Evening Star Newspaper, December 19, 1926, Page 91

ILLUSTRATED FEATURES — ___Pnrt 5—8 Pages MAGAZINE he Swund SECTION ay Star WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 19, 1926. Skillful Amateurs Prod BY GEORGE H. DACY. | HE Yuletide gift made at home, | product of love's labor, is the | most treasured of all Christ: mas presents. Many District folks and resi dents of nearby places believe in the truth of this statement. For weeks be- fore the coming of Kriss Kringle, they devote nimble fingers and dexterous hands to the appropriate task of making gifts for relatives and friends. These homemade presents run the | gamut trom hand-knitted sweaters to toy trains that run, doll houses with | electric lights. radio sets which bring | countrywide entertainment to the home fireside—or radiator—dolls that wear fine clothes and wink their eves, sailboats that il and artificial animals which resemble the dauntless dwellers in jungleland Out Bethesda way, James Woltz custodian of a safety-deposit box de- partment in one of Washington's larg- est banks, has spent his spare time | during the weeks before Christmas in | making a remarkably fine doll house for his little d: ter Carotine. There is not a child in the District who will have a finer toy mansion to play with on Christmas morning than this youth- ful resident of Montgomery County. The diminutive bungalow, fitted and furnished as a modern and model little home for the ‘“brownies” and “fairy spirits,’ even boasts electric lights and is as clever a piece of ama- teur craftsmanship as you will see in many a day’'s travel. The out standing feature of this homespun | carpentry is the fact that the total cost of the completed and eyuipped dollhouse was less than $10. You would pay three times that amount | in a professional toy shop for a simi. lar structure and would acquire a tailormade toy, which was not as sub. stantially built. Neither plans nor blueprints guided the hammer, saw, jackknife and screw driver which Mr.” Woltz used in his | idle-hour carpentry. When he inau- gurated the work, he knew that he wanted to build a toy bungalow. The dimensions, layouts, details, shape and arrangement of the lilliputian house were as indefinite as tomorrow’s ‘weather. The structure resembled an improvised melody played by an ac- complished pianist. It was composed as it progressed. It is unquestionably the only bungalow built in the Dis- trict during recent years which i product of ‘“plan-as-you-proceed sign. This Tom Thumb dwelling contains five rooms and an attic. It is made of white pine—scrap material which formerly was used in protecting win- dow sash during shipment from the mills. The roof is covered with com- position ~ shingles, which are 3 inches square, cut from regulation shingles. Three - hundred of these shingles were required to cover the roof and veranda of the dwarf-size house. The roof of the house is remov- able. When it is laid aside the unique slectric wiring. of the little building is displayed, for it forms a network of insulated copper wire which #preads over the attic floor. The arrangement is such that by Mmeans of an extension cord and ele trical plug which fits into one of the regular electrical fixtures at the ‘Woltz residence, the doll house can also be {lluminated »from the city power plant. Each room is provided with at least one small electric bulb such as are used on Christmas trees. Bevén of these tiny “candles” light the doll house for critical inspection. This playhouse is portable, as it is set on rollers so that the children can move it to any part of the nursery, as they desire. Each side of the house is equipped with double- hinged doors, which can be opened 80 that the youngsters may have ac- cess to the toy furniture and play- things with which the diminutive | building is completely provided. The | small garage is built as a tiny replica of the average motor car shelter in which the ordinary Wash- ingtonian stdres his automobile at night. It was made from a discarded crate that originally contained a radio set. The garage is made of ma- terials similar to those employed in building the house. Both buildings are painted white, which forms a pleasing contrast to the shingle roofs of green. Caroline Woltz's doll house is 28 by 30 inches in floor dimension and 24 inches high from base to eaves. The walls of the little bungalow are covered with \white blotting paper, which admirably simulates the white plastered walls and ceiling in the mill run of commercial buildings. It took $1.50 worth of blotting paper to cover | the walls and ceilings. The windows are fitted with small sash and glass, while the front door is hinged and opens upon