Helping Hand

CHRISTIAN UNION MEN AID FARMERS AND ENTERTAIN HOSPITALIZED VETS

WHEN the cattle bridge extending from the barn to the yard of a farm near Hanover collapsed recently, it left the lone owner in a critical situation. Immediate aid, however, came from a group of student members of the Social Service Commission of the Dartmouth Christian Union who are constantly on call for such emergencies. Work trips of from four to nineteen men, sponsored by the Social Service Commission, go out every Saturday to neighboring communities where labor is needed.

These trips are organized by John S. Staton '5l and Samuel R. Roberts '5l on the basis of letters they have written to ministers of nearby towns asking them to list farm people who are unable to get other help or who cannot afford it. This DCU work program has evolved out of the group's desire to relate religion in a practical, active sense to life.

John Gammie '5O, Chairman of the Social Service Commission, announces a total score for the school year of 95 men contributing 380 hours on 13 trips. An appeal for firewood from an aged, cripp]ecj farmer in North Pomfret, Vt., was answered by 14 students who felled several trees, sawed them into four to six-foot sections, and then transported them to his farm. Clearing an area for a community ski trail for children in Etna, N. H., was another winter activity.

"Although it is difficult to persuade Vermonters that they need aid, once the boys have helped out on a job they are welcomed back," observes the Rev. George Kalbfleisch, graduate secretary of the DCU. Not infrequently, the volunteers are served bean suppers by the neighbors. Fraternity participation has started with work parties from Delta Tau Delta. The lack of a station wagon is felt most, and rented cars, financed by the College Chest, serve as the sole transportation at present.

Those responsible for the successful operation of the work trips besides Cos Staton and Roberts are: Randy Wilson '52, in charge of personnel; Pete Henderson 'sa, correspondence; David Duncombe '52, equipment; and Bennett Stein '52, transportation.

In addition to this part of their program, the Social Service Commission has been sending visiting groups to the Veterans Administration Hospital in White River Junction to play cards, cribbage, or chess with the patients. One evening a month, a formal entertainment is put on by the students. The idea, conceived by John Gammie '5O, new president of the organization, will be greatly expanded next year.

WHERE THERE'S WORK, THERE'S D.C.U.: With smiles, axes, and saws, members of the Dartmouth Christian Union Social Service Commission assemble around the Saturday Work Trip signboard before setting out for a Vermont farm to repair a barn. Chairman of the group, John Gammie '50, is on far right.