Evening Star Newspaper, June 6, 1937, Page 59

CHILDREN'S PAGE. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 6, 193—PART FOUR. CHILDREN’S PAGE. F_7 - Young Residents of Capital Area Follow Varied Pursuits and Hobbies Use Staves And Padding " In Hammock Solid Comfort Sure to Be Provided by Home Product. BY EKATHERINE HOUISON. NEXT time any of the barrels around your neighborhood decide they've stood it long enough and fall apart, don’t cut them up for kindling wood. Pick out the best of the staves, and let's make a hammock. Hard, did you say? Not at all! Just a little time and effort are needed. ©Oh, you meant the hammock would be hard. Not when you've padded it the way I padded mine! I know they’re comfortable, for I have one. And I made it myself, so I know you can. You'll need from 10 to 20 barrel staves, depending on their width and the size you want your hammock. Be sure they're well seasoned, and dry. Now, let's start to work. Bore two holes. one on either side, about two inches in from the end of each stave and about an inch in from the edges. ‘Then do the same on the other ends. Next, get some wire—and be sure it's strong enough to hold the weight of the heaviest member of the family, or some one might take a tumble. Cut two pieces long enough to lace through the holes in your barrel staves, with enough extra to meet at the head and the foot of the hammock and twist together to form a strong loop for swinging it. ‘When you put your wire through the holes be sure it goes under the barrel staves. Then the strain will come on the staves, not on the holes, es it would if laced the other way. Keep your staves far enough apart so the hammock will curve easily when swung between two large, shady trees. The next thing is the pad. You can use anything you prefer for the cover- ing—gunnysacking, awning material, tarpaulin, bright cretonne. Anything heavy and weather-resisting will do. Cut two pieces to fit your hammock, allowing for the seams and for filling. Bew up the ends and one side, then sew the other side up part way, leaving an opening so you can fill it. Now stuff it with corn husks, hay, or what- ever you've decided to use, until it's &oft and comfortable. Sew up the opening as you put the filling in. Add strong tie-strings of the material to all four corners, sewing them securely to the pad, and tie them to the end ‘wires to hold the pad in place. If you want to “doll up” this new hammock of yours, stain the barrel staves with wood stain, or paint them, and weatherproof it with a spar varnish. With a colorful pad and a long, narrow pillow at the head of the same material, you'll have a gay hammock. It will give you a lifetime of service and solid comfort. Posers ET'S see how “smart” we are this week, trying to answer the eight ‘questions below. These have been chosen not to fool you, but to teach you a few facts which you may not al- ready know. 1. What gas makes up the greatest @eart of the atmosphere? 2. How many sides has a hexagon? 3. Is the Gulf of Mexico fresh water or salt water 4. What famous inventor sold maga- | ines on a railroad train when he was & boy? 5. What nationality are the Fascisti? 6. What kind of angles are there in & square? 7. When it is 6 o'clock in New York, what time is it in San Francisco? 8. What is the chief language | spoken in South America? ANSWERS. | 1. Nitrogen. 2. Six. 3. Salt water, &s it is part of the ocean. 4. Thomas | A. Edison. 5. Italian. 6. A square has | four right angles (90 degrees). 7. | ‘Three o'clock. 8. Spanish. My Most Exciting Adventure Rescuer Has Battle ‘With Sinking Girl While in Water. AN’N‘E BRENNAN of 2622 Thirteenth street reports her most exciting edventure to The Star as follows: “Last Summer, while I was spending my vacation in Pennsylvania, I joined 8 recreation club.' One bright sunny day, we decided to go on a picnic, and, packing our lunch, drove out to a park for swimming. “After spending some time in the water, we sat on the pier talking. Buddenly we were interrupted by a scream for help and saw Betty, one of the members of our club, struggling in the water. “My girl friends and I could not swim very well, but seeing that she could not wait much longer for help, I jumped off the pier. When I reached her, she grasped me so tightly that it was difficult for me to swim. “Meanwhile, three other members of the club got into a rowboat and pad- dled out to where we were. When they reached us, they helped us into the boat. “When we reached the shore Betty was very weak, so we took