Ear on Chicago; Red Cross

This is Hugh Hale speaking from the Telecommunications Center of the American Red Cross Chicago chapter. You know Disaster to the reporter isn't really full fledged without a devastating tornado or a hurricane, injured victims by the score, wrecked homes by the hundreds, each year many Chicago families, naive in the ways of the press, will earn a different definition of disaster. For them Disaster means a small apartment house fire, a home and possessions burnt to centers on a cold winter night. Although an event like this does not merit the column mention the daily press, it's disastrous enough to merit prompt a Red Cross attention. Minutes after the tragedy, Chicago Red Cross is there to help. Right now let's find something about the Operation Disaster at the Chicago Red Cross. We're going to tell you the story through the aid of Mr. W. C. Lucy, who is the executive director of the Chicago chapter of the American Red Cross, who is standing right next to me now. Mr. Lucy, it so happens that a disaster actually struck Chicago not too long ago, so the American Red Cross story and its

disaster unit is certainly a very appropriate one at this time. What we are going to do is to visit various locations in the building here, which is located on South La Bax in the city of Chicago, and discuss with different people their jobs and activities with the disaster unit of the Red Cross. Now let's assume, for example, that we have a phone call in the middle of the night. It's not a big flood like we had in Chicago or St. Louis, but it's a disaster to somebody who has their home on fire. How does that phone call come through and who gets it? I'd like to have you meet Mrs. Beatrice Cyber, who is the night supervisor of our emergency, and that's where the phone call comes in, so let's start with her. All right, let's move up and interview her at her office. We are now with Mrs. Cyber in one of the offices here at the Red Cross Building. Mrs. Cyber, I understand first of all that you have been with the Red Cross for a good number of years working on the switchboard at night. About 14 and a half years. Well, you've probably covered many

a disaster in that length of time. I probably have taken calls on about 50 myself. I mean, the original call. I've probably handled between two or three thousand incoming and outgoing calls in the process of handling a disaster. Now, how does it happen? Where do you get your first call, for example? The telephone buzzes. And the voice says, this is the fire alarm office. There's a 211 or 311 or 411 as the case may be at such and such a street or such and such an intersection. That's it. And then what's your next move? That's all we know. We only know that there is a fire dangerous either because of its origin or its location or a fire which originally was just as harmless as the fire can be, but which has gotten out of hand. Our next step is to consult our map on the wall, which shows us the area. And then a card file, which is the disaster representative of that area. We call, perhaps the first man isn't at home or he's ill or for some reason he can't go. We go down to the next one on the list.

That's the case in a simple 211 fire. We also call the disaster truck driver, who really, really I'm getting out of order. The disaster truck driver is a first person called and then we get hold of a disaster rep. Since these disaster representatives are volunteers, some of them may not be at home. They answer the call of duty if they're there, if not we go and get the next person on the list. We make seven rate calls sometimes before we get someone out, but we always get someone out. All right. Now we have this the calls made. What if we'll say that it's just a 211 or not even a 211 alarm fire? What do you do then? Well, if it isn't a 211 fire, if it isn't a 211 or greater, we don't get our first call from the fire department. The fire may be all over before we know it, before we get a call, a disaster victim or the police or an interested neighbor. Anyone may call us either while the fire is in process or while sometime after self. In other words, anytime someone in the city of Chicago or the area

that you cover is in trouble from some sort of an accident or fire or whatever it is, he could call the red cross and get some sort of emergency help. It is a disaster. I mean, if he can't call us, it depends on what kind of trouble. If he's in trouble because of fire, flood, explosion, any one of the 1 ,000 to 1 accidents that can happen, I'm not referring to street accidents. How about your hours, Mrs. Sybert? From 415 to 1045, and that into that six days a week, and it intuitively go holidays. We're talking about PM there, aren't we? PM, that is right. You work at night. That's right. And when I say that I go home at 1045, it doesn't mean that everything stops. It means that there is someone here all night. There is 24 -hour disaster service. All right. Well, thank you so much for taking time out in a busy day to talk to us, Mrs. Sybert. I appreciate that. Now let's get back to Mr. Lucy. Where do we go next? Here, let's go upstairs to the disaster

