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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1954)
Big-Hearted 'Angel' Aids Hundreds She Gets Help for the Needy By DAN H. 8EIXARD Of The BectittrOuard Iff been a rough winter for Mary Zunke, the woman who won't take "no" for an answer. Every winter it a bad one for Mri. Zunke her people suffer! most when it s cold. But this past winter has been particularly bad because the offi cial welfare agencies have been short of money. In addition to helping those who can't qualify for formal aid but whose hunger is no less because they are newly arrived In Oregon Mary has been able to find clothes and food to tide over families facing both un employment and curtailed official assistance. It's been nearly eight years since Mary first was asked to assist a family. In helping this family to a new start she found that it is possible for a woman with no means to help many. No means? Yes, and no. Mary has no money to give away. She has barely enough for herself. But she's wealthy in other ways. She has a heart about as big asi one can imagine. She has unbe lievable "hustle" in a woman soon to be 75 years old. And she has other attributes highly-valued in this hectic world a fine sense of humor, a practical way of get ting things done and a deep sense of humility. BARD TO GET STORT It's hard to get the whole story of Mary Zunke. She refuses to talk of herself and insists on tell ing about her people. But eight years of answering her telephone requests for "ads" to call atten tion to some family's needs and eight years of followh g her about on her "calls" affords an insight. The woman's attitude is the key. She's helped hundreds but gives the credit to the people who help her help the poor. She an angel to the downtrodden and the hun gry. Yet there isn't a santimonious note in the woman's makeup. Mary doesn t "do good for per sonal satlfaction, there's too much to be done to allow time for such a luxury. Mary's been in a hurry for eight years. That first family was only a beginning. Now, Mary s job takes all her time and effort. The approach is simple. Just perseverance. It s almost impos sible to refuse Mary Zunke one of her requests. NEW ARRIVALS She hears of a family. It's fresh from Oklahoma, or California, or Arkansas. Or maybe Georgia. Tney're m Eugene but that's all The car is broken down. The five or six kids are shabby and hun gry. Father has no job. More often than not, mother is pregnant. The family can't qualify for public welfare since the members are not residents of the state or the county. Other agencies can't help because of other facets of eligibility. Mary gets on the phone. And she stays there until the family has been promised food, clothing, housing and until the breadwin ner has the "boost" often neces- gKmmmmlVf":fmwmi ""l mm mm naan MB mm d- r iit "mIMP ft V .";, ; HMlr 111 (Register-Guard photo, WUtehire ens.) JUST CHECKING up on her "people" was Mary Zunke when the photo was taken the other day. The family knew Mary well, for It was she who helped them when they needed help the most. sary to get him back on his feet, Direct action. No questions, no red-tape. No eligibility require ment. Mary only says to herself, "Those kids have got to be fed." Call after call. No "fooling around." Just "will you do this, will you do that." Mary briefly outlines the family s plight and makes her requests. GETS RESULTS And results she gets. She has a circle of friends to which she constantly turns. These friends have other friends. A pair of pants here, a sack of spuds from another place. Bedding. Diapers. Shoes. Since Mary's in a hurry, she has little patience. She is aggres sive almost to a fault. By her direct approach she sometimes' offends. But she's impervious to this. There's a job to do and no one else will do it. The whole gamut of human dis- stress goes through the front room of the green house with yellow shutters at 477 E. 3rd Ave. But Mary's done a lot of living in her 74 years and nothing shocks her. She calls a spade a spade and can be brutally frank. Nearly always, when a family. comes to her attention, it's in dire straits. Things just couldn't: be any worse. But Mary isn't a court of last resort, No, she's just a friend in a strange city. RECALLS SOME PEOPLE In her tidy kitchen last week, Mary sipped at a cup of coffee and allowed herself to reminis ce enough to satisfy the inter viewer. She recalled some of her people. The family with the six kids and no support. Winter. The same story. "Then the old man just up and pulled out. He left that family and went to Texas. And that poor mother was about six months along." The woman turned to Mary, They had a good cry together, There were relatives in Cali fornia and the woman wanted to go to them to have her baby. But it would take $65. "I didn t have the money, "Mary recalls, "but I started call ing my friends. But I couldn't raise that much money." Finally, in desperation, Mary turned to a local realtor who had helped her out before. "I got that man out of bed. I talked and talked on the phone but he didn't say anything. Fin ally, I asked him if he was awake and he said he was listening. But he didn t say yes or no. PULLED OUT BILLS The next morning, the realtor told Mary to get the family dress ed and in his office. When the family came in, he pulled some mils out of his wallet and gave it to them. Not just $68 $95. Next stop was the bus station. Mary hasn't heard from the family! since. Another time, Mary called the city editor of the newspaper with story about a family living in part of a cow barn. The newsman took the story with the proverbial grain of salt Mary led the photographer to the place and there the family was sharing quarters with a bunch of mangy cows. The story In the paper did the trick and another of Mary's lam- Hies was put up In quarters suit able for human Beings. There are a lot of stories. This winter alone. Mary has had as many as eight families on her active list at one time. Just a few weeks ago, she hauled a box of groceries out to a family, then found out about another bunch of neonle "just as bad off." An other trip, another box of groc eries. NO LINE DRAWN To ask If there's any line drawn for race or religion is an Insult She's never even thought of such a