alabama civil defense - jan 1945

8/9/2019 Alabama Civil Defense - Jan 1945

1/4

HOME FRONTONTHLY BULLETIN OF THE ALABAMA STATE DEFENSE COUNCIL

VOLUME I. MONTGOMERY, ALA., JANUARY, 1945 NUMBER 8

General MarshallAppeals To Ala.Governor For WACs IBACKING US UP -SpangIReenactme?t Of C. D._, Law ConsIdered ByCommittee

C. D. Policemen

Legion AuxiliaryBoosts Salvage IIn Lauderdale ISpang, Cartoonist of the Montgomery, Ala., Advertiser, in this

cartoon interprets th e work of th e Citizens Service Corps in Mon tgomery.Mrs. J. Y. Brame, Director and Mrs. Louis Baker , Executive Secretary find time i n spite of their many regular duties to take care ofth e vast volume of cle ric al work f or loca l welfa re o rg ani za tio ns ,which because of war conditions are experienc ing diffiCUlty in findingsufficient number of volunteers.

The generous bp of the Corps 'seems to' have the magic qualitiesof th e miraculous pitcher. No sooner is it emptied th an it is againfull, seeming never to lose i ts capacity for additional work.Mrs . D. B. Moose, head of the C.D. volunteer office in Huntsville andMrs. M.ilton Anderson, Chairman ofthe Cit izens Service Corps, l ike theproverb ia l busy bees have manyshining hours to their credi t. Thesewomen staged and directed two successful welfare-warfare drives anda Red Cross Drive. They are al ready making prepara tion for th enext Red Cross Drive. Under theirearnest leadership, the ent i re community ha s participated wholeheartedly in the Civil ian Defense

program.

Huntsville WomenUntiring Workers

The following special sub-committee on Emergency Legislationhas been appointed from an Interim Committee of the Legislature toconsider th e reenactment of th eCivil ian Defense Law:Senaror Vernon LaFayette St.John representing Lawrence andMorgan Count ies is a prominent educator. A graduate of th e Univers it y of A labama , Senator St. Johnpreviously served as Sta te Senatorfor t he t erm 1935-39. He was vicepresident of the Alabama EducationAssociation in 1940-41 and as anardent Democrat ha s served on th eNational Speakers Bureau.Senator Jim Smith, Jr., of ColbertCounty has gained reputat ion as aforward-looking legislator, with afull realization of his responsibilities to the cit izens of th e State.Representative Nonnan W. Harrisof Decatur graduated as L. L. B.from th e University of Virginia andhas been practsing law in his hometown, f inding t ime to represent hisState as member of the Senate 193842. Again he occupies a prominent

I place among the law makers of Ala-Ibama.Representative Lonnie G. McPher-son of Fort Payne is not only well'known in his own DeKalb County,obut has taken an active part insponsoring and directing State leg:islation.Representative Hunter Golson isknown'throughout the S ta te a s pub lisher of county newspapers, owning the Wetumpka Herald, the Abbeville Herald, and the Atmore Advance. He is a familiar figure inth e Capitol corridors hav ing for merly served in th e House of Representatives from 1939-43, and isconversant with affairs of State.

Clothing DrivesSupport your va rious drives f orclothing as there has been a number of requests from Brit ish Relief.Russian Relief and China Relief forc lo th ing of a ll types as these count ri es have not been manufacturingwearing apptrel and the re are manyIdestitute cases.

The City of Sylacauga, Alabam'!.boasts that 2 of it s very best policemen are men trained as auxiliarypolicemen in the Civilian Defensprogram. C. D. pol icemen and firemen have been recognized througho ut t he country as a most efficienand praiseworthy group.

The care of increasing number ofcasua lt ie s a rr iv ing in the UnitedStates, together with an acute shortage of nurses and hospital attendants necessitates urgent measuresbeing taken to recruit and rapidlytrain women for service in Armyhospi ta ls , according to GeneralGeorge Marshall, Chief of Staff ofth e United States Army.General Marshall ha s telegraphedGovernor Chauncey Sparks thatthere is a great need of WACS fo::training in hospital service. Governor Sparks ha s delegated to Haygood Paterson, Director of th e Alabama Defense Council 'and Chief ofWAC recruiting in Alabama the job ;of recruit ing women for trainingfor service in Army hospitals.Chief Paterson, who ha s alreadycontacted district and local recruiting offices wired General Marshal lthat he is awaiting his instructionsto go into act ion; that he can activate th e program over th e entireState in forty eig ht hours. In ad dition to the Alabama DefenseCouncil organization which e x t e n d ~into every county, Chie f Patersonhas contacted Mrs. Arthur Heustess

head of the Women 's Aux il ia ry o fthe American Legion in Alabama.General Marshal l' s telegram to(Turn to page 2-column 2)

