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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1958-04-30, Page 6TA OLE TALKS 6aue Andrews. • K. 1114' JJJ RELIGION IN Aqi0N—Shoveling her way to church is routine for ReV: \'!Yinnifred M. Bridges, who serves as pastor for several churches near the town of Swastika in the sparsely settled Hough Lake region of Ontario. The 34-year-old woman, or- dained in 1956, is a minister of the United. Church of Canada. When cigar salesman George Hull traded a barrel of beer for something he promptly sent off in a railwaY crate — Something registered as a five-ton piece of new machinery — he was setting the stage for a hoax destined to gross over the years $2,000,000. During 1869, a farmer named William Newell began complain- ing that the springs were dry- ing up on his land in New York State, Pinally, he summoned diggers to sink a new well. Bill Newell, it seemed, fan- cied his prospects as water- diviner with the traditional hazel-rod and selected a likely spot. But, four feet down, the well-diggers struck something hard. Bill was away from home at the time, trying to raise money to pay for the well at a bank in the nearest town. When be re- turned and saw the excited crowds milling round his farm. stead, he began to run, "What's the matter?" he yell- ed. "Is the place on fire?" The lanes around Cardiff vil- lage were becoming more jam- med every minute with carriages bringing inquisitive newcomers. "Where is it?" they cried, "Where's the giant?" In the excavation begun by the well-diggers lay the grotesque, twisted figure of a man. It was bald and its massive features were of Asiatic cast. Unclothed and brown after lying for long centuries in the earth, the limbs were contorted as if in agony. Strangest of all, it seemed to have been turned to stone, yet the entire surface was needle-pitted as if by tiny pores. All around the open grave the crowds trampled and murmured. One man with a tape measure proclaimed that the giant was ten feet four inches tall. Another exclaimed with, wonder at deep grooves on the underside, as if worn by water flowing through the earth. On all sides was heard the wondering phrase . . . "A petrified man!" It was not long before Bill Newell had roped the respassers back, declaring that on his own land he had a perfect right to do as he pleased. Within a few hours he had erected a canvas tent over the recumbent giant and 'began charging admission. The queues trailed over the fields and, after the first week- end, when the story burst in the heWepapeee, thousands began beating a path to the farm. Bill doubled his admission prices, while controversy flared. Delegations of clergymen visited the tent where, in the dim light, the enormous figure seemed even-more impressive. People spoke in solemn whis- pers. Was the monster indeed the petrified remains of a gent man? Was it an ancient idol? Was it vivid proof of the biblical text from Genisis, "There were giants In those days"? In their pulpits parsons be- ban saying that the Cardiff giant eras indeed proof, of the truth of the Bible. After visiting the site, bearded Professor Drater of the State Museum called it the most remarkable ancient object ever found in. America. Yale professors and distin- guished chemists pronounced the giant a true fossil. The crowds Increased. Soon Newell had dis- carded his farmelothes and don- ned a frock-coat to lecture on his discovery. And if sometimes his eyes twinkled at some of the scien- tists' assertions, it was a secret smile only his wife noticed. Nearly every day Mrs. Newell went to the bank with the pre- vious day's takings. Casual con- versation with the bank man- ager elicited that the account was by no means as handsome as the takings would seem to imply. Mrs. Newell noticed, too, how frequently her husband was writing to his cousin, George Hull, in' Chicago. Her curiosity aroused, Mrs. Newell steamed open two of the letters. Each contained a hand some cheque, Though the Cardiff giant had been discovered on her husband's land, George Hull was getting the giarit's share of the gate money. When winter came, this pro- portion „increased, Hull openly paid his share for the giant to be moved to an exhibition hall in Syracuse. Here the crowds were greater than ever, And they grew to suffocation when a famous sculptor examined the petrified man and called a Press conference to denounce it as a fraud. A tiny chipping from the giant, he announced, had been ana- lysed. It was neither fossilized stone nor petrified flesh but plain gypsum, the mineral from which plaster of paris is made, By this time, the giant had netted $250,000 in cash. Hull and Newell were now known to be partners and a business syndicate bought out two-thirds of their interest for another $50,000. Yet the cash still kept coming. The Cardiff giant was taken to New York and placarded; "Is it the first man — or a first fake?" Then just down the road show- man Phineas Barnum opened a second giant show as the only original Cardiff giant. A court case ensued. The Hull and Newell group tried to get an injunction to prevent Barnum from displaying a fake. Despite the fact that the famed