her into the boat house and made her nice and warm.” The Star will pay $1 jor each story it publisnes on the subject “My Most Ezxciting Adventure,” written by a boy or girl reader of Novelty in Fencing Bent Boving grasps a dagger in one hand and a saber in the other to demonstrate the two-weapon style of fencing he learned from a man from the Philippines. —Star Stagl Photo. Student Puts Fencing Among School Courses Club Organized at Roosevelt High Provides for Athletic Feature Which Develops Skill and Gives Exercise for Members. IS school didn't offer a course to fence. H velt High took the situation in fencing club. It is a small group, Air Journey Won by Bet Bobby Made 13-Year-Old Fan Has Introduction Here in Striking Way. DREAM came true last week for 13-year-old Bobby Pasqualicchio. But he worked for it. Bobby is an’ aviation fan. He's modeled planes and he’s read up on aviation, and he's never chance to watch planes come in. An opportunity for a real airplane ride, however, never seemed to come his way. He had been living with his parents, BOBBY PASQUALICCHIO. Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Pasqualicchio, in Erie, Pa., until last Spring, when his father moved to Washington. Bobby ‘was left behind to complete his eighth- grade work. As the family prepared to depart, he had an inspiration. “I'll tell you what we can do,” he remarked. “We can make a wager. If I get an average of 95 per cent on my final examinations, you'll let me fly down to Washington.” Bobby's father laughed. His son, though a good student, usuaily aver- aged just about 90. So he consented and the bet was on. In the meantime, his parents thought about the dangers of air travel and decided against such a trip, even if Bobby should succeed in fulfilling his end of the bargain. They wrote him to come down on the train. Bobby, however, had other ideas. He worked hard and when the reports came in he had 95 and & margin of three-tenths of a point above. That, he decided, was sufficient grounds to 80 ahead with his plans. ‘The Pasqualicchios were much sur- prised last Sunday to have a wire from their son asking them to meet his plane at 8:40 p.m. Bobby's mother was a little tear- ful at first, but the whole family ral- lied to the occasion and motored out with considerable excitement to the airport. Shortly after, & amiling youngster emerged from a big ship and found himself the most nonchalant person in the family group. “The trip was swell,” Bobby de- clared. “Some day I will be flying one of those ships.” the paper. b He'd sat just behind the co-pilot during the whole flight, he revealed, \ v comprising three members: #%street of 4728 Thirteenth street, who in fencing. And Bent Boving wanted So two and a half years ago, this enterprising student of Roose- his own hands and organized a school Courtney Over- is well known locally as a marksman; Ernest “Jimmie” Gillis, of 308 Shep- herd street, and Bent himself, who lives at 221 Rock Creek Church road. One former member, John Cook, of 1308 Webster street, is no longer a Roosevelt student. | The boys practice after school or during the luncheon period several !times a week. They are not excused from regular class room periods, but [their work has a sort of unofficial school status since gymnasium credit is given for the exercise. Bent is the only one of the boys who 'has had more than two or three pro- fessional lessons in fencing. He took a course in the practice of “attack and defense with sword or foil” at the suggestion of his father, who thought he nesded exercise. Now—after three years—his parents are well satisfied with the physical benefits derived from the sport. And Bent’s head is full of fencing facts, to which he is constantly adding. FENC!NG styles vary, running more or less according to countries, he said. The Roosevelt group dabbles in all of them, though it specializes in the French method of defense. Few who are adept in this latter style ever are serfously injured in dueling, Bent pointed out. Not tiggt the Roosevelt boys contemplate duels, however. Recently Bent and his friends took up & comparatively unfamiliar style— “two-weapon fencing”"—which calls for the use of & saber in one hand and & dagger in the other. “We learned s little about it after watching an exhibition by a fellow from the Philippines at the Soldiers’ Home,” Bent explained. “It's not good for much but defense and it's pretty savage, I suppose, but it's in- teresting.” Pointers in the development of their sport are gleaned, for the most