the attractive porch. The windows are held in place by small screws which “prevent the children from damaging the glass while play- ing with the house. The porch and entrance are accurate copies of those which adorn a private residence in Baltimore. Mr. Woltz devoted about 60 hours of evening work to his pleasurable task of building a Christmas gift for his little daughter. He could complete the job in one-half that time if he had another toy house to construct, as he made several mistakes in his first' attempt at playhouse production, which consumed much extra time be- fore he could correct them. The ma- terial usedin building the house cost exactly - $4, while the wooden and metal furniture, fixtures and fittings which were procured at a local de- partment store cost $6 additional The abbreviated bungalow is made to withstand rough usage. Caroline Wojtz_will surelv cherish it her most beloved toy for many years to come. o N Christmas morning Suzette Bou, tell will climb the stairs to the attic of her rather's home in Chevy Chase and will see her dream of a| “castle in Spain” come true. D nis spare time her father, wh mechanical engineer employed by of the Government departments butlt and equipped a complete road system which is operated by elec tricity on the top floor of his home To the father, this system is a boiled down railroading system with which | he can experiment to his heart’s con- tent. To his little daughter the attic | will be a scene of constant fairyland. | Bhe surely will wonder, though, how | Santa Claus ever carried all the | equipmerit down the chimney and up | the stairs so that he could get it up | in_the spacious attic ‘There is no display window or toy | shop in all Washington which h. ever exhibited a miniature railroad system as replete and complete as this in Chevy Chase, D. C. Could it be exhibited for public inspection, we are sure it would be the center of juvenile | attraction no matter at what exposi- | tion it were displayed | A model railroad town, with sightly hemes, churches, stores and repair | shops is a unique feature of this attic toyland. The adjoining terrain, rep- resented by perspective picturés on canvas, of mountains, hills, valleys and streams, lends the aspects of a » | on just as they enter the railroad tun. | || passenger coaches are shunted about | road Playhouses, Toy Railroads, Doll Dresses, Radio Equipment, Boats and Other Toys Are Made by People of City and Sub- urbs—St. Elizabeth Patients Produce $2.000 in Toys—Members of Washington Boys' Club Prepare to Surprise Friends and Relatives With Examples of Handiwork. PORTABLE POOLTABLE built b « Wmstvingtoq{u da peaceful pastoral landscape to the re mote surroundings of the pageantr of playthings. A river which is| shown winds its way to the terminal | of the railroad. A cleverly made | ferryboat is waiting to transport the | passengers who come by train to the | opposite side of the river. | The railroad yards contain passen- | ger and freight depots, a turntable for reversing the locomotives, a large power plant, a roundhouse, and an automatic device for replenishing the fuel supplies of the engine tender There is a wonderful replica of a s gle-span steel-truss railroad bridge, which crosses the river, while a tun nel through the neighboring mountain range is another realistic contribution to this remarkable model of modern railroading achievements. This bridge | is modeled after Chain Bridge, which | links the District by highway with | Northern Virginia. The main line railroad tr well as the Innumerable switches sidetracks, is made of sheet molded to the shape of steel rails. copper wire, soldered to wooden | screws, runs down the center of each | track. It facilitates the use of elec tric power for the operation of the Lilliputian trains. By the use of a transformer, Mr. Boutell steps down the alternating current in his house- lighting system o that he can use it to run the midget trains. The arc lights in the railroad village as well as the illumination systems of the passenger trains and ferryboat are from this selfsame source of electric- ity. By means of ingenious controls, | the lights in the trains are switched as | nd brass Al nel. When the coaches come from | the tunnel, the lights are shut off. The locomotives, freight cars and by electricity, exactly as though the system were full size and true t4 life. Mr. Boutell will run the complicated trains and machinery for his daugh ter whenever she wishes, but it will be many years yet before she will be able to play president of the rail line herself and control all its multiplied activities. * ok ox HERE lady a talented Washington who makes, dresses and ells