HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1950-6-28, Page 7Where They Really
Weak On Gold q
Ice some time now, the inhabi-
tants of Wedderburn, a little town-
ship in east Australia, have been
walking along their streets and foot-
paths without the least Idea that
they were, literally, walking on gold.
Hold has been in the news before
in those parts, but that was a
century at;o, and, after the great
gold -rush days, interest shifted to
bigger and richer fields such as Ben-
eittn.
From the radio station at Ben-
digo 'Tapley Timms told the story
recently.
"A few weeks ago, Wedderburn
was sleeping peacefully on the
northern Victorian plains, amid
large holdings where farmers har-
vest wheat and graze sheep. Then
a farmer named Smith, acting on a
hunch, clug a hole a few feet deep
in the footpath in a Wedderburn
street and unearthed a nugget of
gold valued at £1,100.
"Soon after, a reporter visiting
the site looked over the paling fence
on the other side of the footpath
incl saw that the quarter acre of
ground inside had been recently
worked over, Soon the secret was
out.
"For three years a retired farmer
named David Buttericic and his
sons-in-law had•been systematically
prospecting that piece of ground,
and had won from it gold nuggets
worth many thousands of pounds,
And the other day the added to this
wealth by turning up yet another
nugget worth £800.
"When I visited Wedderburn I
found Mr, Butterick and his sons-
in-law still at work, Mr. Smith still
delving in the street outside, and
people far and near staking claims
in the streets. They are digging
holes and slaking shafts in the
roadways in Wedderburn now, and
local residents are tearing up their
front gardens and their backyards
in the search for gold. The police
are hard it to it to deal with the
people who are coming from Ben-
digo, from Melbourne, 150 miles
away, and even from other Aus-
tralian states to peg out claims,
"But the inside story, the begin-
ning of this gold fever at Wedder-
burn, was the careful, plodding work
begun three years ago by David
Puttericle and his sons-in-law, Bill
Matthews and Rex Chapman. Mat-
thews told one the story:
"'About three years ago my
father-in-law, Mr. Dave liuttcrick,
purchased a plot of land from the
tank of Australasia. He had s hunch
that there was gold in it, and he
invited all of his sons-in-law to dig.
"'I e'as fortunate enough to be
on holiday at the time, and I sank
a hole into this groutid, and was
lucky enough to come upon a nugge,
weighing seven ounces. I drove into
this hole and found the run of the
gold.
"'My father-in-law notified the
brothers-in-law to cone up and dig
in their leisure time, and we have
mined thousands of pounds' worth
of gold. At the present time we
ere hunting for a reef called Cherki
--which, in the old days, was very
rich—and I think, with luck, we
should come upon this reef.' "
Caterpillar Won
Immortal Fame
Most amazing plant that Nature
has produced is probably the cac-
tus. Experiments made by scien-
tists in the Mexican deserts have
shown that after hours of baking
in the blazing sun, the sand in which
the plants have to grow may reach
a temperature of 200 degrees Fah-
renheit—not far short of boiling
point.
Yet so perfectly are the cacti
protected by their skins that a
thermometer placed inside the body
of a specintent plant only showed
a temperature of 55 degrees.
Cacti are able to retain their
moisture for an astonishingly long
time. An American Giant Cacti was
taken up and kept without water.
'She plant lived for one year and
mine months.
Not even man can conquer the
cactus when it gains a hold in bar-
ren lands, The first prickly pear
cactus was taken to Australia from
South America in 1788. By 1870 it
was completely out of control,
It latmched a veritable crusade
of destruction, spreading over the
land and leaving devastation in its
wake. It was the vegetable equiva-
lent of the biblical flood, .
Meadows, fields, prairies, entire
farms were covered with, impene-
trable thickets of cactus, Australia
was quite helpless .10 the face of it
all.
Then in the Argentine scientists
discovered a small black caterpillar
striped with black and orange and
• known as "Cactoblastis Cactorum."