part, from a manual one of the boys secured from England. Fencing builds speed and control of the muscles, Bent explained. It is essentially a “progressive” sport, since it requires years of constant applica- tion before it is mastered. It appeals to an analytical mind, for the pro- ficient fender must anticipate his op- ponent’s tactics in order to outwit him. And it develops grace. cost of foils and masque— which are usually imported—is about the only drawback Bent sees to fencing as & hobby. He secured s padded jacket cheaply enough, hav- ing it made from mattress ticking. Money for the rest of his equipment he earned from photography—one of his major interests. Regarded as one of the outstanding scientific students at Roosevelt, Bent also is interested in model-making and shop work. A room in the basement of his home is equipped for all of his hobbies. He will graduate from Roosevelt this year and, with him, the other members of the fencing class. Bent, for one, however, expects to continue the sport in college. — Unkown. EIIANUEL JACKSON, & muletender, appeared one morning on crutches. “Lawsy!” exclaimed a friend. “Ah thought yo' was one o' de bes’ mule han’lers in de business.” “80 Ah {s” afirmed Emanuel proudly, “but we done got a mule in his mornin’ dad did not know mah reppetation.” and then displayed a notebook full of flying data. ‘The experience also has proved to be an ice breaker for the newcomer to Washington. Several of the boys in his neighborhood—the Pasqualicchios live at 4507 Arkansas avenue—already have called to hear about his adven- ture. When he enters Roosevelt High School next year, Bobby figures he’ll know enough boys to have & really good time, ChildrenHad| Trick Dog and His Young M Queer Ways Here in 1860 Sunday Clothes and Amusements Seem Very Quaint. By Maria Von Vrooman. IP' YOU had lived here in the Capi- tal City in 1860 you would have found it quite different from today. There was & long canal in back of the White House where boys liked to go fishing. And in the “President’s Square,” now Lafayette Park, girls rolled their hoops, which were wrapped with red ribbons and hung with little bells. In the 60s boys and girls were very “proper.” They were especially bound to good behavior on Sundays, when they went to church with their parents and were not allowed to play games or look at picture books. It you were a boy, on Sunday morn= ing you were dressed in your best suit, trimmed with wide braid and brass buttons, and had your hair combed for church. Mamma parted it from the front of your head right straight down to the nape of your neck, brushed it forward to curl over your ears and flattened the top with pomade. Then you put on a round hat with a ribbon flying at the back. Your papa wore his hair the same way also, as was fashionable for men and boys. If you were a girl of that day you needed a long time to dress for church. First mamma heated a thin glass rod in the flame of the kerosene lamp and curled your hair on it, making long ringlets. Then a round comb with 8 blue ribbon laced through it kept them in place. When this was done you got into your hoop. The hoop was a stiff, hinged affair of steel and whalebone, shaped like a lampshade frame. It went over your pantalettes and held out your plaid dress ruffies nicely. You were bound to be “a little lady” in the Sunday hoop, for it was 80 heavy and stiff you had to tilt it sideways to get through a door. In order to sit down in the hinged va- riety it was necessary to push on the sides and the hoop folded up with a squeak. If you forgot and sat down suddenly, it went up in the alr over your head. Having a Sunday hoop like mamma's was considered very grown-up, but probably girls were glad enough not to wear them for every day. Another strange fashion for girls in the 60s—and s painful one—was piercing the ears for earrings. A small hole was punctured in the lobe of the ear and a string put through, to be pulled back and forth at intervals “to keep the hole open” until it healed. Then thin wire earrings with gold balls on them were worn. Many tears must have followed the ear-piercing fad, but it was stylish, along with red-tasseled boots, matching brace- lets for each arm, and lockets trimmed with braided h; Editor's note—This is the first of & series of stories on Young Washington | in bygone days. For the Puzzle Fans — ERE'S s nice, plump hen who looks as though she would make a fine Sunday dinner. But right now she's busy H holding our crossword puzzle. CLUCK, CLUCK! HORIZONTAL. . Father. . Exists. . Therefore. . Hens and roosters. . Boy's nickname, . To become old. . Ocean. . Southern State (Abbr.) . A playing card. . A female fowl. VERTICAL. . A heroic narrative poem. . Remains of a fire. . Distress signal at sea. . A sly, deceitful person. . Notion. . Knight of St. Arthur (Abbr.) . What a hen lays. . Pain. . Electrical engineer (Abbr.) —2 Now let's have a ocouple of word chains about our hen. Change only one letter at a time, and always form & genuine word. Change HEN to LAY in three moves. Change SETS to NEST in four moves. 