from $350 to $500 worth of fancy | dolls each Christmas. Seme of these | dolls retail for as much as $50 apiece. Their amateur producer sup- | plies them to shops of Washington, | New York and Philadelphia. Experts ( who have examined the artistic and | beautiful dresses on these dolls say that they are as fine as any ever | made for similar use A year ago she devoted many days of painstaking handwork to the pro. ductin of as fine a lot of doll's fur-| niture as human eyes ever examined The tiny chairs, couches, day beds, | tables and art articles were accurate | and complete in every detail. They represented entirely too much skill and artistic labor to command re- tail prices commensurate with their production value. Their skillful pro ducer made them originally as an ex- periment. She found that such toys and trophies would not bring as profit- able prices as the dolls which she 3 | of the | week, throughout the year in r “BUCK'GASKINS (Boys Club) Builds & Crristwas Boat. at St.Elizabeths Hospital WASHINGTON .CLUB BOYS Mawing Yuletide Radios s decorates and costumes so attrac- tively. 1t vou chanced to visit the Trans- portation Building, at Seventeenth and H streets northwest, the first week in December, vou doubtless were attracted to a wonderful display have visited St. Elizabeth’s and pur chased hundreds of the wooden toy made by the patients. The last couple of years, however, most of the output of the toyshop has been sold by spe- clal shops or at public auction. Usual- 1y wooden toys worth about $2,000 are of toys exhibted in one of the ground- | made and sold: The interesting occu- floor shops. Certain charitable ladies | pation of toy production aids the trict were in charge of the | patients to forget their mental troubles tribution of these well-made | temporarily and brings them the peace If you inquired the prices | which is the reward of work well done. of the various toy animals, chairs,| The majority of these toymakers are tables, benches and bric-a-brac, you| unskilled in the use of hand tools probably were surprised at their rea-| when they first enroll in the toymak- sonableness. ~ Doubtless you pur-| ing class. Some have never used saw chased something to give to some child | or hammer before. The first thing on Christmas day. the teacher has to do is to train the This collection of toys and play-| patients in the rudimentary uses of | things came from St. Elizabeth’s Hos- | simple hand tools. When they have | pital, out on the highlands above| mastered the use of hammer, saw, Anacostia. _About 100 occupational | square and chisel, they are allowed to therapy patients at that institution | cut, carve and chip the likenesses of spend three to four mornings each| certain animals from wood. Then king | they learn how to make doll chairs, simple toys which eventually bece tables, benches and stools. Gradually, the treasured playthings of Washing- | as the artisans acquire increased skill ton children. The customary plan is| and confidence, they make articles to assemble all these homespun toys | which are more difficult. previous to Christmas in some central| One of the standardized toys from shop in Washington, where they are| St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is & toy hors sold at low prices to the general pub-| and cart, made of wood, about 1 lic. Many of the toys are also given | inches long. When completed and to the District orphanages and other | painted it sells for $1. It takes about local charitable institutions for young- | four hours to make one of these t retail d playth sters. and necessitates the use of 80 ceni During past profession- | worth of material. Many other t toy dealers Washington ~ are made, ranging in market pric ' seasons al from include | toy | $25.00. They ships, wooden _ trains, animals, ies, quoits, merry-go-rounds, tabl stands, glove boxe ornaments and similar ar Patients who make a success of toy manufacture are graduated into the cabinetmaking class. Finally they be come expert enough to make fine fur- niture. Some of them practice the trade which they have learned at this hospital if they eventually are dis charged because of restored ment equilibrium. Toymaking and wqod working never' effect cures. They are contributing causes in a small degree fnasmuch as they keep the patients occupied and interested In addition to the toymaking and cabinetmaking ¢ such other simple industries as rug, blanket and curtain weaving are taught to those who show interest in such work. Thirty looms are kept busy at | Federal hospital most every week day The rugs, blankets, curtains and other | art made by men and | women in these occupational therapy classes are sold