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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-01-09, Page 3Making Way For l The Parlour Stove Along this time of year, when the chillier air worked through the walls, a great rural indoor sport was setting up a stove - and that, ,too, has passed. I hear no complaints, although setting up a stove left memories to .cherish. - We know now that the old Parlor heater was an inefficient machine, doing poorly a job that modern knowledge, has made precise. But it was also far ahead of the open hearth, and for this reason was frequently plugged into a header in the throat of a fireplace or was fed into a bricked -up front on the fireplace - although it could also go into a thimble in the wall where no fireplace had ever been. This last arrangement - some- times set fire to the wallpaper, or at least brpught creosote clown to make interesting pat- terns. We had one pattern, in an upstairs bedroom, which looked just like the old prints of Lincoln's Cabinet, beards and all. The severe and unadorned. lines of modern functional de- vices make me wonder what perversion of thought led to some of the ornamentations on the old parlor heaters. There were smallish airtights which came plainer, but for real style youhad to have one with bunches of grapes and draperies held back with bows -all done M cast iron. The stove was in- tended to heat the room, but it would sit there beautifying the P arlor at the same time. As the season drew on, the women would rearrange the furniture and make way for the stove. There was usually a sheet of tin, sometimes decorously etched with ferns and filigrees, and you had to move the rug back. On this tin would be plac- ed four glass cups for the stoVe- legs and then the men were told to bring in the heater. The stove had been taken out of the parlor the previous spring, when the weather had warmed, and this gave more room for family affairs when the parlor was used much less often. During the summer, unless it rained, we'd be outdoors, or off in our own rooms, and we sel- dom used the parlor. It was in winter, who the rest of the house; except the kitchen, was cold that we needed the parlor. So the stove might just as well, PIGEONHOLED - Taking n o chances with any of their total of 54 lives, six precious felines play it safe in lockers at a Frankfurt, Germany, railroad station.They were en route to the Seventh International Cat Show in the city. really, have been left set up all summer. But that wasn't the way of it. When, the stove was taken out, we had to thump the sections of pipe behind the barn and brush out all the soot. We had to clean out the wood ashes and see if the grates were all right.Grates failed now and then, usually because the ashes built up under them and they got too hot. A; clear stove burned, brighter and grates lasted lotiger: Anyway, : when we got the stove all cleaned for' -summer storing, we would anoint the stove with sweet oil, using a rag and a small brush. The stove. would presently shine as Aaron did when the ointment ran down, and it would smell like an Arabian boudoir Then we would lay a cloth over it, push it back against the shed wall and leave it until autumn. Nobody liked to set up or take down a stove. It was heavy and tricky, and either full' of soot or covered with oil. There were things known as stove casters, and if you owned a set you could move it around nicely. We never owned any, and always lugged. Going through doors was a real maneuver. Most door .jambs, between the parlor and the shed, had chunks out of them where stove legs had struck. True, you could knock the legs out of tneir sockets and handle them separately, but then you ran the risk of setting the stove down with your fin- gers in the way. A man who was moving a stove and found him- self pinned to the floor by his fingers was usually a voluble and expressive character even though at other times he might appear taciturn and bashful. The man who had rnoved a stove could be told by the full flavor of sweet oil which surrounded him. It clung. When a stove was being set up, the pipe was always a ques- tion. It might go together easily, and it might' not. A pipe which fitted exactly last spring seem- ed peculiarly reticent about it in the fall. But it would eventu- ally fit, and next came a small fire to burn off the oil and check the draft. This filled the house with a characteristic aroma belonging to once -a -year things, and was not so pleasant as some other aromas. Sweet oil, all but ablaze is not so sweet. This stench was immediately added to by the chore of blacking the stove - for which a cake of patent shine was dissolved in a saucer of vinegar. I do not know why vinegar was used, but it may. have been . to neutralize the sweet -ail, the way you might burn down a house to remove the paint. The liquid blacking was swabbed on and ,burnished with flannel rags, and it would sizzle' on the hot stove and bring tears to eyes away out in the barn. I don't know why they couldn't. black, A call stove, but they couldn't. Then winter would set in and the parlor would be het. Some stoves cooled down as fast as they got hot, but the ornament- ed ones would keep the heat long after the fire had dwindled. But never long enough to last the night. In the morning the parlor always had a left -over atmosphere of gloom and stale popcorn, vinegar and sweet oil, cold wood ashes and contracted cast iron, and it was cold. It's _been many years now since I've heard anybody call, "Hey! Come give us a hand with the stove!" -By John Gould' in "The Chris- tian Science MOnitor" "Yes," said the, explorer, "once I was so hungry that I dined off my pet parrot." "What was it like?" "Oh, very nice." "Yes, but what did it taste like?" • "Oh, turkey, chicken, wild duck, plover ... that bird could imitate anything." e CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Collision 6 Distant 5. Title 13, Proportion 13. Capital or Brazil • 14. r4arden tool 16. Coral Island 16. Impenetrable hardness. 