3= You've all seen a hen with & brood of chicks, and you know what an at- tentive mother she is. That's why we are using the word MOTHERS in our diamond. The second line means a large quantity, the third is & machine for working wood, the fifth is an ad- verb, and the sixth means before. Turn to the Comic Section for HIGHLIGHTS OF HISTORY PUZZLE PAGE IN COLOR WORLD MUSEUM DIORAMAS Riddles OT many weeks ago the Riddle Man printed five riddles sent in | by boys. Since then the girls have | been catching up, and this week there | | are contributions by four girls and | only one boy. Come on now, boys, | send your riddles in and don't let | the girls beat you! 1. When does a base ball bat get angry?—Patricia Knight. 2. Why is a barrel like an Indian?— | Charlotte W. Washburn. 3. What does a poor man have, rich man crave, a miser spend, & spendthrift save, and when he dies he takes it with him?—Catherine Marie Smith. 4. What word is composed of three letters alone, Reads backwards and forwards the same; ‘Without speech it can make all its sentiments known, And to beauty lays principal claim? —Naomi Wright. 5. How can you have a hot time?— Duane Cutright. ANSWERS. 1. When it hits the ball. 2. Because they both have hoops (whoops). 3. Nothing. 4. Eye, 5. Put the clocki in the oven. . Simple. Teacher: Can any one tell me how & stove pipe is made? Johnny: Pirst you take a big, long hole, and then you wrap some tin around it. Behead a drama and get what hens should do. Behead a robber and get the beginning of a chicken. o ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S PUZZLES. 1. Pigure puzzle solution. 2. The diamond is P, dub, dased, puzzles, bellow, dew, 8. 3. 8-pry. B-t-ore. 4. Fork, oboe, rose and keel. 8. Crossword puzzle solution. O[ZIF4] (G2 AIN|T Greaseball seems to have a grin on his by his young owner, Genevieve Pearson. i the Capital. face as he jumps -3 Talented Animal Credited With - Various Unusual Accomplishments. HEN Genevieve Pearson re- ceived Greaseball as a gift three years ago he was Just s fuzzy ball of puppy that looked like any other dog. Today Greaseball—with more than a hundred tricks in his repertoire—is one of the better known figures about He has marched in parades. He has appeared at numerous benefits and probably has earned more for charity than any lone animal in Washington. He has even entertained at the White House, The little Llewellin squirrel dog— who has his eye on Hollywood—seems on his way to fame and fortune. All of which is atill more or less astonishing to Genevieve and her father, who dis- coveredl only by accident that their pet had unusual qualities. Greaseball was a lively little fellow when he was young, Genevieve ex- plained, and when she used to tle him to the clothesline for a daily run to work off his excess energy. She often played in the yard next door with the neighbors’ children while he tried to watch her over the fence. But the fence was high and the pup short, so Greaseball learned to stand on his hind legs to see what went on. And it wasn't long before he was running all over the yard that way. His young owner, observing the trick, decided he was exceptionally intelligent and took his education in hand. GENEVIEVE'S father formerly was | s “broncho twister” in Wyoming. He had always trained horses before | he came to Washington and Grease- | ball fell heir to his talent with ani- | mals. Both the Pearsons have worked | hard with the pup and the results are | remarkable. He can walk the tight wire, jump over sticks and through hoops and march five blocks in a parade—all on his hind legs. He can count, sing, do tricks with blocks and chairs and i bark “hello” and “good-by.” “Perhaps the most unusual thing he does,” suggested Genevieve proudly, “is to tie himself up when we are going out. Most dogs can untie them- selves if they want to. But Grease- | ball will bring me his collar, put his | head through it for me to fasten, give me an end