now looky here," he beamed, pulling out four battered boxes bulging with cash. Almost $i00, 900 we got in thar"
 I stared at piles of bills. ranging from $1 900 ones down to $l00 green backs. He kept those little ones" on top, he said, in case any should blow out. I saw 10 s1,000 bills in a quick flip of one of the boxes.
 And I'm headin' fer home now," he added. "The farms all bought and just waitin' fer me to git thar and work it."
 His new Plymouth was loaded down with beds, mattresses. quilts, pans. bicycles and the ever-present wash tub.
 And that's how the "okies" and "Arkies" are going home, trium- phant. rich and cluttered. The only thing they left behind in cali- fornia, apparently. was the goats and. chickens they had tied to the running boards when they landed there.