Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • Page 41

First Lady Maintaining Humor, Positive Outlook By Frances Lewine Washington (AP) Late at night, when Pennsylvania Avenue is deserted, Pat Nixon sometimes leaves the White House to walk the quiet nearby streets. Often she covers her blonde hair with a scraf so she won't be recognized, her daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, reports. The late-night walks, two or three times a week, are something new. In a Watergate- troubled time, the strolls offer the First Lady privacy, relaxation, an escape from the "hermetically sealed-in" and constantly bustling White House, says, the youngest Nixon daughter. Some evenings, Mrs.

Nixon is joined by Julie. Others, she walks alone, save for the ever-present Secret Service agents. Those close to the First Lady see the signs of Watergate strain. She "feels very deeply about this," and sees in Watergate an attempt by some people to get "her husband's last pound of flesh," says a very close friend, Mrs. Helen Drown, who has known Pat Nixon for 35 years.

They were teachers together at Whittier High School in California before the Nixons married. "But I don't think Watergate has affected her any more than any crisis they've gone through in their lives," adds Mrs. Drown. "Pat Nixon's motto has always been: It's better to laugn than to cry." The laughter, the good spirits are what the pubh'c usually sees. Hundreds of people who meet Mrs.

Nixon in receiving lines find her a warm, friendly, smiling and responsive hostess. "She tries to relieve--the tension," daughter Julie adds. The First Lady's social secretary, Lucy Winchester, bears that out with a report about Mrs. Nixon carrying off a poster showing a kitten clinging to a curtain rod. It was captioned, "Hang in there, baby." Mrs.

Nixon took it to display in the President's bedroom. The Nixons observed their 33rd wedding anniversary last Friday June 21 and Mrs. Nixon expects to observe two more as First Lady, Mrs, Drown says. Difficult Time Reporters think Mrs. Nixon, 62, is showing signs of strain and her press secretary, Helen Smith, admits that "it's a difficult time for her." In the few times she has spoken out after being pressed by reporters, Mrs.

Nixon has proclaimed "I'm full of faith and confidence I'll have faith until I'm proven wrong." When a reporter said, "This has been a hard year for you and you seem to be holding up marvelously what is it that sustains you?" Mrs. Nixon responded: "The truth sustains me, because I have great faith in my He's an honorable, dedicated person. And when you know the truth, you have nothing to fear. I have a very positive outlook." While criticism mounts against Nixon, almost nothing is said against his wife and partner in 28 years of national politics. Except for the fact that she was a wifely co-signer of the income tax returns on which Nixon was found to owe 5476,000, Mrs.

Nixon has not been linked personally to any of the President's Watergate-related problems. The administration reacted with defensive outrage when it was disclosed in mid-May that Mrs. Nixon had been wearing $50,000 worth of jewelry given by the Saudi Arabian royal a i but never publicly acknowledged by the Nixons as a gift belonging to the American people. "For the birds," wisecracked Mrs. Nixon about the incident.

But, the jewels were transferred from her bedroom safe to of the White House Gifts Unit and sent word she would not wear them again. Mrs. Drown says Mrs. Nixon felt that the Presidential tapes should have been considered "like sensitive diaries never to be released to anyone." Julie Eisenhower, frequently the family spokesman on Watergate, has described her mother as "able to take things with a grain of Pat Nixon accompanies the President as they prepare to leave Andrews Air Force Base for a recent visit to Oklahoma. The Nixons just recently observed their 34th wedding anniversary.

Could Write a Book Wilson Flips Over Child's Circus By Patricia McConnack New York (UPI) If he had to, Flip Wilson could write a circus book. About putting on a circus in the garage, basement or backyard. As a little boy he organized many an impromptu circus wif 1 friends in his neighborhood. "I guess all kids put on a circus at some time," the comedian said. "It's part of the American tradition.

All we need now is for somebody to write a book for kids "How to Put On an Incredible, Super-Spectacular, Death-Defying Circus in Your Flip Wilson Own Backyard or basement." Wilson talked circus on the basis of limited experience he was host on NBC televised highlights of 1974's version of the Ringling Barnum Bailey Circus last winter. But for kids considering putting on a garage or yard circus for a good cause or just for their own fun, Wilson offered the following insider suggestions: --Costumes. They can be as simple as some lipstick and eyeshadow makeup and baggy clothes for a clown. A hat, boots and an eyebrow-pencil moustache for ringmaster. Or ringmistress.

--For drumming up interest, make up posters announcing the greatest show on (name) Street --For a big top look, yard, garage or basement, tape up crepe paper streamers. Chalk marking can outline the circus rings on basement floor or driveway. --Add 5ome popcorn and peanuts and you've got the smell and taste of the circus. Here are some of Wilson's ideas for incredible feats or physical agility and courage and other superspectacolar acts. Every pint-sized "ringmaster" win want to dip and save.

--High wire act. Place clothesline on floor or ground in a straight line. The ringmaster hushes the audience and says, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, the incredible nerve and control of King (or Queen name). An unbelievable 400 feet in the air above you. He (or she) will calmly walk from one end of the big top to, the other, trusting a mere one-quarter incu taute steel cable.

