The auto
of a worki

“Some seed fell on good

fruit”—Matt XIII, 8

Edited by MARGARET FAIRLEY

biography
Ng woman

ground and brought forth

previous instalments, the
author told of her childhood
in England, how she was aban-
doned by foster parents, placed in
a home, shipped to Canada to
work on a farm when she was 10
vears old and sent back as “in-
corrigible.” A fem years later
_ she returned to this continent to
escape the prospect of life a Lan-
cashire sweatshops, married an
American whose advertisement in
@ matrimonial column she answer-
ed and went to live in Philadelphia.
Her husband enlisted in the Can-
adian army, was wounded over-
Seas in the First World War, and
‘on his return was injured while
working on a farm. For several
dears the family—there were now
three . children—lived a hand-to-
mouth existence, oftimes on relief,
always on the border line of starva-
tion, Finally they took up a gov-
ernment grant of land in Muskoka.

the Toronto Art Gallery there
is a small picture of a man with
Sreat outstretched hands groping
_ his way; he is close to a yawning
Precipice, and ‘over his head and
before his eyes is a dense cloud of
Newspapers. He has no chance of
avoiding falling into the abyss.

I often think that I must have
80t such a big dose of real knowl-
edge in my early days that I never
had to learn not to believe all that
the newspapers told me. And dur-
ing my life in Muskoka I manag-
ed to reach out to another kind of
Paper, by :

It must have been chance which
Put in my hands a copy of an
English paper called the New

er. But no, I don’t think it
Chance -at all, There must have
€€n someone in’ that neighbor-
hood who was reaching out as I
Was, and who left the paper lying
 8found ready for me to pick up. I
liked the paper, and wrote a let-
ter to the editor asking for pen-
__ Pals, saying I was lonely and liv-
ing far from libraries and book
Stores, :
_ The result went far beyond
What I expected. I got letters.
8nd papers from Australia, Eng-
“8nd, Scotland, Wales, France; I
Teceived a whole year’s subscrip-
tion to a paper called Inprecor,
_ Which told me things I could
‘Rever otherwise have known; I
_ 80t letters and books from the ~
Salvation Army in England.
__ Above all I began a long corre-
- SPondence with an old man in
a y. He was an Australian
_ Who, with a few friends, had
 Pought a boat in their youth and
_ Sailed up the Panama as far as
Asuncion, He was a socialist, and
© did a great deal to deepen my
derstanding of the connection
i th en my ‘poverty and his, and
? ive me a wider knowledge of
oe lives of people in many parts
by (He World. He must'be dead
a ¥ now. I lost touch with him he-
eS Tape neither he nor I could af-
“etd to buy postage stamps.
ty at other of my correspondents
this time sent me some vol-
mes of the Thinkers’ Library,
ae began to read history and to
i ae to place my life in the great
haw’ of mankind. If we could
| yuP Our children to do this we
nant be giving them an import-
Ae clue to understanding.
; Tn Muskoka, though the strug-

‘Sle was hard, T) had the satisfac-
ton 9

ay

eg

Forni

f creating some sort of a

home. But there were other
things to think about. My boys
were out and away with the other
thousands of unemployed getting
their tough education. I was de-
termined that my little girl
should go to high school, but
that was out of the question where
we lived.

I worried about it day and
night. What sort of a future was
there for her? How could I give
her a chance? I must somehow
find a way for her to get-the
training which I had not had.
That has been the age-long driv-
ing motive in the minds of par-
ents. It is a ‘motive which has
pushed men onward.

r knew that worrying only made
matters harder for everyone; it
is hard to be a good mother when
you have no security, and when
you are very poor you tan only
stumble along. But I felt some
relief and peace and even security
when one day I decided to leave
Muskoka and take Mary to To-
ronto for her schooling.

Was I running away again?
Perhaps, but it did not feel like
running away, more like a hope-
ful running towards. JI had no
illusions about finding life : any °
easier for myself, but for Mary it
meant the hope for a better ilfe.
So I packed my bag and took her
to Toronto and cut myself loose

from all ties with the children’s
father.

