A Little USO In The Center Of The Big USA

USO Inside Cover

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Frank Adams Director

Without a doubt Frank Adams, director of the USO the past two years, is the service man's man. Practically every GI with whom he has come in contact will support this statement. He likes them; they like him. When he first took over his job, and perhaps before, he was dubbed "Pop" and his name has stuck. Probably a lot of GIs wouldn't know who you were talking about if you mentioned "Frank" Adams. But not so "Pop".

Frank Adams, Director of USO

Mr. Adams had no little hand in the early organization here. He was county-coordinator of OCD. The USO's predecessor here, the drop-in center, was organized largely through OCD. Later, when the USO superseded the center, Frank was a member of the Advisory committee to the USO Council. He served until he became director on January 1, 1944.
Pop - that is, Frank - ia a veteran of World War I. He was a top sergeant, was wounded in France by an exploding shell and spent five months in a hospital recovering.
If you don't think Frank has done a good job tell it to some of the men from the base who utilized the USO. The least you'll get in reply will likely be an "Oh, yeah?" with a decidedly rising inflection.

To USO Volunteers

To USO Volunteers, 25 January 1946
As our sojourn among you draws to an end,and as you make plans for terminating your activities, we would like to express a small part of our appreciation of one of the most important community and military activities, the Pratt USO.

In order for a man to devote concentrated attention to a meticulous and highly technical job, for long hours, over a long period of time, he must have relaxation. There are many ways he can get some measure of this need. He may play basketball, volleyball, softball, bridge. He may attend movies or shows. But valuable as all these outlets are, there is nothing that quite achieves the purpose desired so much as friendly association with members of the opposite sex. Such an association is both an enjoyable and a civilizing influence.
Without the decorative and light touch contributed by the USO hostesses here that element would have been largely lacking. We do not, however, blandly assume that these ladies achieved their affect by lightly waving a wand. We know the enormous number of man and woman hours they put into their effort to keep the men lighthearted. We know it was not always easy to submerge their personal programs to be there on time, and smiling, for the many events at which they appeared. But they did - bless 'em.
For that and for all the scuffed toes they suffered on the dance floor, we want to thank them, and say that as long as American women remain as charming and as willing to help do a job, America will hold her place in the world.
Sincerely yours,
Reuben Kyle, Jr.
Colonel, Air Corps
Commanding

To You Who Did The Job

After three years we are about to dissolve one of the finest organizations that came out of the war period. The work you have done the past three years in the USO will go down in history as one of its brightest pages.

The Senior Hostesses have been the backbone of the entire organization. Your words of advice, comfort and encouragement to those in service, and their families, has been appreciated. The young ladies in the Junior Corps have spent countless hours, danced many miles, and entertained in many ways. They rode in every sort of transportation the Air Corps furnished and did it without complaint.
The War Dads who have served at the club and at the dances did a fine job. So have the organizations in the county which took a part. As to the Council, it was always ready to serve when its services were needed.
Your combined efforts made our slogan "A Home Away From Home" true in the USO-NCCS club. And so, on behalf of the agency, - Thank You.
To the military, especially Special Service and Public Relations, our thanks for your fine cooperation.
Personally, we cannot find words to thank you for the loyal, faithful, congenial help you have given to both Mrs. Garst and me. So we will just say in the words of Tiny Tim, as we go back into our regular pursuits of life, "God Bless Us All."
Most sincerely,
Frank B. Adams, Director
Mrs. Helen Garst, Secretary

The Period Of Indecision

Early in 1942 it likely had not occurred to the citizens of Pratt that soon they would be giving up their spare bedrooms, making apartments in their basements or debating on whether to give up their jobs in town for probably better paying ones at the base.

