VOCIFEROUS WELCOME

Chronicle (Levin), 6 March 1946, Page 5

VOCIFEROUS WELCOME

WAR BR1DES FROM ANTIPODES. Received Tuesday 10.45 p.m. bAN FRANOiSOO, March 5. The liimr Monterey has arrivuu With ^62 New Zealand and Australian war Mides and 253 children. The voyage .rom Sydney occupied 15 days. The Monuerey was greeted by two official San Francisco welcome Ships, -ay with bunting and emblazoned with tuie slogan, "Welcome home! Weli done! " The ships carried many husoands. On one welcome ship a Wac band, conducted by a trim lieutenant, played boogie-woogie tunes, breaking the jitterbug mcuatony periodically to e.ipress j the waiting hucbands' feelings by j ..ai'ing ixio currentiy-popular ditty, "It's been a long, long time." Although husbands from points out;ide California were warned by the xuthorities not to coms to the city to ■neet their wives, there were scores on .he ctock when the liner berfched. Triie 0 the roputation" they estaclished as he world 's grsatest flo-wer-givers, zsarly all the husbands clutched huge joxes of blooms. Jostled about by the excited hus : oands was an elderly man, who pro j .ested that his right to be on the wharf j .vas as strong as any husband 's. He J ■aid his name was Ed Ruthberg and his j ome was in Alameda (California). He I vore in the band of his battered felt j :at the picture of a girl on which were j •crawled the words, "Love from j Dorothy." "She's my granddaughter, " j e tolcl questioners. "I have never ! -esn her and do not know her name. I ' think s.he comes from New Zealand. Her i aunt sent me a cable teiling me that • :he was 011 the ship. I think I will he • 'ble to find her. She married a boy ; rom Montana. He is still out in the j Pacific." Mrs. Winifred Barnmn, aged 21, of | Tew Zealand, learned after sailing that j her husband had been killed in a traf7c accident in Norwalk (Connecticut). j \ cabin mate said, "It was mighty 'ough for her: they notified her right j •ere, and she did not even have a priv-, f ^te place to c ry." Mrs. Barnum is j •isiting her husband's family and then ilans to rp'-'rt ^ome.