Otaki Girl In Limelight In U.S.A.

Chronicle (Levin), 8 November 1949, Page 2

Otaki Girl In Limelight In U.S.A.

A raven-haired, dark-eyed New Zealand war bride functions as nousekeeper at Macon's Hotel juanier. The management cannot get use'd to her. She's too efficient. T never saw such a giri!" comments Director-General Clarence Paulk of the local hostehy. "She's forever makihg an inventory of every room. We don't require it, out we love it." Mrs. Dorothy Harris Butts, of Otaki, N.Z. does not consider a owice-daily room inventory excessive. It is a customary routine at an Auckland hotel where she was employed before the war. But then it is not the only marked variation between- hotel o'peratioris' nere and down-under. For insLance, let Mrs. Butts tell you: •'Every morning at 7 a.m. in Auckland, guests are awakenea (whether they want to be or not) oy a porter who presents them with a cup of hot tea and the morning newspaper." To this reporter, that seemed to oe a revolting, gnough custom, but nere is one even worse: "Every evening at 7.30," Mrs. Butts says, "a hot water bottle is put intc every bed, beneatli the coyers, 'during cool weather." Suppose you don't get to bed until midaight, you put your feet on an ice-cold wa^er bottle, according to Mrs. Butts, who seems to consider it just desserts for anyone who would retire that late, especially with the prospect of hot tea and the morning newspaper facing you at crack-of-dawn. Mrs. Butts is the daughter oi Mr. and Mrs. Harry Harris, oi Otairi, where her dad is a retaL outcher; she has five sisters ana ene brother was killed in the Libyan campaign during the war. She met her husband, Maconite Roy Butts, while he was a G.I. otationed briefly in Auckland. After he got through with the unpleasant business in the islands aorth of New' Zealand in 1945, he returned to Auckland and claim3d her; she admits she was one of the lucky ones. When she oame to the Lanier

bwo years ago, Mrs. Butts was a iittle amazed at the leisurely treatment of guests. The 6 p.ru. checkout hour was a source of vexation to her spirit since 10 a.m. is the iron bound hour for 'departing guests to clear their roorhs at New Zealand hostelries. Mrs. Butts' speech is still crisp and rapid, but she's pictosd up a few Georgianisms. She's intrigued with the Souihern retailers' traditional: "Corrie back and see us!" and thinks our description of good weather as "a pretty day" is a delight. While she's -learned to prepare Southern fried chicken and dearly loved barbecued pork. Georgia style, ^ome of our eating habits are still a mystery to her, "Your foods are really too rich, you know," slie comments. "And why you don't use bolh a knife and a fork to eat with I'll never know. In New Zealand, nobody tries to balance his iood on just a fork alone." She likes American hotel hours a lot better than New Zealand's, where an employee must work from 6.30 a.m. to 8 p.m.— with part of the day off in between. But her really big enthusiasm is for American people, themselves — particularly Southerners, especially Georgians and specifically Maconites. "I've never yet .met a Georgian who was a stranger," she declares, "including my husband, Roy. Every once -in-a while, he'll %act like I'm a stranger thougfti, like when I polish his boots — excuse me — shoes or lay out i his clean clothes, He says he '

can't get used to it, but it's the custom in New Zealand — a good one, too, I think!" Hifcband Roy is an employee of the Yellow Cab Company, probably the best cared for and most looked after in the entire fleet.