13. Sarni 10. Barrier 21, wile measure. 22. nt:lee t 24. Clear profit 20. Mirth. • 20. Ascended 22. Palo, ]ea r 38. Method SG. Foolish lie}•son 22; 'Favorite 20. 'Injure 11. lttilkfIsh ,13. Resinous substance 44 Skillful 48. Disencumber 'BD, Bulgarian.. enin 02. Road .s;;rfac ing material 133, Incomplete se, Harden Oar.) 58.. Wat01, narrowly 88. Stageof lite 1t, BHuilding ■ite '5 allow j f DOWN, 5, Trade seLneau�ntty 10 Nilectrla - 35. Spangled particle - 87, Spread hay 11. Steep 17, Marble 20. Dog 33, Obese 26. Dr1de S. Make - . hold ng 40. Clock fact reparation 27. Samuel's 61. Part of 4. Yellow ocher mentor speech 6• Retain t actures 0. Se,r1.-t 63' church -7 Ansistenee 11. Dress -stun. 64. Affirmative 6. Wander .Seaslr 1 .,u'1 vote 11,Orllttle 21 11 rerei( _ `15, Past depth l reel 57. Nothing 40. Polo stick 93. Holda sessiop 42, Musical stud) 416. Passage money 47 Ringlet 1111®®111.011N1111 11110 11111i1111 ®1111:x 11111® 1111:4. NMI RE ®11111111 7 roil :'e ®1111 30 u+°®RUM MINIM ®11®1111®M®®11®1111 ®® <�®JI`:•: 1111. 11®1111::e::a:®11®a%'::i1®®1110 Answer elsewhere on thia 'page. BEAUTY AND THE BUCKET -Obviously not cow ed by the task at hand, pretty Barbara David is quite a handy girl to have around the form. The 19 -year-old displayed enough farming ability to be named "Queen of the Agriculture Barnwarmed Dance". - ME FARM FRONT Jokulatssea Canada isn't the only place where the' farm problem is troublesome to the powers -that - be. In the United States the latest idea designed to stem over -production is to put entire . farms - not just certain un- productive acreage - "on the shelf." The following from Washington will give you a bet- ter idea of what I refer to. * * * The administration badgered by continued farm surpluses, is prepared to resort to'extraordi nary measures to reduce farm production. It would remove whole farms from production by paying farm- ers to turn their entire crop- land over to government conser- vation projects. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, in his second sen- sational press conference within the past fortnight, has announced that the program is being put into effect on a trial basis in four states - Illinois, Maine, Nebraska, and Tennessee. The unusual feature of this new, bold attempt to beat the costly and uneconmic surplus problem is that farmers will name the price at which - they are willing to enter into this contract with the government. "Bids,' they are called. The Department of Agriculture may .. accept or reject these bids, "on the basis of the lowest acceptable offers." This differs from past practice in that under the regular con- servation r e s er v e procedure, farmers have no opportunity t0 suggest a price, but are offered specific per -acre annual • pay- ments for land put to conserva- tion crops. There is no doubt that the new plan was prompted by the fail- ure of the soil bank to pull any large amount of land out of pro- duction and reduce surpluses. The all-out effort now will be to concentrate on the long-range, conservation program as the bet- ter solution. Making it worth while for the farmer to put his whole farm to conservation crops will remove the incentive to turn remaining acres over to price -supported crops already in surplus. Secretary Benson's announce- ment of the four -state "trial pro- gram" followed a similar pro- posal by the Committee on Economic Development. The CED estimated that the cost of retir- ing whole farms would be costly, but less costly in the long run than the present program. * * * If the trial program proves successful, ;• it Will be extended to other states. To make the offer more attractive, the government will increase its maximum pay- ment from $5,000 to $10,000 un- der the new "bid" procedure "thus enabling larger farms to participate with all eligible • land." Secretary Benson feels that while the new. program is on a very tentative, "trial" basis, that It offers real promise. The program, in essence, is. seen as-representingone of the most revolutionary' ventures in agriculture. The effort to take whole farms • out of arop produc- tion • appears to corroborate the, often -repeated claim that the basic problem is one,of too many farms and too many farmers. *' 6 * The administration already has taken initial steps •in this direc- tion ire-tion through the rural develop- ment program, designed to help unsuccessful farmers find full- time or parttime work in nearby cities, "The whole program," as Sec- retary Benson put it, "is aimed at reducing the size . of the agri- cultural plant and preserving it ,.. in a good state of conservation until such time as 'additional crop production may be needed" The Agriculture Department' is preparing to re -appraise the soil bank feature of the farm pro- gram, which expires in 1959, with a view to terminating it even sooner if it seems feasible. * * * Surplus disposal programs have defeated their own ends, under this formula, by boosting - price supports and encouraging more production. For some time the administra- tion has advocated an end to