We must ask complete quiet as King or queen (name) begins the walk that defies death itself." (A performer holds a long pole such as an old broomstick, parallel to the ground and walks slowly along the clothesline "wire" from one end to the other. Other performers cry "ooh" and "aaah" and cheer as the walker reaches the end.) --Death Dive. Place a wide bucket or roasting pan on ground. Fill with a few inches of water. Ringmaster says and gentlemen.

You are about to witness a never before seen hi 'name) town. A death defying jump from 400 feet into the air into exactly three gallons of water. The grand (child's name), will take bis very life in his hands and attempt the heretofore impossible as soon as he knows it is completely quiet and the air is still. Ladies and gentlemen, may we nave complete quiet (The slowly a dramatically climbs onto a chair or ladder, waving at tip crowd as he steps up. He waits a full minute, concentrating on the water below.

Then he steps into the water. Other performers cheer and lead the applause.) --Wild animals. Make a cage. Place four kitchen chairs on sides. Put pet cat or dog inside.

Put food on floor to keep animal inside. When the act begins, the trainer, defying death, snaps his fingers. To keep pet moving around, he tosses treats in strategic places. The ringmaster's pitch goes like this "Ladies and gentlemen, this man with nerves of common steel will show how he tamed an 800-pound beast" --Acrobatic ending. Kids do somersaults and cartwheels.

They jump up and down. Then they make a little pyramid. Other performers lead the cheering and applause. And the ringmaster says "And that ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the circus." Metric System Gets Setback in England London (AP) British housewives don't like their meat and vegetables being weighed out in those foreign kilograms instead of good old pounds and ounces. Therefore, British butchers nd giuceis are refusing to go over to the metric system.

And this, says the government's Metrication Board in its annual report, is one reasoa wby Britain's crmfeover to the metric system is running two yean tettad schedule. The board suggests the government should name a date when all shoppers wfll be made to fo metric. The target date bad been me end of next year, but it would not be achieved until early in 1S78, the board said. Stores, soch as the botchers and grocers, which weigh out foods in front of the customer, are unlikely to start using metric measures until they are legally required to do so. The government must remove the remaining legislative obstacles to metric change, the board says.

In particular, it should be made legal to sell in prescribed metric quantities all those goods, tike sugar, which present can only be sold in packages relating to imperial quantities that's pounds and ounces. On the broader front of industry, commerce and education as a whole, fee board says there is a good duace that the" change to metricatioa should be competed" by the target date set in IMS. The momentum in the change to metric ntjfasures, which was lost in 1971, has not been regained, the board warns. It says 1973 was a year of "steady but slow progress." Delay in carrying through the change from pints, yards and pounds to liters, meters and kilograms will have damaging economic and social consequences, the report emphasizes. Delay weakens Britain's competitive position in international trade and increases costs to industry by requiring dual production and dual inventories.

The report says that metrication is frustrating educators and raising costs. Strain is being placed on children, and there is waste oi teaching resources because boti. and imperial systems are being taught The board stresses, however, that modi progress has already been made toward metrication. All goods in druggists' stores are now metric, while most new building is metric. In the engineering industry almost all new design work is in metric measurements, and the major freight operators use metric tariffs.

On the consumer front, the board says that changes in textiles and clothing are starting and more and more consumer goods are being retailed with metric markings. Government departments the board says, must do ther part by specifying their pmcbasing requirements in metric measures. A major pubBdly drive to explain metrication to ocrsomers is needed, the board emphasizes. A heavyweight advertising campaign began UBS spring, During animated dialogue, Mike Hembd, a President, it is hard to find anyone witlTa young visitor to the White House, holds up word to say against his wife and partner after five fingers to show Pat Nixon how old he is. 28 years of national politics.

While criticism is mounting daily against the salt. She's very philosophical and I guess she finds she can hold up under all this because she loves my father and believes in him." Once friendly and relaxed with reporters, she has become irritable with them. Prays For Press "I'll pray for the press," she flung over her shoulder in turning aside questions on one White House occasion. Just as President Nixon has sought friendly audiences for his pubh'c appearances lately, Mrs. Nixon also entertains apparently supportive groups.

Sometimes as often as three afternoons a week, she will have two events on her calendar to greet such visitors as the Daughters of the American Revolution or wives of a doctors' group. Though she once traveled across the country promoting volunteer work, Mrs. Nixon now confines her efforts to meeting groups in the Washington area. Since the fall of 1971, her travels in the U.S. have been limited solely to trips with the President.

3fliirn.il anir PEOPLE June 23, 1974, Lincoln, ID At a recent Washington luncheon, when congressional and cabinet wives gave her two standing ovations, Mrs. Nixon showed her feelings: "Your words, like 'I love you. We support they cheer me up. These are the things that give you a chance to fight for what's right. And that's what we're doing." Despite her many years in the public spotlight, those who know Mrs.