center office. And I'd like to have you meet Mr. Eddie. Oh, yes. That's the next place where we're going to talk about these various units that she was mentioning. All right, fine. Let's move along. We've come up now to the disaster headquarters. It's located on the sixth floor. Mr. Lucy, I suppose you just explain what goes on up here. You, I'd like to have you know, Mr. Philippietti, who is the chairman of our disaster service, because all this work has under his jurisdiction. Mr. Eddie is right here, and I'd like to have you know him. Well, Mr. Eddie, I'd like to have you explain what these maps mean up here, as soon as we came into the room, the maps that you're located on the West Wall struck our eye, especially this one in front of us, the map of the city of Chicago in various colors marked off from one through ten. Let's start with number one up here in Porteach Park, Jefferson Park, up on the northwest side. What does that mean? That means that in that area you've designated as number one,

we have an area representative who is responsible for the recruiting and training of representatives who live in the community. If a fire should break out in that community, say Porteach Park, the community representative would be called to go to the fire. If that person or not at home or for some reason couldn't go, then we would take a joining representatives until we get one going right around in a circle and ask them, ask them to go into Porteach Park to take care of any victims that may be there as a result of a fire or a disaster of some nature. And over them all would be whoever is ahead of number one, that particular area for the Red Cross. He that is right. Number one is responsible for the training and if it's large enough, that person may go in and also assist. Number two is on the north side and then number three and four moving down the north and the northwest side. All the way down to the south

side where it's number ten and that includes Roseland and Pullman and Riverdale. Well Riverdale actually is that in the city limits? Riverdale is in the city limits. This map is a map of the city of Chicago. Now what about the suburban areas then? The Chicago chapter takes in all of Cook County and all of the Page County. Outside of the city of Chicago we are also broken up into districts having an area representative and also community representatives and that we operate out there the same way as we do in the city. Probably with a little different exception because those people are also tied in with the city administration in the various villages. They help out the chief of fire department police and also a system error. Mr. Reddy when we opened this program we were discussing disasters and to most people a disaster really means a big flood, a tornado or something of that kind. But really I suppose a disaster as I

mentioned in the early part of the program to me or to you or to anyone's family could be when his home catches fire or his apartment building or a place of business. That could be a disaster. Is that a disaster to you? That is a disaster to Red Cross. If there is a fire in which five or more families are affected Red Cross will follow through beyond the temporary stages of giving food, shelter and clothing to the victims. And that's some of the things that you did during the flood recently. That is right. With the exception in the recent flood there are a few families which we will follow through maybe replacing some furniture or they have lost everything or there may be a little food given out until we get those people back on their feet. Well fine. I want to thank you very much Mr. Reddy for describing your activity up here and telling us just how the emergency relief program here of the Red Cross at disaster service works. Thank you sir. Totally welcome. Now I'm afraid it's time that we'll have

to move on out of this particular area and move somewhere else in the Red Cross. I'd like to have you come and see our disaster truck and visualize it in its operation. Where is that located? It's on the parking lot right next to our building right now. All right fine let's move on down there. Mr. Lucy and I now have come out here to the parking lot and we're going to go aboard the Red Cross disaster truck in just a moment but I'd like to talk very briefly about something that happened just as we were walking out here. A small station wagon a blue one with a Red Cross marking on it was pulling out and somebody said is that the eye truck and I asked what was the eye truck being very curious about these things and Mr. Lucy explained it to me now I want him to explain it again so that the listeners to this program can understand just exactly what goes on this is very interesting. You are a volunteer motor service cooperates with the eye bank so that when doctors are removing an eye in some place in the country and they have a range for that eye to be

used or transplant to be used in local hospital here by the doctors. The Red Cross for instance in New York City the volunteer driver there would be at the hospital so when the doctors removed the eye and put it in the proper packing we would that volunteer would take it for instance to the plane and give it to the pilot the pilot then on the regular route be flying into Chicago and we would have been alerted so that a volunteer would be there to meet the pilot and pick up that canister and take it out to the hospital where this where the doctor team is working on the patient here. Well perhaps that car was going out to the airport for an eye right now. That is right. We perform a flexible coordinating situation where we are cooperating with the doctors with the eye bank and filling in that flexible part there and these volunteers do that at all hours the day and night. Well that's just a side issue to disaster work that the Red Cross carries out and that's the story we're doing today but I thought it was so interesting that I felt almost obliged to put it on this particular