scientist Emerson still called their giant "a bonafide petrified human be- ing," the application failed. Probing back into George Hull's movements, newspaper- men unmasked a journey he made foer "new machinery" — and learnedlearned of the huge block of gypsum he 'had acquired for a barrel of beer. By scanning transport records they traced this load to the Newell farm. Not far away, also enjoying his share of the profits, they discovered the stone-cutter who had so skilfully hewn the block of gypsum into the giant semb- lance of a man. Confronted with the evidence, Hull and Newell confessed their secret. A bath of sulphuric acid had tinged the gypsum ancient brawn. Fine-pointed mallets had pittede„the surface with minute pores.Y`Tlei "water grooves" had been deilberately cut in the fig- ure. Then it was buried and al- lowed to lie for three _months before being discovered. Oddly enough, however, the confession merely perked up business. Both the Cardiff giant and his Barnum rival still at- tracted record crowds. And the crowds have been coming ever since. As recently as 1939, New York State erected road signs to the Cardiff giant's original grave. The Barnum figure is owned by an Iowa publishing family and regularly trotted out for State fairs. And in the Farmers' Mu- seum the "true" Cardiff giant is now on show free for the first time in his $2,000,000 career. Virgin Births It was discovered some time ago, to general astonishment, that virgin turkeys and chickens once in a while laid fertile eggs, Now the same source (U.S, Dept. of Agriculture Research Center at Beltsville, Md.) has found that an injection of fowl pox vaccine will increase the chances of this curious parthenogenesis. It still isn't known how these very rare virgin births take place, but the ability appears to be genetically transmitted, and can be increased by selective breeding. However, until the boys get some of the loose ends cleaned up, it seems likely that procrea- tion will be carried on by more old-fashioned methods. One of the fatherless young thrice is seven months old. He has crook- ed toes, poor nerve co-ordina- tion and bad eyesight. — From Imperial Oilways. Mariner Extraordinary ,Christopher Columbus, Discov- erer of the New World, was first and foremost a sailor, Born and raised in Genoa, one of the old- est European sea-faring com- munities, as a youth he made several, voyages in the Mediter- *peep, where the greatest mar- iners of antiquity were bred, At the age of twenty-four . , he was thrown into Lisbon, centre of European oceanic enterprise; and there, while employed part- ly on long voyages under the Portuguese flag, he conceived the great enterprise that few but a sailor would have planned, and none but a sailor could have exe- cuted. That enterprise was simply to reach 'The Indies'—Eastern Asia —by sailing west, It took him about ten years to obtain support for this idea, and he never did execute it, because a vast con- tinent stood in the way. America was discovered by Columbus purely by accident and was named for a man who had noth- ing to do with it; we now honour Columbus for doing something that he never intended to do, and never knew what he had done. Yet we are right in so honouring him, because no other sailor had the persistence, the knowledge and the sheer guts to sail thousands of miles into the unkonwn ocean until he found land. This was the most spectacular and most far-reaching geogra- phical discovery in recorded human history. Moreover, apart 'qrom the magnitude of his achievement, Columbus was a highly interesting character. Born at the crossroads between the Middle Ages and the Renais- sance, he showed the qualities of both eras. He had the firm re- ligious faith, the "a priori" rea- soning and the close communion with the Unseen typical of the early Chirstian centuries. Yet he also had the scientific curiosity, the zest for life, the feeling for beauty and the striving for nov- elty that we associate with the advancement of learning. And he was one of the greatest seamen of all time.—From "Christopher Columbus, Mariner," by Samuel Eliot Morison. SMILING THROUGH — Although Christmas is long gone, Ha'nne- lore Zuger, 5, is still missing her two front teeth as she arrives aboard the liner Italia. Waltz Dances On The millions of teenagers how coming under the influence of the waltz must wonder why it was ever frowned eipon here. It's that embrace that caused the trouble. Parents thought wrong to see a young' man take a girl in his arias: and whirl het round the early nineteenth-cell- Wry ballrooms to lifting strains. One of the first reporters to describe the Waite' iii Frankfurt. in 1800' wrote: "The man places the. palms of his hands gentlY against the sides of his partner. net fat from the atitipits. partner does much the genie and instantly With or Meta velocity ea. posaible they teen round and et the same time gradually glide round the topes."' NO dance has had. 86 Many tunes Written for it as. the waltz, dOlionti Strauss, though not its creator, Wag the eineteind master Of Waltz rhythm and walt,z Melee dy.. Ho arid his three One coin , posed between there- eottiethirii like 1,50() Waltzes, j SPLIT PEA SOUP - (Makes about 1 quart) 1/4 pound finely diced salt pork 1 cup coarsely diced onion 1 cup green split peas 1 'large bay leaf 3,4 teaspoon salt pepper to taste 1 quart water 1 large can undiluted evaporated milk Fry salt pork in 3-quart sauce- pan over low heat to golden brown (about 10 minutes): Add onion. Continue cooking over low heat (about 5 minutes). Do not, brown. Add split peas, bay leaf, salt, pepper and water. Cover. Heat to boiling and continue cooking over low heat .