Swing (Feb-Dec 1952)

92 February, 193^ for each of the 22 games of the season. In the American League, who is going to go against the Yankees — even without Joe DiMaggio. Cleveland, you say? Boston with Boudreau? You might be right, but slowly the realization prevails — the Yankees are PROS. THE KANSAS CITY BLUES open at home this year against St. Paul under the same strong leadership as last year. George Selkirk will manj age the club and hopes for even better year than last when he brough the Blues in third. WHB will broacfl cast all of the Blues baseball game this summer and the Muehlebacjl Brewing Company will be the sporj sor for the third straight season. Continued from Page 16 To keep their youngBtere off the streets at night, members of the Batte, Montana PTA purchased eight adjoining city lots. Then they persuaded the mayor to give them a large abandoned WPA shack at the edge of town. Moving the dilapidated structure onto their new property, more than 100 fathers and mothers went to work. They repaired and painted the building, installed stoves, built cabinets and clothes racks, and set up two giant floodlights. The result: a home-made skating rink for the children — and for family skating parties. In New York City, the United Parents Association fought an unsuccessful running battle with school officials for more than 10 years. Their objective: to get school wash rooms equipped with soap and towels. When the polio epidemic hit New York two summers ago, the parents swooped down on City Hall. They pointed to a Health Department edict for frequent hand-washing to forestall the disease. They got the ■oap and towels. When the Taos, New Mexico schoolhouse needed expan sion, the town's PTA bought several surplus barracks from the Army at Las Vegas, 76 miles away. One weekend, the men of the town drove their trucks to Las Vegas, dismantled the barracks and hauled back the lumber. A few weeks later, the school annex was completed. Many chapters are justly proud of successful projects they have been operating for years. The Flint, Michigan association collects children's outgrown clothes, mends and cleans the garments, and distributes them to needy youngsters. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, the PTA has founded and helps run a school for the handicapped. And the Bronxville, New York chapter provides scholarships that keep four young people in colleges and trade schools. Parent teacher groups serve hot lunches in 3,600 schools throughout the country and help support hundreds of other such units — with much of the food grown and canned by PTA members. Not long ago the Helena, Montana PTA received a rush call from the railroad depot. Could they use a carload of surplus peaches that were on the verge of turning overripe? In a race against time, the PTA women organized five daily shifts for canning their sudden windfall. Working 14 hours a day, they put up 4,060 cans of fruit for school lunches — without losing a single peach ! Each year, PTA's in hundreds of towns conduct a "Summer Round-Up of Children." This unique project, now 25 years old, starts each spring with a search for children who will be entering school in the fall. PTA members visit their parents and persuade them to send the youngsters for a medical and dental check-up. In many cases, they set up health stations for the examinations. In almost every town, the Round-Up has increased school attendance and sharply reduced medical problems. Time and again, PTA's discover that even the youngest children can solve their own problems — with a little adult guidance and understanding. In South Bend, Indiana, the first-grade and kindergarten classes wanted a rug for the reading corner their classroom. He] were they going get the money for iJ Very simple. All tbi had to do, the cb|[ dren decided, raise vegetables in t| school garden, ma|| soup and sell it the other students 1 1 Their parents' fil reaction was to sni<] er at this ambititJ project. But they !k their amusement a pitched in to ht When the vegetab were ripe, the P' wheedled 17 pounds soup bones from local market. "! mothers prepai soup stock, while children cleaned i cut up their veg« bles. A local merch donated small pc ages of crackers, the youngsters sot t shop in a school i • ridor between clas t When the day I over, parents loc 4| at the cash box •! amazement. The f H| and six-year-old iji had sold more t" 400 cups of s< Reaping a profit $19.62, they bougl rug for $19.25 « contributed 37 cjl to the school fuD At a PTA mee in Wilmington, ll aware last year, u exasperated teacei stood up to regist ij Tt', complaint. "For years