at very reasonable prices to whomsoever wishes to pur- chase them. Needless to say, they all make fine Christmas presents, and are sold at such low prices that most everybody can afford to buy them as potential gifts for relatives and friends. Another Washingtonlan who has his skil and handicratt |a smoking stand, fancy table lamps, e naking ot lvabieien | book ends and other wooden fixtures s foe L T and furniture, valued at several hun- y | dred doHars, have been made in the heast section of | basement workshop of this District 3 by 6 feet in | home. which this amateur builder de- | Some 50 members of the Washing- and constructed during his | ton Boys' Club have been spending time, is one of the finest Yule- | their spare hours in the woodworking tide gifts, his sons say, which Young | shops of that organization for the last fellows could w Commercial pool | two months, making Yuletide gifts for tab es of slate, which can- | parents, brothers, sisters and play- ) out of plumb. mates. You would be surprised at homemade table is equipped with the excellence of the work done by of asbestos lumber, which pos: | these junior carpenters, who are mas- s properties, tering the complexities of the cabinet- The table is cushioned by rubber, | maker's trade. Some of the young. ered with green billiard cloth. | sters confine thelr gifts to toy ani. e rubber cushions were salvaged | mals. Others make glove boxes, tool 1 dismantled pool table in a local | chests, fancy boxes, cedar chests The rails of the port- | chairs, tables and similar articles of re made of cherry, | furniture. stained and finished to look like ma-| The boys who are stud hogany. Mr. Parks devoted the lei-| work and printing under competent sure of two months to thé design and | supervision have recently designed, construction of the pool table, which | decorated and printed many hundred he presented to his sons the following | Christmas cards, whicl they will send Christmas. A factory-made portable | to their relatives and acquaintances. pool table of this size would have cost | About as many New Year cards have at least $50. Mr. Parks made his [also been printed, and ultimately will table at a total outlay of $15 ' |circulate through the Washington Mrs. Parks and her sons have been | mails. A certain portion of the hand- the recipients of many other remark- | some holiday cards which the boy: able gifts made by the head of the | produce is offered for sale, the pro- household during his spare time. An|ceeds being used in the purchase of attractive sewinf‘ table, a beautiful | gymnasium and athletic equipment. floor lamp, miedels of anclent Spanish | Some of the boys who are interested ships, a rado recelving set, a tea cart, In the making of radio Instruments ! mobilized for ma Parks es in the r ty. A table, who the size. signed - g e The from recreation parlor. e pool table ng press FICTION AND HUMOR have worked overtime the last two weeks completing receiving sets of |one, two or three tubes capacity. In | the majority of cases the youngsters | will present these radio outfits to their | Fespective parents on Christmas morn- | ing | None of them has told his moth- er and father at home what he has been making in the club wood- working classes. The gifts are to be surprise presents. Several of the boys have finished exceptionally well made radio sets which would cost from $25 |to $35 apiece it purchased at a pro- fessional radio store. . Curious Headdresses. T is a matter of historical record that Marie Antoinette had a pas- |slon for extraordinary headdresses. |One structure that she invented was | 45 inches in height and was composed |of many vards of gauze and ribbon. From the folds sprang bunches of roses, and the entire edifice was sur- mounted by a waving plume of white feathers. It is recorded that when Maria Teresa reccived a portrait of her daughter wearing this headdress she exclaimed, “This is no daughter | of mine! The Duchess de Chartres, deter- | mined to suppress the Queen, designed |a headdress two inches higher. It was made up of many plumes, waving at the top of a tower. Two waxen figures, representing the little Comte de Beau- jolais (the brother of Louis Philippe) in his nurse's arms, were worn as | ornaments. Beside them a parrot | picked at a plate of cherries and the wax figure of a black boy reclined at |the nurse's feet. On different parts |of the tower were the initials of the |duchess’ husband, her father and her | father-in-law, made from their own | ha | At this time France and England | were at war. In a naval engagement the Belle Poule, a French vessel, crippled the Hector, an English man- of-war, while the English fleet re