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The Seaforth News, 1958-05-15, Page 2Sausage Was Spy's Secret Weapon. On a bright, summer 'morn- ing a solemn, dignified Mother Superior cycled along •a French road from her convent to the village, where the siek and needy awaited her. Rounding a corner, she ran into the rear of at hay -cart and fell, the contents of the basket on the handlebars spilling on to the road, Down from the wagon scram- bled cram -bled' the driver. His face blanch- ed under his tan when he saw who the cyclist was. He shud- dered as two Gestapo men, who had commandeered a lift, also climbed down. "Dolt!" exclaimed one of them. "Help the good. Mother to collect her things." And he bent down to pick up the nun's possessions. The driver, a member of the Maquis, moved slowly, stiff with fear, for he knew what was in the loaf of bread, now broken at the corners, and in the roll of sausage now lying al- most at the Gestapo man's feet, "Thank you," said the Mother Superior calmly, as the German picked up and handed her the loaf, then the sausage. The driv- er, recovering his wits, retrieved the Sacred Heart cards that were scattered on the ground. "Have a piece of sausage, my Son," the nun urged him kindly. He bit into it carefully to avoid ehe explosive hidden in its fill- ing. She smiled and gently made the sign of the cross. That night the sausage and Ioaf, which also contained ex- plosive, helped to blow a gap in a bridge as an ammunition train crossed it, At the same time, ten miles away in the town, a Gestapo office containing re- cords of French Resistance sus- pects suddenly burst into flame. The full instructions for these concerted acts had been written in invisible ink on the Sacred Heart cards, between the lines of prayer. The success of the operations had depended on their safe delivery — and the Mother Superior's cool courage had ensured it. She was one of our best war- time agents, says Leslie Bell in "Sabotage!" the story of Lt.- Col. t:Col. J. Elder Wills, sabotage chief of Britain's Inter -Services Research Bureau and camou- flage adviser to the cloak-and- dagger boys. At times her con- vent cellar was full of arms and explosives for Maquis use, Cav- ities in statutes of saints in the chapel often contained codes and instructions which agents ex- tracted and digested under cov- er of prayer. The Sacred Heart cards, bear- ing messages in secret ink, visi- ble only under infra -red rays, had been made for the Mother by Wills. She distributed them Openly on her normal rounds. Col. Elder Wills and his staff devised countless masterpieces of deception, including a plaster pit -prop concealing a three- inch mortar; an explosive oil- can; a radio hidden in a barrel of wine which could be tapped for drinking without harming the set; imitation plaster and papier-mache logs, fruit and vegetables containing fuses, ex- plosives and arms; imitation coal containing explosive; ex - :trade suicide tablets disguised as shirt buttons, lipsticks or cigarette -ends; a torch which lit when the button was pressed in the normal way, but became a time -fused grenade when the button was clicked down hard, and photographs of Hitler and his chiefs of staff which could be hung up openly, but which revealed hidden codes to our. agents using infra -red torches. Even dead rats, obtained from rat-catchers, were oPened up and filled with explosives, time - fuses and detonators. They were sewn up,' again and distributed to agents in various countries,. for dumping in the boiler rooms of factories, where they were. invariably swept up and hovel- led into the furnaces with de- vastating results. The first experimental proto- type to be completed might have blown up Wills's H.Q., for when it was laid out for inspection the station cat swooped and rushed off with it, frantically' pursued by every member of the staff! Luckily, it was re- trieved safely. It was later tested at a coun- try station, after which a dozen were produced and distributed to agents abroad. Nine of "them caused big 'explosions in the boiler rooms of factories en- gaged on essential war work. Another eighty were then pre- pared and flown to Belgium to be parachuted in a container, the fuses being sent by other means for safety reasons. Un- fortunately, the 'plane crashed just inside Belgium and the rats were discovered. They were ex- amined at Gestapo H.Q„ and sent to counter -sabotage schools, Alerted, the German Intellig- ence at once ordered villagers and townsfolk to bring in every dead rat found, Wilis's staff were dismayed ate first, but