It was found that this creature loved
to devour the soft pulp of the cactus
from the uppermost tip to the deep-
est root, Once honoured with a
visit front this little guest, the cactus
never recovers. 11 withers Away.
The first 2,200,000 caterpillars
were let loose in Queensland in
J.026, They fulfilled all expectations,
so mulch so that a monument was
erected at Chinchilla to this tiny
benefactor that tneastires no more
than four-fifths of an inch.
Some thorns of the prickly pear
cactus are twelve to fifteen inches
in length. No wonder it is sometimes
used in tropical countries for hedg-
ing. It is more effective than barb-
ell wire,
BJ.€
elate Andtiews.
Between early spring and late
autumn most "boys"—ages ranging
from 6 to 60—get the chance, or
make the chance, to go fishing,
Which is all right too, and just as
it should be,
But when they bring home their
"trophies"'and expect the woman
of the house to turn out—on short
notice—a tempting fish dinner, it's
—well, it's well to have a little
knowledge, as well as plenty of
patience.
So I hope these hints will be help.
ful. They refer, of course, to fresh-
water fish — products of ponds,
creeks, lakes, rivers and brooks—
rather than the salt -water varieties.
Some of the hints, by the way, go
for the men -folk too.
* * *
First responsibility for the suc-
cess of the fish dinner that may
follow such trips rests squarely on
the person who catches the fish.
Fish should be cleaned soon after
they are caught, except in coldest
weather, and not carried around in
creel or boat uncleaned.
* * *
If a fish is cut open, the gills and
entrails removed, and the blood
along the backbone scraped out
with the thumbnail, it will keep
even in midsummer. Ignore those
experts who say water should never
touch a cleaned fish, Use all the
water you wish, but wipe the fish
dry with grass or cloth. Never let
one fish touch another, if you want
to preserve natural markings.
* * *
SCALING THE FISH
Trott need no further prepara-
tion for cooking, but other fish must
be scaled or skinned. It's a wise
man who scales the neatly cleaned
fish he brings home, because his
wife then won't object to future
trips.
* * *
Most fish are easy to scale, but
the brilliant yellow perch is an ex-
ception. Dip it briefly in boiling
water, and it will shed its scales as
a molting chicken does feathers.
Catfish (a country favorite in many
places) must be skinned, There's
more than one way to skin a cat-
fish, but the easiest method is to
put the fish in a pan and pour
scalding water over it. The skin
then strips off like tissue paper. It
beats nailing the fish to a board
and pulling off the skin with pliers.
* * *
DO'S AND DON'TS IN
COOKING
Cooking fish is more a matter of
don'ts than following any intricate
recipes. There arc only a few basic
ways to prepare fish—baking, broil-
ing, steaming, pan-frying, with their
several variations of planking,
poaching, and frying in deep fat.
* * *
Please Don't. There are three en-
emies of success in cooking fish—
too much heat, too much cooking,
and too strong sauces. There-
fore . . .
* * *
Don't turn on the heat full blast.
Fish is a delicate protein food and
needs gentle heat.
Smaller fish (trout, blue -gills,
bream, perch, sunfish, which some
call panfish, and catfish) should re-
ceive a protective covering before
being fried. A personal favorite is
made thus: Roll the fish in Hour sea-
soned with salt and pepper; dip into
a beaten egg which has been diluted
with half an eggshell of milk; then
roll again in another seasoned mix-
ture of half flour, half bread crumbs.
This serves for ordinary pan-frying
or deep -fat frying. In pan-frying, I
like; the fat hot for the first fear
minutes. Potting in the coated fish
enols it quickly, and then the heat
should be turned down, When the
sheath browns nicely, the fish usually
is done.
* * *
Don't soother hold, delicate
freshwater fish in hot and heavy
sauces, Creole and similar sauces
are tine for stranger -flavored, salt-
water fish, but plain lemon butter
(4 tablespoons butter melted with
- 1 teaspoon lemon juke and
teaspoon pepper added) is belle^
for fresh -water species.