(about 1 to 11/2 hours) until peas are com- pletely broken up and smooth. Stir occasionally to prevent stick- - ing. Slowly add evaporated milk. seqeheat, stirring constantly, to „just below the boiling point - (about 2 minutes longer). Re- move bay leaf. Serve at once, SAVORY FISH CHOWDER , (Makes about 2 quarts) 1 pound cubed haddock fillets 2 cups diced raw potatoes 1 cup chopped onion 2 teaspoons salt % teaspoon savory 4/4 teaspoon thyme 4 cups water % cup flour 1' large. can undiluted evaporated milk Simmer' fish, potatoes, onion and seasonings in water in 3- quart saucepan until fish and p'otatoes are tender (about 30 minutes). Combine flour and milk to form a smooth paste. Gradually add to fish-potato stock. Continue to cook over medium heat until thickened and smooth, stirring constantly (about 5 minutes). Serve im- mediately, * TUNA AND POTATOES (Makes 4 to 6 servings) 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour % teaspoon salt pepper to taste 1 large can undiluted evaporated milk 1/4 cup chopped green pepper % teaspoon finely chopped garlic 2 tablespoonsoptlonal)chopped pimiento( 1 cup (6 to 7 ounce can) well- drained, flaked tuna 2 cups cooked, cubed potatOes* % cup grated process-type Canadian cheese Melt butter in top of double boiler over low heat. Add flour, salt arid pepper. Stir until smooth, Slowly add evaporated milk. Place over boiling water. Cook until thickened and smooth (about 10 minutes), stirring On- etantly: Add green pepper, gar- lid; pimiento, tuna• and potatoes. Mix well, Place in buttered 11/2 - quart casserole: Top with grated cheese, Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) about 20 to 25 Minutes. Serve at once, *In place of cooked potatoes, you may use 2 cups cooked hoed] SALMON-MACARONI LOAIV (Makes 9x11X3-itieli loaf) 1 large can undiluted' evaporated % teaspoon salt to 1 teaSpoori dry mustard 1 tablespoon WOteesterShire sauce cups Ounees) grated process-type Canadian cheese' 2 eggs cup dited green popper 14 cup diced pinliento (apticiiial) 2 tablespOOns grated onion 2 taps (1-lb. Slidearl)'ealincire drained and flaked i bitii soft, bread trunibs S cups etiOted elbOW inacarind 010.iTime strip • Fish Returns The. -"strip fish" industry is coming '444 to New, England, they tell us, Just at, first there won't he too inane to get ex- cited over this information be- cause most of us haven't the. elightest idea what "strip .tish". is;or was, But those oldsters who do remember how goed it was are Spreading the glad news and making a lot of - folks anxi- ous to try it. A man from the little fishing town .of Corea in the State of Maine is responsible for its revival, - "Strip --esti" is an old New England dish. Back in the old days when Greet-Grandmother sent you to the store for codfish, you didn't being it back in gleee. jars or neatly packaged, as it is today. It came in eine piece, "a. jib- shaped critter, broad's a sail, three feet from tail to snout," and you carried it by the tail, In those days they split the fish, took out part of the backbone, salted it, then dried it in the sun.. And when it was freshened, you could peel it off in nice, thick strips;. hence "strip fish." Great-Grandfather sometimes • used to like a strip raw, just as his great-grandsons like a piece of smoked salmon. as an hors d'oeuvre today. Hunters and lumbermen often carried these strips in their pockets to eat with their lunches. Salt codfish may not seem a very poetic subject but Holman Day's poem called "A Cure for Homesickness" was very popu- lar, back 58 years ago, when it was published. It was about a State of Maine girl who married and went to Denver to live. She was so homesick that "she grew •. as thin, as a belaying pin." But when she wrote her father that she couldn't stand.. Denver a minute longer, he knew just tershire sauce in saucepan over low heat, to just below boiling point (2 to 3 minutes). Add cheese and stir until thickened and smooth (1 to 2 minutes longer). Pour over corn mixture. Mix well. Place pork sausages on top of casserole. Bake in mo- derate oven (350° F.) about 20 to 25 minutes. Variation: Add 1/2 cup chop- ped green pepper to cheese sauce when adding mustard and steak sauce: what to do, He re :leinherect hew he had felt when he went. to the World's Fair in '93 and he "Went to 131$ ten-cord pile of cock and lie pulled the biggest out! A sib-shaped critter, broad's sail, three feet from tail to snout, And he paeted a sheet of postage stamps from snout elean down to the tail, Put on a quick delivery stamp, and sent the fish by mail." And, the poem goes on, that was all she needed. After she got a good whiff and a good, taste of the fish (probably had "strip fish" for the next meal) she felt better, "and today a happy wife in a happy home, lives out in Denver, Colo." You won't find a recipe for "strip fish" in any of the mod- ern cookbooks, but in her "Ap- pledore Cook Book" published in 1870,,. Mrs. Parloa gives three different recipes for fish. balls, and in each of them she says use the strip fish left over from dinner, writes Nellie Ryder Gates in. The Christian Science Monitor. Mrs. Putnam, in her "Receipt 13eok,3' 1858, gives full directions for this old-time dish. She calls it Dun Fish, You put the Whole fish in a' kettle, soak it over- night, bring it to a boil and "dish it up in a clean napkin on a fish dish; eat it with drawn butter and pork scraps." To make the pork scraps, you cut a quarter pound of salt pork into the tiniest of squares, put them into a frying pan, stirring frequently until all the fat it extracted and the scraps are a light brown. Then you pow them, fat and all, over the fist: and boiled potatoes The potatoes must be boiled, says Mrs. Par. lea, and there--are always beets, Beets are always served with strip fish, says Mrs. Putnam, most emphatically. There was another dish made with "strip fish" which Great, Grandmother called "picked fish." There are many recipes for this in the old cookbooks. "Pick up"- two ,cups of freshened salt fish, they all begin. This simply means, flake the strips with a fork into tiny bits and serve in a white sauce. The potatoes to accompany this must be baked. And of course there are beets. The big question today might be, Will "fish strips" push smoked salmon off the hors d'oeuvres tray? Simmer milk, salt, mustard and Worcestershire sauce in saucepan over low heat to just below boil- ing point (2 to 3 minutes). Add cheese and stir until thickened and smooth (1 to 2 minutes long- er). Beat eggs slightly in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining in- gredients. Mix well. Add cheese sauce. Combine thoroughly. Turn into well-buttered 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F.)'25 to 30 minutes. Allow to stand about 5 minutes before turning out on warm platter. 4, . . CREAMED CORN BEEF (Makes 4 to 6 servings) 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1/1 teaspoon salt '4 teaspoon pepper 1 large can undiluted evapor- ated milk 1 can (12 oz.) corned beef, diced % cup diced celery 1% cup diced green pepper 2 tablespoons chopped pimien- to (optIonal)a 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped Melt butter in top of double boiler over low heat, Add , flour, salt and pepper. ' Stir until smooth. Slowly add milk. Place over boiling water. Cook until thickened and smooth (about 10 minutes),,stirring constantly. Add corned beef, celery, green pepper, pimiento and hard- cooked eggs. Mix well. Continue cooking over hot water about 3 minutes longer. Serve at once over toast or cooked rice or in patty shells. * * * CORN AND SAUSAGE CASSEROLE (Makes 4 to 6 servings) 1 pound pork sausages 3 cups (about 1% 14-oz. cans) well-drained whole kernel corn % cup fine cracker crumbs 2 tablespoons, grated onion 1 large can undiluted evapor- ated milk % teaspoon salt % to 1 teaspoon dry mustard 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 2 cups (8 ounces) grated 'pro- cess-type Canadian. cheese Cook sausages over medium heat until brown. Drain on pa- per towel, Combine corn, crack- er crumbs and onion in buttered 11/2 -quart casserole. Simmer the milk, salt, mustard and Worces- Fooled 'Thousands with Fake Fossil AL'"S A CorAttilktiEL,, .06-4,1( dririct a P'akistan'iat ycolonel's' uniform '64 the left 15, Aty khan, international playboy chid Natio fender. What's happening to the waltz. — the dance that shocked prud- ish people when it was first in- troduced. It's booming, say dance experts all over the world. More and more people of all ages are dancing it, especially . in Europe and the United States. And TV ballroom programmes are helping to rocket it back to its former popularity. The irresistible rhythm of the waltz dates back to the year 1780 when it was merely a simple country dance in Austria and Bavaria, its birthplace, "SECOND" GLANCE AT HISTORY—History of the world, doting from four years before-the birth of Christ through the launching of Spunik I is ;`remembered" by the machine,, above, at the touch of a few keys. A synopsis of stored information for any year then appears in any of 10 languages "konwn" by the machine, on device at top of cabinet, right. "Brain", back- ground, contains discs• mounted vertically on a shaft which. revolves at 1,200 r.p.m. Each disc has many magnetized spots on its surface, each representing a obrtion of the stored information. ... „ .„, . ,.. _........ _ .„ ... . , ... . ., FALSE ALARM.,,,FelioWing Mb -telephoned threats On Catholic ,Archlsothop Richard J. Cushiti.g : , • ..• in. 'beaten, Mass., he- is thieWri lebiget§. St.. Rose's Church in Chelsea where he said -Matt, _Tliii ,. calf tie, Boston ftiliCe headquarters stated a bo mb had been 'planted in Holy Name ttitliedydli where the AtctiblAbiti, usually 'ffsietided:. He le shown -being' 'guarded by .police anti pleitii,, do'ffit ,detbetIvet,, ..