Mrs. Milo S. Long Chairman ofth e Lauderdale County SalvageCommittee assis ted by members ofthe Americ,an Legion Auxiliary andPost No. 11 collected 27,900 lbs. ofwaste paper and a carload of ti ncan s in Florence in one day .The money realized from thisday'S salvage effort was employedto wire the salvage .depot, installheating facilities and purchase acan opener with motor attachedThe depot is managed my Mrs. TomGibbons, President of Florence UniNo. 11, American Legion Auxiliaryand members of th e AuxHiary.Tuesday has been designated as"Paper Day" in all th e Florenceschools and the school hauling themost paper to th e depot on thatday receives a banner. At t he endof th e year, th e school that hashad the banner fo r th e greatestnumber of weeks is given a WarTrophy.


2/4

PAGE TWO THE HOME FRONT JANUARY, 1945

CItizens ServiceStressed By Chief

Vets AssistanceProgram OutlinedTo Alabamians

Fo r full cooperation and sunpor';of the war effort through CivilianDefense activities, the Childersburg,Ala., Boy Scout Troop, ha s beenpresented with a service award.This Boy Scout Troop commandedby th e Rev. M. L. Young has beenactive' in scrap paper and metaldrives, th e sale of War Bonds andS tamp s and h as rendered fine service in every home front activity.

Scout Troop WarEffort Recognized

mation, including arrangements toplace the army recruiting serviceat your disposal," -

REPRESENTATIVES SKETCHNATIONAL, STATE AND.LOCAL BENEFITSOutlining the veterans assistancep rogr am f rom the national, stateand local angle, Capt. George Murrah, chief of th e personnel division.Selective Service, speaking to th eRotary Club in 'Montgomery, gavea thumbnail sketch of what Congress has done p,'uaranteeing th eveteran get ting his o ld job back under th e GI bill of rights, of Gove rnor Sparks' state advisory committee and of the information service for veterans it prOVided, an dalso the dut ie s of the county service officer and the local selectiveservice boards in "channelling" the

vet er an s t o the agency throughwhich they would receive the properassistance."With an approximate 12.50G,000men in service now, it will take th ecombined efforts of these variouWhO proudly wearshi s 3,000 hour .Service Ba r is


3/4

JANUARY, 1945 THE HOME FRONT PAGE THREE

ObligaHons For 1945

Civilian Defense, dedicated to serv ice on th e Home Front, willmeet its obligations during 1945.-From Civilian Front.

There will be War L o ~ n Drives during the year. As with previousWa r Loans th e issues offered must quickly be over-subscribed in thespirit of patriotism.

Since Pearl Harbor Civilian Defense has been diligent and vigilantin every Home-Front act iv ity. I ts . members ' have contributed to th esuccess of War Loan Drives, Salvage campaigns, and i ts auxil iary firemen and policemen have responded promptly and served unstintedly.n emergencies.

Many demands will be made on th e American people during th eyear 1945. Many pbligations will have to be met-obligations to coun-:try, obligations to th e men carrying th e fight on foreign soil, and, obligations. to one's self as an individual citizen. Paramount in the lattercategory is th e obligation, as an individual, to profit by the b it te r exper ience of the last" few weeks, and supplan t over-confiqence, complacency and optimism, with the determination that our a rmed forcesshall never again experience th e harassing fear of a shortage in materiel. For the customary New Year's resolution to refrain from somepersonal indulgence, let us subst itute th e spirit of determination to contribute to victory by unstinted service in every activity on th e HomeFront.

The announcement by Chairman Krug that WPB is opera,ting'on the theory of an indefinite period of war with Germany, s h o ~ l d beaccepted by every cit izen who has left th e production lines as a. i.han-date to r eturn to his or he r post. . .