That was back in the day when one could drop into a restaurant in Pratt at most any time of the day for coffee and have his choice of at least half a dozen seats. It was very unusual if he waited more than five minutes for a grocery checker to total his bill. He had a fair chance of getting into a parking spot on Main Street and of getting out of it without a long wait for traffic to thin. He could get a taxi anytime he wanted it to take him anyplace he wanted to go (in town) for 10 or 15 cents. And there were not more than four or five cabs.
Then it became known, in late spring, that the army and navy were to set up a number of training bases in Kansas. Pratt went after one. As the climax in its effort to secure it a three man delegation hastened to Washington to plead for Pratt. Numerous government engineers and other representatives began arriving, checking water and electric utilities, the lay of the land, and other factors entering into the choice of sites. Pessimists predicted gloomily that no good would come from a temporary base here. Those radically in favor seemed to feel that if we didn't get it some farmer would soon be pasturing his stock on Pratt lawns and storing his grain in the county court house or one of the bank buildings.
On june 23rd of 1942 it was announced that the War Department had authorized a $3 million installation here and on the 7th of July a contract for construction was let.
Ten days later came the disquieting news that it was all off, that the War Department was abandoning the project because of a jurisdictional dispute with the Navy.
On Agin' After Being Off Agin'
Early in September of the same year it was announced that the War Department had again decided upon Pratt as a base site. Most Prattans were skeptical. Too many rumors had been floating about during the summer, some blowing hot and some cold. But when, on the 10th, Federal Judge Richard Hopkins signed a condemnation order giving the government a large tract of land a few miles north of town, it began to look like a sure thing. Construction oficially began on the 28th of September.
Pratt suddenly took on some of the appearance of a boom town in the early oil mad days of El Dorado and Augusta, Kansas, of Three Sands, Oklahoma, or of Borger, Texas. Except that, instead of the heavy horse drawn equipment of that period, two and three decades ago, huge trucks and other motorized construction equipment became commonplace in Pratt.
Trucks and equipment bearing the names of Geiger & Rutherford, Busboom & Rauh, Lane Wells, the Koss Construction Co., the Suttle Construction Co., and others were a common sight on the streets of the city. Vehicles of the N. C. Carroll & Sons Gravel Co. plied busily between the gravel plant south of town and the base north of town leaving a trail of sand up the east side of Main Street and water which soon turned to ice.
The city heretofore had taken pride in being a "convention" city. But conventions were out for the duration. There wasn't room for one. Not with the crowded streets of each day giving the impression the city was containing a Firemen's Convention, the Charity Ball, the Kingman football game, Bargain Day and a Santa Claus parade all on the same day.
Buddy, Can You Spare a Bed?
Every available housing facility was soon filled and frequent pleas were made for residents to convert potential housing space into apartments or, at least, into sleeping rooms. Restaurants were crowded beyond capacity and, particularly on Sundays and holidays, Pratt's transient workers practically faced starvation in the midst of plenty. This statement may seem overdrawn. But those persons, at that time, would likely have insisted that it is under rather than over stated.
Principally because of lack of experienced help, sometimes of any help at all, business houses which ordinarily were lighted until late began closing at 8:00 or 6:00. Main Street after dark , except for the transients, townsmen and servicemen parading it looking in vain for some place to go, presented a deserted appearance. This condition made more imperative the need for the later established USO.
Although construction was far from completed the base was formally dedicated on May 2, 1943. More than 13,000 persons, according to actual counts at the gates, visited the base that day. The dedicatory address was delivered by Governor Andrew F. Schoeppel.
The first flying crews to be trained here arrived within a few days of the date of the dedication ceremony. They had been stationed for some time in the Panama Canal Zone. After a year's training with B-29's they left for overseas in April, 1944 as the 40th Bomb Group. They were immediately followed by another group of trainees and, on May 23rd, by Pratt's first contingent of WACs.

PAAF Bomb Groups Attain Distinction

This scene at Pratt field shows one of mighty B-29s which played so great a part in humbling the Axis. Taken from inside tunnel of a second B-29.

