NOVEMBER, 1955
SfSWi
PAGE 7
WHAT IS YOUR ‘CLEAN-UP SCORE ?
Fall Is Time of Increased Fire Hazards
Those autumn leaves, in their splendor of color,
were pretty a few days ago. But now that Novem
ber is here, the leaves around the house that may
not have been raked up, are Number 1 fire haz
ards. And with the fall season, the National Fire
Protection Association has some timely advice
about cleaning house before winter sets in.
The NFPA, international, non-profit technical
and educational clearing house on fire safety, in
a bulletin prepared to help homeowners at clean
up time, points out that the most fires start in
trash piles, rubbish, or stored odds and ends
that accumulate in and around the house.
CLOSETS, attics, and cellars are the main
starting places of home fires, and plain ordinary
good housekeeping is one of the best ways to
prevent both the start of fire and its spread.
“Real clean-up for fire safety boils down to a
choice only you can make,” cautions the NFPA.
“Either get rid of that extra stuff around the
house that burns so easily—or keep on taking the
long chance of living amid such ideal fuel for
fire.'”
Other suggestions include: With the elimination
of combustibles in mind, look over the things
you’ve got in your attics, closets and basements.
These items will burn fast: old linen and clothing,
mattresses and wooden furniture, curtains, drap
eries, lampshades, magazines, papers, linoleum
and rags—particularly dirty rags that have been
Used for painting or polishing. This is the rubbish
—the fuel—that too often means the difference
between a small, controllable fire and a fire-gut
ted home.
DON'T STOP when you’ve cleared out the in
side of your house. Go after rubbish in your back
yard, in alleys and in vacant lots near your
home. And dispose of trash regularly and often—
don’t let it pile up.
If you must burn your own trash outdoors, the
NFPA offers these pointers:
First, get a fire permit from your fire depart
ment or fire warden. Then pick a spot well away
from house and garage and clear a strip of earth
around the pile to be burned. The same advice
applies to wire and sheet metal trash burners.
Don’t try to burn too much at one time. Have a
few pails of water ready and a rake or wet broom
at hand. When you’re done, soak embers with
water; stir to be sure all embers are wet. A gust
of wind can fan up embers that are seemingly
dead. Make sure that all fires are thoroughly out
before you leave.
NOW THAT this is the season when homes be
gin to use heat, householders need to be re
minded that all heating equipment should have
a thorough check and cleaning before being put
into use. Many home fires are caused each year
by defective heating equipment and accumula
tion of trash and waste in the heating apparatus.
YOUR "CLEAN-UP SCORE." The NFPA has
prepared this quiz. If you truthfully answer
“Yes” to all of these questions, yours is one of
those clean houses that “seldom burns!”
1. Do you regularly dispose of trash and rub
bish?
2. Do you keep the grounds around your house
free of dead grass, weeds, trash, and dried brush?
3. Are your dust mops safely cared for and
oily rags kept in safe metal containers?
4. Do you cooperate with charity drives for
paper and trash: salvage your cast-off clothing,
furniture, etc., or contribute it to rummage sales?
5. Do you have your chimney and heating sys
tem cleaned at least once a year?
6. Do you invite your fire department to in
spect your home and instruct you on fire-safe
housekeeping?
For those on-the-go
Special Events Listed on November Calendar
Standing high in interest for people of this
section of the country is the Carolinas Carrousel,
Scheduled for November 23-25 in Charlotte. The
Carrousel has become widely known in the two
Carolinas as an annual event marked with fes
tive atmosphere. The parade through downtown
Charlotte on Thanksgiving Day is a highlight of
the three-day gala event.
Taking place now in Morganton is the Burke
County Festival, which opened October 31 and
^ill continue through November 5.
also in North Carolina some other events
calendared for the month of November are:
“Star Patterns,” Chapel Hill, November 1
through 28; Golf Carrousel, Southern Pines, 4-7;
Nite-Time Amateur Golf Championship of the
^orld, third annual, Pinehurst, 5-6; Carolina
Virginia Fashion Show, Charlotte, 5-9; N. C.
State Baptist Convention, Raleigh, 5; Southern
Seniors Gold Association Championship, eighth
annual, Pinehurst, 18-20.
