By Kathleen Binns

This little bag is designed to hold trinkets or odds and ends on a dressing table, but given a ribbon handle would be fine as a party bag. It is made from a small doll. This one is only 3 in. high but a teenage doll would do equally well. The legs might have to be removed as they are taller.

This doll is still complete inside her clothes; the skirt is 3 & 1/2 in. long and the base of the bag 3 & 1/4 in. across.

Some stiff material such as glazed cotton or sailcloth is required for the skirt to keep the doll upright. You need only enough to cover a round base separately, then a strip for the skirt long enough to go round the base with a wide wrapover join at the back. Cut out a cardboard base. Cutting your material 1/2 in. larger than this all round run a gathering thread near the edge and draw up over the card. Neaten the inner side with a round of Fablon.

Make two hems up the back of the skirt piece allowing for a good wrapover for fastening. Stitch the bottom of the skirt on to the edge of the base, then turn in and gather the waist and draw up to fit the doll and stitch to the clothing to fix it. Add a little lace apron and poppers behind the skirt and the birthday gift’s ready.

From Dean’s Premier Book for Girls. 1966.

Susan loved her job as a student nurse. It meant very hard work and long hours, but she wouldn’t have swopped it for any other job in the whole world. . . .

Which was something her shorthand-typist friend, Anne, simply couldn’t understand. . . and she was forever saying so when they met regularly on Susan’s free day.

“You’re wasting yourself,” Anne insisted one day. “You took shorthand-typing. Get an office job. The hours are easy and the money’s good. Stop slaving for that ogress of a matron.”
But Susan smiled and said, “Matron isn’t nearly as grim as she looks – and there must be discipline in a hospital. Besides, nursing is a worthwhile job.”

But Anne was not convinced. Later, before parting at the hospital gates, the girls planned a bus trip into the country the following Saturday.

It was another busy week for Susan, but she enjoyed every minute of it. There was always something happening on the ward; always something new to learn.

On Saturday, as arranged, Susan met Anne in the town square where they boarded a bus. It was crowded with children off on a picnic.
Soon the bus was rolling through the open country. The youngsters were all so happy: some laughing and waving from the windows and others singing gaily at the tops of their voices.

Suddenly the bus skidded. Plunging through a hedge it stopped in a ditch. The driver’s head struck the windscreen. Everyone was flung forward.

With the driver stunned, Susan took instant command and calmed the frightened children.
The passenger door was jammed. Susan told Anne, “Give me a hand with this emergency door.”

Between them they got the emergency door open and helped the children out. Happily none had suffered worse than minor cuts and bruises, but these – and the driver’s head wound – needed attention, so Susan got busy with the bus first-aid box.
Watching, Anne realised how utterly useless she was to help. She felt ashamed.

“Suppose it had been a serious accident? I just wouldn’t have known what to do,” Anne thought miserably. “I couldn’t have helped anyone.”
Meanwhile a passing motorist had telephoned for a doctor. When he arrived he congratulated Susan before smiling at Anne. “Thank goodness for nurses, eh?” he said.

Anne was unusually silent, even after the relief bus showed up.
She had a problem, but, by the end of the day, she had solved it.

And not long afterwards Anne, too, was a student nurse.
Hard work and long hours did not matter any more. Like Susan she was doing a worthwhile job.

From Deans Premier Book for Girls. 1966.

Women:

Have you a household problem to solve? Write your question clearly, sign your name and address, enclose a three-cent postage stamp and mail to The Woman’s Edition The Gazette Washington Service Bureau. 1018 18th Street, Washington. D. C.. for a personal reply
Don’t telephone: write as directed.

Q. How are cracklings prepared for food?

A. Cook the rinds in a large kettle over a medium fire. The kettle should be covered until the fat has cooked out. Then uncover while the rinds brown. Remove from the kettle and drain.

Q. Should I continue to use “junior” on my cards after my father’s death? My mother is still
living, and of course, she bears the same name as my wife.

A. This is somewhat a matter of personal taste but strict etiquette requires the dropping of the suffix “junior” and your mother becomes either Mrs. John Smith, senior, or, preferably, simply Mrs. Smith.

Q. Are twins and triplets usually smaller at birth than single children?

A. Although they are often less fully developed at birth, twins and triplets measured at 6 years of age do not usually show any appreciable retardation of growth.

Taken from The Charleston Gazette. Charleston, West Virginia. February 28, 1941.