NEWS ^ VIEWS 



^lllnold lA/omen iKeturn ^rom 

 VVortawlcie t vleetlna Jj^n J^oltcind 



THE three Illinois women attending 

 the first post war international con- 

 ference of the Associated Country- 

 women of the World held recently 

 in Amsterdam, Holland, came home 

 vastly richer from their contacts with 

 rural leaders in foreign lands. 



Mrs. Spencer Ewing of Bloomington 

 was the leader of the entire American 

 delegation of 85 women attending the 

 conference. Mrs. Leonard Kelley of 

 Monmouth represented the president of 

 the Illinois Home Bureau Feideration. 



Mrs. R. E. Milligan of Urbana was 

 the third Illinois delegate attending the 

 conference. Along with the other dele- 

 gates, she spent six weeks visiting in 

 Europe during the international gather- 

 ing. 



The delegates sailed on the Queen 

 Mary from the New York City harbor, 

 embarking on Aug. 27 and arriving in 

 England four days later. The women 

 spent four days visiting in England and 

 then went to Amsterdam for the con- 

 ference. About 500 delegates from 25 



countries attended the meetings. 



The conference lasted a week, after 

 which the American delegates separated, 

 eacb to live in Holland with Dutch 

 families. 



Mrs. Milligan's experiences were some- 

 what typical of those encountered by 

 other Americans. 



Mrs. Milligan first stayed at the home 

 of a lawyer who had been held in a con- 

 centration camp for a year and a half 

 during the war. 



She then stayed with a family in 

 Wotesburg in a heavily bombed area. 

 During the bombing, which destroyed 

 most of the town, nine members of the 

 family she was visiting were killed. The 

 father, a man of 70, and his daughter, a 

 woman of about 35, remained. 



"Their home had been destroyed with 

 the others. Now the family is living in 

 a little house that is almost a duplicate 

 of the prefabs on college campmses." 



"The food was neither plentiful nor 

 very good. The people pooled their ra- 

 tion points and gave the American wom- 



This handsome group Is the Bureau County Rural Chorus which was organized in June by 

 the Farm Bureau and Home Bureau. Membership is near 40. Besides performing at the 

 Illinois State Fair, Chicagoland Music Festival, and Illinois State Farm Sports Festival, the 

 chorus has made a great many local appearances. The chorus plans to be bigger and 



b«n*r In the coming y«ar. 



24 ■.*-'■' 



YOUTHFUL STYLE 



Young sewers look for several things in a 

 dress paHern and this model answers 

 "yes'' to all counts. "Is it easy to moke?" 

 Is the first question, and the simple gath- 

 ered skirt and no-sleeve, no-collar styling 

 prove that h is. "Can I wear it often?" 

 is the next question. This style may be 

 dressed up for dote wear with a gold belt 

 and iewelry to match the bright buttons 

 ot the neckline. For free instructions send 

 a stamped self-addressed envelope to 

 Women's Editor, lAA RECORD, 43 East Ohio, 

 Chicago 5, III. 



•^ ^ IS '. a_ 



en the best they could," Mrs. Milligan 

 said. 



This area, she said, was right in the 

 richest of the farming land. But the 

 Germans bombed the dikes and the land 

 lay under salt water for a year and a 

 half. The Dutch are trying to get the 

 salt out of the land now, but most of the 

 land still isn't producing. 



"Most of the province is a desolate 

 waste," Mrs. Milligan continued. "The 

 salt oozes to the top when it is dry, and 

 then the rain washes it off." 



She said the Dutch were not asking 

 for help but expect to make it them- 

 selves. She didn't see anyone who wasn't 

 working. They are showing great de- 

 termination as a nation. 



After leaving the Dutch homes, the 

 American group traveled in three big 

 motor buses to Brussels. They spent 

 three days in Belgium and then went 

 on to Paris where they remained until 

 embarking for the United States. 



L A. A. RECORD 