USO B-29 View

The Pratt Army Air Field and the crews trained here have won no small distinction in the part they played in the war. There were four Bomb Groups. First came the 40th, followed by the 497th. Then came the 29th which was succeeded by the 346th. The latter went across in the summer of 1945 making room for the final group - the 93rd.
The first Superfortresses to see active service over Japanese territory were trained at PAAF. They were of the 40th.
The first and last bombs dropped on Japan by B-29s were loosed by Pratt trained crews. The initial B-29 raid on Tokyo (this was by the 497th) was led by Lt. Colonel Robert Morgan. He had been a Flying Fortress pilot with the Eighth Air Force over Europe. His ship was the Memphis Belle, become famous through the movie short of the same name, depicting the plane's last bombing mission. Some time following his return to the States, Colonel Morgan, then a Major, was stationed here for Superfortress training.
The final bombs falling on Japan were dropped by the 346th just 36 minutes before the cessation of hostilities.
The first B-29 crewman to win the Congressional Medal of Honor received his training with the big ships at the base here. He was Sgt. Henry Eugene Erwin, youthful Alabaman and radioman who, with the rest of the 11-man crew, came to the Pratt field in September, 1944. In April of 1945, the plane, the City of Los Angeles, was over a bombing target in Japan. Sergeant Irwin pulled the fuse of a phosphorus bomb and dropped it in the chute. Because of a faulty fuse it exploded in the chute and blew back into his face. He took the burning bomb, generating 1300 degrees of heat, struggled through the crowded cabin and tossed it out an open window. He had saved the lives of the entire crew. Although burned so badly there was little hope of recovery he was returned to Iwo Jima, then Guam, then back to the U.S. where, at last reports, he is recuperating nicely.
Commanding officers of the field during its two and a half years of life were, in order of tenure: Lt. Col. John F. Nelson, Col. James Hammond, Col. George E. Lovell, Col. Emile T. Kennedy, Col. Kermit D. Stevens and Col. Reuben Kyle, Jr.
In its early days the Pratt field was used for the training of crews of the B-26 and B-17. However, they were soon succeeded by the B-29. The Pratt Tailwind, PAAF's popular publication, states that the Pratt Army Air Field pioneered the B-29 program of the Army Air Forces, being the number one installation exclusively dedicated to training crews to serve on the AAF's pride.
In a short history of the field the Tailwind, in the final paragraph of its final edition, has this to say: "The field brought much to Kansas and to Pratt itself, but no more than was given it in return by the people of the state and town."

War Dads Represent Masculine Element

Approximately 99.65 percent of volunteer assistants of the USO were feminine.

However, the women an not claim a 100 percent record due to the activity of one men's organization - The War Dads. The Dads took over several duties at the club shortly after they were organized such as helping run the Bingo games and manning check stands. A number of them devoted enough time to qualify for awards. They are:
500 hours, Frank Curtis, Ivan Justice, Chas. A. Scholle, Jess Goodman, Roy Stansill
100 hours, Tom G. Hodges, J.H. Cosgrove

USO Gets 4-Star Rating

The USO presented this scene of activity night after night, month after month. The small archway to the rear of the singers is one of two entrances to the game room and director's office. To their right is the exceedingly popular snack bar.

USO Activity

If the National USO hadn't kept well in touch with Army plans Pratt might have had a USO without an army. In July 1942, three weeks after the War Department's first announcement of an installation here, Pratt received a visit from an FSA official. He was Dr. Robert S. Wilson, here to check recreational facilities for army personnel. His conferences were with members of OCD - Office of Civilian Defense - of which Amos W. Glad was head of the Civilian Defense Service. Frank Adams was the county coordinator.

Then came the Army's announcement that plans for the Pratt base were in the discard. As mentioned above the National USO was keeping in close touch with the army so it dropped its plans also. Apparently, Dr. Wilson's visit had been in vain.

Nothing more was heard from the USO, although construction at the base had in the meantime eventually gotten under way, until January, 1943. On that date a second USO representative met with local citizens and tentative arrangements were made. However, the proposed size of the base at that time, according to the representative, was not great enough to justify a paid director. The USO was to be operated locally, entirely by volunteers, and was to be known as a drop-in center.

At their regular meeting on February 11th the City Commission voted to turn over the club rooms of the Municipal Building to the center together with such other available room as might be needed. Included with the room were free water, light and heat. The following day Louis McCoy was named chairman of a USO committee by Mr. Glad.