thing. Colored folks have benefited most from the woman's work. There is one line, though. She won't help a "drinking man." She considers liquor a scourge. But she'll help the man's family. Those kids don't have any blame for what that man does," she rules. She never handles money. When she takes half a dozen pair of jeans or a bundle of diapers out, she knows how they'll be used. No so with money. "The old man" might take the money and buy wine. Mary makes no such mistakes. Now, after eight years of hav-i ing people come in at all hours of the day or night for help, Mary can point here or there and show where the help has meant a whole new life. There's a neat little house north of town where the kids are happy and healthy. A few years ago, the family was in Mary's living room seeking a meal, Some of the families drift away. Some "fall apart." Others she never hears of again. And some come back for more help. NO ANSWER Mary has no answer as to what makes "her people" the way they are. But her husband, Bob, gives a solution. "There's one answer. Adult de linquency." He illustrates. When a family is on the rocks, it's because of Mom or Pop. Sure, admits Zunke, there are conditions and circumstances. But he insists there's always a parent to blame. Sometimes it's drink. More of-. ten, one or other of the adults lacks the "spunk" to make a way in life. "Having too many kids" is also one of Bob's reasons fori the down-and-outers. It's for Mary's husband to help give the credit He says "the big gest thing that woman does for these people is to give them a little push to get started again. Sometimes a meal can start a new life." A medal could be cast, in-1 scribed with Mary Zunke's name and listing her achievements. But a higher reward is due. Some scientists believe that brick was manufactured as early as 12,000 years ago. 0 R.ffUtnr-CiUard. Eueene, Ore, 4A Sun., Mar. 21, 1954 Welfare Needs Go on Ballot (Continued from Page 1) jumped from 126 in 1951 to 153 last year. For aid to the permanently and total y d sabled. the monthly av erage increased from 40 in 1051 to 75 in 1933. Aside from case load increases, the welfare problem is growing more acute because of tne coun ty's limited funds within Its re gular budget Despite heavy timber receipts, the county still has had to levy a property tax right up to its base limits to finance its yearly pro gram. NEED SPECIAL VOTE Lane County's tax base Is now $910,390. This excludes $110,000 in special levies which are not computed within the 8 per cent limitation. The county's base during 1954 55 can be increased only 6 per cent to $985,013 without a spe cial vote of the people. Commissioners said Friday it Is mandatory that the county bud get sufficient revenue to meet growing welfare needs. This means that if the special levy is rejected the money must come out of the county s "base budget." Petersen said Friday that if this should happen it would mean virtual halt to the county's road improvement program. ROAD PROGRAM "Wo wouldn't have enough money to do much, if any, pav ing work. Minimum maintenance would be all the county could finance." At present, not a cent of gener al road fund money is raised by a property tax. Expenditures are offset in this way: Gas tax apportionment, $700,- ouu; forest service timber re ceipts $975,000; O & C receipts, $274,500: cash on hand, $285,000: court fines, $60,000; miscellane ous, S74.U00. From this it is seen that the entire road program hinges on the amount of receipts the coun ty is likely to receive during the fiscal year. If receipts drop sharp ly, tne program could be drastic ally curtailed, Petersen said. Since the commissioners are expecting a $500,000 reduction in umber receipts, other funds are needed to insure a continuance of the current expenditure rate for permanent road work. The key to the situation rests with the welfare levy. If tax payers vote the special tax to finance the welfare program there will be sufficient revenue to operate all county departments adequately. The commissioners were noti sure just how they would handle the problem if the welfare levy Java Padders Needn't Tell The Customers SALEM (In Oregon eating establishments which use a cof fee "stretcher" to pad out their coffee will not be required to post signs telling customers that something has been added to their cup of java, the State Department of Agriculture said here Saturday. The department said that a regulation put into effect in 1941 under the Oregon food act was being rescinded. Depart ment spokesmen said that after study by the. department's le gal staff it was decided the re gulation exceeded the provi sions of the food act. The department said, how ever, that proper labels will be required on all packages of the coffee stretcher which are sold as such. Hummingbirds Herald Spring Mrs. Roy Bert's hummingbirds are back again for their 20th con secutive season at her 206 How ard St home, she reportetd Fri day. This year they arrived on March 19 and headed straight for her wild currant bushes, as they've been doing for the 20-some years she has been observing their habits. Lacking the regularity of the Capistrano and Meridian Bridge swallows, the hummers, neverthe less, manage to make it in the month of March, the earliest date of their arrival having been on a March 12, the latest a March 28. Mrs. Bert's hummingbirds, how ever, were not the first to appear in the Eugene area. Mrs. Lloyd Elliott, on DeLay Drive, report ed last week that the tiny birds had been around her place for several days. The Onion Editor was too busy trying to clean up last summer's garden refuse to record the exact date of the arrival of the spring harbingers. Veterans Draw Jobless Pay SALEM 11 Oregon -veterans of the Korean War have drawn $1,155,034 in federal unemploy ment benefits since the program started 18 months ago, the State Unemployment Compensa tion Commission reports. Returning service men can get maximum of $26 a week for 26 weeks, but only 155 have drawn the full amount. Claims have been filed by 6,269 Korean veterans, but thousands of them have been placed in jobs by the State Employment Service. Payments to veterans of World War 11 in Oregon totaled 32 mil lion dollars. Eugene's Mr, pT? HOBBY and TOY SH? 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