then they realized how they could exploit the situation. They instructed agents and Re- sistance men to urge everyone to kill rats by the hundred and take them to the Gestapo. The people took to the task like ducks to water. It looked like some huge treasure hunt as men, women and children scour- ed the local ditches and sewers for the wanted rodents. Sack upon sack of dead rats arrived at the German head- quarters. Each abominable corpse had to be carefully examined for hidden explosive, while armed guards took charge of the ever - mounting piles—until the Ges- tapo eventually realized that they were the victims of a monster leg-pull! Fantastic, yet true, this is the astonishing inside story of an organization which, in one year alone, equipped agents at the rate of sixteen a dayand is- sued 90,000 articles of conceal- ment and sabotage, "Family" Program Throughout England, shortly after 10 p.m. every Tuesday for the past two months, phones in physicians' homes have begun jingling. From the other end come repetitious complaints: The caller has just viewed BBC -TV's "Your Life in Their Hands" and has collapsed Or developed some peculiar pains. On occasion, the calls are more distressing. Last week in Oldham, at an inquest into the death of Mary Melia, 43, the coroner was told by the victim's fiance that the woman had brooded about her heart disease after watching a blood -curdling TV close-up of a heart operation. Miss Melia's suicide was the third attributed by coroners to watching "YOur Life in Their Hands." The BBC says "our viewers have a healthy interest in di- sease which we feel it is legiti- mate to satisfy." But the Bri- tish Medical Journal protested: "This pandering to the preva- lent interest in the morbid goes against all efforts ... to interest the public in health rather than disease." THAT'LL STOP 'EM—A big wheel 1n transportation, Mrs. Ida May "Ikey" Adams points to the sign on her truck. "Ikey" has been driving a 10 -wheeler for the past 17 years and operates a truck- ing company with her husband, Glenn. Whatthe country needs better at the wheel than men, BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY—Like the proverbial bus driver who goes for a ride on his day off, Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida uses her free time to attend a movie. The lovely screeri queen was "caught" by the camera at a premiere in Rome. ,1 TA BLE T4LI{S If you ever have leftover angel cake at your house (it may take true restraint to achieve this goal), try this concoction. It was dreamed up by a busy homemaker who wanted to serve strawberry shortcake, but whose guests were arriving at such an indeterminate hour that a freshly baked dessert seemed impractical. There was half an angel cake in the pantry. This she broke up into very small • pieces—pos- sibly 4 cupfuls—and spread a layer of the crumbs on the bot- tom of a casserole dish. Whip- ped cream was spread on next, • then another layer of angel cake crumbs, more cream, and so on, until all was used. A half pint of cream, whipped, , was used in all, The casserole dish was placed in the refrigerator and chilled " 24 hours. When the guests came, all that remained to do was to slice wedges, place them on a dessert plate and cover, with strawberries. Tip from the cook: be sure to chill 24 hours so that the cream will soak well into the cake. !French Savarin Bread 2 packages yeast, compressed or dry 4 cup water (lukewarm for compressed yeast, warm for dry) % oup milk 34 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3 cup melted butter 4 cups sifted flour (about) 14 teaspoons vanilla ` 4 eggs, beaten Confectioners' sugar icing Chopped blanched almonds Candied fruit pieces Soften yeast in water. Scald milk, and add sugar, salt, and butter. Cool to lukewarm. Add flour to make a thick batter; mix well. Add softened yeast, vanilla and eggs. Beat well. Add enough more flour to make a stiff batter. Beat thoroughly until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm place until bubbly (about 1 hour). Stir down. Turn batter into well -greased 10 -inch tube pan or 2 well -greased 1% -quart ring molds. Let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes for tube pan; about 30 minutes for ring molds). Bake at 350° F. about 35 minutes for tube pan and 25- 30 minutes for ring molds. Re move from pan and cool. Driz- zle with confectioners' sugar icing and decorate with almonds and fruit. Quick Confectioners' Icing 3 tablespoons hot cream (lemon or orange juice may be used instead) 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla