Los Banos Rotary Club History
Merced Printer Tells Of Trip To Europe

Worth Bryars, proprieter of a Merced printing office, Bryars Press, Tuesday noon gave members of the Los Banos Rotary Club an interesting review of a recent European trip taken by he and Mrs. Bryars. They visited some 16 countries, roaming mostly away from the beaten tourists paths and sightseeing as they wished.

Most pleasant surprise, Bryars said, was the kindness and courtesy extended to them in almost every country, and the cleanliness of most cities. They were particularly impressed with Madrid, Spain, one of the cleanest of all cities visited. Though the streets are narrow and crowded with people, Bryars said the entire city was spic and span all the time, with the streets washed down with fire hose no less than four times a day.

Also in the middle east, particularly Damascus and Jerusalem, he also found the newer sections clean and sightly, the food good and the water excellent.
Surprising to most of his listeners, Bryars said drinking water was generally excellent throughout Europe, though they did encounter a little difficulty in one country trying to make a restauranteur realize they would like a glass of plain clear, unadlterated water with their meal.

Bryars listed the Arabs as the most friendly, kind and polite of all people met on the trip, stating that from the shoe shine boy to printing house executives, all were exceedingly kind and generous in their efforts to be courteous and helpful.

Tops in physical perfection, he said, were the Spanish, handsome, well dressed men and beautiful women with fine complexion and features, in a mixture of blonds, brunettes and redheads.

As to political and economical conditions, he said opinions varied widely, though he found a general friendliness toward America, and the expressed belief that America today holds the key to the peace and prosperity of the future world. Their one great concern, he said, was the political strength of Senator McCarthy, and the danger of him becoming a Hitler-type dictator of this country.

Bryars was introduced to the club by County Superintendent of Schools George W. Clarke, of Merced.

July 23, 1954

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