Fall, 1957
THE FEDERATION JOURNAL
Page 5
Green Thumb
Ladies
This is the time of the year to
consider the flowers you will have
in your garden next spring. Be
tween September 1 and December
15 is the time to put flowering
bulbs in the ground. The exact date
will depend upon the climate of
your particular section of the South.
October is the best month for most
of the Upper South. Here are ten
rules which will help you to have
more early spring flowers;
1. Buy large, healthy bulbs of
good quality.
2. Order early and keep bulbs in
a cool, dry place until planting
time.
3. Plant in a light well drained
soil.
4. Plant before the frost hardens
the ground, usually from October
through November. In warmer cli
mates plant after Thanksgiving.
5. Plant the right depth. Follow
planting directions which usually
come with bulbs.
6. Decide whether you will plant
bulbs in groups, borders or mass
planting.
7. When weather turns cold cover
the surface of the ground with
leaves or sawdust. Remove mulch
in early spring.
8. Spring flowers that grow from
bulbs appreciate having the sur
face soH about them loosened from
time to time and kept free from
weeds.
9. Remove flowers when petals
begin to drop. If they are to be left
in the ground another year, do not
remove foliage until it has died
down.
10. Bulbs may be lifted and
stored for replanting the following
faU after the foliage has died. Only
the largest bulbs should be saved.
Dried arrangements are a boon
to the homemaker in that they can
be depended upon to last indefi
nitely. But they are also an extra
chore for the housekeeper who has
to keep them clean. Careful dust
ing with a soft feather duster
should be part of the routine to
eliminate or at least postpone a
major cleaning.
When dried material seems to
need more than a dusting, washing
in water is perfectly safe. The
leaves, seed pods, driftwood, etc.,
should be laid flat in the bottom of
the bathtub and gently sprayed or
syringed with cool water. Especial
ly grimy spots can be gone over
several times with the spray till
grime is flushed away. Clean ma
terial should be hung up to drip
dry. A final measure to toneup the
arrangement is to spray it with an
aerosol bomb of clear plastic. The
coating also tends to discourage
dust and increases the durability.
PRESIDENT
(Continued from page 1)
j present status proved most inter
esting. Roundtables followed mak
ing use of information gained from
the film and from the lecture.
Monday evening’s meetings in
cluded a Song Fest, Parade o f
States, the President’s Message—
“The Southeastern and the New
South” by Mrs. LyeUs followed by
announcements of the Parade of
States Winners, Arts and Crafts
winners, ana Presentation of
trophies. Art exhibits displayed
many skillful hobbies.
The special feature of Tuesday
morning’s general session was a
program by the girls. Appropriate
musical selections, an address, pre
sented in an interesting manner
the “Foundation of the American
Government” and a well planned
fashion review certainly kept the
audience well entertained. Having
visitors attend the session unex
pectedly was a pleasure because
the program could not have been
better selected or presented.
There were representatives of
many nations among the visitors.
Though meetings consumed much
of the time, they were interspersed
with occasion for diversion which
included a tea, a party and a sight
seeing tour which included a visit
at Mt. Meig’s Training School
where dinner was served, places of
interest in Montgomery and being
well entertained at the Montgom
ery City Federation Club House.
In the closing session Mrs. Irene
McCoy Gains, President of the Na
tional Association of Colored Wom
en’s Clubs was guest speaker and
later installed officers. President
LyelTs Commitment then the bene
diction and the nineteenth biennial
convention of the Southeastern As
sociation of Colored Women’s Clubs
and the Southeastern Association
of Colored Girl’s closed to meet
again in 1959 in Jackson, Miss.
Your Manners Are Showing
When Dick invites you out to eat.
The waiter guides you to your seat;
No need to wonder what to do—
You follow him, Dick follows you.
When callers come, you should
be dressed in something nice if
not your best. Unless you’re ill,
it’s not O. K. to greet them while
in negligee.
If you and Pete sit sipping coke
and in the room come older folk,
stand up and smile, and later when
they leave, stand up and smile
again.
We aU must wait around in vain
while Peggy chats with friends
again. Perhaps she thinks that
she alone is privileged to use the
phone.
