Junior Red Cross Boxes Sent Two Years Ago Are Answered.

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LITTLE TOTS WRITE THANKS IN ENGLISH

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Send Samples Of Work Done In Their Schoolrooms Every Day.

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Mrs. T. O. Streissguth, former president of the local chapter of the American Red Cross, received a most interesting package from school children in Rawa Ruska, who are members of the Polish Junior Red Cross. These children are attending the Sisters Dominican School in Little Poland and received the Red Cross cartons which were packed by the school children in this city two years ago and sent abroad in time for the Christmas of the foreign children. The package received by Mrs. Streissguth contained many specimens of the handiwork of these little children and included booklets, drawings, pictures frames, straw plaques, etc.

Hand Made Articles

One of the most interesting articles was a sort of booklet made by the children which contained their names, opposite which they had written one sentence in the English language, expressing their thankfulness to the children in the schools in this city who had remembered them at Christmas time.Some of the lines read. “Thanks for the ribbon; Gratitude; We well send you our school work; Love us. Be well; I’m glad with the doll; I’ll never forget you; Remember us; Ride (meaning write) to us; Thank you very much.”

When the tiny cartons were given to the local children they took them to their homes and some sent candy, others sent toys and playthings, notebooks and pencils, caps, stockings, soap, sugar etc. When the little children over there received the gifts their hearts were filled with happiness and gratitude and they wished to show their appreciation in the best way they could. Their little hands fashioned many pretty articles which were to be placed in that wonderful package which they were going to send to America to the children who had helped to make their Christmas time a happy one.

Among other things, small Kodak pictures of some of the children were received and are most interesting. Mrs. Streissguth is making arrangements to display the articles in a down town window so that residents will have a chance to see what was received and in a measure understand the thankfulness of the children who received those simple little gifts two years ago.

Write Messages

On the cover of the largest booklet a flower with several blossoms was drawn and painted. In among the flowers words had been pasted: “Let The Red Cross In America Live” On the back of this same booklet the following message was written in pen and ink in a clear, firm legible hand: “Dear Children:

We thank youse very much for all the things what we got for Christmas. How we glad were. When we came to school and here we saw a nice Christmas tree and under the Christmas tree all kinds of things, we didn’t know on what to look first, on the Christmas tree or on the playthings, soaps, handkerchiefs, dolls and candies. We are not writing lots because we don’t know for English but so little we have to know to write youse. We thank youse very much. We pray to God for youse. We won’t never forget youse and in Spring we will send youse our school works what we made.”

True, the sentence construction is not perfect, but it is splendidly written, when it is considered that children in and below the seventh grade wrote that letter in a language entirely foreign to them. Another little message reads:

“Dear Mr. and Misses in New Ulm: For the Christmas Gifts please take things we made in school. If we would be richer if we would live in a bigger town, we would make something nicer, but in Rawa you can’t get goods, Oh what we haf, so from that we made, because we wanted to show gratitude. We want to know if youse got our thanks”.

Sent Lincoln School

The package was sent to the children in the Lincoln School in this city and some day this week Mrs. Streissguth will visit the school and show the children what they received for their kindness to the poor little tots across the ocean. It is her plan to have children write each of the youngsters who sent their addresses and tell them of the work in our schools and other things which will appeal to them as children.

New Ulm Review,

October 21, 1925

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