program. Now we're going to go aboard the disaster truck and I'm going to call on Mr. Lucy just once again because there's some people up here and before I go in you better introduce me or tell me who they are so I can talk to them. Well I like to have you know Mrs. Elaine Camp and Mr. Jack Welch. You know it's nice to know you people and I'm going to come into your truck right now if you don't mind just barge right in and ask you about what's going on in here. Elaine if I might talk to you first I hear a radio what's what is that? Listen we can is anything coming over? No not now we get still in box alarms are on the air from the fire alarm office and this is just a monitor it's not a two -way just from the alarm office so that our driver is alerted to other disasters. Elaine tell me about yourself you're a volunteer. That's right and you drive the truck. Yes I'm one of the truck drivers with which we have about 15 I believe. I understand you are out during the recent flood in Chicago. That's right that was the night that I had volunteered to be on for 24 hour duty. Well I won't take up too much of your time in here because it's getting a little warm but I do want to find out what is

in the disaster truck. Elaine tell me some of the things that you have back here. Well we have cots and blankets we have diapers baby bottles we have a first aid kit we have flashlights we have tables and chairs and then we have a file of registration blanks for clothing and food orders. Jack I want to talk to you very briefly about about that flood I understand that you were in the truck too and that you had at least in some places a little bit of difficulty getting through. We sure did we it was one of the wildest rides I think I've ever had in my whole life. Did you ever get stuck? No we never did get stuck fortunately we got through to every place that we were supposed to get to. Probably one of the very few vehicles that did. Well I sincerely believe that because of the cars and trucks that we saw stall actually in most cases we were the only ones that did get through but of course we were working with a distinct purpose in mind and that's to get to the disaster victims as quickly as we could. That helped us out. Elaine I understand

the water was pouring through here when you were driving. That's right it was coming to up through the floorboards I believe but we didn't get stalled even until we kind of got wet. How many disasters have you been out on Elaine you and Jack? Well let's take you first of all. I don't know exactly I imagine. 30, 50, maybe 100, 200. Well really that many you just haven't kept count. That's right. How about you Jack? Well of course I've been in a community disaster service now for about seven years and I've gone through partially about 2000 I would say. Is this as bad a one as you've ever seen? Yes for a city operation it was actually the worst I've ever seen. Elaine what's this about you having a police radio at home so that you get the information on disasters before the Red Cross does sometimes? Well I think we get them at the same time the Red Cross that gets them because it's a shortwave radio that's tuned to fire

frequency and as soon as it goes out from the fire alarm office why some of our more enthusiastic volunteers have this type of radio in their home. So you have one too? I have one too. That puts you in the classification of more enthusiastic volunteers. Jack thanks a million for talking to us about it and Elaine thank you. Now let me get out of the truck again get back here with Mr. Lucy. Mr. first of all a blue truck but you also have a blue light up on top of it. Why blue? Well that we do not have red lights because that is reserved for official forces and so on and this light is one that is used for emergency and people recognize it but red is definitely for the emergency services like the police and fire. So if we see the blue light flashing we know it's the Red Cross. Well yes but there are other emergency units that use that but you see in a large metropolitan community you have to reserve those colors specifically for services of the city and so there's no

confusion between the two and a few reporters. That's right. All right we better move on. Well you can we go up to the seventh floor now in our production service. All right swell let's go up there. We have now come up to the seventh floor of the Red Cross building and into a room which is known as the disaster closet. We're going to tell you a little bit about it but first of all allow me to introduce Mrs. John O'Merrill who is the volunteer chairman of production service for the Red Cross. Mrs. Merrill what does that title mean? Well it means that we have charge of everything that is produced and utilized by the Red Cross in disaster and in the VA hospitals and in tax supported hospitals. Those who have free clinics we do surgical dressings but in the disaster closet we provide clothing for people who are the victims of disaster. Now let me describe this room as I see it right now. It really is a group of closets because above a number of doors they have well for

