OCR Text |
Show Chairman of Group Reads Thanks Notes Mrs. Lee D. Turner, chairman of Red Cross local production and emergency supply closet, is reading letters from various persons expressing their appreciation of the work being done by this group in Ogden. (Staff photo.) Where There’s Unity—There’s Production, At Local Emergency Group What’s that old adage…”In unity there is strength”? Yes, and I’d say…”production,” too, after seeing the display of articles made by many of Ogden’s local production workers under the supervision of Mrs. Lee D. Turned, chairman of Red Cross local production and emergency supply closet. Stacks and stacks of braided rugs in white and colorful designs, lap robes, pillows, comfort kits, wash cloths, layettes, and almost everything mentionable for hospital equipment greeted my eyes, as I called upon the promoter of this work at this headquarters recently. “This work goes on forever,” Mrs. Turner said, as she proudly displayed the articles and stated as to which group had made them. “This job is a magnanimous one… but I love it,” she added. “For instance, just to show you the sentiment that is wrapped up in all this,” she said, as she showed me a beautifully braided white circular rug, “a man who was injured in an accident some time ago, did this while he was confined at the hospital and he was thrilled because he could do his bit.” And as I looked at the large pile of these rugs, I realized that they would look well in any hospital or home. I was amazed at the quantity of finished work she showed me. “We just, shipped over a hundred of these to the various convalescent hospitals,” she said, indicating a pile of 54x54 lap robes made from squares of varicolored quilting material. “And 130 wheelchair pillows.” She added that the articles had been made by members of the L. D. S. Twelfth ward and Railway Mail Clerks auxiliary group. She stated that thirty rugs were ready to be shipped to Fort Lewis, Wash., Vancouver, Wash., and Camp Roberts, Calif., and that they come in continually. “More and more groups are taking up this project,” she said, “and we have just received word that the Red Cross has been asked to supply 300,000 comfort kilts… or ditty bags, and that Weber county’s quota is 200… so we’re starting work on them immediately.” The khaki material is donated for these kits, and various organizations are supplying the articles with which to equip them. The Lions club and B’nai B’rith, Jewish group, are donating cigarettes. The Junior Red Cross, of which Mrs. W. Karl Hopkins is chairman, is furnishing shoe polishing cloths, small pencils with metal caps, packages of envelopes with writing paper and tan 40-inch shoe laces. Mrs. Hopkins asked each child to bring a penny to school with which to buy razor blades, also, Girl Scouts, under supervision of Mrs. L. Jesse Holther are furnishing playing cards and Mrs. Turner stated that they should like to accept second hand decks that are still usable from anyone having them. They are also furnishing the chewing gum to put in the kits and are collecting all the pocket size books available. ‘House-wives’ including needles, pins, thread and the like, are being furnished by the Congregational church group. A group under the direction of Mrs. D. E. Romano donated the material and filled 25 of these kits, beside a number of ice bag covers and lap robes. “If anyone can think of any kind of a waterproof container to hold matches for the boys,” Mrs. Turner said, “I should like to know about it.” She then stated that the Eastern Star group under direction of Mrs. Anna Astill is working on three projects…rug making, lap robes, and 200 cravat bandages for the first aid group. “These are not to be used, unless in case of disaster,” she said. This group also donated the material and filled 25 comfort kits which have been shipped, she stated. In citing some of the groups working, she said many organizations of the L. D. S. church under supervision of Mrs. G. V. Simpson are working on various projects, including rugs, lap robes, wash cloths and layettes for hospital use. Mrs. Glen Wright is supervising a number of Mutual Improvement association classes in the making of comfort kits, and Mrs. Warren Hussey, a group of the Eighteenth ward in the making of lap robes. Another group from the Second ward is working under Miss Ann Browning in the making of pneumonia jackets which are quilted and padded, and bed jackets. “The auxiliary to the Ogden Firemen is also doing a fine job,” she said. “Under the direction of Mrs. Ralph Green, they have turned in 50 lap robes, 30 baby quilts and a number of 72x90 quilts for the emergency closet. “Mrs. Russell Minty is supervising the Hill Field group,” she stated, “and they have made 342 bedside bags to be used by convalescing soldiers. These hold all the personal belongings of the soldiers and they are attached to the bed,” she added. “Many of the soldiers like them so well that they ask to take them to the barracks with them.” She then stated that this group had also donated the material for 168 of these bags. Under the supervision of Mrs. E. Turner, the auxiliary to the Railway Mail Clerks is working n quilts and is donating material for the emergency closet. Mrs. Turner then showed me some kapok, a soft substance with which fracture pillows are stuffed. These pillows, 10x11 1/2 –inches are made of unbleached muslin, and are used in hospitals for the comfort of the soldiers with fractured limbs. “I bought all of this I could, before December 7,” Mrs. Turner said, “because I knew we would be in this war sooner or later… and that something was going to pop with either Japan or us. It is imported, you see, and I knew we would be unable to get it soon.” She then reported that 200 of these pillows with two cases for each and about that many of the comfort pillows for wheelchairs were made by the group under the supervision of Mrs. Paul Hodgson. She stated that the West Warren group has made a number of hospital articles also. A group under Mrs. Lloyd Harris, Mrs. Trace Turner and Mrs. John Hendricks have completed 129 layettes, which completes the present quota for the emergency closet for Weber county, Mrs. Turner stated. “Local production before the war, was very small, she said, “and the Christmas quota was the only one necessary to fill.” She then stated that she had been in this service three years, and when the war started in Europe, Mrs. C. H. B. Seybert took the chairmanship of Red Cross war relief production and put Mrs. Turner in as local production chairman. “We had as our storehouse, Mrs. Seybert’s basement and worked day and night, she added. Working for Red Cross was not so popular then and we had to work very hard. Later Mrs. Seybert moved out of the county and resigned her office of chairman, and Mrs. Wade M. Johnson took her place. “It’s great fun doing this work,” she said, “even if it is hard. If there is ever any controversy as to the standard requirements for these articles… we have no difficulty straightening it out, as we have Red Cross instructions to follow.” “The work becomes more interesting as each quota comes in,” |