THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday. Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME. ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 610
$1.50 PER MONTH $16 00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher % Owner-Publisher
Emily Boucher .Local Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1043. at ‘he postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act <>f March 3. 1070.
Nome; Alaska, Friday, December 24, 1948
CHRISTMAS
(New World News Service)
Christmas is a spirit. Every child feels instinctively
that there is more to it than stockings, presents and too
many candies and cookies. That’s why Santa Claus was
born!
In Europe, cradle of western culture and democracy,
millions have been thrown back on their last resources.
Missions too have been pressed to the point of death, in
sanity or to an animal existence in cave or cellar. This
Christmas Europe is better off materially than last, but
the specter of war has grown till it fills the horizon.
Fear of war and the slavery of mankind stalks the
world.
The United States, biggest child of Europe, pours into
the stricken continent millions of dollars in food, steel
and materials for reconstruction. This life line is neces
sary and the spirit in America which prompts the giv
ing is a force with which to reckon.
Most thinking people know about the European Re
covery Program—the Marshall Plan. Not enough are
aware of another American export to Europe, a man
from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Frank Buchman—and
th^ world force of Moral Re-Armament which he has
inspired and trained.
Next month the American edition of “Remaking the
World” comes off the press. Here in Frank Buchman’s
speeches is the how and why of ideological warfare. Its j
pages are filled with the truths that democracy will live
*>y —or die without—in the coming months and years. It
calls upon the democracies to live an ideology and
shows how this can be done. He offers the ordinary man
and statesman a part in remaking the world under the
guidance of God.
With “The Good Road,” the MRA ideological revue,
which has recently been presented in Switzerland, Ger
many and Britain, Europe is finding renaissance. With
“Remaking the World” as its ideological handbook,
America can find and live the answer which a spiritual
ly hungry world awaits. For as Frank Buchman says,
“The future depends not only on what a few men may
decide to do in Europe, but upon what a million men de
cide to be in America.”
CURE GIFTS
(By David G. Bareuther)
Thousands of patients in hospitals, sanatoria and other
institutions throughout the country have been making
Christmas gifts.
Short of funds in most cases, because of their medical
expenses .and enforced unemployment, these patients
are finding with the guidance of instructors they are
able to make gifts by hand that often prove more attrac
tive than mechanically manufactured articles.
They are tooling and stitching leather wallets and
purses, fashioning elaborate book covers, hammering
silver costume jewelry, knitting and sewing wearing
apparel, making toys and molding bricabrac. And they
are having a lot of fun in their work.
Doctors look on approvingly. They see this work
helping to cure their patients. It raises thoughts and
interests above present handicaps. The doctors call it
occupational therapy—a healing by working.
In many cases the work goes far beyond mere diver
sion and recreation. It helps to fit the patient for a new
job. Such rehabilitation has long been successful among
the blind and in large veterans' hospitals. It is being ex
pended steadily among all types of temporary and per
manent invalids.
i
One of the most interesting extensions has been
achieved in the treatment of tuberculosis—a disease
that requires long periods of supervised rest. Since com
pulsory idleness can bring about what is called “institu
tionalitis”—a fear of leaving a sanatorium—the crea
tion of new interests among tubercular patients be
comes highly important.
A big proportion of the funds raised whey you buy
the Christmas seals of the National Tuberculosis Asso
ciation is used for such work in fitting TB victims to
enter the world of work again.
An interesting example ot how this is done is offered
bv the workshop at Trudeau Sanatorium, Saranac Lak°.
N.Y.. which was the first institution of its kind in Amer
4F
ica.-Here all instructors have been selected from the pa
tient grouo. Convalescents, who exhibit taints in
craftcm°n‘h’n a^d tc*n°h’r'rT ^b’litv. o^rn *■'"'> »-*l-^t
^orn their board and medical expenses by working part
time on the rehabilitation project directed by Miss Alma
Pierce. When considered cured, some remain as full
time instructors. They go from bedside to bedside,
teaching foreign languages, book binding, lettering and
illuminating, encouraging young artists in every field,
and even showing men how to knit. In the past year
close to 300 ambulatory patients and more than 100 bed
patients at Trudeau were instructed in 14 crafts.