example along one one line men along another line women and then boys and down here at the other end girls children infants and reserve. Over here there are a couple of doors open most of them are closed but I can see in a couple of doors where they have some blankets wrapped up and even some children's toys. What do you do with the toys? Well we usually provide toys for the youngsters because along with the clothing that is destroyed usually the doll is and it doesn't matter too much to a child whether he's clothes or not but he does miss the toy that he's used to going to when I'm Mrs. Merrill how does this operate for example last week as you well know here in Chicago we had a flood and I'm sure that the Red Cross was called out and your department was undoubtedly called upon to go into action. What did you do and how did you handle it? Well we accepted the cases as they were brought in from the disaster department and we supplied more than 600 items so far and we may still have calls coming in from persons

whose clothing have been destroyed and particularly men who must work you see and don't have sufficient clothing actually to go out and earn their own living. Why do you have them broken down men women and so on and is that clothing in each of those closets? If you would care to open a door you open it Helen. See those are underwear for all the sizes from 34 up to the large extra large as matter of fact their size 30 and 32. Could we open one down there and take a look down there what's next another one men and another women. Those are women's dresses they go from size about a size 718 I think until the extra extra large including maternity dresses. And the next one looks like the one that was just open there it looked like pajamas or something. And those are sleeping garments yes. Yes. Well and then boys and then I say down to infants what do you have in the infants the diapers and well we have layouts for the very new babies and those who are under a year but over that we have regulation size there's a little sleepers there

and a little you know those little creeper things and the little sweaters. Here's a big red sweater now. This is a sweater about a size 10 for a boy then. Well it's either a boy or girl it's a slip over. We utilize the same yarn in all garments excepting for the infants this is our regulation size. You say you have a number of pieces of equipment out right now. Yes. Well now we want to talk to some of the ladies in here who do some sewing and knitting as I understand we can hear them briefly from here and I'd like to go out and talk to them for a little while if it's all right. Very well certainly you're quite welcome we're very happy to have you here we'd like to have people know what we're doing. Fine thank you Mrs. Merrill. That sound you're hearing is a young lady cutting surgical dressings with some kind of an electric tool which she is moving across a large row of circular dressings I suppose there's six or seven in there running a length of the table. A table is approximately 25 or 30 feet

long there's two rows of these surgical dressings actually it's cotton and it is being cut to size by this lady with this cutting instrument it's a whirling thing you can hear it she cuts she cuts them into strips of about two and a half perhaps two and a half feet long now they have cutting knitting and sewing up here let's move over to this other table and talk to some of the ladies who are doing some of the sewing and knitting. Well I'm not quite sure that you can make that out but it's a very familiar sound it's the sound of a sewing machine and there's a woman here sewing a piece of garment a white piece of cloth doing something with it I'm not quite sure could we have your name ma 'am? Imler my name is Mrs. Imler yes where are you from originally England well you're from England yes how often do you come up here about three days a week what are you sewing I'm making diapers for

disaster babies I see thank you very much here's the lady over here doing some knitting a little while ago while we were in the disaster closet we saw a a sweater a bright red sweater which could be used for either a boy or a girl I believe it was size 14 and these sweaters are all knitted here at the red cross headquarters here's the lady doing some knitting with some green twine could we have your name Mrs. Fosquet Mrs. Fosquet where are you from Chicago some lady over here kind of smiled when I called it twine what do you call it yarn oh yarn well that's yeah that's right that's a better name what are you knitting a beanie or we call it a beanie cap for the disaster closet for the closet I see I understand that you've been a volunteer here for a good name many years well I'm going into my 25th year 25 years imagine you like it pretty well then I must I surely do by the way some of the ladies up here who are volunteers are dressed in the white red cross uniforms what do you call the

