Evening star., 1951-01-01
Holiday
Continued From First Page)

Holiday
Continued From First Page.)
corner. Army Pvt. Louis Perrigall,
20. of Hoxie, Ark, commented:
whats the use? When I wake
up tomorrow the war will still be
with U.s."
Thirty seconds after midnight,
the first child was born in the
area. Mrs. Mary B. Smeal. 1S,
of 4109 Silver Hill road, Silver
Hill, Md. gave birth to a girl at
Bethesda Naval hospital. Her
husband, Radio Technician Wayne
j. Smeal. is in Japan. The couples
first. the child was delivered by
DR.. E. Louise Stout. U. S. N.
Girl Born at Columbia.
The first baby born in the city,
at 1916 am, was a daughter
to Mr.. and Mrs. Aaron Berch, at
Columbia Hospital. AS the 49,
year-old colored mother rested
comfortably, the husband said he
hadn't expected it so soon and
was asleep at the time of the
birth" He is a hotel room clerk.
The baby weighed 7 pounds IL
ounces.
Home parties predominated last
night because celebrants couldn't
seem to wait until midnight. The
District Commissioners and the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
had ruled liquor could be served
from midnight until 2 am. in
night clubs and hotels, a special
concession for a Sunday night.
Before midnight it was beer and
wine, with small patronage.
There were many parties for
servicemen. Some gathered at
the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines
and Airmen's Club, 1015 L street |
NV. to welcome the new year.
But as the bells struck the hour,
many of those in uniform were
looking at television to see how
celebrations were going elsewhere.
The biggest serviceman's party
was at the YWCA, Seventeenth
and K streets NV. More than
300 men, including amputees of
the Korean war on crutches,
formed line to receive party hats,
confetti and horns about 1850
pm. They then joined in a COM
munity sing, which ended at mid
night with Aud Lang Syne," bal
looms cascading down On them.
Open house will be held today.
Streets Are Quiet.
Hardly a toot of a horn was
heard in the strets as midnight
neared. 1t was quieter than any
Saturday night. The streets were
without laughter. Some night
clubs were half empty and many
didn't open. Only a few were
crowded.
House parties continued late.
Police said, the first death OF the
New Year was recorded at 1925
am. Ben Hodge, IS, colored, died
in Emergency Hospital of burns
suffered yesterday afternoon when
a boiler exploded in a house where
he was janitor.
Early parties were held at
Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval
hospitals by the American Red
Cross. Many veterans of Korea
were present. At Walter Reed, the
patients set the clock ahead three
hours to midnight for their Gel
ebration, to beat pm. curfew.
Downtown movies, which were
popular, ran late shows.
Airlines, bus companies and
Union Station reported the begin
ming Of a heavy traffic that is due
to reach climax this evening
with an estimated 100000 WASH
ingtonianS coming back from out
of town.
Extra Trains Scheduled.
Train travel picked up rapidly.
With servicemen leaving for
camps, special sections were put
on. But many sections also were
due to arrive.
The railroads scheduled about
Is extra trains to New York to-
night. Spokesman said, however,
the exodus was not as heavy as
Christmas week end, when rs sec
tions were added.
Airlines anticipated their great
est traffic tonight. Officials ex-
planned people have been drift
ing back all week and it won't
be anything like December 25."
Bus companies put on 10 extra
sections to Richmond and five to-
New York, mainly for the bene-
fit Of servicemen returning to
camps.
The Washington police and fire
departments reported little activ-
ity over New Years eve. There
were no serious automobile acci-
dents. the accident investigation
unit reported.
Etno Erupting Again