When men escort you on the
street in city, town or county
seat, if they have courtesy and
pride, they always walk on the
outside.
Penny Savers
Do a stitch-in-time routine with
your clothes. One hour each week
in brushing, pressing and repair
will return dollars in wear to you.
Kesew hems where threads are
broken, for looks and safety. Re
sew hooks and eyes, snaps and
buttons so they won’t be lost or
appear untidy, if buttons have been
lost or broken in laundering and
cleaning, buy or make a new set
and replace the lot.
Spot your clothes with cleaning
fluid and scrap of wool fabric that
won't leave lint. Get some scraps
of wool upholstery fabric like frieze
and make a bag 3x3 inches
square. This is an ideal spotter
wnen saturated with cleaning fluid.
Go over spots carefully. If they
are serious ones, send garment to
the cleaners. Be faithful in your
use of a deodorant to protect your
clothes.
Keep a specially treated press
cloth at hand and press wrinkles
out promptly. Careful pressing aft
er spotting can often delay a trip
to the cleaners.
If you use lingerie neckwear,
wash it after each wearing. If you
haven’t time to launder and re
place It, better not buy it.
Watch linings of your coats. Do-
not let them sag below your coat.
A bar stitch at the hemline can
lift a lining back into place in little
time.
If a dress or suit hangs neglect
ed and unworn because shoulders
are too large for now, fix them
by making pads smaller and softer.
If top of sleeve sticks up, rip seam
across top and take out fullness.
Baste carefully; stitch and press,
and the shoulders should look ever
so right for today’s fashions.
If dress is sleeveless, remove all
or part of pads, and take a deeper
shoulder seam from armhole in,
tapering to nothing at the neck.
If a dress hangs unevenly, sags,
or hem has been badly done, turn
and even edges, making hem new.
If skirt rolls just below waistline,
open skirt seams, refit garment on
figure, then restitch seams.
Use ribbon, rayon taffeta, velve
teen or velvet to refashion, renew
and rejuvenate last season’s
clothes.
Put whiskbroom or cloth brush
into service on neckline and shoul
ders of garments. Use also on hats
and bags, which are refreshed fur
ther with cleaning fluid. Keep
gloves cleaned and mended, also
bags and shoes.
Have good hangers for all
clothes. Hang dresses with heavy
skirts by waistline tapes rather
than shoulders. Give your clothes
a rest—have at least two outfits
so you can change every day. Air
them often.
Clothes don’t make the woman,
but they surely help to make her
more attractive, especially if she
has a trim, well-put-together look.
One hour each week can help you
to look smarter and better groom
ed.—Reprint from Everywoman’s.
Poetry
Corner
A Cure For Fault-Finding
Just stand aside, and watch
yourself go by;
Think of yourself as “he” instead
of “I,”
Pick flaws, find fault, forget
the man is you.
And strive to make your estimate
ring true.
The faults of others then will
dwarf and shrink.
Love’s chain grows stronger by one
mighty link.
When you with “he” as substitute
Have stood aside, and watched
yourself go by.—Selected.
Song for Small Things
f will divide small things in two
groups, saying:
“These are inconsequential,—let
them go
Presently down the wind, for long
delaying
Would grieve the heart, or prick
the mind with slow
Imaginings. I will forget each
Unpleasantness,” and “These I
must retain
As if I’d pockets in my being: all
The golden sights of Autumn, lilac-
rain.
New snow, and every flower I have
beheld;
Bright beauty I have heard i n
certain speech.
And pleasure deep in eyes, and
laughter welled
A moment from the very soul, and
each
Small other loveliness I cannot
now
Say when shall come, or by what
road, or how.”
So Long As There Are Homes
So long as there are homes to
which men turn
At the close of day.
So long as there are homes where
children are.
Where women stay.
If love and loyalty and faith be
found
Across those sills,
A stricken nation can recover from
Its gravest ills.
So long as there are homes where
fires burn
And there is bread.
So long as there are homes where
lamps are lit
And prayers are said;
Although a people falter through
the dark
And nations grope.
With God himself back of these
little homes
We can still hope.