One of the biggest dances in the history of the Municipal Building was held at about this time. It was sponsored by the American Federation of Labor, well represented in the construction crews at the base. From the proceeds from the dance the local USO committee received nearly $700.00. This provided pocket money for the subsequently formed USO Council. The fund has been used largely in providing Christmas parties for children of servicemen stationed at the base and in meeting other small expenses of the USO which were not provided for in the regular USO budget.

The club was officially opened on March 2, 1943. Furnishings were loaned or donated by local citizens.

On the 10th of June, because of the increase of base personnel, the National USO officially took over the center. It was placed under the direction of the National Catholic Community Service, one of six organizations comprising the USO-United Service Organizations. The others were the Y.W.C.A., the Y.M.C.A., the Salvation Army, the Jewish Welfare Board and the National Travelers Aid Association. Reverend John J. Butler, pastor of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church here, was appointed moderator.

W.P. (Hap) Whalin was the first paid USO director. He assumed his duties June 10th and served until the close of the year when he was transferred to Hawaii. He was succeeded by Frank Adams on January 1, 1944.

From its inception until the first of this year such door counts and other checks available indicate, according to Mr. Adams, that approximately 500,000 visits have been made to the club.

In April, 1944, a national representative of the USO, who made an inspection of the club, gave it a 4 Star rating. This is an excellent rating. In fact, the USO doesn't give any that are higher. But because it's an enlisted man's club perhaps it should have been rated in terms of chevrons rather than stars.

We Think They're Swell Says Tailwind

This photo of a number of Senior Hostesses was taken in the USO rooms in the winter of 1945.
Standing (left to right): Mesdames George Barrett, Helen Garst, Roy J. Grover, Roy Skelton, Lydia Staehlin, Maude Doan, C.E. Troutman, L.B. Mathews, Robert Brockman, J.C. Eubank, Anna Slief, Emma Hiskett, Edwin Schaefer, (Miss) Edith Brandt, Ray Earlywine, Pearl Richardson and Leslie Hull. Seated (left to right): Mesdames Ben F. Henry, Frank Curtis, E.L. Hilliard, Sophia Shackelford, Gretchen Walcup, C.C. Scott, Earl Frost, Jack Goertz, Oscar Norby and Jerry Harrel.