Salvage drives will have t o be acceyerat ed . The shortagealso are being so ugh t for enlis':-.me.nt. Complet e information concerning enlistment either for ,service in th e field of Illedical technc10gy or for duties,.of a c l ~ r i c a l . na ture may be obtained by visit ing,writing or telephoning th e U. S.Army'Recruiting Station, 308 Bell'Building,'Montgomery, ortue U SfArmy Recruiting S u b ~ S t a t i o n , 135New Custom House. Mobile.

I" '

7th War Loan Drive'

U. S. Armed ForcesTotal 11,900,OOQWashington. - The armed forcesof th e United States now number11,900,000. Of that number 8,100,000 are in the Army; the remainder in the Navy, Marines an a CoastGuard.T ~ fig'utes are as of November 11944, and were compiled for u s ina report to the Senate by War Mobil izat ion Di, rector Byrnes. Theywere cited in emphasizing th e "remarkable job in mobilization" since1940, when th e military strength ofth e country was 700,000 in allbranches. The 11,900,000 is a _ne tfigure after giving e ffec t to, 1,500,000 discharged and killed'.

"It's no t enough to buy oondsHowever high we heap 'em;We've wasted your and my 'bondsUnless when bought we keep 'em."

Washington, - The Seventh WarLoan has been tentatively se t forth e latter part of Mayor the. firstof June, th e Treasury Departmenthas revealed. Probable Slogan of the drive is,'''Guns or Lives?"

VETS ASSISTANCE(Continued from page 2)

President A. Sidney Coleman subs tant ia ted Capta in Mur rah' s s ta tement by say ing that the Rotar ianwas doing all he could to create opportuni ties for returning veterans,but declared that as a club t he or ganization had indicated that itmight undertake "something" moreworthwhile.Col. Chalmers Speaks

Col. Franklin S. Chalmers, regional Veterans' Federal Employmentrepresentative of th e Fifth U. S:Civil Service Reg ional Off ice, Atlanta, addressed the general publicat 8 o'clock Wednesday night at th eCit y Audito rium. All recent legisla tion affecting vet"ntns, includingth e Veterans' Preference'Act of 1941and the G. I. Bill of Rights was discussed and th e part the FederalGovernment plays in the administration of them was explained.Col. Chalmers has recent ly beenret ired f rom the in fa nt ry and h asse,rved overseas i n b ot h World WarI and World War I I.Lowell J. Black, business managerof the War Manpower Commissionin Alabama, introduced Col. Chalmers on behal f of Montgomery Pos;No. 2 of the American Legion.

Pintlala SchoolSponsors A c t i v ~Defense ProgramSchool (Montgomery County). hasassumed responsibilities and putint'o operation a program that givesit f ir st p lace among participants inhome front activities.The schools, too are at war, according to Dr.' Clarence Dannelly,Montgomery County Superintendentof Education, and the PintlalaThe Jun ior Red Cross of PintlalaSchool, which sponsors all studentwar activities, since' our c0untry

wen t t o war has sold $100,000 worth'of War Bonds; col lected tons ofwas te paper , scrap iron and tin;made gifts for Veterans Hospital;and gathered a sUbstantial amountof clothing for th e Russian Relief.Las t y ea r alone, th e chi ldren ofPintlala Junior Red Cross establ ished for their financial goal inWa r Bond DrIves th e purchase of

a jeep, but they so Iar surpassedt he amoun t that their sales totalling $12,395,95 bought 10 jeeps.Enough of th e pupils are bond 0 :stamp purchasers to give th e schoolthe right to fly the "school-at-war"flag.In 1943-44 the Pintlala Schoolwon a p laque for being th e first.schoo l t o enrol l its students 100 pe .cent in the Junior Red dross.Victory Gardens flourish in thisdistrict and families of the' schoolchi ldren pJant ing them have r ea lized considerable profit from thisactivity.Mrs. Mary McLean Whit-, wh-has served the organization asteacher-sponsor since it s beginninghas never f ai led to attend a meeti ng dur ing the three years of itsexistence.Jack Hornady of th e N i n ~ h Grad:;)h -.S directed all stamp a nd bondsdes.Pin tlala Jun ior Red .Cross o ff i

