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19
The War Cry | FEBRUARY 2016
T
hat historic tidbit was not
lost on the newly commis-
sioned Lieutenant Elizabeth
Blusiewicz when she arrived
at her fi rst post at Charles-
ton Citadel in West Virginia. Within
days of taking up her duties as the
corps offi cer, Blusiewicz noticed
people coming and going under a
bridge located a couple of blocks
from her corps.
Appointing herself a committee of one,
and with General Booth's mandate ringing
in her ears, Blusiewicz decided to "do
something!"
But that's only half the story.
The Charleston Area Command has a
Salvation Army canteen in good working
order; in fact, it had just returned from
serving in flooded areas of South Carolina.
After that disaster service, the canteen
needed to be cleaned up, restocked and
driven around at least every week or so,
just to keep the battery charged and the
tires from rotting.
"I saw that canteen and asked our area
commander [Major Darrell Kingsbury] if
our corps could take that [maintenance]
project on," Blusiewicz explains. The major
allowed her to keep it there at the corps as
long as the unit would be made available in
the event of a divisional or territorial
disaster. Blusiewicz reasoned that this was
a great way to have the Charleston Can-
teen always at the ready.
As for the people under the Elk River
Bridge, Blusiewicz saw a way to kill two
birds with one stone. She could fulfill her
EAST
END
by MAJOR FRANK DURACHER
In The Salvation
Army's infancy
in London's East
End, its Founder,
William Booth,
saw people sleeping
under bridges and
ordered Bramwell,
his son and
second-in-command,
to "do something!"
Lieutenant Blusiewicz's
Blusiewicz (center) and her
brigade believe that they are
forging relationships with
people who need Jesus.
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