Evening star., 1961-03-19
YOUNG Team Invodes Rundown Area
To Try Out Concept Of Peace Corps
BY GEORGE WILSON
Star Staff Writer

President Kennedy's Peace
Corps concept is undergoing an
unofficial test these days in a
rundown neighborhood of
northwest Washington.
Four volunteers ranging in
age from 19 to %, are working
full-time to slow down the skid
Of the Adams Morgan area near
Eighteenth street and Colum-
bia road NV.
They live and work out Of
Hollyday House, a refurbished
slum dwelling at 2316 Seven
teenth street NV, under the
auspices Of the Church Of the
Brethren. They get room. board
and SO a month.
They admit the Job is too big
for them-that no foursome Of
youths can transform q neigh
borhood from q weed to a flow
er. But they think their work
the kind President Kennedy is
recommending for the domes-
tic side Of his Peace Corps-is
worth doing on q national
scale.
Pretty Pied Piper
What do they do? Here are
some examples:
Barbara Sunny, pretty 19-
year-old from Dayton, Ohio, on
Tuesday afternoon will walk
down Seaton place NV, a tired
block Of row houses, with chill
dren's books under her arms.
Some Of the kids will see her
coming and run out Of their
houses as If they had heard the
Pied Piper. The string of chill
dren will follow Barbara into
the Sacred Hearts Spiritual
Church Of Faith at 1892 Seaton
place, file into the pews and
listen to Barbara read from the i
pulpit about animals and places
they have never seen.
This bit Of social work will
never win an award nor change
a neighborhood, Barbara ad-
mits.
But I've become a good
friend of these children" she |,
says. Many Of their parents
can't read, and they seem to
like to hear the stories. We had
to cancel the reading hours
during the bad weather because
the children had no coats. One
boy came bare footed through /,
the snow to the class with no
jacket on" /,
Barbara also runs a Brownie 4
troop. None of the mothers in /,
the neighborhood would take
on the job. Il
New Member
Eddie Graham. 20, is another
one Of the foursome working
in the Adams Morgan neigh i
borhood. He has the arms Of a
football guard and worked as a
factory handyman in Inwood,
w. Va, before joining the
Church of the Brethren team
at Hollyday House a few days
ago. He is still getting his
work organized but will teach
boys in the neighborhood how
to make home repairs and do
other semi-skilled work. AL
ready he is helping out the Dis
trict Recreation Department Di-
rector in the area.
Lois, %, and Karyl G. Hartz-
Ter, %. are the married mem
bers on the Church Of the
Brethren team. Lois primarily
runs the household and sets up
the appointments for the
others while Karyl serves as
team director.
He was graduated from
Manchester College, North
Manchester. Ind, with major
in sociology before entering
the Church Of the Brethren
Volunteer Service training
school in New Windsor, Md,
for two months. He reported
to the Adams-Morgan neigh
borhood last December and
will, unless transferred, serve
there two years as a substitute |
for military service.
Were here to do the job .
other agencies aren't doing or
can't do" he said in explain
ing the groups mission. -Four
people can't make much of a
dent by themselves. So one of
the main things we try to do is
organize groups and develop
leaders to carry them on"
For instance, Barbara's
Brownie troop-Karyle hopes
will inspire mothers in the
Adams Morgan neighborhood
to lead other troops. Similarly,
Lois works in the school library
because the principal cannot
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