Evening star., 1949-03-14
Axis Sally and Old Portland
ia the Editor of The Star.

To the Editor Of The Star:
Mildred (Axis Sally Gillars has stated
several times that she was native Of the
State Of Maine, born in Portland Of rather
poor family. I should like to make the
point that her beginnings offered her great
er-than-average blessings. For what could
a poor child do, in Portland, Maine, from
1900 to 1906, when she lived there, if one
were truly native of that beautiful town
that is seated by the sea-?
One could go to preschool classes, then
called kindergartens, like the one on Bracket
street. There one learned to model farm
animals in clay, and to cut out, with
blunt scissors, the red and orange and blue
circles that the teacher pasted on the bal
loon man; one sat on the floor with other
little boys and girls, including some that
were really poor, Jewish or Polish or Irish,
and one sang songs that still are remem-
bered, like In Our Little Boat" In that
public schoolroom, one learned about graft
tude for "our daily bread" and for "the
Stars and Stripes forever" In the spring,
sthe Governments great Department Of
Agriculture sent packets of seeds for every
little girl and boy that they might plant
both vegetables and flowers and learn what
it meant to have roots in the State Of Maine.
Childhood Memories Still Clear.
Out on the streets, without guidance, and
with hours to spend, what could poor child
do in Portland? One could go to either
the Eastern or the Western Promenades for
daily band concerts for free; or to Union
Station to watch the big engines come in:
to Deerings Oaks to see the ducks and
squirrels; to the Public Library to look at
picture books (before the story-hour days.;
to the free beach where one could go wad-
ing or hunt for starfish or braid seaweed
while watching the big ships come and co.
one could hear the bugle at the fort when
the flag went up in the morning or down at
night and the big guns doomed in Its honor;
one could climb the Longfellow Monument
and sit on the poets stone lap and hear from
his stone lips the music of the Childrens'
Hour One learned early that the master OF
the ferry-boat "Lottie May would allow
small children on hot day to make the
trip across the bay with him, if the children
obeyed his commands to be off the water
front by dark; and one could go with the
ladder man while he turned on the gas
lights at sunset. One was friendly with the
firemen in all the stations, and could go to
the stalls to see the horses and watch
the men at drill slide down the brass poles
Along the wharves. one could get strip
of salt fish to eat and sometimes pickle or
an apple or even lime ball or jelly tart.
though there was no penny to pay for 1t.
6eSG Oh all was Gllc AllAco UutGCl -dAA0- 0-cSS
store where one could have crumbs from the
cheese board and never have to ask Not
even in winter was life dull for the poor
native children of Portland. No sport could
be more fun than punging on George
Shaw delivery sleigh; or being the little
one crowded onto the bobsled for slide
down State street in sliding hours.
Love of Home Emphasized.
This was the preschool life in Portland
as I knew it. In those impressionable years.
I saw clouds and sunsets that never will be
forgotten and learned love of home and
a love of America that Miss Gillars never
could know. Why couldn't she? Because
it was not exciting enough. not sophisticated
enough, not dramatic enough for her. So
she went to Germany and had money. and
sophistication, and drama among the Nazis
for the price of her heritage.
Even as she rejected her heritage, so do
those Of the State of Maine reject her claims
to being a native of Portland. Although
she was born there and lived there until she
was six years old. she never in the true
sense was native" of the State Of Maine.
NATIVE OF PORTLAND. .