USO Senior Hostesses

No Group has contributed more liberally of its time and energy to the USO than have the Senior Hostesses. Were it not for the women who placed the USO first in their list of activities the organization could not possibly have functioned as smoothly as it did.
The Senior Hostesses were first organized for the opening of the drop-in center, and reorganized when the USO supplanted it. Mrs. Helen Garst was appointed chairman of the hostess groups, and served in this capacity until becoming secretary to the director in June, 1944. Mrs. George Barrett succeeded her.
The hostesses were divided into four groups with captains at the head of each. Those originally holding the positions were Mrs. Amos W. Glad, Mrs. George Barrett, Mrs. L.B. Mathews and Mrs. Jerry Harrel. When the latter two moved from town they were replaced by Mrs. Sue Cochran and Mrs. J.H. Cosgrove.
Duties of the Senior Hostesses were many and varied. They helped keep the club tidy. They served as an information bureau. In some instances they were called on to pinch hit for Dorothy Dix or Beatrice Fairfax. They helped fill out reports and keep track of attendance. And, as their primary function, they did what they could to entertain the service men and make them feel at home.
The Pratt Tailwind states: They're called senior hostesses of the USO, but we call them swell. This group of women spends its time looking after our comfort while we relax and enjoy ourselves at the Pratt USO. Which explains why it's one of the coziest and homiest clubs we've drug into.
Those Senior Hostesses receiving awards for service of 100 hours (the minimum for awards) or more are:
3000 Hours - Mrs. Pearl Barrett
2000 Hours - Mrs. Lydia Staehlin
1000 Hours - Mrs. J.C. Eubank, Mrs. Perry Child, Mrs. Anna Slief, Mrs. R.H. Brockman, Mrs. Sophia Shackelford
500 Hours - Mrs. Sue Cochran, Mrs. R.A. Flanders, Mrs. Grace Hilliard, Mrs. Margaret Helsel, Mrs. Dulcie Schaefer, Mrs. Roy Skelton
100 Hours - Mrs. O.H. Bock, Miss Edith Brandt, Mrs. C.E. Clark, Mrs. J.H. Cosgrove, Mrs. John Daly, Mrs. L.A. Dean, Mrs. Dale Earlywine, Mrs. George Fincham, Mrs. Dean Fleming, Mrs. Jack Goertz, Mrs. Jess Goodman, Mrs. B.A. Gray, Mrs. W.F. Harkrader, Mrs. B.H. Hawk, Mrs. W.B. Hess, Mrs. Emma Hiskett, Mrs. Dave J. Leahy, Mrs. A.E. Lippincott, Mrs. Fred Lighter, Mrs. Benny Maynard, Mrs. J.R. McNicholas, Mrs. Luke Mowbray, Miss Dorothy Neal, Mrs. Mirt Newhouse, Mrs. Ferris Norvell, Miss Gertrude Orelup, Mrs. Maye Peel, Mrs. Pearl Richardson, Mrs. Ray Rowland, Mrs. C.C. Scott, Mrs. J.D. Scott, Mrs. E.W. Spear, Mrs. A.J. VanVranken, Mrs. J.E. Whitman
The following have previously received awards for minimum 100 hours service:
Mrs. Frank Adams, Mrs. Frank Curtis, Mrs. N.V. Benson, Mrs. Ray Earlywine, Mrs. Earl Frost, Mrs. Amos Glad, Mrs. Jerry Harrel, Mrs. B.F. Henry, Mrs. Leslie Hull, Mrs. Karl Kramer, Mrs. Fred Ladd, Mrs. W.A. Law, Mrs. L.B. Mathews, Mrs. Oscar Norby, Mrs. T.A. Hacker.
Women who at various times have helped out as Senior Hostesses, but not frequently enough to achieve 100 hours, many because they have been engaged in other war work, are:
Mesdames Ada Barker, Horace Barker, Harry Chapman, C.L. Cramer, Robert Cutter, Maude Doan, Jess Douthart, George Eble, Fred Ferrin, C.H. Fisher, Gertrude Freeman, Fred Gardner, George Glaser, Ista Grantham, R.J. Grover, Mattie Haskins, J.A. Hinds, Virgil Hoffman, J.S. Irwin, F.E. Kessler, J.E. Mauldin, W.E. Marshall, O.R. Muecke, Ray McCaslin, Hazel McPherson, George Nelson, W.H. Petty, Webb Ramey, C.V. Sanders, W.H. Shaffer, O.K. Stewart, H.B. Unruh, Gretchen Walcup, L.G. Ward and Misses Lottie Barton, Merle Caldwell, Nelle Duvall, Gertrude Gillam, Agnes Jacobs, Agnes Peterson and Gladys Scott.

Junior Hostesses Add Color And Life To USO

The local USO feels greatly indebted to nearby Preston, Kingman, St. John, Stafford and other towns, and to the parents of Pratt, for so generously contributing the flower of their young womanhood to the USO as Junior Hostesses. And sympathizes with the few remaining eligible swains of those towns who probably didn't approve of the girls spending so many evenings in Pratt.

