"All the social functions were discontinued at the White House [during World War I], and Mrs. Wilson inaugurated meatless days, heatless days, Sunday gasless days meaning no Sunday pleasure drives and she spent many hours before her sewing machine making pajamas for the soldiers in the hospital wards, to be distributed by the Red Cross.Conservation was the by word around the White House; eight sheep were soon gracing the lawns . . . many thousands of dollars were raised for the Red Cross through the auctioning of wool. Two pounds of wool were sold for each state when the sheep were fleeced of almost a hundred pounds of raw wool. "
White House Maid and Seamstress Lillian Rogers Parks
My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House, Fleet, 1961
I was pointed to this through a post on one of my Yahoo Groups..and I thought...
It seems that Al Gore's Global Warming and the War in Iraq have not caused many changes at the White House.. Al has not given up his jet flights to get from place to place... California wants control of all the people's home thermostats but no one has seen the leadership of the states or the federal government make changes. The many people knitting and sewing for our soldiers are led by individuals like you and me... If there are any of the "leadership" of this country doing so, I would love to hear about it...
Hmmm... times have changed....
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