- CHAPTER 5
BE Toronto I worked hard with a.
clear purpose, to give Mary an
education and good food and tidy
clothes. But for some months I
Was earning $4 a week, and paying
out $3.25 in rent. So the two of us
ate food costing 75 cents a week.
A little later I was earning $8 and ©
this seemed, and indeed was, a
relief from the extreme of desti-
tution which I can now hardly be-
lieve was my experience. __
Always, at the back of my mind, °
I knew that there were people

worse off than I had ever been,
and I knew that our “way of life”

was closely dependent on: theirs. ~

I have never heard that phrase
without remembering the poverty
of India, South Africa’ and all —
the colonies. How can people de-
fend “our way of life’? They
do not know what it is like to be
so poor. ee

My work was all in other peo-

ple’s homes. I did not want-a —

home like theirs, but I hoped for
a graceful little home with room
for books and record-player. Not
a radio; I have too often been
_ bothered with the foolish talk and
music over the air. I like to
ghoose my music to fit my mood.
How much music has meant to
me, Whenever I have had just a
little more than a bare pittance
«I have bought a book or a*record,
and the reward has been beyond ©
my telling I think music and
books have taken me into a world
where all good pedple should be
living, a world of truth and hon-'
esty, away from the lies and noise. —
' But there was no money for
such things yet, and there were
lies and noise enough in many of |
the homes where I worked, wash- —
ing, ironing, cleaning, waiting at
table. : { oe :
That waiting at table teaches |
you a lot about people. How they
worry about appearances, how
they put on airs with visitors,
how hard they try to be some-
thing which they are not.
(To be continued) — is

SET UP AT UFAWU CONVENTION

Wage increases, milk rollback,
urged by new auxiliary council —

THE IMPORTANT role that
women’s auxiliaries can play in
assisting the development of the
trade union movement in B.C. was
emphasized by leaders of the Aux-
iliary Council in’ the fishing in--
dustry during the recent annual
convention of Fishermen and Al-
lied Workers Union here.

Aim of the Auxiliary Council,
which was set up during the con-

‘vention, is to strengthen the work

of the unicn by coordinating the
work of auxiliary locals and help
in setting up new auxiliaries.

The council has a perspective of
running a workshop in Vancou-
ver on such topics as how to run
an*auxiliary meeting and how to
set up a new auxiliary.

There were 12 women delegates
present at the UFAWU convention
from such scattered places as’
Fort Langley, Prince Rupert, Lad-
ner, Steveston and Vancouver. In
addition there were 13 auxiliary
members attending the parley, and
six visitors from points which in-
cluded Owen Bay and Victoria.

Tom Parkin, northern union or-
ganizer, officially. opened the first
annual Auxiliary Council conven-
tion. Last year Parkin was one
of the most ardent advocates of
such a council, and it was because
of a resolution passed at the 1950
convention that the council was
finally set up.

After the main report was pre-
sented, local auxiliary activities
were reviewed. Reports from Lad-
ner, Vancouver, Fort Langley,
Steveston and Prince Rupert were
accepted and it was suggested
that locals should be established
in the near future at New West-
minster, Albion and Whonnock.

The Ladner local is at present
the largest and most active, with
43 members. An annual bazaar
helps to finance its activities.

Vancouver local held a success-
ful Christmas party last year and
is striving to increase its mem-
bership. A representative was sent
to Victoria on the hospital insur-
ance lobby, and the local has
taken a strong stand against the
incredse in BCHIS rates. During
the UFAWU convention the Van-
couver local sponsored a women’s
luncheon attended by more than
50 union delegates, auxiliary mem-
bers and friends.