FORMAL Hunt Meet, Sedgefield, 24; Formal
Hunt Meet, Moore County Hounds, Southern
Pines, 24; Harvest Square Dance, Pinehurst, 25;
Pet Show and Gymkhana, Pinehurst, 27; “The
Star of Bethlehem,” Chapel Hill, November 29-
January 8, 1956; Opening of the N.C. Museum of
Art, Raleigh, 29-30.
In North Carolina the woodcock hunting sea
son opens on November 24 and continues through
January 2, 1956. Open season on quail, wild
turkey and rabbits is from November 24 through
January 31, 1956. This schedule applies to all
sections of the state with possibly some local ex
ceptions.
Words Fitly
Spoken...
Grandma said, “You’d as well
the Devil as to drink his
broth.”
The measure of life is not its
^Pan but the use made of it.
We can never take up where
left off—it isn’t there any
tnore.
Nobody knows or cares what
believe unless you live it.
Keep your face always turned
®Ward the sun and the shadows
fall behind you.
Food, Not Guns, Win
Friends — R. C. Firestone
We can do more to win international friendship by put
ting food in people’s mouths than we can by putting guns
in their hands, Executive Vice-President Raymond C. Fire
stone told more than 1200 county agents and guests attending
the 40th annual NACA convention in East Lansing, Mich.,
recently.
Warehouse,
Shop
-Albert Meeks, news reporter,
^ttiployed in the Warehouse
, . ^ot the Shop, as was report
ed
the October issue of Fire-
® News.
IN HIS TALK, Mr. Firestone
pointed out that a businessman’s
approach may go a long way in
helping to solve the difficult
problem of farm surpluses in the
United States.
“When our production over
balances consumption,” Mr. Fire
stone said, “the best way that
we have found to get back on an
even keel is to stimulate greater
consumption through better ad
vertising, better public relations
and selling . . .”
REFERRING to the figures re
leased by the Food and Agricul
ture Administration offices fol
lowing an exhaustive study of
the world food situation a few
years ago where it was mention
ed that seven out of every ten
people in the world were not
properly nourished, he said:
“Something is seriously wrong
where there are people, especial
ly helpless children, who have
to exist on the borderline of
starvation while we struggle
with our surplus problem.
“Why is it,” he asked, “that so
many people in this world have
to suffer undernourishment
while we juggle with a great na
tional problem in the disposal
of mountainous stores of food,
that we ourselves, cannot con
sume?”
INQUIRING REPORTER
Visionary Wealth Suggests Luxury,
Security, Ideals, and Far-off Places
* ★
What does wealth mean to you? Luxuries, travel, financial
security, an opportunity to contribute to worth-while causes?
That, in short, is what it meant to these six employees who
were asked the question: “If you were to win the $64,000
giveaway on television, how would you use the money?”
Ernest C. Keenum. Supply —
First of all. I’d build a new
house, set aside a goodly portion
for sending my children to col
lege, providing they would want
to go. Then if there is any re
maining, I would save it to help
me through the years of old age.
Eva Henson, Cloth Room —
I’ve always wanted to help in
worthwhile causes. A great por
tion of the money would be
given Gaston County School for
Handicapped Children. Then I’d
take some to pay for a trip to
Alaska.
Ralph Carson, Plant Guard —
I’ve always wanted to go to Ari
zona, for I hear the climate is
nice out there. There, with the
money. I’d spend the rest of my
days in leisurely living, staying
close to ranches and a lot of
horses.
J. L. Patterson, Shop — From
the actual amount after taking
out taxes. I’d give a tenth of it
to the Lord and His work. With
part of the remainder I would
pay up my bills, and what would
be left, I’d put in the bank.
Mildred Burgin, Cord Weav
ing—I would spend it all on my
son, Randy, who is now 14
months old. I would send him
through school and college and
give him the best of everything
while he is growing up, because
he means everything to me.
Thomas Grant, Time Study —
A tithe for the support of the
Christian ministry would be
first, also a tenth to my church
to help in its current building
program. For the remainder,
these would be my preference:
A home, a car, Savings Bonds.