Arizona's 1928 State Fair Promises To Be One Of Greatest In History

NOVEMBER, 1928 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Page Seventeen Arizona Hut Giving Employment to Scores of Disabled Ex-Service Men and Women By MRS. JOHN C. GREENWAY

ONE of the greatest rehabilitation measures ever undertaken in behalf of the disabled ex-service men and ex-service women of the United States resulted in an unique institution being organized at Tucson, Arizona in 1927.

The Arizona Hut for that is the name of the little brick workshop where disabled men and women patiently ply their trade came into being because Col. and Mrs. John C. Greenway and several other leading citizens of Arizona saw an opportunity to help ex-service people earn an income, and a chance to direct their minds into progressive channels and away from their illness.

Although the little workshop has been in existence but a little more than eighteen months, it has given employment to scores of disabled persons, and its articles have been sold in the leading stores of the country. The articles, which include cactus canes and picture frames, leather pocketbooks and bill folds, hand painted handkerchiefs, and toys, make ideal gifts.

Colonel John C. Greenway died before this great rehabilitation had become a reality. and Mrs. Greenway went ahead with their plans for the aid of the disabled men and women. That she has been highly successful the reader already knows.

The Arizona Hut is firmly established it is a blessing to the men and women who are able to do light workand it is a credit to Arizona for having within its borders such a splendid institution. But the work of The Hut is only beginning. As the demand for articles increases, the number of people who can be given employment will be increased. As in any other business venture, it is simply a case of supply and demand.

So worth while is the cause of the Arizona Hut that the Arizona Automobile Association, one of the 1066 clubs affiliated with the American Automobile Association, has taken upon itself the task of helping create a greater demand for the unique articles made by the men and women at Tucson. One million motorists, members of the 1069 clubs, will be told of the good work being done at the Arizona Hut, letters will be sent to the national headquarters, and detailed information will be furnished the official organs of the clubs.

So anxious are the A.A.A. clubs to help that a query has already been received from the New Jersey Automobile and Motor Clubs, asking for data for its magazine.

It was emphasized that the Arizona Hut is a non-profit organization. The men and women are paid for their work, and the officers of the workshop then have to create a market for the articles. With a great demand for the articles created, The Hut could easily employ scores of men and women.

A partial list of the articles, all sold at a very reasonable price, includes nursery clothes racks, kiddie toys and rockers, trunk racks, book ends, desks, tables, copper bridge ash tray sets, napkin clips, fern baskets, cactus wood canes and picture frames, leather pocketbooks and bill folios, negligee garments, hooked rugs, kates carryalls, and handkerchief cases.

A man in close touch with the work of The Arizona Hut had the following to say of its constructive work: "The need for light remunerative employment among disabled ex-service men and women was long recognized by both Mr. and Mrs. Greenway, and they discussed plans with a view of remedying this condition, with a two-fold objective in mind: first, the economic one, to provide disabled people with work they were able to perform and enable them to earn an income and give them the sense of independence and confidence tiently ply their trade came into being peutic one, to concentrate their minds in progressive and constructive channels and away from their illness.

"From the economic viewpoint, The Hut is enjoying a measure of success, commercially, and is surely but slowly coming into its own. Many of its products are enjoying a commercial sale in some of the leading department stores clear across the country and in competition with products of like nature. Quite a few of the disabled ex-service people employed by The Hut have voluntarily, outlined their financial affairs and have shown us that their employment in The Hut has been the means of rehabilitating them economically and also provided them with the necessities of life and home comforts.

"From the therapeutic standpoint, many likewise have come to us and told us of the beneficial effect the employment has had upon their health."