Atlanta Daily World

WPA Workers
Turning
Out
Toys For Poor

Some two million dolls, trains, scooters and other playthings to bring cheer to childish hearts will go out from WPA workshops between now and Christmas for free distribution to homes which might otherwise be missed in Saint Nicholas annual pilgrimage.

In nearly every large community in the land, according to Mrs. Florence Kerr, Assistant WPA Commissioner in charge of professional and service projects, workers on toy-making projects are busily repairing, repainting and refurnishing broken and cast-off toys by the truckload. The toys, in most cases, have been accumulated throughout the year through donations from women's clubs, parent-teachers groups and similar organizations. There are many expert craftsmen the WPA toy makers. Mrs. Kerr declares. Men who have devoted their lives to carpentry and cabinet making but are now unable to find private employment are adept at repairing doll furniture and fitting new parts to mechanical toys. Unemployed girls and women turn their sewing talents to doll dresses and miniature layettes. Others with paint and brush add bright new colors to conceal the years of wear and tear that many toys have undergone before they are turned over to WPA. As Christmas Day approaches, their workshops are piled ceiling high with a glittering variety of fun-making WPA sewing rooms are a particularly rich source of supply for Christmas toys. Throughout the year scraps of brightly colored cloth, and cotton and other natural material that can be used as stuffing, are hoarded. In the weeks before the holiday much of the production in these sewing rooms is shifted to dolls, calico cats and other grotesque and amusing playthings. The inventiveness and ingenuity of the workers are given free reign at this time Mrs. Kerr explains with the result that wildlife species that would be rarities in any zoo have often been simulated in cotton batting and chintz. "Because of the splendid co-operation we receive from the local sponsors of these toy projects the WPA has been able to contribute something toward a Happy Christmas for more and more families each year" Mrs. Kerr declares. Chambers of commerce, church and patriotic groups, social agencies, et al. are becoming generous in their contributions. The Junior League in a western city has annually turned over nearly $600 to the local WPA toy project for the last several years. Reports from our field workers lead me to believe that this year we may be able to produce as many as 2,000,000 toys. If this is true we can be sure that not many homes in the United States will have to undergo an absolutely giftless Christmas in 1940. Many toy projects are operated on a year around basis Mrs. Kerr explains. Some of these simply accumulate their production against the usual Christmas rush while others supply full-time toy-lending projects. These operate in much the same way as circulating libraries, allowing children to borrow a particular toy for a specified period of time after which it must be returned. If the toy is returned promptly and in good condition, the borrower is allowed to select another. In addition to affording a varied supply of playthings for