A PEEP AT THE W.C.T.U. CRECHE.

White Ribbon, Volume 32, Issue 372, 18 June 1926, Page 2

A PEEP AT THE W.C.T.U. CRECHE.

(By a North Island Visitor.) There is no doubt that the W.C.TAJ. Creche at the Dunedin Exhibition was a great succens. Not only did it fulfil its object of taking care of babies and littie children while their mothers were busy seeing the sights of the Exhibition. but it provided an interesting «ntl instructive “side show” for the public at large. The creche building, with its roomy verandahs and cosy interior, was filled to overflowing with tin> tots, but the front verandah had always a crowd of sightseers gazing at the cheerful scene through the large French windows. 1 was one of the sightseers myself, and tan testify that it was a sight worth seeing. There were cots and crawling pens, comfortable little chairs comfortable big chairs, little tables, rocking horses and toy prams, and. above all. a warm, cheerful fire, and a. cosily carpeted floor. On the floor and in the pens were dear crawling babies; in the cots were dear sleeping babies, and on the carpeted floor were dear toddling babies. On one side of the netted in verandah toddlers were racing about with toys of every description; on the other side verandah, also netted in, were go carts and perambulators galore, wMth their loads of bonnie babies. from the north verandah was a sandy play-

ground, secure I > femvd in where th 1 large.' toddlers were huving a real good time. But this was not al that met the gaz<of the sightseer. The best sight of u'l wu.«i the faithful body of White Ribbon era taking care of this army of babies and toddlers. They showed themselves boro mothers and nurses, and they ii * lest have become r* al exports by thlime the Exhibition closed. Most of them could keep two seta of bullies quiet at one time. "You are quite expert with these two go c uts," 1 said to a charming White Kiltbon sister through the wire netting of the verandah. “Oh. this is nothing,” she said. i cun wheel two go-carts and carry a baby in rn> arms too.” "Are >ou often as busy as this?" 1 said to another. “Oh! we don’t call this busy; we have had as many as 118 babies here in a day, and we ve only had uls*ut seventy to-day.” "Seventy babies!” lust think of it, mothers, who find two or three a handful! Yet when I loolml into the main room I could see nothing hut smiles on the fiues of the helpers, and there have l>een scores of babies in their charge that aflernoon. Generally the babies were good, and smiling too. but one day about noon, it seemed as if a hundred were crying at onev. Of course there wasn’t a hundred babies there. l*ut it seemed like it! Their shouts and wails almost drowned the noises of Amusement Dark, hut still the ladies in charge kept s«*ren< and smiling, and doubt lean, when d nn« r arrival, the hubies became serene aai*l smiling too! It was gratifying to listen to the remarks of the sightseers on the front verandah. "Well! that is a real useful Christian work,” said one. "I never saw anything like it before; everythin: is done for mothers nowadays." "Do you mean to say these ladies come here day after day an I mind th*se babies f«*r nothing?" Yet another t-aid, “When 1 was young I had to look tfter my babies myself, no one did it for me; mothers are lucky nowadays.” Yes, it was good and kind of the Dunedin White Rib’ionera to organise and carry the work through, especially do we think it wonderful when we remember that it v as not a six days or a six weeks' effoD. but it had to be kept going for six whole months. Also, a tribute must ’w* paid to the many help ers young and old, who are not yet

members of the W.C.T.U„ but who helpi*d nobly and unselfishly ngin through. i tohall always carry away a picture of the crecne on the last day of the Exhibition. Mud and drizzling rain outside, but inside a cheerful hive buzzing with tables and their attendant nurse?. In taeh big chair sat a White Hibbcner, a go-cart or two in charge, a baby or two tucked in the chair beside her, and a wee one on her knee. The floor space van packed with go ourts and their precious loads, for on that day the- usual verandah was too export'd to the rain. One verandah was screened in for the tiny totr. Th.*y romi ed and shouted, and 1 grieve to say had some little quarrels, hut our Bisters were in charge, and sun ihine and smiles were the usual order of that rainy day, ami the W.tVT.U. Creche was the sunniest s]H)t in Dunedin on May Ist, 1926