turned to Plymouth with two French boats they had captureg. The French, although they had lost a frigate, claimed a victory. The Queen and her women wore headdresses that repre sented the Belle Poule under full sail plowing a sea of green gauze in pur- suit of the English frigate. This con struction was known as the “coiffure Belle Poule. The wife of an English officer living in Paris deemed the headdress an in- sult to the English navy and she de termined to resent it. ~ At the next public occasion, therefore, she ap- | peared wearing on her head five Eng- lish line of battle ships, a French | frigate and a lugger. An arrangement of silk and gauze represented Ply | mouth harbor, which the English ships with their prizes were entering. Sach vessel carried a streamer that bore *its name and on the edifice at | the back the word “Plymouth” ap- peared in glittering beads! Sea-Salt Industry. UCH attention has been drawn to an enterprise inaugurated not long ago in California to extract salt | from sea water. Enormous quantities | are being obtained by the use of the rays of the warm sun of California | and as a commercial venture the en- | terprise is a success. But making | salt from sea water is a-very old in- dustry in the British West Indies; one | colony depends upon it for its main asset to fill its local treasury. ~For more than a hundred years ships have | anchored north of English Point, Grand Turk Cay, in the Turks and Caicos Islands Dependency, and filled their holds with salt for the Canadian and United States market. And until recently. Great Inagua Island, 100 | miles to the southwest: Anegada in the Virgin Islands and Rum Cay and | others of the Bahamas were busy | scenes of salt-making. Today one or | two of the Bahamas still export salt. | The method of making salt from sea water is the same in up-to-date Call- fornia as it is in the sleepy West In- dies. Sea brine holds nearly 1 pound of salt in every 2% gallons of liquid. No castaway or ship’s company need run out of salt, if a little ingenuity be | devised. Salt is to be had from about | 18 inches. Then the sun plays its par:, bringing about crystalization. | "In the West Indies the hot season |trom April to October is the salt | makers' busy time. The evaporation is very rapid until the snowy-white crystals begin to appear, the salt form- ing in thickness according to the time | it is left exposed to the sun and the | trade winds from the southeast. ; It is then raked into heaps by bare- | footed laborers and carted away to the | depot, where it is piled up in the open, a spotless, glittering mass. Already the emptied pan has been filled with sea water from the storage lagoon. The process of evaporation continues | throughout the hot months, with the exception of May, which has a rather heavy rainfall. In the California salt works - their product is further treated, being thor oughly dried, purified and fin ground down, the finest quality being | utilized for table salt and the coarser for industrial purpose. In the West Indies, where such manufacturing fa- cilities do not exist, the salt is shipped unrefined. Many hundreds of thou- | sands of bushels of it are used in the United States and Canada for the mak- ing if ice cream alone. Among other purposes, shiploads of the 2,000,000 bushels or so which Grand Turk and the Caicos export are used for pickling meat and fish. Mysterious Snow Pile. OME years ago at Minersville, in Schuylkill County, Pa., there was being operated the Wolf Creek wash. ery. The business of the operators was to reclaim the immense bunks of culm that has been deposited on the surface during the Civil War. With the aid of modern machinery they were able to obtain theusands of ton of marketable sizes of anthracite - the rate of about 2,000 tons a mo These culm banks were more like mountains than refuse piles. In some instances they were 50 feet high and covered the surface for approximately a half mile. The cylm was taken in conveyor lines 10 a breaker, where it ‘was washed through revolving screens and the coal reclaimed. One day in the month of Jyne, when | the thermometer registered from 50 to 100 degrees, the operators uncov- | ered in the heart of one of the banks a large quantity of ice and snow Thiv reasoned that this deposi ered with culm durt and thus protécted fror been preserved for about i4 v seemed glmost incredible that suc condition was possible in the ten ture zone, and yvet no other seems satisfactory. The snow protected, of course, from the I by the tons' of culm 50 fe hundreds of . yards wide; auid this theoky not tenable, then 5o scientist. may offer a more convine- ing theory for its remarkable state of preservation.