acreage allotments for corn and the treatment of all grains fed to livestock as one commodity. Otherwise, land taken out of corn production has simply been sown to other feed grains, creat- ing new surpluses. * * * All this is obviously part of a vigorous attempt to revamp the farm program, and approach Congress with new recommen- dations for cutting back persist- ent surpluses and at the same time keeping a steady floor un - FALLING OUT OF FAVOUR After Jean Coupe, the famous French paratrooper, jumped 22,- 965 feet in 143 seconds before pulling the ripcord, and thereby setting a new world record, he was arrested by the army au- thorities and put in the guard- house for eight days for violating regulations ,which forbid para- troopers jumping from heights exceeding 9,842 feet without car- rying oxygen equipment, der farm income. Secretary Benson is almost certain to ask authority for more flexibility in the adjust- ment of price supports, now limited to a range of 75 to 90 per cent in most major crops. The regular conservations re- serve program will be continued - that is, the retirement of land to conservation crops at the gov- ernment -set price per acre. Un. - der the new I'bid" procedure designed to encompass entire farms, contraets will call for diversion of crop land to trees and conservation gains. SLAPSTICKERS-Veteran Hollywood writer -producer -director Hal Kanter thinks there's too much talky -talky comedy in the movies, so he has come up with"Once Upon a Horse", a zany film reviving the old whang-bang-socko slapstick technique. Here's Kanter, background, clowning it up between scenes with cast members Dick Martin, left, Martha Hyer and Dan Rowan. UNDAYSCil00l LESSON By Rev. R, Barclay Warren B.A., B.D. The Church's One, Foundation Memory Selection He is the head of the body, the churcht who is the beginning, the 'first born from the dead; that an: all things he might have the pre- eminence. Colossians 1:18. The general subject forthe lessons for this quarter is, "New Testament Teaching About The Church." We shall study the origin, natureand mission of the Christian church. Jesus worked with his foster - father, Joseph, in the carpenter shop. But during the course of His short ministry He said, "I will build My church." He was - - not thinking of a building o4 wood or stone but of that great body of called -out ones who would believe that He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He is still building. People of different races and colour are believing on Him as Saviour and Lord and becoming a part of the church. What is the foundation of the church? When Simon Peter made the great confession, Jesus replied, "Blessed art thou, Si- mon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto the; but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." The Greek word for Peter is petros and the word for rock is petra. The first is mas- culine and the second is femin- ine. Petros is a rock or stone whereas petra is a rock, a crag, a ledge or shelf of rock. Peter was a fragment of the great foundation. The revelation which he had received from the Father concerning the identity of Jesus qualified him to be part of the foundation. This harmonizes with the other re- ference to the foundation in this lesson, "The foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." The keys are the symbol of authority. In Matthew 18:18 they were conferred upon all ' ' the apostles. They were given power to bind and loose signi- fying to forbid and to allow. God was to endorse the deci- sions of these holy men of God. It is encouraging to note that when Jesus said, "I will build my church," he ' added, "And the gates of hell shall not :prey vail against it." Communism .le advancing and some tremble for the outcome. The Builder was confident. Fear not, the church will triumph. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking MOmoo mom o® MOM 1M ©IDD MBE EMMME oon©oio BOB MEW 010 MEM EOM 000E EMMET! BEE MOMMOO EOM BEM BEER Mtn© ©MO ©®r BMEIMOOM MORD ©LJI J 0®0 DII©[7E`i Ell® OUM MOO©E it starts as calf on range, is later shipped to a corn belt farm.,. competition determines price of these expensive cuts - This has direct bearing on number of cattle farmer will raise next season. O , since over half the 450 lbs, goes into low-priced items, his profit must come from more expensive cuts RELATIVELY, MEAT 1S .CHEAP TO EARN A POUND OF MEAT --- LABORER WORKED. IN 1919 ... IN 1955 . 45 MINUTES 19 MINUTES 0 who can sell about 450 lbs. of this to consumer. He must figure at least 10c/lb. for readying meats, And .. . w.�y. where it may consume over 11/2 tons of feed before sale. Farmer sells 1,000 -Ib. •steer for about 25c/Ib.•to packer , .. 0 , who processes about 400 lbs. of this himself, sells re- maining 600 lbs. for about 401/2c/lb, to retailer, d INEA Newsthartl WHY IS MEAT SO DEAR? -This is a question of. chart above shows, the history of a steak fro process. Cattle, sheep and swine convert Iarg is nutritious and flavorful and a concentrate American homemaker is spending a smaller incorie for meat (see centre box). While many slaughtering, processing, distribution and reto Is doing .a competent and efficientjob of servi ten asked by Mrs. Homemaker. But as news - m range to frying pan tjs a long and expensive e quantities of grain and grass into meat which d source of protein and energy. Actually, the and smaller percentage of her disposabtln minorimprovements can yet be mode to the it business, meat. experts say, 'he industry today. ng the co"usumer inexpensively.