Nixon say she is basically a shy and private person. Staff members do their best to protect her privacy. It is difficult even to get information now on a typical day in her life as First Lady. One staff member describes Mrs. Nixon's role in the White House as that of "glorified housekeeper." She's involved in everything from refurbishing and replacing antiques to approving menus and cutting out beef when the prices go up.

There appears to be little entertaining of friends by the Nixon family, and a protective staff can't or won't report the frequency of such occasions or who's invited. No Time to Lounge The First Lady sleeps only a few hours at night; to meet her busy schedule she is up and about at 7:30 a.m. Mrs. Drown explains that from Pat's early years she was orphaned as a teen-ager had no time to lounge around." Reporters rarely hear of Mrs. Nixon seeing friends other than Mrs.

Drown, whose husband is a publisher's distributor, and Louise Thompson Johnson, another old friend from Whittier days, whose husband was an oil company representative in Washington for years. But Julie says her mother has "a nice circle of friends. I wish she'd see them more often." Amazing health and what friend Drown calls "physical capacity beyond anything I know I've never known her to take an aspirin for a headache," have helped Mrs. Nixon through the years. In the White House, she's had nothing worse than slight flu once or twice.

Though she looks thinner, Mrs. Smith claims Mrs. Nixon has not lost weight recently and continues to be about 110 pounds. She's 5 feet, 5 inches tall. During campaign years, Mrs.

Nixon used to say she didn't drink or smoke. She's hedged a little lately. Her friends affirm that she has a cigarette once in a while and joins in cocktail hour drinking at private gatherings. There have been rumors that Mrs. Nixon, once a strawberry blonde and now a dyed true blonde, once had her face lifted.

"Good friends of mine ask me that," Mrs. Drown admits, but both she and Mrs. Johnson deny the report. Mrs. Drown is perhaps the friend who has seen Mrs.

Nixon most frequently in the White House years. They laugh a lot together, Mrs. Drown says, and often exchange "gaggifts," like the bright green three-inch platform shoes she sent Pat last Christmas because she thought "she needed a lift." Lights, Action, 'Rollems' For the wild at heart, "Rollems" may be the most unusual shoe you will ever wear. Designed by Joe Famolare, these roller skate shoes are not just for fun, however, but for transportation, too. But, even if you're adventurous and buy a pair, take along an extra pair of shoes to wear around the office or wherever you're going.

The New Look: Soft Clothes Return By Helen Haggie New York After a week of showings of women's fashions by the New York Couture Business Council few firm conclusions can be readied. Writers have been told that prices win be higher though not as much higher as some had predicted. One reason is that some designers say they have discarded the gimmicks and the handwork, yet have kept good standards of fabric, workmanship, design, color and wearabUHy. The following are some examples of what may be in store. --The Big Droop.

Certainly there are some clothes that have the big skirt and the big top, but those seen so far are a far cry from the Paris iook. --Lengths. They range from the knee to the middle of the calf in daytime clothes, from the knee to ankle for dinner and cocktail clothes, from ankle to floor for the big evening. --Separates. More and more designers seem to be adding separates to their lines.

There are more coordinated shirts, sweaters, pants, jackets, and outerwear than pre vioosty seen. One designer said sach coordination makes it easy to add one or two pieces to a wardrobe and make more than one or two outfits. Such pieces are investments, as one desagner said, like stock piling. -Colors. The range is from the starkest of whites throng) fight earth tones to dark browns and Macks.

But that's not aft Greens of many shades pop op forest blue, teal, pastel. The same is true of the pink to red hues, braes, yellows and oranges. --Accessories. Shoes have been shaved down to a more graceful fine and some boots are seen. The longer skirt seems to need the matching boot or shoes and hose.

Scarves are rampant They run the gamut of small jabot types to huge shawls. Many are long and go around the neck a couple of times before trailing to the bottom of the hem. Handbags for davtime are larger for evening small and many in box or envelope shapes --Fabrics. Just as there are colors of every shade or hue, there are also fabrics in prints, stripes, tweedy looks, solids and plaids. Most of the fabrics are of light weight For instance, in the Crystal Plus coDection, a handsome coat had all the bulk of a heavy knit sweater, yet it is as light as a feather.

Designers stressed the absence of weight in most cases. It has been emphasized that women are purchasing all- season clothes and many of those seen fit into that category. --Sweaters. The big look for fall and winter is the sweater. Most look like jackets and are worn with belts --Care.

Many fabrics are washable. A number are synthetics which can be nachine-washed. Of course, there are exceptions. Many beautiful wools and silks have been imported, and designers say this increased supply may be a far- tor in keeping costs down. -Skirts.

Free and easy is the description. Gores, pleats, A-lines and gathers aU make for the larger starts. Dresses cut close to the body seem to ease from the waistline. --Coats. Many are bigger and roomier to go over the larger tops and starts, but they often are tied in snugly at the waist with belt or sash of matching fabric.

Hooded coats are abundant. --Hats. UsuaDy brimmed, hats range from small to voluminous. There are hats that match the suit or dress or coat Hat designers say business is booming. --Treads.

Softer looks in dresses and more feminine looks in costumes seem to be the trend. Pants are, for the most part, Sarrow and high-waisted..