According to the records of the secretary approximately 75 of the original 125 Junior Hostesses are now married. The USO can't take much credit as a matrimonial agency as most of the girls would eventually have married anyway in the normal course of events. Nevertheless, many of the brides and their service men grooms met through their mutual interest in the USO.
Three of the 125 have entered the service. They are Barbara Hilliard and Roberta Wilson of Pratt and Louise Covey of Cullison. All joined the WAVEs. Others of the original number have since entered Cadet Nurse's training.
5000 Hours - Doris Chinn, Joy Eubank, Marjorie Garst, Helen Hall, Florence Hamilton, Katherine Harris, Velma Hiskett, Virginia Shupe, Nora Steg, Lorraine Straub, Iva Lee Vance, Evelyn Wagner, Eula White
500 Hours - Florence Cates, Marcella Fisher, Elsie Locke, Rachael Mayberry, Lucille McDowell, Claire Probst, Eleanor Ramsey, Gertrude Reub
100 Hours - Helen Ball, Darlene Bartlett, Kathleen Boughner, Ruth Bowren, Nadine Carson, Mabel Konkle, Muriel Cookson, Mary Agnes Detwiler, Mary Frances Duncan, Josephine Freund, Margaret Kimminau, Irene Kinkaid, Byrd Knight, El Resa Knight, Juanita Langley, Helen McDaniel, Eloise Redfern, Irma Redwine, Billie Renfro, Jean Rowland, Dorothy Schmidt, Beverly Schulte, Alice Swerdtfeger, Neva Jean Unruh, Blanche Weiser, Pauline Weiser
Following is a list of others having served as Junior Hostesses but, for various reasons, not having attained a 100 hour record.
Cunningham - Loretta Freund and Marceline Panek.
Cullison - Vada Cawthon, Louise Johnson, Camille Johnson, Nelle Rudolph and Georgia Mae Rudolph.
Kingman - Ruth Akers, Irene Burns, Myrtle Buckley, Marjorie Lou Creighton, Sylvia Snell, Phyllis Dennett, Delores Hageman, Roxanna Hinton, Esther Hampel, Violet Morris, Thelma Morehart, Pauline McKenna, Rose McKenna, Kathleen McAdams, Dorothy Naanes, Marie Osner, Mildred Osner, Isabel Osner, Barbara Pitkin, Martha Payne, Delores Panek, Lola Robison, Helen Rohlman, Eileen Rohman, Phyllis Specht and Virginia Tefft.
Nashville - Eva Hauser, Roselma Huaser and Emelia Jarner.
Pratt - Wanda Baker, Joann Blackwelder, Billie Jane Ball, Elsie Rene Beedle, Maxine Burnett, June Cannon, Maxine Carter, Louise Corn, Carolyn Colberg, Camille Colberg, Katherine Coleman, Eloise Coleman, Helen Cox, Alice Joy Craig, Carol Ann Hastings, Barbara Lea Hamilton, Betty Hurd, Helen Hedding, Wilma Hoffman, Beverly Hardgrove, Margaret Konkle, Margaret Leahy, Evelyn Libby, Lora Arlene Luders, Virginia Luders, Beverly Lunt, Laura Jane Leeper, Lucille Maas, Geraldine Morris, Velma McGaugh, Erma Jean McMullen, Jo Ellen McNicholas, Wanda McManaman, Melba Norby, Betty Jane Nash, Freda Norris, Barbara Patrick, Helen Patrick, Janice Polley, Jo Romine, Ruth Redfern, Pauline Robertson, Anne Scott, Nadine Sitton, Mary Beth Stuart, Juanita Smith, Josephine Schafer, Catherine Sandquist, Marilyn Margaret Tregallas and Loiuse Weiser.
Preston - Lois Haas
Stafford - Mary Lou Boyd, Evelyn Budde, Bonnie Bartlett, Glenice Coate, Joyce Dale, Billie Hayden, Lorraine Hayden, Nadine Hill, Betty Logue, Virginia Love, Bonnie Blue Webber and Billie Wood.
St. John - Grace Abrahamson, Avenell Reazin, Virginia Radke, Irene Snell, Jackie Sparks, Billie Jane Spencer and Lynn Louise Stuart.
Zenda - Clara Goetz.

Organizations Of County Contribute Generously

There likely is hardly an organization in the county which has not contributed in some manner to the USO. A Large number have contributed a great deal. They are the organizations listed below which are receiving certificates of merit from the National USO in recognition of their service.