C81'S this yea r a re Jean Davis, Voncile Pettus, Edward Cook, and Waldon Hall. Rae Ve11abl:, Pr8sid:nof t he P in tl al a Gil:ls 4-H Club isthe capable reporter.Other act ive leaders are alsJmembers of th e 4-H Club. Amongthem are: Jeln Davis. s;;cretalY vithe Defense Cou,1ci, and song lead

er of the 4-H. Club;. Rebecca Hatfield, 4 -H repor te r; Edward Cookrcpo-rter for the boys' 4-H Club,who is in charge of coll ec tions ofs tamps and bonds for the scho:;l;Jean Stubbs, secretary of the Girls'4-H Club and also secretary ofthe Montgomery County Council of4-H Clubs; Paula Mills, 4-H vicep re si dent ; Wa ldon Hall" a n o t h e ~collector of stamps and. bonlis forth e school; Voncile Pet tus, repre sentative to th e Red Cross Councilmeetings in ' Montgomery; DiwidDean, president of th e Boys' 4-HClub; William Nolan, secretarytreasurer of th e Boys' 4-H ClUb; andLural Greer, songleader.


4/4

PAGE FOUR HOMKERONT JANUARY, 1945

State CouncilEncourages Use OfEnriched ProductsMrs. Mary Carolyn Young, Executive Secretary of the Alabama Nutrition Council in he r New Yearletter to County Council Chairmen

advised that many County Councilsare starting the year off with workon the enrichment program.Mrs . Young explained that thenational enrichment regulation ofwhi te f lour a nd b read i s effec tivein wartime only and does no t provide for the enrichment of degermina ted corn meal and grits bu t thatth e Alabama Law which goes intoeffect February 1, 1945 requires theenrichment of degerminated cornmeal and grits as well as whitebread and flour.The State Department of Agriculture and Industries is designated asth e agency to enforce this law.Since the Alabama State Nutrition Council sponsored this law, iti s cal ling on the county councils toaid in its enfor cement by contacting State Commissioner of Agriculture, stressing the importance of en forcement; by getting stores to sellenriched products; and by encouraging the public to ask for enr iched products.Aux-VolunteersDenver, Col. -Robret E. Harvey,

director .of th e Denver DefenseCouncil announced that 571 badgeshave been presented to the auxiliary firemen and policemen of Denver. The badges cost approximately$600, and were purchased with fundssubscribed by Denver citizens interested in def ense work. Auxiliaryp o l i c e ~ e n received 375 badges; 196wen t to the firemen.In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields th e poppies blowBetween th e crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in theskyThe larks, sti ll bravely singing, fly,Scarce heard amidst th e guns below.We ar e th e dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunsetglow,Loved and were loved, and now we

lieIn Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe!To you from falling hands we throwThe torch. Be your s to hold ithigh! .

. I f ye break faith with us who dieWe shall no t sleep, though poppiesgrowIn Flanders fields.By Lt. Col. John D. McCrae.(Wri tten during th e second battle of Ypres, April 15, 1915. Theauthor, whose home was in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was ki lledon duty in Flanders, January 28,1918.)

JUDGE DEESECitize-n Of Month

Gains First PlaceFor County 'InState War ChestFrank O. Deese, fo r th e past tenyears ha s served a s P roba te Judgeof Dale County. Born and rea red i nDale, he has taken an active partin the life of the county and is

known far and wide for h:s civicand philanthropic activities.War Chest ChairmanFor three years Judge Deese hasserved a s Cha irman of th e DaleCounty War Chest Fund. Directedby him, the loyal and patriotic citizens of Dale County have for threeconsecutive years mailed a check infull payment of Dale County's quotaon the f ir st day of th e drive.Judge Deese ha s used the sameunique p lan for raising the county'squota each year. Because of laborand gasoline shortages, he decidedto conduct th e County War Fundcampaign without the usual committees and without th e usual county-wide speech-making tours. Forthree weeks prior to the drive, hepublicized it by front-page articlesin the county paper, The SouthernStar , which goes into practically allthe homes of Dale County. In thefirst article, Judge Deese explainedthe purposes of th e War Chest andappealed to th e people of th e countyto give it their support. The second article explained his method ofmaking contributions by letter. Thethird, published at th e time th e letters went out over th e county, asked the people receiving the lettersto place their donations in the en closed addressed, stamped envelopesand mail them back promptly.About f ou r t hous and l et te rs were