The workshop at Trudeau is used for a tryout and ex
ploration of skills and abilities, training in arts and
crafts, and in development of work tolerances under
medical prescription. The medical staff calls the work
shop a necessary instrument in treatment—emotionally,
spiritually, creatively, physically and vocationally.
In addition to solving the Christmas gift problem for
hard-pressed patients, this workshop contributes to the
Adirondack Craftsman’s Show staged at Saranac Lake
every August. This is a miniature- world’s fair of hand
work turned out by the many sanatoria in that area, in
cluding Trudeau, Will Rogers* Memorial, Raybrook
State Sanatorium, Tupper Lake Veterans* Hospital, and
various private institutions and rest homes.
»■-■■■ ---—
Wduld to God that we could truthfully sing:
! “God’s in His Heaven—All’s well with the world.”
Santa Always
Visits Belgian
Homes First
(By William Anderson)
uA*) Newsfeatures*
Belgian children, unlike their
counterparts the world over, are
not awaiting the coming of Santa
Claus. They already welcomed
him on December 6.
This date is the name-day of St.
Nicholas, patron saint of children,
from whose name the Anglo-Sax
on words “Santa Claus” are de
rived. The 6th, in Belgium, is
purely for children. Adults have
little to do except finance the good
man.
In Belgium, the shops start very
early with decorations and other
signs of the times. From the* be
ginning of November, the big
j chain stores devote most of their
window-space to the legendary
! figure in his bishop’s hat, staff and
! long flowing red cloak,
j Every shop pays tribute to the
I “bon-homme” according to its
I class of business. Pastry shops are
! full of traditional sugar pigs,
chocolate Santas and chocolate
donkeys carrying sacks of sweets.
One department store this year de
, voted much of its window-space^
. to a panorama of the “Enchanted
Forest” where good, represented
by St. Nicholas, fights evil, repre
sented by a witch. The “good”
part of the forest was full of danc
j ing fairies and frolicing mechan
jjeal animals. The witch’s domain
featured such niceties as children
eating trees, dragons, and a most
(life-like snake.
Another large store devoted it
self to the “Nursey of 2000 A.D.”
In this piece of mechanical ingen
uity, one nurse, herself a robot,
operates a switch panel which
controls the washing, feeding,
spanking, teaching and even “dia
pering” of dozens of little dolls.
Every store has a Santa Claus.
Some indeed have several. Each
store employs different means of
proclaiming the arrival of its
Santa. Bang up to date was the
much-publicized arrival in Brus
sels of one chain store Santa. He
came down from Heaven—where
.he Belgian Santa lives—with the
help of the Belgian Airways and
a Dakota. On arriving at the air
ways terminal, he stepped into an
old mail-coach, decorated for the
occasion and to fanfares from ac
companying trumpeters, toured
the streets of Brusels. Hundreds
of children attended this particu
lar arrival.
In the schools, teachers are tell
ing and retelling the story of Saints
Nicholas. The children learn how
the bad butcher captured the three
little boys and turned them into
bacon. How the all-knowing saint
got to know about it, and pretend
ing to be a customer visited the
butcher. The latter, the story goes
on, realized who his customer was
and prayed for forgiveness. Santa
forgave him saying his conscience
would punish him enough. All
over Belgium little faces light up
when by a miracle the good man
restores the three boys to life and
happiness, thus proving that good
wHl always triumph over evil.
However, the big night for
grown-ups in Belgium is still New
Year. Greeting cards and presents
are exchanged and everyone is on
holiday. After a meal which may
last for hours, Belgians get down
to their traditional beer-drinking
which htey intersperse with danc
ing, singing and parlour games till
the morning.