Some of the groups furnished cookies (thousands of them) and cakes and pies (hundreds of each) and other edibles which went over big with the service men. Frequently, on either Thursaday or Sunday nights, members of some of the groups would visit the club and serve as hosts and hostesses. Following these visits members of the organizations, particularly of the rural groups, would invite various servicemen to be their guests - usually at the celebrated mid-western Sunday dinner.
Those organizations are:
(Organizations are from Pratt, or immediate vicinity, unless otherwise indicated.)
American Legion Cedric H. Shaw, Post 86)
American Legion Auxiliary
Art and Craft Club
Baptist Church (First of Pratt)
Baptist Church (Preston)
Brotherhood of L.E.&F.
Bunker Hill Community Club
Business and Professional Women's Club
Byers Farm Bureau, Byers
Cairo W.S.C.S., Cairo
Chamber of Commerce
Christian Church, Pratt
Christian Church, Sawyer
Church of Christ, Preston
City of Pratt
Daughters of American Revolution
Elks Lodge No. 1451
Fairview Farm Bureau
Glendale Farm Bureau
Hopewell Farm Bureau, Hopewell
Iuka Farm Bureau, Iuka
Junior Mothers Club, Byers
Liberty Farm Bureau
Lincoln Farm Bureau
Lions Club
Methodist Church (First of Pratt)
Methodist Church Preston
Methodist Church Sawyer
Mother's Club
Mother's Service Club
Mother's Study Club
Natrona Ladies Aid, Natrona
Order of Eastern Star (No. 251, Pratt)
Pansy Rebekah Lodge (No. 251 Pratt)
Park Hills Country Club
Pratt Daily Tribune
Pratt Union
Presbyterian Church
Richland Farm Bureau
Rotary Club
Royal Neighbors of America
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Sawyer Farm Bureau
Sew and Sew Club, Croft
VFW (Earl H. Ellis. Post No. 1362)
VFW Ladies Auxiliary
Woman's Society of Christian Services
War Dads
War Dads Auxiliary

The Extension

The interests of the colored service man were not overlooked by the National USO. The first step here was the establishing, in April, 1944, of temporary entertainment quarters for the soldier in the basement of the Second Baptist Church.

In May the contract was let for repair and redecorating of a building at 712 South Main. It was ready for occupancy in September with Mrs. Mae Buckner as director and Mrs. Phynola Cook as chairman of the hostess group. The two report that the club has been well attended, one three months door count showing 17,000 visits.
The extension has provided the same type of program as has the parent club with movies, bingo, dances, songfests, refreshments and other services.
Because of the intense interest it has created, it has served, not only as a serviceman's center, but as a community center as well.
Senior Hostesses of the extension are:
Fannie May Bandy
Irene Peoples Brown
Ruby Brown
Mabel Bright
Inez Bristow
Jennie Campbell
Phynola Cook
Helen Delaney
Ella Franklin
Lena Gordon
Fannie Graves
Edna Jones
Katie James
Sarah James
Vanita James Jenkins
Marian Minnis
Syrena Minnis
Druscilla Mounger
Mary Mounger
Sallye Shannon
Ella Staggers
Alice Stevenson
Isabel Stevenson
Dolly Taylor
Lena Tumbleson
Junior Hostesses with 500 hours service are:
June Gossett
Gloria Minnis
Eloise Minnis
Wanda Minnis
Joyce Moore
Cleo McCloud
Fontella Stevenson
Those with 100 hours:
Ida Flemming
Lylaus Robinson
Wilda Moore
Betty Lou Lansdon
Those serving, but with fewer than 100 hours:
Mayola Blanton
Chiquita Bright
Amanda E. Carter
Elsie M. DeVille
Lorraine Douglas
Marian Echols
Edith Elliot
Patricia Hart
Juanita Hawkins
Hattie Jefferson
Charlotte Johnson
Meta Joe Johnson
Pauline Johnson
Captolia Minnis
Fontilla Morris
Bettie Newkirk
Ethel Mae Page
Louis Peoples
Dorothy Staggers
Katherine Staggers
Charlene Thornton
Betty Mae Tumbleson

The USO Council

The USO Council came into existance on June 10th, 1943, when the drop-in center was assimilated by the USO. On that date it was tentatively set up and the names sent to the National USO. Folowing the certification of the list by the latter organization in August the Council had official status. Its members were to serve as liaison between civilians of the community and the USO. They were members of various clubs and organizations of the city and were appointed to the Council by the heads of the respective organizations.

