A Few Essentials for Traveling Light

Jeannette Leerhoff of Placentia would like to know where she can find some disposable paper panties for traveling , so she won’t have to be concerned about doing laundry all the time; she bought some of these panties many years ago, but can’t find them anyplace now. Can you help Leerhoff make a clean getaway, or will this be an undertaking she won’t be able to paper over?

Lillie Polk of Los Angeles would like to find a book that gives the history of Chippendale dining room and other furniture ; she has several pieces and wants to know more about them. Can you tell Polk how to go by the book, or will she have to table her search and let the chips fall where they may?

Because she may be hitting some out-of-the-way spots in her upcoming overseas travels, Verna Newland of Downey would like to find a battery-powered hair dryer. Can you solve this heady matter for Newland, or will she have to blow hot and cold before this hair-raising adventure is over?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Here’s a dollop or two: Margaret at (213) 661-8971 would like to find a Spiderman doll or figure for her grandson, but no store seems to carry these anymore. And Sarah at (213) 943-7529 is looking for a Little Henry doll (modeled after the former comic strip character) with no hair, short pants, and socks rolled down; it was available many years ago. Please convince our readers that it’s a small world, after all. . . . Betty Freedman at (213) 829-4668 needs the instructions for a computer program called Jot! ; the publisher has gone out of business. Please jot down a book, or at least a phone number, for Betty. . . . Sally at (818) 286-9434 is looking for a galvanized 1-gallon watering can no longer available in the stores; it is 6 inches high (not counting the handle), 8 1/2 inches long and 6 inches wide; the spout is about 8 inches long. Please don’t pour any more cold water than necessary on Sally’s already not-so-high hopes.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

We have some encouraging news for those of you who’ve been looking for discontinued Noritake china. During the past few months, five readers have indicated their willingness to dispose of Noritake in the following patterns: Fragrance, Camellia, Chatham, Clintonia, Blue & Gold and Ivory & Azure. Readers interested in any of these should send us a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

For Mrs. Henry of Huntington Park, who wanted a cover for a four-slice toaster, we have something she perhaps can drink a toast to. Helen at (818) 286-9460 says she is a retail upholstery seamstress who makes slipcovers for any item, including furniture and appliances.

Here’s another source for all-cotton materials, submitted by Gloria L. Lee of Pasadena: the Primary Layer, Box 3999, Portland, Ore. 97208; write for a catalogue.

Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who need--or have--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, the Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.