thing that you have on your hair we call that a veil white veil with a red cross on it and a red bar what is the red bar me the red bar signifies that I'm chairman of the surgical dressings I see and what about the chevrons those represent the years of service one for every five every four years every four and you have one two three four five well you'll be getting another one before long I'll be getting another one before long yes all right thank you very much there's a lady over here I'm going to reach across the table and talk to her what are you knitting I'm knitting a carigan for the disaster how often do you come up here I don't come up here I knit at home well you do your you do your volunteer work at home what's your name Mrs. Milano understand you've put in many many hours at knitting how many if you're too embarrassed to tell it I will go ahead and tell it I don't know well I've just been flashed the sign here from hell on the path that you have knitted 9 ,000 hours is that all with red cross

yes all for the red cross when you're doing a fine job and congratulations and thank you very much for talking to it you thank you all ladies and that is just about the story as much as we have time to tell I wish we could spend a little more time up here with their production service unit but we're going to have to move on we're going to talk now to Mrs. Bertha Irba Mrs. Irba has just returned from St. Louis where they had a disaster one which was a little more disastrous I suppose than even the one in Chicago I doubt if it involves as many people but there was a large area down in St. Louis as you recalled that was flooded out great many farmlands were destroyed Mrs. Irba how bad was it down there well I was not exactly on the farmlands I was around the suburban areas of the St. Louis County there was in Brentwood Maplewood and partially in Valley Park were there many people evacuated in those areas well some the Brentwood Maplewood we evacuated about 800 people in Valley Park there about 900 people evacuated for a period of five days in Valley Park three days in Brentwood Maplewood now what what did you do with those people

where did you put them we have we put the people in Brentwood and Maplewood we have them in the high school and the I believe it was a Christian church until they were able to get back to their homes of course some of them stayed there five days and some stayed three days in Valley Park there was a double flood with a flood in June 14th and then when we had the families get back to their homes we had another flood in June 28th I believe it was when the waters of Merrimack River came up way up high and as a result we had to do the job all over again with the 35 families we had we had those Tate originally why since you are in the Chicago office were you in St. Louis why don't they there's the Red Cross in St. Louis take care of it well no you see St. Louis is a Midwestern area of our area area office I guess that's what it is and when they need national workers they call on the various chapters to send workers to the jobs where it is assigned by the national I see you can sort of help out wherever you're needed well thank you very much Mrs.

Erber for taking time out in a very busy day I can see that you've been extremely busy still kept some more disaster registration to go through yes I see well thank you for talking to us thank you final interview let's go back up to mr. Lucy's office and talk to him about a little bit of a broader story of the American Red Cross and its Chicago chapter we are now back in the office of mr. Lucy where we're going to close out our program by asking just a few questions and as I said it will be a little bit broader than we were just talking about the disaster unit itself first for example mr. Lucy how does the Chicago chapter compare in size with with other Red Cross chapters in the United States here the Chicago chapter is the largest chapter in the United States serving about five million people in the Cook and DuPage County how many disasters a year does your Red Cross work on we will average about one a day or as 365 they don't all come consecutively some nights there are more than one but an average of one a day who handles the job of disaster relief here in Chicago well you recall meeting mr. Philip Eddie

and there are some 700 trained people which include doctors and nurses as well as the representatives that we use spoke of out in the areas and they're the people that carry the brunt mostly volunteer work mostly volunteer work we only have three staff people who are behind the scenes and that particular thing all the time but we can augment it with those that need to be mr. Lucy we've been talking throughout the program about the work that the Red Cross did in the recent flood here in Chicago and I think that as I said earlier this is a very appropriate time for us to be doing the story of the disaster unit of the Chicago chapter of the American Red Cross because so many people in Chicago became connected with it that very night I think you're to be congratulated for the work you did well thank you Hugh the Red Cross was created to give service and one of its major fields in disaster and we do everything we can to merit that job well thank you very much mr. Lucy for allowing us to tell the story of the disaster unit of the American Red Cross the Chicago chapter here on south wall bash in Chicago I wish we had time to tell really more of the things you do disaster is only one of them there are certainly

many more things that the Red Cross does well here we appreciate this opportunity we hope you'll come back because we'd like to tell you more about some of the other services thank you and I should mention that I should thank Helen LaPette for setting this up and helping us out with it and that's the story of the disaster unit of the Chicago chapter of the American Red Cross this is Hugh Hill speaking