Mr. Louis McCoy, who as chairman of the committee placing the drop-in center into operation, had been chiefly instrumental in its success, resigned when the USO assumed charge. Alar Mawdsley was elected chairman at the organization meeting of the Council on July 26th. Others elected were Miss Gertrude Gillam as secretary and Charles C. Moore as treasurer. Those officers were reelected August 13th, 1945.

The first committee appointed consisted of Milton Hodges, Mrs. T.M. Patrick and Mrs. G.L. Talbot who had charge of the collection and wrapping of gifts presented servicemen visiting the USO on Christmas of that year. Many of the gifts were supplied by the citizens of Pratt. Others were purchased from Council funds.

The last committee, the one arranging the award dinner of February 4, 1946, consists of Mr. Jess Goodman, Mrs. T.M. Patrick, Mrs. R.E. Morris and Mrs. George Barrett.

The secretary's books show the following as members of the Council for 1944-45 and to the present:

Miss Creola Baker
Mrs. George Barrett
Mrs. Mae Buckner
Mrs. C.C. Chinn
Mrs. Tom Cook
Mrs. R.F. Cooley
Reverend R.P. Crawford
Mrs. Ed Downing
Mr. Brad Eastman
Reverend Paul Ehly
Mrs. J.C. Eubank
Mr. Earl J. Farrel
Miss Marjorie Garst
Mr. Jess Goodman
Mrs. J.R. Gray
Dr. B.F. Henry
Mr. Milton Hodges
Mr. Overton Hodges
Mr. Tom G. Hodges
Mr. Willard Law
Mrs. J.E. Lane
Mrs. R.E. Morris
Mr. R.H. McKean
Mrs. Harold McKim
Mrs. T.M. Patrick
Mr. Francis Porter
Mrs. Pearl Richardson
Mrs. Edwin Schaefer
Miss Bess Smith
Reverend N.J. Stokes
Mr. Frank Young
Mrs. Mildred Wilson

Members of the Executive Committee:
Reverend Elmer Kirkpatrick
Reverend John J. Butler
Mr. A.W. Glad
Mr. W.F. Harkrader
Mr. Dave Leahy
Mr. Charles Pratt
Mrs. F.W. Woolwine

And Then There Was The Time

One busy night at the USO, with games going at nearly every table and the juke-box blaring full blast, an ex-mayor of Niagara Falls, stationed at the base, called at the club. He had been patiently awaiting his bride-to-be, expected by bus. The bus had arrived but she hadn't. He was worried. He appealed to the director of the USO for aid. Mr. Adams investigated, called the USO at Dodge City, found that she was there. He instructed the director there to place her on a Pratt bound bus. She arrived near midnight. In the meantime, Mr. Adams made arrangements with the Probate Judge and witnesses and a few minutes after her arrival she was a married woman.

This was but one of services performed by the USO which hardly could be called routine. On many other occaisions the local organization organized wedding parties.
One night a young mother and baby arrived by taxi from Hutchinson. She had left Denver enroute to Wichita where her husband was to meet her. But she had been rerouted and the husband didn't know it. And so, while her husband paced the floors of the Union Station in Wichita, the wife appealed to the USO here. The Adamses took her home for the night. The next day Mr. Adams found the husband as he was disconsolately returning to the base and took him to the Adams home where he, for the first time, saw his three months old baby.
Another interesting incident is one in which the USO played no part. A private at the base, expecting his wife, rented an apartment and moved to it awaiting her arrival. Subsequently she arrived and, not being able to find her husband and not knowing that the USO frequently united stray spouses, she rented a room. Three days later the two met in a dime store.
Hostesses frequently were presented unusual problems. One night nearly a dozen wives presented themselves at the club. Their husbands were being shipped in but hadn't arrived. The women had been unable to find a hotel room. It was a spring night and not too cold. Still, it was too chilly to sleep in one of the parks not to mention its being a little unladylike. Could the hostesses do anything about it? The hostesses knew that getting into a crowded hotel during that period was just a little less difficult than crawling into a stove pipe and so each took two or three home and bedded them for the night.