A very mild sauce for baked fish
can he made by blending into a
cep of plain white sauce one of the
following: 25 t'up diced cooked
celery, or 2 teaspoons prepared mus-
tard, or eup grated Canadian
cheese.
* M *
Tartare sauce is delicious with
fish of any sort. One of the best
recipes for it: 1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped pickle, 1
tablespoon chopped olives, 2 tea-
spoons minced onion, 1 tablespoon
chopped parsley, nixed immedi-
ately before serving.
* * *
Here is an easily made fish sauce:
cup sweet cream whipped and
mixed with /2 cup freshly grated
horse -radish or carefully drained
prepared horse -radish. Chill in re-
frigerator and serve cold on hot
dish.
* * *
PLEASE DO. If you really like
a lemon flavor with fish, sprinkle
lemon juice on the fish after it
is cleaned, before storing in the
refrigerator. The flavor penetrates
nicely.
* * *
If pan-frying and you wish to
elminate the small hones some fish
Possess, make scoring cuts length-
wise from tail to near head, 141.
inch apart and deep enough to
touch the larger rib bones. When
fried in fairly deep fat, the tiny
loose bones will crisp so that they
can be eaten.
* * *
'Well, any "fish story" seems to
have strung itself out longer than
1 thought it would, so I won't
have space to tell you anything
about these recipes I'm passing
along—except to say that they've
till been tried and pronounced
good.
* , *
Springtime Pie
1 Cup Finely Diced Rhubarb
1 Cup Diced Pineapple, Fresh
or Canned
1 Cup Cooked, Pitted Prunes
% Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Quick -Cooking
Tapioca
TA Recipe Plain Pastry
2 Tablespoons Butter or Marg-
arine
2 Egg Whites
4 Tablespoons Sugar
Combine the rhubarb, pineapple,
prunes, 14 cup sugar and tapioca.
Pour into a pastry -lined 9 -inch pie
pan. Dot with butter. Bake in a hot
oven (425° F.) for 15 minutes. Re-
duce beat to 350° F. and bake 30
minutes longer. Beat the egg
whites until stiff but not dry. Add
stigar a tablespoon at a time, beat-
ing until mixture forms stiff peaks.
15 to 20 minutes 'before serving. If
Spread lightly over top of pie and
bake in a moderate oven (350° F.)
you wish, chill pie and serve with
sweetened whipped creatn in place
of the Meringue. This recipe stakes
one 9 -inch pie.
Mother Of The Bride—Few mothers live to enjoy their chil-
dren's Golden Wedcling anniversary, so 90 -year-old Mrs. Janet
Terry, center, is right proud of being the west of honor at the
mid -,June Golden Wedding party of her daughter end son, in-.
law, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Watt,
Took Fatrhidden ""Holiday In Heaven
Goes Back To Spread The Truth
Temporary Escape—Bate Germany's Max samples life in West Berlin with a chocolate sundae.
His West Berlin hosts made sure Max's picture \vas taken with his back to the camera.
By David S. Boyer
BERLIN (NEA)—Sixteen-year-
old Max Bruener (which is not
really his name), from Russia's
Communist Germany, took a for-
bidden holiday in heaven—then he
sneaked back home behind the Iron
Curtain, determined to tell the truth
about Western Germany.
lvfax was one of 500,000 members
of the Russian -Zone Free German
Youth organization (the F.D.J.)
who staged a week-long Communist
rally in the eastern sector of Berlin,
3 -le was one of several who defied
Communist police orders not to
enter the Allied sectors of the city.
One day soon he may add his
name to the ever-growing list of
F.D.J:'ers who escape to the west
for good. Because, as Max put it
himself, "I know what's going 011
now 1"
Max canto to Berlih "because I
wanted to find out for myself why
the police had forbidden F.D.J.'ers
to see West Berlin.
