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.