of his rope and pull it tight after I've passed it over the fence post. And there he stays, tied up like a good dog, until we come home.” The Pearsons consider Greaseball very much one of the family. He demands a cold shower after his bath, accompanied Genevieve through East- ern High School, from which she was graduated last year, and has never had a sick day since they got him. He loves to learn new stunts, par- ticularly when there's a reward in the shape of & piece of liver waiting. Greaseball has already “sung” on the radio and appears in the Children’s Circus each May. HIB ‘White House appearance was made during a party for the Dall children and just about the same time he was asked to serve as a ‘“‘page” by the Newspaper Women's Club in a Tom Thumb wedding given in celebra- tion of the anniversary of President and Mrs. Roosevelt. And, on top of it all, he's something of a detective too. The Pearsons live in the house where a young woman was murdered mysteriously here some years ago. When Greaseball was a mere pup he dug up a revolver in the yard one day. It proved to be the gun with which the victim was shot, though to whom it belonged is unknown to this day. Genevieve can't find out much about Greaseball's parentage, but believes he must have had vaudeville ancestors to hand on the wonderful intelligence that is his. His Notes Are Good. “Is the living he makes on & sound besis?” “You bet it is. He beats the bass drum in & band.” OUR EDI AUNMOBIIB proved in recent years, with more powerful engines, better brakes and other appliances that make for speed and safety. But no matter how good an automobile is, it will not run with- out a driver. one, the automobile is likely to end up in a ditch or against a tree. Up i driver, your brain, which has the big job of that intricate automobile, your body. And no matter how good your physical machin- you very far unless that driver knows his business. 1—to show your driver how to handle his car. which teach self-control are also valuable is the time merrily through the hoop held —Star Staff Photo. Donald May Qualify for Movie Place Washington Boy of 6 Has Made Record in Radio Work. Tms time next year Donald Ford may be a movie star. At any rate, the blond 6-year-old of 1816 Potomac avenue southeast is heeding the old slogan, “Go West, young man.” He plans to leave Washington for Hollywood Tuesday with his mother, Mrs. James B. Ford. “Daddy” is stay- ing behind, but he'll join the family later to look for a job if Donald gets a contract, Donald sings and tap-dances. Very nicely, too, judging from his list of engagements, which include appear- ances before numerous local audiences as well as on radio programs. He's only been in Washington a year, hav- ing made his first public performances in his former home—Baltimore. He used to be shy. That's one rea- son his family encouraged him to dance when they saw he loved it. And DONALD FORD. —Star Staff Photo. he still seems a little timid, though when he called at the office of The Star for his first newspaper interview he answered every question promptly. “I want to dance like Fred Astaire and sing like Dick Powell,” Donald declared firmly. Asked what he liked best of all to do he stuck to the subject. “I like to sing and dance,” he said. “And I like to ride my wagon instead of a bike,” he added. Orne thing he doesn't like is suits with Irish lace on the collar. “Because | they're sissy,” he explained. And he | doesn't like sissy stories, either. Ap- | propriately enough, his favorite song is “Today I Am a Man,” a number he's Just learning. Donald says he doesn't have any idea what it'll be like in Hollywood, but he likes to go to the picture show. He’s mildly enthusiastic about Shirley Temple, and hopes he’ll meet her. Donald is very blond, with bright blue eyes, and he’s small for his age. Folks seem to think that will help him along in the movie capital, where so many children grow up just about the time they make a place for them- selves. He's been singing since he was 2 years old and started dancing lessons when he was 3. He also studied dra- matics in Baltimore for a year. Since he moved to Washington he has appeared regularly on the National Children’s Frolic broadcast over N. B. C.