* * *
For five days, Max successfully
crossed Communist police lines, but
not without being arrested, scolded,
threatened.
Once in the Allied sectors, Max,
penniless, could do nothing but
roam the streets. He had to clutch
empty tists in his trouser pockets
as he gaped at the fruit, the candy,
the meat and the ice cream on sale
everywhere.. His stomach stayed
empty, but his heart grew full.
When he went back at night to
his daily rally ration of a half pound
of black bread and the sante of
sausage, he carried with hire visions
of a better world.
Then, on the fifth day, Max was
no longer broke. We picked him up
and showed him Berlin in style.
At the auto show, he was a hero.
The Germans were delighted at
Max's temporary escape from the
Iron Curtain. But they insisted his
picture be taken from behind. They
knew what would happen i' he were
ever identified back hone.
* * *
"Can anybody go into the cafes?"
Max asked. In his city of nearly
200,000, he said, only Russians are
allowed in the one decent cafe six
days a week. On the seventh, only
wealthy Germans and Communist
functionaries could afford it.
As he lapped up chocolate sun-
daes at a sidewalk table at Cafe
.Wien, Max got the answer,
Suddenly, Max was confronted
by a Communist party organizer,
an F.D.J. leader checking up on
runaway children. The party man
managed to get out about 10 words
of abuse. Then he was surrounded
by 50 West Germans.
k * *
West police saved the Communist
from a bad mauling. They warned
him and released him. Moments
later, two more runaway F.D.],'ers
slipped into Cafe Wien and ap-
proached Mote.
"For heaven's sake, be careful,"
they whispered. "The place is full
of spies!"
"I know what I'm doing," Max
replied. "You saw what happened.
That incident convinced me. The
West Germans don't hate us. They
just hate the Communist system. I
know who's been telling the lies,
and I'm out to spread a little truth."
Max said he'd have to be very
careful about whom he spoke the
truth to behind the Iron Curtain.
But he said he would speak.
Of 500,000 F.D.J.'crs in Berlin,
only a handful had Max's experi-
ence. Their voices will be small
against those who stayed behind
the police lines and listened to Com-
munist stories about the capitalist
evils across the street.
Apricot -Spice Cake
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups water
1 cup dried apricots, cut in small
pieces
Vs cup butter or margarine
teaspoon cinnamon
teaspoon cloves
teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Combine the brown sugar, water,
dried apricots, butter, nutmeg, cin-
namon, cloves and salt in a sauce-
pan. Simmer 8 minutes, Let cool
to .lukewarm. .Sift .together .the
flour, soda and baking powder. Add'
to first mixture, stirring only 1111111
ingredients are well blended. Pour
into a greased loaf pan and bake in
a moderate oven (350° F.) 40 to 45
minutes. Cool before slicing. Serve
plain or sprinkled with sifted con-
fectioner's sugar. Makes 1 loaf.
Cheese -Rice Ring
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margar-
ine
1% cups canned tomatoes
3% cups cooked rice
teaspoon salt
54 teaspoon pepper
1% cups grated sharp cheese
Saute onion and green pepper in
butter. Acrd tomatoes and rice.
Simmer until rice has absorbed the
liquid. Add salt, pepper and cheese.
Stir until cheese melts, Pack into a
greased ring mold. Unmold and fill
centre with scrambled eggs. Makes
6 to 8 servings.
Cottage -Garden Salad
5 slices bacon
3 cups creamy cottage cheese
1 tablespoon chopped onion
10 radishes, sliced
cup top milk or light cream
teaspopon salt
54 teaspoon pepper
Fry bacon until crisp. Drain and
crumble in small bits. Combine
with the cottage cheese, onion,
parsley, radishes, mills, salt and
pepper. Serve small amounts of the
mixture in lettuce cups and garnish
with tomato wedges and green -
pepper rings. Mikes 8 to 10 serv-
ings.