or s4 tea- spoon almond extract Stir hot cream into sugar and stir in flavoring. If frosting is too thick to spread easily, • add. more cream; if too thin, add more sugar. Quick Coffeecakes x/ cup butter, melted Z cups sifted flour 3 teaspoons baking powder Ye teaspoon salt s/ cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 8/; cup milk Y/ cup pineapple juice 11/ cups pineapple tidbits Topping Ve cup butter melted 3a cup sifted flour 3 teaspoon cinnamon 14 cup brown sugar Sift dry ingredients together. Combine butter, egg, milk, and pineapple juice; add 10 dry in- gredients and mix until just blended, Place in greased muf- fin pans. Top each with 4-5 tid- bits. Combine flour, cinnamon and brown sugar for topping; add melted butter; blend, Sprin- kle over cakes. Bake at 375° F. for 30 minutes. * * * No matter which of the above recipes you use — or you may, have a favorite recipe of your own which you like better -- you you can always vary the taste of coffeeake .by using different toppings. Here are several for you to choose from: Orange Crunch Topping 6 tablespoons butter % cup sugar 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 34 cup flour % cup bread crumbs % cup pecans, coarsely chopped Cream together the butter and sugar; blend in orange rind. Add Other ingredients. Mix with fork or finger tips until crumbly. Sprinkle over coffee - cake batter before baking. (Tops 2 coffee -cakes). * * * Honey Crisp Topping 3 tablespoons softened butter 34 cup honey 44 cup shredded coconut Ye cup crushed corn flakes 3 cup drained crushed pine- apple ,Cream together the butter and honey until light and fluffy. Add other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread on .batter for one cake. If you like to put the icing in the bottom of the pan and then add your batter, here are a few suggestions. Upside -Down Icings Orange Marmalade: Sprinkle 3 cup brown sugar in pan; add 3s cup orange marmalade; spoon in dough on top. Butterscotch Nut: Melt in pan 'h cup butter and 3 cup brown sugar with 1 tablespoon corn syrup. Add 3 cup pecans or walnuts. Cool to warm before adding dough. Dropped Into Love Those Days It Was Really Ice , Cream In 'the 'midst Of tremendous successes we should not neglect the long -overdue ultimatum from the Food and Drug people about ice cream. The word has. just come down from Washington, the result of fifty_ tedious years of study -an unhurried decision ar- rived°at sedately. Fifty years is about the same length of time ice cream has been going downhill. It would have been wonderful if the Su- preme Court had come out with • a stop order in 1908, but liu- manity was not to be served so well. In 1908 you could still get a fairly decent ice cream. It came out of the back seat of a one-horse cart fitted ,with jingle bells, and you held a soup plate up while the man did a three- fold dip for strawberry, choco- late, and vanilla. He always look- ed first to be sure the money wasn't in the dish, as it often was. Then you would run to the house so Mother could distribute the ice cream in smaller dishes before it melted, and you could sit in the lawn, swing and eat it, Do you think the Food and Drug people know about the lawn swings? All they said was that ice cream, as of 1958 et Sega, must contain 10 per cent cream, and not toomuch water and air. Thus one of the greatest frauds on the American palate finally won the sanction of law. Air and water, and 10 per cent cream, have been adjudicated, and the respectable, legal amount is c31 file. We should pause to take public notice of the announcement's actual words. It says: "The standards would assure con- sumers of getting what they ex- pect in various kinds of ice cream and sherbet.' Read that again! " what they expect . . ." So what does a typical American consumer, whose memory does not stretch back to 1908, expect when he buys ice cream? This is the gist, the crus;, The American consumer, pre- sumably, expects that he will get 10 per cent cream, air, water, and a• delightful artificial flavor. So long as the .concoction weighs 1.6 poundsto the gallon (this is the Food and Drug minimum from now on) he is satisfied when he gets the stuff home. ` Thus we have not only 'tile Food and Drug definition of ice cream, but we have the Food and Drug definitions of a satis- fied American -the expectations of the consumer. Conforming handsomely in all respects, he goes in- the "In'! door of the grocery, takes his little pushcart, subscribes to the maximum price regulations of the Milk Control Board, secure' in the implied warranty of citizenship (he no longer knows what caveat emptor means), and picks up a quart of ice cream with satisfied expecta- tions that it will weigh one- fourth of 1.6 pounds, contain 10 per cent cream, and will have no more air and water than is good for him. (By the wayy or weight, what is one-fourth of 1.6 pounds?) We have some friends who found a bargain in ice cream, once. Some store was having a sale to introduce its new frozen foods department, and our friends bought eight gallons of ice cream. They took it home and set to repackaging it in pint containers, so it would be in handy amount to carry them through the wintre. Thus they could go to their freezer and get a pint of ice cream, if friends stopped by, and they wouldn't A man who fell four storeys from an American skyscraper and escaped because he landed squarely on a pile of mattresses on a passing truck in the street below, said that as he dropped he saw in his mind's eye a vision of a pretty girl with fair hair. Two years later, at a party, he was introduced to a girl . who was just like the one he had seen during his fall. It was . a case of love at first sight and they are now married. Does a drowning man really see his entire. life pass before him during his last few seconds? • One who did not, is the bo'sun ' of a fishing trawler who fell overboard to what seemed cer- tain death in icy seas off Scot- land not long ago. He felt sure he would drown, but he had the presence, of mind to keep his eyes open while un- der water and, seeing the nets, grabbed them and was rescued. What passed through his mind he later reported to the owners' of the trawler. "l couldn't help thinking than the ,ship's bottom badly nc' is-,}ainling," he said. have to open a gallon package every time. e. They were able to pack three- gallons in the first pint container, and they ate the other five gal . Ions for supper with a cookie. Our friends had been swindled, at least to their expectations. Oh, I know—this is not a new topic with me. I am the perennial Jeremiah of the ice cream circuit, and have tried often to teach the truth to the uncaring masses. I have told •,how we used to make ice cream from 100 per cent cream .and eggs and fruit, and how we cranked it on the back steps. This had no effect. I was hoping enough people would read about, the real ice cream of an- cient times so a demand would materialize, and ice-cream mak- ers would decide to confect a glad surprise. In out old ice cream we did not use air and water. We had a tutti-fruiti that ran 17 pounds to the gallon, and after we'd eaten ''it we could get a drink at the sink or step outside for a breath of air. I notice, too, that this 1/1 per cent ice cream, with its legal air and water, is restricted as to "total solids content". Our old ice cream would melt, but mod- ern ice cream is solid: If you didn't eat our old ice cream right away, it Would relax: and become loose and shapeless. But you can set a plate of today's constitu- tional. ice cream on a window sill in the hot August sun, and come back in September and find it en garde, alert and permanent. It is no longer cold, but it might as well be, Its total solids con- tent of 1.6 pounds to gallon does this, no doubt. As with all similar government pronouncements, this ice cream white paper has its dubious phrases. The general subject, which should stir the appetite, is 'handled in unpoetic fashion, and doesn't make me hungry for the goody at all. There is some- thing about the discussion which doesn't go with ice cream. I was not all of a twitter as I read about it, as I generally am if the subject is brought up other- wise. I am not sure I read it closely, either, and I do not intend to go back and find out. I think you can call it something else, without breaking the law, if you want to keep the air in and right ahead, as Len Martused'to say, "irregardess". But if It says "ice cream' ;• yGou are going to get what you ex- pect, and also what you deserve. You may also keep and bear arms,freely speak and publish, and be secure in protection against self - nicrimination. The Grand Jury will see to. it. But do not expect more than 10 per cent. —by John Gould in. The Christian Science Monitor. When you CARRY BABY, wrap a small plastic tablecloth around his blanket to keep fuzz and lint off your 'clothing. SALLY'S ALLIES "You say you ars not good enough for me. Doesn't that settle it?" SPRING SWING—Making the mostof the warm weather, a couple a'yo•ung ldd!es fly high in Central Park, The one at right looks as though she's ready to zoom over the tallest of the ciiy'e. buildings.