Page:The history and achievements of the Fort Sheridan officers' training camps.djvu/30

 28 THE FORT SHERIDAN ASSOCIATION

St. Louis, Missouri —

Mrs. Virginia M. Harriss, Secretary, Missouri Officers' Association,

St. Louis. Capt. Luther Ely Smith, Assisting.

Lawrence, Kansas —

Gen. Wilder S. Metcalf, Representative for Kansas, Lawrence, Kans.

Denver, Colorado —

J. Poulterer Morris, Representative of Association, Denver.

Centra! Office — Chicago —

Fred M. Carton, Office Manager, Chicago.

Chris Churan, Chief Clerk, Deceased.

Lt. Chas. A. Rogers, Employment Secre<;ary.

M ss Ruth Reiss, Finance Secretary.

Mrs. Chester M. MacChesney, Director Home Department.

Miss Margaret Port, Office Secretary.

Miss Mildred Mather, Office Secretary.

Mrs. Eunice M. Sullivan, Bookkeeper.

John Silverstein, Office Boy.

To each of these, as well as to others co-operating with them, the Asso- ciation is deeply indebted.

In March, 1918, the Home Service Department was organized. Mrs. Chester M. MacChesney was made director. Her policy has always been to consider every member of the family of our men as a personal friend. We have not waited to be called upon, whenever there was a report of any mis- fortune; we have immediately acted. A personal visit has been made a

letter has been sent to our local auxiliary or to our nearest State representative. The volume of correspondence, the number of visits, and the amount of time and energy given would surprise many of our friends not familiar with this work.

In addition to this personal service, a very large amount of money has been advanced in the form of gifts and loans. A joint agreement was made with the National Officers of the Red Cross whereby there should be the closest co-operation between their local organizations and the Association. Representatives of the Association were to be selected in each community and placed on the Home Service Committee. Through this arrangement the usefulness of the Association was extended into hundreds of communities and the most harmonious and helpful service secured.

Such service is extremely confidential and one of the reasons why the Association has had such rare opportunities for genuine helpfulness has come from the fact that people have understood this. They have written and have come to the office relying upon the spirit of friendship to understand their situation and they have been made to feel that there is nothing we could do that would begin to equal the treatment they had merited from their country for the services they had rendered and the sacrifices many of them had made.

In this connection, it is almost needless to say that the biggest and best work done during this period can neither be described nor tabulated. Our

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