-WRC, and Thursday was a leading performer in the Virginia C. Hunter revue presented at Wardman Park Ho- tel. TORIAL have been greatly im- And unlesy the driver is a good your own little head there is a Wild Animal Views Fine For Camera Smaller Kinds Make Good Subjects in Action Pictures. BY JIM EMMETT. HEN you've tired of the average run of snapshots and are ready to try your camera on something more difficult, try photographing the smaller wild animals. And I don't mean dis- tant pictures of feeding wild things, but clear, distinct close-ups with the subjects in characteristic action or feeding poses. High-priced apparatus isn't necese sary. An ordinary camera of the usual box or folding type, and perhaps a flash lamp, are all that is required; but you must study your equipment and know its ability and limitations. A simple and successful method is to fasten your camera to a tree, focus it on a certain runway or feeding patch, and arrange the shutter with a thread to be either tripped by the animal itself or pulled by you yourself in ambush. The details of this plan will have to be worked out according to what you are going to photograph, your location, and your equipment, but the method generally used follows, Throughout the woods are runways or game trails which animals travel to their feeding grounds or water sup- Ply. This applies to almost all wild things, from rabbits in near-city vie cinities to deer in secluded sections. Find such a trail and follow it to where it passes a partly open spot, because you will need all the lighs possible. Then with a natural backe ground for your picture, set up the camera to take in the animal when it passes. Because of the poor light of such a location, you will likely have to use a fairly large stop opening, and the correct focus should be on the 8pot where the animal will be, and not on the background. This may throw the latter a trifle out of focus, but it will cause the animal to be clearly defined and make a desirable negative. You may use twine or friction to lash the camera to a nearby ":1; stump. Adjust for view, and either | tle a piece of thread, preferably stout linen, through the hole in the shutter release, or secure it by - wrapping it several times about the lever. Then carry the thread through one or more small screw-eyes to the concealed spot where you will lie in wait. The set-up may be tested by wrapping a piece of black paper or cloth tightly about the lens while you pull the thread to see 1f it works. The cloth shuts off the light to avoid spoiling the fiim. It might also be well to conceal or par- tially cover the camerd with leaves or an overhanging bough, being carefu) whatever used doesn't get within range. Place the camera so the sun's rays will not shine in the lens. The drawback to this method is that it entails too much patient wait- ing, and with many animals, your scent will make your presence known and cause them to avoid the set-up. Pictures, just as good and more of them, can be secured by letting the animal itself trip the shutter. With this method, adjust the camera a5 before, but instead of strong thread, use very light silk which will snap under a slight strain. This should be gray in color, to make it look like a spider’s web, and should be led across the trail to fasten to a tree or stake on the other side. A slight slackness Wwill prevent possible damp air from | springing the camera through shrink- ing the silk. If all works right, the passing an- imal will run against the thread, and trip the shutter. The light silk will break to avoid damaging the camera. With this arrangement, set the camera at the predetermined spot early in the morning, and inspect and take it in late in the afternoon before the light becomes poor. If the shutter isn't sprung, put the camera out again next morning. Wild animals, however, have & well- known habit of feeding and traveling at night, and for this reason, many use flash lamp equipment to photograph their subjects to advantage. The set-up is the same except for the addition of the flash lamp, and the arranging for it to be set off at the identical time the camera is sprung. Cuddles and Tuckie BY FRANCES ROYSTER WILLIAMS. TUCKIE g0t a new pup tent And Cuddles thought they should Go camping as real campers do And sleep out in the wood. \d ¥ R 3 They begged their dad to take them, so At last he said, “All right; Now get your things together and We'll camp out for the night.” They tramped 'way off and built a fire And cooked their supper, too; But when they went into their tent They said, “What shall we do?" e They couldn’t get their daddy in, to develop your body—to make it easy-running. But you must not forget that No matter how they tried; And 50 he had to sleep all night ‘With both his feet outside. (Copyright, 1937.) Y