Steveston auxiliary held a
Christmas party for children and
is currently active increasing its
membership, Fort Langley set up
a new local recently. At Prince

.Rugert a new local already has

25 members, with a functioning
visiting committee and social com-
mittee. — rs ‘
Elected as Auxiliary Council of-
ficers were: Mrs. Wreatha Dean,
Ladner, president; Mrs. W. Bur-
nell, Fort Langley, vice-president;
Mrs. Isabel North, Vancouver, sec-

_ retary-treasurer; Mrs. Grace Stey-

ens, Vancouver, and .Mrs. Molly
Cosulich, Ladner, organizers. Fe
Resolutions adopted by council

‘and passed by the union conven-

tion called for: ~ ee
--@ A substantial increase in
wages and prices in the fishing ~
industry this year. >

@ Municipal and _ provincial
governments to extend recreation-
al facilities for young people, as a
part of the fight against juvenile —
delinquency. 5 :

@ Avroll back of milk prices to
15 cents per quart and a govern-
ment subsidy to producers. —

@ Low cost hospitalization; ad-

ditional facilities; all persons with ¢

incomes under $1,000 be exempt
from BCHIS payments; no in-
crease in premium rates.

a ISABEL NORTH

around the kitchen mixing a batch of baking powder

- Vancouver.

_ woman on the relief rolls. That showed me that only

- signatures on the Stockholm ban the bomb petition.

‘Mary Gawrycki is truly

WOMEN OF THE PEOPLE — 6

Mary Gawrycki

“WHY DID YOU collect signatures for the Steck-
holm peace petition last year?” I asked Mary Gawrycki
as we sat in the cheerful, bright kitchen of her home
in the Grandview district. aK

“Why: I just had to try to stop bombs from falling
on us,” she replied, with deep feeling in her voice.
“My husband received pitiful letters from the old
country during the last war, first telling him that his
father had been killed by the Nazis and how the Nazis
fed his poor mother kerosene soup while she was suf-
fering from cancer.

“Then he heard of the horrible experience of his
cousin, who was arrested by the Nazis and forced to
dig his own grave. Miraculously, he escaped and
joined the guerilla forces, and eventually played a part
in driving the fascists from Berlin.

“With these experiences in our own family, how
can my husband and I ever forget what war and
facism means? I am a member of a Russian cultural
organization which was banned during the war, but we
never stopped doing everything we could to help defeat
Hitler and Mussolini.

“Now war threatens the world again. And who
will deny that the signatures which people gained for
the Stockholm petition~helped prevent atom bombs
being dropped in Korea?”

Mary is a member of the Russian Canadian choir
and is “a very. reliable member” I was told by another
person in the group. She gave an example. One
evening last fall when the choir was scheduled to re-
hearse, Mary was held up and robbed in her home
just before the practice was to start. Mary went
right ahead and attended rehearsal,-reported the rob-
bery later. “Why didn’t you tell us right nig 6 the
police wanted to know. ‘Why, I’d have been late for
choir practice if I had stopped on the way down:”
replied Mary.

All the time we were chatting, Mary was bustling

biscuits and occasionally peeking out the window to
make sure that the neighbor’s two youngsters who
were playing on the lawn with the little pups were
not getting into difficulties. ;

- Mary Gawrycki was born at Arran Saskatchewan,
and lived on the prairies until 1938, when she came to .
While in Saskatoon during the Hungry
Thirties one of her neighbors was unable to get relief,
although she was destitute. Mary said: “I got a
bunch of the people together and went to the city
hall and the relief office, and we managed to get the

when people work together can we accomplish any-
thing.”

x

Mary remarked that she collected “only” 700.

“I feel guilty when I think of how many more I could
have collected,” she says, “and that’s why I’m working
so hard with the new petition calling for a Five Power _
peace pact.” - up ; eer
These words need no enlargement to show ‘that
a woman of the people. — VI

DEWHURST." ‘

5 YEARS AFTER V-E DAY
a . We Continue |
‘ : A
‘THE FIGHT FOR PEACE’
Lithuanian Literary Society

Vancouver Branch

,

PACIFIC T