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4-2190 FEDERAL WORKS AGE}ICY WORK PROJZCTS ADMINISTRATION .. 'a::' For Release to Newspaper s Sunclay, December 15, 1940. .._,, ,.~.11+M n Un DEC l~ 1 WPA PRODUCING 2, 000 , 000 TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS Some two million dolls , trains , scooters and ot her playt hings t o bring cheer to childish hearts will go out from WPA workshop s between now a.nd Christmas for fr eo dis t ribution to homes which might otherwise be missed in Saint Nicholas ' annual :pilg;rimage . In nearly every large community in the land, according to Hrs . Florence Kerr, Ass i s tant WPA Commi ss ioner in charge of professional and service pr ojects , workers on toy-making projects are busily repairi ng, re~ainting and refurbishing broken and cas t-off toys by the truckloads . Those , in most cas es , hr.we been accu.rm1lated throughout the yen.r through donati ons from women' s clubs , parent tea cher groups and similo.r organizations . There arc many export craftsmen among t he WPA to y makers , Mrs . Korr dGclnres . Men who have devoted their lives t o carpentry and cabine t making but a.re now u.na"ble to find 1-;ri vate employment ar e adept at re1xtiring doll furni tu.re and fitting new par t s t o mechani cal toys 0 Unemp loyed girls and women turn their sewing t alents t o do ll dresses and miniature laye tt es . OthGrs with paint and brush add bright new c olors t o conceal tho years of wear and tear t hat many to ys have uncJ.ergone before t hey are turned over to 11PA. As Chr istnas Day ap1iroac!los , t he ir wor k~hops arc 1ii1G c'c ceiling high with a gli tt oring vnriety of fun- 1:iakcr s • Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2190 WPA sewing r ooms are a p3.rticulo,rly rich source of SUJ?l)ly for Chr i stmas toys . Thr oughout t he year scraps of bri ghtly colored c lo t h , and co tt on and other material tha t can be used as s tuffing, arc hoarded. I n tho weeks before the holiday much of the pr oducti on in tho se sewing rooms is shift ed to rag dolls , calico ca ts and other grotesque and amusing pl aythings . Tho inventiveness and ingenuity of t he workers arc given fre e reign at t his tine , Mr s . Kerr explains , with the result t hA-t wildlife species tha t would bo rar1 the in any zoo have often be en simulat ed in cott on batting and chi ntz . 11 ]ocaus e of the splendid co operati on we receive from the loca l s ponsors of t hese t oy :project s t he WPA has been able to contribute some t hing t owar d a 'Happy Christnas ' for more and 8or e families each year , 11 Mrs . Kerr declares . 11 Chrunbers of cor.rr.1erce , chur ch and ,atri otic groups , social a gencies all are becoming more generous in t heir contributions . Tl1.e Juni or League in a western city hns annuall;;r turned over nenrly $600 to the loca l WPA to y pro j ect for t he last sever a l years . "Reports fron our field workers l ead r.ie to be li eve t hat t his year we !:lay be able to })roduce as r.iany as 2 , 000 , 000 t oys . If t his is true , wo can be sure t hat not many hor.ies in the Unit ed St ates will have to undergo an abso lutely giftless Chri str.u-1s in 1940 . 11 Many toy proj ects are operated on a year around basi s , ~rs . Kerr eXj_)lains . Some of t hese sim:;?ly accumulate t he ir produc ti on against the usual Cru.·istmas rush while others supply full- time t oy-lending projects . These o:)er a ta in r:ruch t he sar!lO way as circulating libraries , allowing children t o borrow a pnrticular toy f or a spe cifi ed period Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2190 of time , after which it r.,ust be returned. If t he toy is returned pr om::_)tly and in good c oncli tion, the borrower is allowed to select another. I n addition to cffording a varied su,~ly of playthings for ch ilclren une,ble to buy then, Mrs. Kerr points out , the rules of the project instill a sense of t hrif t and thoughtfulne ss in the r.incl_s of t he ~roung borrowers. In several com:".lunities, she continued, the toy projec ts have furnished valuable assistance to child.ren 1 s :iospi tals t hrough the production of special or t hopedic to ys o The se are so construct ed as t o require certain r.;Uscular o,crations--t~e s~ueezing of nn air bulb or the man pulation of cor cls- to ,Jake t he t o;-y-s I'.lovc . In this way, corrective exe1·cises are disguised as p lay with the result that rec over:, from bone fractures and r:ms cular paralyses are srloeded. 00000000 00 Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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