Placement ClinicsFor HandicappedThe fifth Regional Off ice of theU. S. Civil Service Commission andthe State Departments of VocationalRehabi li ta tion in th e States comprising the Fifth Region-Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Flor

ida, and Alabama-have performeda commendable service in holdingclinics for th e placement of thephysically handicapped. The firstten clinics held in the above mentioned states resulted in th e placement of 1,500 handicapped workersin war jobs in which workers wereurgently needed.Auxiliary FiremenAuxiliary firemen from five neighboring towns were cal led December10 to assist in extinguishing th efire in the huge audi torium of theFox Theatre in Burlington, NewJersey. Eight hunq.red persons wereevacuated wi);hout casualties.

mailed to the people of the countyand about 55% of these were re turned with contributions rangingfrom one dollar to t hr ee hundreddollars. The response for each ofthese drives was prompt and enthusiastic, making it possible tose nd check in full settlement toState Headquarters on the very firstday of each successive drive.Th is p la n distributed th e quotauniformly among all the people ofthe county. No community wasoverlooked in the appeal and nonefai led to make a generous response.Judge Deese believes that when acause that possesses merit is presented fairly and truthfully to thepeople of Dale County they will re spond as a unit, giving a s t hey haveprospered.The success of the three WarChest Drives confirms him in thisbelief, for each ye ar Dale Countyhas not only raised its quota, butha s fa r over-subscribed it.Letters To Service MenJudge Deese has had numeroushobbies dur ing his lifetime, but hisprincipal hobby is trying to be ofservice to th e young men and womenfrom Dale County who are now inthe armed forces of this country.A columnist of the "Dothan Eagle"who knows the Judge well talksabout him informally and w it h thewarmth that such a personalitywould inspire:"Mr. Frank O. Deese is the probate judge of Dale County and heis a gifted and eloquent soul, witha capacity for making friendsquickly and permanently. I v is it edhim in his office at Ozark for anhou r the o ther day and I can't possibly tell you about h im i n one paragraph, so I'm going to stretch o u this piece. Judge Deese isn't 40 andhe won't see 60 again bu t he is asspry as a Commando and the moviescould use him t o por tr ay a typ icalSouthern geni1eman like no otherman could. Judge Deese has a hob-

Lt. Col. SheahanAttends MeetingOf Ala. FieldmenLt. Col. Paul R. Sheahan, Indust r ial Protect ion Officer of th eFourth Corps Area of the Army,Atlanta, Ga., praised th e AlabamaFieldmen's Association for the finevolunteer service rendered by it smembers in the State's War Inspection Service program.Colonel Sheahan came to Montgomery to attend a meeting of theFieldmen's Association January 12thin .ord er to discuss with t hem th ereinspection of cer ta in plant s. Thi sprogram, originally car ri ed on by ,Army personnel, ha s been most satisfactorily handle'd in Alabama bycivilian volunteer inspectors, according to Col. Sheahan.While in Montgomery, Col. Sheaha n visited the State Defense Council office to con fe r w it h DirectorHaygood Paterson and H. B. andrews, Chief of Civil ian Protection.by that he started when Dale Coun-y men and women began going intothe service. He admits it is aboutto run away with him, but he's going to s tay with it because it giveshim so much pleasure and meansso much to the Dale County boysin service. This hobby beats anything I have ever seen, for persist ency, consistency and hard work inkeeping it going and for the cheerit is bringing to Dale boys al l overthe world. Judge Deese writes everyserviceman and woman from DaleCounty twice a year , on July 4 andon Christmas, and many of themmore often."To do this he ha d to have th emilitary addresses of each, and pa tiently he has compiled this listthrough the assistance of th e service men and their families. Whena man goes into service th e Judgegets his' name and t he n communicates with h is family to le ar n h ismilitary address. The family al ways responds promptly, answeringon a postcard. The Judge then putsthis address in a special book andsets up a card in a special indexwhere the cur rent address will al ways be quickly available. Then hewrites this soldier or sailor a letterand encloses a "Courtesy Card",signed by the 'Judge of Probate,Dale County , Alabama , U. S. A.',saying he would appreciate anycourtesy shown the bearer who isknown 'to be a rel iabl e and reputable citizen' of Dale County 'and deserving of th e favorable consideration of al l persons whomsoever'."And as for giving t he se cards t oall Dale County servicemen, whetherwhite or black, Judge Deese observes: ' so fa r as I am concerned,any man or woman from DaleCounty who is in uniform helpingwin thi s war is a scholar and a gentleman'. They all want these cards,he says, and when one is lost he ispromptly asked for another one.The NegrOeS are especially proud tohave these 'showings'."

alabama civil defense - jan 1945

Documents