HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1950-07-27, Page 7S BRE D
3T JOST FLUFF
Editor's Note; Horace Reynolds
is a writer, lecturer, professor, and
author of many articles that have
appeared in various leading periods.
cals. This paean in praise of darker,
coarser breadstuffs appeared in
The Christian Science Monitor; and
we pass it along to our readers
without further eotnmemmt.
When things were going well
with folks, Jolun Mahoney,- an old
Irish schoolmaster of urine, used
to say, "They're eating their white
tread noir'," Then he would explain
that the saying was an oblique re-
ference to the fast that the common
people of Europe had white bread
only on special occasions,
-I remember 1 used to feel sorry
for the poor uloujik eating away at
his black bread. The other day a
friend gave nee a large loaf of dark
Russian rye, told me how to toast
it. Now I don't feel sorry for the
Fussians any more.
Modern induktrialistn has ruined
American bread, Pick up a loaf. In
its waxed paper. - It's so soft and
spongy you cats contract it with
your hands, mold it any shape
you've a mind. to. Take off the
wrapper and cat a slice, The soft,
fluffy center is like a tnoathful of
powder puff. The more you eat the
hungrier you get. This is what Ant-
• erica's staff of life has come to.
It's a pretty soft staff. The Rus-
sians are leaning on something more
schstantial.
It wasn't always so. In 1900, 95
• per cent of America's broad was
baked at home, and that bread was
good, honest bread, not the aerated
boudoir bread of today. Now 81
!ger cent of America's bread is baked
in bakeries,
The bread of our anee,tors was
good bread, ton, The corn bread the
Indians taught the early Awed.
cans to make was tasty, nutritious,
and filling. Our foremothcre
pounded corn in a mortar or ground
it in an improvised home mill. Then
tact' mixed the resultant meal with
wetter to make corn bread, corn•
dodgers, corn pone, hoecake, and
johnnycake,
They made this bead • in two
frirnms: the raised variety baked in
a pan, like the corn bread of today;
the unleavened variety baked in
hot ashes or on a griddle or in a
skillet, called ash cake and corn
pone, Many a plainsman has made
many a dinner on corndodger baked
fu the ashes and salt pork broiled
on the end of a stick.
That is the stalwart traditional
bread of America, of which this
puffed-up varety of today is a soft
and decadent descendant.
In the large cities, where Ameri-
ca's foreign -born congregate, one
can get the good bread of Europe
which our immigrants brought over
with their folklore, from West-
l.halia the Germans of 1848 brought
their pleasant pumpernickel,
The Jews brought us the de-
licious Jewish rye and the popular
haigel. The French, the long ball -
bat loaves; the Italians, their rotund,
solid loaves with a respectable deep
crust, From Vienna came the light,
well - seasoned Hungarian loaf,
Canadian Movie Makes Headlines
Class Room Scene from the prize winning Canadian filth
"Family Scene" soon to be shown in theatres across Canada,
The first Canadian film to deal
with the personality of the child as
affected by Home and School en-
vironment will be released very
soon. The picture was made in
Pannous Players across Canada. The
filet is called 'Fancily Circles," It
is outstanding and won the award
es the best non -theatrical film in
Canada at the Canadian Film
Awards Competition last April. It
was highly praised at the Inter-
national Film Festival in Edin
burgh, where it was played for
discriminating audiences.
When the picture opens it show;
a scene front a family of a genera-
tion or two ago; the father is Head-
ef-the-house; Ile made 20cisions,
and was generous when they were
accepted—which they always were:
reit, says the filen, times have
hanged. Children do not go to bed
at nine o'clock and the tempo of
Fie has chnnged. The modern
rather asks—Midnight? Where's
George? Time I showed that boy
I'm still head of the house, he'll
have to knuckle under. To all of
which his wife sleepily replies, Dar-
ling, this is the twentieth century.
The issues raised merit the at-
tention of all parents and thought
ful people, because they deal with
very important facets of family
life -111e development and growth
of a child. The scenes show the
effect of four different types of
homes on a child's mind and de-
velopment. and is a forthright and
helpful expose which does not mince
matters, but presents clearly how
the child is helped or hindered in
his growth toward good citizenship
by the sort of help he gets at home.
The way of the parent is not easy
iu this modern age, and the film
presents clearly where the tinodcru
parent often falls down hi the job
0' helping a child to find himself,
to meet flexes which are m,! alvvay.
obvious--confdeuce, seer sty, ,.t:,1
guidance,
Michael Denny, Foresthill, Who played Freddie, in the prize
winning Canadian film entitled "I''ansily Circle."
known as Vienna bread. From Fin-
land, 1.imppu, baked in the shape
of an oversize doughnut made of
mixed Wheat and rye flour. From
Sweden, the flat, crisp nuleavened
bread, which goes so well with
cheese.
* +v *
Take a loaf of the dark pumper.
nickel. Its rye hasn't been bleached
or "enriched." Its rye l>aen't even
been bolted.
