OLD RECTORY WAS “HOME” TO COUNTLESS REFUGEES

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28481, 10 January 1958, Page 2

OLD RECTORY WAS “HOME” TO COUNTLESS REFUGEES

A rambling old rectory of 16 rooms in New Jersey, United States, has been called “home” by hundreds of refugees since the w days when Hitler expelled the Jews from Germany. - After World War LI it became the sanctuary of homeless Europeans, seeking a new life in the United States. In later years it has offered warm hospitality to foreign students from International House, New York. That was until a kindly minister, the Rev. Dr. Theodore Andrews recently retired from active service in the Episcopal Church. ta New Ufe a Lonely strangers learnt English in the cosy parlour under the guidance of Dr. Andrews, who speaks 12 languages. They .were assisted in finding jobs and homes for themselves. The women learnt to cook wholesome Ameri- ■ can dishes, taught by, the vicar's • wife. For the Jhws from' Germany thig was their first contact with real Christianity. They had formed the wrong idea, about It in their own land. In their small way Dr. and Mrs Andrews were working towards an ideal—to break down international prejudice and , promote friendship among the nations ol an unfriendly world. Their .efforts were not restricted t 6 the. hospitality of their own home. Whenever they could leave their children and their parish ' work they travelled overseas to meet other peoples in their own environment. "’At home and in foreign lands we found this the most worthwhile part ot our work." Mis Andrews said. Usually travelling by freighter because it is cheaper. Dr. Andrews and Mrs Andrews have toured Europe many times. , They have travelled extensively in North and South America, visited Nortn, South and East Africa, and called in at Hong Kong, all for the same purpose. Now, as grandparents, they are touring New Zealand and Australia. On her first visit to Europe Mrs Ahdrews felt isolated because language barriers prevented her from making real contacts with the people. Learnt French .at 38 “I hated languages at school and would not learn them, but when I returned to the States

after my first tour of Europe 1 was'determined to do something about my deficiency,” she said in Christchurch yesterday. So at 38, the. mother of two young children and a busy vicar’s wife as well, she went back to public school for a period every day for two years to learn French. Some of her classmates

were boys and girls she taught in Sunday school, but that did not embarrass her.

Next time she went to Europe she could make herself understood in French in any country and yesterday her husband, bought her three novels in French to read on the flight to Australia. Need for Hobbies To Mrs Andrews it is essential for a housewife and mother to have at least one creative hobby. “An outside interest, like sleep, rests the mind from thoughts of drudgery,” ’ she said. Her hobby is pottery. She has made all her own table plates, her lampshade bases, vases, ashtrays—“in fact, everything that can be moulded from clay,” she said.

As well as helping parents to solve domestic difficulties, problems with their children, and coping with the various calls for help from parishioners, she managed to take classes in pottery and do work for exhibitions. Much of her “potting” has been shown in exhibitions in the National Arts Club, New York, and at the Rockefeller Centre. Some of it has been taken on touring exhibitions of handcraft throughout the United States. “A hobby is a priceless asset for a woman, even if it, is only making her own hats. To the New Zealand women who have told me they have no time for hobbies I say: ’Make time.- ‘ You will be more interesting wives and happier mothers if you spare the .effort,’ ” Mrs Andrews said.