Stories in the Junior Red Cross News

The American Junior Red Cross News was the first periodical in the United States to accept a Savery short story, and she was pleasantly surprised to find they paid more than their British counterparts. The magazines are offered occasionally on eBay, but it took years to find the first story. I am still searching for the Braille editions. The stories are in chronological order. The cover illustrations are to scale with original periodicals shown on the left and reprints, reduced a further twenty percent, shown on the right.

AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS

The Tale of the Mugglewuff. Illus. by Marjorie Flack. AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, American National Red Cross, Washington. Sept. 1934. Reprinted in Braille, Apr. 1938, U.S. publisher unknown.

It took me eight years to locate this excellent, but uncharacteristically dark story in the JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS. The work diary indicated that it was sold in 1934, but did not give the publication date. I believe this story was Savery's first for a North American publisher. My inquiries about the Braille edition have been fruitless. Red Cross volunteers produced a Braille series for the AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, but those editions did not begin until 1942.

Santa, no relation to Father Christmas, is a naughty, unkind little girl. She is eight, while Binkie and Dimples, whom she must, against her will, take on walks, are much younger. Daily they cross in front of a black barn where, as Santa tells her cousins, the Mugglewuff lives. The Mugglewuff likes Santa, but it would like to "snatch the cousins away, bang!" Invited without Santa to a birthday party, Dimples and Binkie stand in the rain rather than pass the Mugglewuff's barn.

Eventually Santa is found out, but not before Binkie and Dimples have had many unpleasant walks culminating with a flight in terror. Is Santa sorry? Not very!

The Sun, Moon, and Stars Clock. Illus. by Helene Carter. Published in two parts in AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, American National Red Cross, Washington. Oct. and Nov. 1936; accepted Sep. 19, 1936. BBC broadcast(?), 1935. Reprinted 1942, 1950, 1955, and 1965 by D.C. HEATH & CO., cf. Stories in annuals.

When Uncle Paul went off to repair a church clock, his cranky helper, Jock, quite against orders, left young Richard (Punch) in charge of Uncle Paul's shop. Punch was quite surprised when two gruff men came in and began to fill a large bag with the more valuable clocks, saying they were planning to give them all as wedding presents. He became more concerned when they told him he was too young to take their money, and that they would come back later to pay Uncle Paul. Then, while they were examining a special clock in the back room, Punch overheard them talking about locking someone in the cellar, and he knew he must act.

If Punch's list of his adventures at the beginning of In Apple Alley is accurate, Savery wrote at least six short stories about Punch and the Clock Shop. According to the work diary, two of them were broadcast over the BBC between January and September of 1935, but she was unsuccessful in finding anyone to publish them as a collection. It's a pity!

The Clock that Struck Thirteen. AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS(?), American National Red Cross, Washington. Accepted Mar. 18, 1942. BBC broadcast, 1935?

This story was accepted by the BBC on Sep. 3, 1935, but the date of broadcast on "Children's Hour" is not known. It was accepted by the American Red Cross at the same time as The Tickative Clock, below. Wartime conditions made Savery's communication with the United States unreliable, and it is not known if this story was printed in the magazine. Punch does include it in his list of adventures; see In Apple Alley.

The Tickative Clock. Illus. by Aline Appel. AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, American National Red Cross, Washington. Mar. 1943, pp 192-195. BBC broadcast(?), 1935.

In this adventure Punch is visiting his Cousin Madge in her cottage by the sea, where he finds her laboring industriously to pack and move her household goods to a new home while simultaneously scowling at a newly purchased clock that is so loud she cannot concentrate during the day or sleep at night. Punch helps her pack as best he can, and they both retire for the night. In bed upstairs, it is Punch who cannot sleep, partly because of a raging storm outside, but principally because of the noisy clock. Exasperated, Punch comes downstairs to put the clock where he cannot hear it and finds his feet in cold running water. The sea gates have given way, and the ocean is coming in under the door. Punch screams to waken Cousin Madge, and together they face the rising water.

Savery's Clock Shop, normally located on Apple Alley in Oddwich, is moved to Plum Street when Appel is the illustrator. The back of the magazine features a drawing by Appel of about fifty people engaged in Red Cross wartime activities, and this sketch, which appears to be regular feature of the magazine, is also titled 'Apple Alley.'

The Clocks That Could Not Tick. Illus. by Aline Appel. AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, American National Red Cross, Washington. Apr. 1943, pp 218-222. BBC broadcast(?), 1935.

The American Red Cross maintains a cumulative index of the JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS at the Hazel Braugh Records Center and Archives in Falls Church, VA. Their Archivist, Susan Watson, was kind enough to perform a record search for me, and shortly thereafter, I received a photocopy of this story along with two others.

Tired of living with dozens of clocks, Punch asks his Uncle Paul for some relief from their incessant ticking and is sent to the country to visit his Aunt Hepzibah and Cousin Judy in a house where the clock on the mantel is broken, and there is no ticking at all; however, Punch soon learns from Judy to tell time from the rooster's crowing, the tide's flowing, and the cattle's lowing, to name a few of the clocks that cannot tick. Unfortunately, Judy also leads him through breaks in the shrubbery to see the floral clock on the grounds of the bad-tempered Duchess, where they fall down and completely ruin her four o'clock violets. Judy runs, but Punch stays in the violets to face the Duchess.

Pigeon's Party. Illus. by Jon Nielson. AMERICAN JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, American National Red Cross, Washington. Jan. 1945, pp 92-94. Reprinted in Braille[?].

This is a wartime story for young children. When an exhausted carrier pigeon thumps against Mike's window just before his birthday party begins, he is asked to trudge through the icy rain in the dark to reach a telephone and call the nearest aerodrome. After treking two miles, Mike finds the storm has flooded the bridge, and he must choose between walking another six miles or returning to his party.

A newspaper clipping among Savery's effects confirms that the pigeon and its mission were true.

This web site © 2010-24 by Eric Schonblom. Updated 24 July 2024. The unpublished works of Constance Savery are reproduced with the permission of the copyright owner, J. D. Hummerstone. Book and magazine covers are reproduced with low resolution to respect the copyrights of their artists and publishers.