Cut off a couple of thin slices
and put theme in your toaster. Press
clown the rod which sends the bread
to the bottom of the toaster. Wluli
the pieces of pumpernickel pop up,
,press then down again for a second
toasting. This is Ile -man bread; it
eau take it a second, yea, even a
third toasting, Butter the toasted
bread; place it in the oven. As you
eat it, you will amend John Ma.
honey's proven, to read, 'They're
eating their black bread now,"
When you next go out in the
woods for a steak roast, take a
loaf of French bread, cut it ver-
tically into slices about six inches
long, then cut these slices again
horizontally in half, and butter them.
Cut the broiled steaks into slices
to fit the bread; put the steak be-
tween the slices and press the re-
sultant sandwich firmly, The juice
of the steak will soak into the
bread. That's bread and that's meat,
and the combination is good.
Or if you haven't got a steak,
just a loaf of French bread, take the
loaf and cut it in half vertically,
Now you have two pieces, each
about a foot in length. Cut these
two pieces into slices about two
inches or so thick, but be careful
not to cut the bread all the way
through. Now you have about a
dozen small slices, six ir. each
half,
Take a third of a pound of but-
ter and melt it in a measuring cup
cr small saucepan. Cut up a slice
of garlic and put it into the melted
butter. Allow the mixture to sim-
mer a wide, Then poor the butter
ever the bread lengthwise. Some
of the butter will run into the in-
cisions; some will remain on the
top of the bread.
Now put the two halve.: into a
l;ot oven, After they have become
I'ot, take theist out and eat. There
is still another proverb which runs
like this: "Whose bread I eat, his
song I sing," After you have eaten
this hot buttered French bread,
don't be surprised if you find your-
self hamming,
Another favorite bread is made
of water -ground flour and itis even
more solid than most homemade
bread. The water -ground flour is
important. \Vater power grinds
slowly enough to allow the flour
10 retain 11111011 of the soil of the
grain. In the large mills, too, the
flour is bleached. It's a wonder they
don't powder and rouge it.
?Mass production can't leave good
food alone, It must try to improve
cit nature. It homogenizes it, vita-
reiuizes it, victimizes it. 1 t adds
potatoes, honey, bananas, currants,
dates—even sunshine. It slices it,
wraps it, Then it embarks on a
;1,000,000 advertising campaign, as•
saulting both eye and ear,
Industrial America has glorified
hread the way Hollywood has glori-
fied the American girl. Man does
not live by bread alone, but it is
the foundation of our diet, and our
sliced loaves of cotton batting are
a tweak foundation for anything,
\\'hat America needs is bread with
crust to exercise the teeth and stick
to the ribs, bread to strengthen the
heart for the tasks which lie ahead.
Schoolboy `�I-is>vlers"
When a group of high school
pupil: sat for a general knowledge
examination recently, some of there
produced clic following written re-
plies to questions
A skeleton is a person with his
insides out and his outsides off,
A sensation is that state of pub-
lic mind that exists in a given
community when one man's wife
runs off with another man.
Salt Lake City is a place where
the Morons settled.
She was a sweet girl dressed in
a simple butch Costume consisting
of a 1511110 cap and apl'an.
Typhoid fevercan be prevented
by fascination,
A referendum is haring to look at
notes to sec what you are going to
talk about.
The gelatine was used to cut off
the heads of many thousands of
people.
Woman witness: I have no quar-
rels with my neighbours. I just
won't speak to them.
What The Well -Dressed Juvenile Will Be Wearing Next,
Winter—Nylon News! Pint-sized weather protection is
offered by these wonderful lightweight all -nylon snow -suits.
His Stuff May Be Corny
But It's Money -Making Corn
The year 1932 may be remem-
bered for several reasons, not least
for the debut of a comedian on an
American radio programme. Ile
walked nervously up to the micro-
phone and said: "Hallo, foli.s! This
is Jack Benny. There will novo be
a slight pause for everyone to say,
'Who cares?'"
As a result of this broadcast,
letters poured into the studio prais-
ing his unusual and nonchalant
style, which hitherto had not been
exploited by any other comedian.
Today, Jack Benny is acknowledged
to be one of America's leading
radio funsters and every Sunday
some thirty 1111111011 citizens tune in
to listen to his shove,
The "Average Man"
For Lenny has perfecter) a char-
acterization, fraught with human
frailties. He is a typical "Average
Man," a lovable boob, mean, cow-
ardly, middle -aged -•but with young
ideas! All of which has endeared
him to the man in the street with
similar faults and weaknesses writes
David B. Williams in Tit -Fits.
That some Members of the pub•
lic really believe in this comedian's
failings is exemplified by an ad-
vertisment that appeared in the clas-
sified section of the "Sacremento
Union": "Two women about Jack
Benny's age would like a small,
unfurnished house. Would like to
pay what Jack Benny would like
to pay."
Unlike Bob Hope and other con-
temporaries of wit, Benue is 110
master of repartee. But when be
does conte through with an ad-lib,
his timing and delivery are perfect.