Butane Lighter
New cigarette lighter lights 2,700
tintes without refill. Lighter uses
butane gas cartridge, has no wick,
wheel cap. Model is desk size;
produces jetlike flame when lever
is pressed. Flame goes out when
lever pressure released.
",Matt.
A. MOTORIST in I'aci,,c ];tangy
Calif,, last a wheel off his trailer.
He watched it roll into the hands of
a man who loaded it into his ria
and htirriedfy drove away.
HOW ONE RURAL CHURCH
PAID S FF ITS DEBT
Members of rural churches laden
with debt—and, unfortunately, there
are many such—will be interested
itt the story of how one congrega-
tion put across the idea of an old-
fashioned farm auction. Tilts rural
Methodist church in Iowa put on
a benefit at which over $70,000
worth of goods and livestock was
offered for sale. The result was so
gratifying that now the church,
which started five years ago with
a "God's Acre" plan for raising
funds, has paid off all indebtedness.
Also it has been remodeled into a
community center as well as a
place of worship. The story is
told by H. O. Brennan in "Success-
ful Farming."
* * *
The idea was born the day a
church committee pitched in to help
the new minister, the Reverend
Wesley Frank, unload his house-
hold goods. The Reverend Mr.
Frank, who has been a farm pastor
for 23 years, had brought along a
dozen pullets. But be found the
chicken coopfilled with surplus
lumber, doors, and ,windows which
were left over frothe church re-
modeling.
Bringing out an armload of lum-
ber, one of the man asked, "Wryly
not have a sale -and dispose of this
surplus?" Someone else suggested
they ask the church members for
• donations of livestock to make it
a bigger sale, That conversation led
to a general church meeting where
plans for the sale were made,
The backbone of the planning
was done by five farmer -members
of the church, with their minister.
Leonard Dittmer, who manages a
herd of Holstein cows on his place
near the church, was chairman. Onc
{member suggested that they solicit
merchandise from dealers in the
nearby towns of Algona and Burt,
to be sold on a commission basis.
Phis idea later proved very profit -
For two weeks prior to the sale
stay, these five men went about their
community soliciting donations and
publicizing the sale,
Everyone responded. Onc rhureli
member offered an electric cream
separator, A farm homemaker gave
a used coal cookstove. 'There was
a prize Ilerefdrd steer, five gal-
lons of house paint, a new half -
ton pickup truck, and a rase of
soap powder. And so it went—hun-
dreds anti hundreds of items, little
and big, front turkeys to tractors,
Some were given outright and some
on a percentage basis,
When dealers in nearby towns,
were solicited, they offered dozens:
of new and used appliances, trucks,
ears, and farm machines on com-
mission.
Commission rates for the church's
share were:
Items worth up to $200, 15 per
cent; $200 to $400, 10 per cent;
$400 and up, 775 per cent.
Percentage items accounted for
alnnost half the day's profits.
How does the work get done on
a farm sale like this?
"The important thing," says the
Reverend Mr. Frank, "is to give
e'ceryone a place on a committee.
This makes for a spirit of coopera-
tion that lightens the hard work
necessary for such a project"
What conunitteet do you need?
Well, the 600d *opt men appoint-
ed sevens, j(t igdditjon to the planners
who handled the soliciting and
publioity.
1. Fence and Tent Committed,
They build pelts and fences dor
livestock and put up a large tent
for display of appliances. They
erected a sturdy platform where the
equipment was auctioned off.
2. Livestock and Donated Articles
This group supervised the loading
and unloading of items given for
sale.
3. Checking -in Committee. These
men hooked and tabulated each
item and signed contracts with
each person who brought articles
on a percentage basis. They evalu-
ated merchandise and recordedcash
gifts given.
4. The Parking Committee, 'ik
church -board member opened his
cornfield near the church for a
parking area, and this committee
directed the traffic.