On one occasion, Benny was ap-
pearing with Fred Allen, who was
talking so fast that jack found
it impossible to get a laugh him-
self: Iu desperation, and to the
delight of the audience, he ex-
claimed suddenly: "You wouldn't
dare do this if my writers were
here."
If anyone deserves the tag of
"right-hand titan" where Benny is
concerned, she is Mary Livingstone
who, besides being the comedienne
on the programme, is in private life
Mrs. Jack Benny, She is noted for
her wonderful sense of humour, and
Jack always relies on her keen
judgment whenever lie's worried
about a joke or routine. Although
Mary has had countless offers to
be a star in her own right, she re-
fuses theme all: "I just want to be
Mrs. Jack Benny," she says,
\i'lten they were married in 1927,
Jack recalls that a big stag din-
ner was given in his honour and
he felt very important. In the midst
of the proceedings, the Master of
Ceremonies called for silence while
he read a telegram. It ran:
"When you come home tonight,
be sure to take out the garbage.—
Mary."
George and Gracie
While on the subject of marriage
it might be as well to mention
the George Burns -Jack Benny rou-
tine. It all started when George
and Gracie Allen were betrothed.
Jack was playing in San Fran-
cisco at the time and thought he
would rib his newly-wed friends.
He telephoned thein at 3 a.m. on
their wedding night. Getting an
answer from a man, Benny in-
quired: "Hallo? George?" A gruff
Voice replied Send up two order
of Maur and egg,,"—and the receiver
was slammed down. Since then the
comedians have always telephoned
each other (01 important occasions.
When George and Gracie were
about to open at the London Pal-
ladium recently, Val I'at'nell threw
a party for them. During the eve-
ning George was called to tate tele-
phone. Picking tip the reeel cl' he
heard a girl witlt a Southern drawl
saga "Iter. Burns? Long distance
. one moment, please! Jack
Penny from Hollywood wishes to
speak to you."
At time end of his chat with hie
fellow cosmic, George told l0e guests r
about it: "Fancy Jul; calling all
the way from Hollywood just to
wish us good tuck!"
And There He Was!
Ile survey the gathering a ensile'
of self-satisfaction spreading across
lus face. But at that moment his
eyes fell upon the doorway .
,,,,ere Jack Benny was stamina.' lie
had arrived here unannounced, hav-
ing nladc the journey especially for
his friends' opening night. 1 H prarc-
tical joke had been carried out with
the help of tihu star Jane 1\'yma'i
. . and extension telephones:
As a youngster, Jack studied the
1101112 and at eight years old he was
referred to as the "child prodigy"
or Waukegan, his home tow is Later
he tried to obtain work with a
theatre orchestra but was engaged
as a ticket collector instead: The
5101122, much to his regret, soon
became nothing more than a prop
during his vaudeville appearances.
Yet even today, this "frustrated
lereisler" practises in his spare time
and constantly complains about his
lost chance to rake a mane for
himself as a musician.
When Benny moved his fancily
and radio programme to Califor-
nia in 1937, the very first show
there was an enactment of their
journey west. The script required
someone to play the part of the
Pullman porter encountered fon
the train and the role was awarded
to a coloured actor, Eddie antler•
son. He made such a good job of
of it that his one night stand be-
came a permanent engagement—and
that's how Rochester was born,
Benny's gravel -voiced valet and
chauffeur.
It is not surprising that Benny,
having made a reputation on the
stage and radio, should turn to
Hollywood to reap further laurels.
:ince 1932 he has made over a
score of filets, His best known are
"Buck Benny Rides Again" and
'George Washington Slept Here"
Counter Attack
He believes in giving the public
what it wants, even if it does not
always satisfy the radio critics, and
says: "It took eighteen years to
ctevelop the characters on my show.
They're as good as my winces and
I can make theme, Each week we've
tried to inject a new situa•eon. idea
or character into our script and
hllimcg twenty pages a ,vert: for
thirty-nine weeks isn't easy
"So what happens? A cedes ee
comes along, says the show was
great, the audience loved it, the
script was hilarious ... BUT , . .
I was the same stingy, toupee -
topped, faulty fiddler; Mary was
still snippy: Phil Harris continued
as a fugitive from Alcoholics An.
onynons; and Rochester was the
same sassy butler.
"Now, I've been reading this re.
viewer's column for many years,
nd it's a darned good column.
But every week, every year, this
columnist's style of writing is al-
ways the seine. never changes. Al-
ways verbs, pronouns and adjec-
tives. Why doesn't he get some
new things:"
Farmers Combine Their Combines --A score of "good neighbors" from nearby farms massedtheir combines here recently to harvest a 125 -acre wheat field for a widowed mother of two, •
Mrs. Marie huller. Her husband was killed in this very same field a year ago; w'itile cutting'
clover.
JITTER
WITH THOSE CNISELEKS
ALL LOOHIN' OVER 7119
FENCE, W6 AREN'T SELLING
MANY TICKETS
By Arthur Pointer
GET
TICK01
HERE
rc'.'":: 01--6klit_