5. Reception Committee. This
committee, headed by the Rever-
end Mr. Frank, conducted visitors
around the remodeled church.
7. Police Conmtittee. Some of
the younger men of the church
served as guards over sale items.
On the day of the auction, cars
began to pour into the parking
space in the morning. Bidding be-
gan at 10:30. The spirit of the bid-
ding :soon caught on, and mer-
chandise began to stove.
One ' of- the new cars was bid
up to within $10 of list price. Two
bidders wanted it, so the dealer
who had offered it on percentage
sold each of then a like model
and gave 755 per cent of the pro.'
fits to the church. About 1 o'clock
a box of roosters was put up for
sale, given back, and resold until
it brought in $80. In the middle
,of the afternoon, just for fun, some-
one brought in a mule. It was
sold and resold until it netted $117.
One committeeman brought a fine
dairy cow to the sale and bought
it back himself, paying a good price
for it and donating the amount
to the church.
Even the minister's 5 -year-old sou
David, got interested in the sale
when a Bantam mother hen and
her six tiny chicks went on the
block. As a joke, some farmer
friends outbid the minister, then
presented the Banties to little
David.
The sale was a social affair as
well as a fund-raising project. The
Women's Service 'Unit served
homemade soap, sandwiches, and
hot coffee all day. At noon they
cooked a good dinner.
Everyone helped. The newspapers
in nearby towns ran big ads and
printed thousands of sale bills free.
A flying -farmer friend of the church
scattered the bills from his plane,
The auctioneers gave their ser-
vices, and an Algoma bank clerked
the sale. The County Fair Board
supplied the big tent, and the High- •
way Department loaned thick
planks for its floor. A local cream-
ery provided hot water in cream
cans for the kitchen,
The key to this success was the
spirit of the congregation. As a
local editor remarked about the
sale, "It was like a steam roller.
When the bidding got started, the
committee had a tough time put-
ting- on the brakes."
Crusty Crunchy Di N ER ROLLS
• They're really ritzy— and no
trouble at all to make, with new
Fleischmann's Royal Fast Rising
Dry Yeast! Gives you fast action
—light doughs—and none of
the bother of old tine perishable
yeast! Get a dozen packages —
keeps full strength without
refrigeration!
CRUSTY DINNER ROLLS
• Measure into a large bowl 1/2
c. lukewarm water, 1 tsp. granu-
lated sugar; stir until sugaris dis-
solved. Sprinkle with 1 envelope
Fleischtnano's Royal Fast Rising
Dry least. Let stand 10 mins„
TI•Ii1N stirc. lukewel
Add y4l.
warnt water and
1 tsp. salt. Add, all at once, 3l/2 c,
once -sifted bread flour and work
in with the hands; work in 3 tbs.
soft shortening. Knead of lightly -
floured board until smooth and
elastic. Place in greased bowl.
Corer with a damp cloth and set
in warm place, free from draught.
Let rise until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough its bowl, fold
over, corer and again let rise un-
til dotrbled in bulk. 'nun out on
lightly.fiourecl board and divide
into 2 equal portions; shape each
piece into a long roll about
in diameter. Cover with a damp
cloth and let rest 15 mins, Using
a floured sharp knife, rut dough
into 2" lengths ;end place, welt
apart, of ungreased cookie sheets.
Sprinkle rolls with cornmeal and
let rise, uncovered, for 1/2 hour,
Brush with cold water and let
rise another 1/2 hour, Meanwhile,
stand a broad -shallow pan of hot
water in the oven and. preheat
oven to hot, 425°. Remove pan
of water from oven and bake the
rolls in steam -tilled oven for 1/
hour, brushing them with cold
water and sprinkling lightly with
cornmeal after the hest 15 mins.,
and again brushing them with
cold water 2 minutes before re.
moving baked inns - from the
oven. Yield -18 rolls.
51'.'1. t^',.:i