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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-01-08, Page 3Salty Farmers 'Wray Down Last Recent seholarly dtssertetione. here, employing the several spe- cies of incitation, in pleasing language, have dwelt on matters maritime, untilthe question has arisen as to what this has to do with the tarns, anyway..: , It is too bad that so much of our rural teritage.is highlander stuff, and the sea plays so little part. With me it has not been so. Here on the Gast Coast the highest perfections of husbandry were on what Rob Coffin made famous as a Salt Water Penn— e clam flat connected by a rocky blossom -bestowed path to a corn patch, with a little white house that looked forth upon the sea and was shaded behind by the ferests of spruce and pine. The best ferns land in Maine was never by the tide, but the best farm living in Maine was, 1VIy own farm is ten miles bark' from mean high water, but such was the union of aifairs•ti'tat even we grew tip with much of the sea in our affairs. One of my .father's earliest memories is of driving • a pang eight miles over winter snow to the smelting at Abagadasset Point, where fishermen were hauling heir nets and tossing away the tomcods that had no market, Every time they drew they would get a peck of smelts and five tons of tomcod. My fa- ther, off on his first errand of consequence alone, was instruct- ed to offer the men• a few cents. a bushel, if they would load his pung, and he brought the tom- cods home for hog food. In My own recollections, the launching of the Sintram was anachronistic, but very real, She was a five -masted schooner the last ever built, and why I was bidden to the la'nching party is unremembered, but I was. The time was either 1919 or 1920. either February or March, and there has never been such a la'nching since, and never will be. During World War I'the wood- ' en cargo vessel for the Emer- gency . Fleet was built by the hundreds wherever land sloped to the sea. The prints were sup- plied from Washington, and the boats were all alike.. The most wonderful feature of this pro- gram was the ability of Mrs, Wilson, wife of the President to think up names for .them. Hap- pily, most of the names have been forgotten. When the war ended a half - built hull was on our ways, and suddenly there was no need of her. We had just la'nched the second -last one, which Mrs. Wil- son had called something like the Manuposcunoggatrass, and which was christened by the well -set, sturdy, able wife of our harbor master. The lady held the local clam shucking, record and used to cook on a trawler. She.whang- ed the stem of the Manuposcu- noggatrass with the festooned bottle and shouted, "I christen thee whatever the thunder it is " But the half -built vessel he- m*, the Sintram. Local men called their Liberty Bonds and formed a corporation that took her over from the government. They tossed away most of the government blueprints, and fin- ished her up traditionally, con- verting her by rule -of -thumb to a fairly well lined clipper—not too extreme, but sea -worthy and likely. There was a good deal more sentiment than good sense, and •the Sintram was merely a present. day symbol of past glory. The world had no use for a Five -masted schooner, but every- body who worked on her be- lieved. The back pastures of Maine no longer had any mast timbers, so they had to bring her sticks in by rail from the South. But Charlie Dunning "het" his forge and made all the rings and blocks as he'd done in olden. times„ There had once been a famous Sintram, holding numer- ous transoceanic records in her day, bulit 'right tkiere on the same slope, and the new Sin- tram should be no ions. They didn't finish her up at wartime speed, but there carate a time for la'nc'hing, and it was on a full moon tide in the forenoon, About three inch$ of snow had fallen the night before, and a cold sun shone on the harbor Mon wore mittens, and grasped the la'nching hammers. Those of us favored to be in the la'nehing party climbed the scaffolds to the deck, and 1 perched myself in the mizzen stays to overlook every- thing—from the blue hills be- yond to the open sea and the sunny shores of Spain, She was a beautiful vessel, flags on every line, but it was a cold scorning and it took imagination. The men assembled under the hull, and there came from the la'nehing master the order to strike. The empty hull echoed with the gigantic thunder of hundreds of hammers pounding. on the blocking, and this con- tinued until every support was out except those actually hold- ing the great vessel to her ways. Suddenly the noise stopped and the silence was emphasized by expectancy. The la'nching master came forth from under the giant belly of the ship and looked up at the christening party under the rostrum, The bandmaster took his cues and there was a solemn hymn, after which' a prayer was offered, and then 'the band, struck up a- riot- ous medley of longshore tunes. The lady in the white dress, over her heaviest coat, clutched her beribboned bottle and struck an attitude. The band suddenly ceased, and the la'hching master waved to his men under the hull, Then - once, 'twice, thrice! — there were three solid raps in unison, as hundreds of men all struck in count at the ahorings, Then there was utter silence again, and we felt the vast fash- ioning of timbers `under us amove. It was imperceptible, al- most—but the Sintram had be- come 'a living craft, arid was al- ready smoking the .grease under her keel, The taste of salt would be there by the stern. • I heard the lady; her thin voice carrying on the chill .air, She swung mightily to splinter the bottle against • ,the . rugged bow timbers and shouted, "I christen thee 'Sintram—and may God sail always with thee!" And the stern was in the sea, and the band was playing again, and whistles blew and the Thousands of people cheered. As we were water -borne and the timbers began popping up in the swirl of the tide, - the ways spread before us, and we could see the hundreds of men stand- ing there with long -handled mauls, gazing up at the prow perhaps some of them saying, "This, my ancestors did; and man may never do it again!" The Sintram was not what was called a "lucky" craft. She was outfitted, her sails and rigging making a brave aspect against the sky when she put to sea some months later. She hauled coal a few trips, and was lost in a storm off a -southern coast. It didn't matter, much. The building and the la'nching had Been successful—the rest was in- cidental. To have stood in the mast -rigging of a five -masted schooner while she slid into the drink was, initself, something, That cold morning was colder still when the fun was over. Peo- ple on the beach went home, but the la'nching party stayed aboard. They sent a dory out for us, and one by one we went down a line overside, ladies and all, and came ashore again. I do remember, besides the cold, that I lamented the delay in getting us ashore—for I had to get home in time to milk.— By ilkBy John Gould in The Christian Science Monitor. "Your girl friend 'phoned, Said she wouldn't be able 'to see you to -night after all:" "Well, that's a wait off my mind." CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 2, Drag nlani 2 hearkened 4. Bulk shipment M1 Air (comb form) ' 6, FPATP 7. Contented 1. Of great stature 6, Annex B. Office furniture 12 Medley 18 Kind of silk 14.,Anthnr unknown 429.1 1`6. Was defeated 16., Prepare far riding again 1$. Pent to :tudey• 20 Meatier seed 21'1,0110(4 �• 23 Musical comtlneltlan. 26. PI:tin 28, Frost 32. Vonthab team 13. rats nwaY 86. 13rnafi 74. Pragrant 88, Meridian 49. wine 41. Petition 44, rontmuelcn table 12 Once around 49 Oral part 61 laseof errounil 62, mnticlnf Mrd 68. Bitter vetch 64, On the nrlen. water 55, Play the lead 68 silt g. river 7- Dn oat delete. nowrr 4, tined ren 8. b',uher - 87 tau"erlattve 4.. irinlehee ending IU, bone alone 84 Loud noise t7 W lytic 11. Recognized 8e Peddle 11. A tfh•mn t,ive 41 Arithmetic vete problems 49 Secure 42 :Single entity 22. Sp111 41 Girl's' name 24 Ptah tram a •48 Part of A moving boat', church 26, Plaintive cry 17 Away from 25. Turk name windward 27. entered 48. Chart • 211 Visionary - 6U Attention 811. Humane- 67 •Owne tJJ! elsewhere on this page ORNAMENTAL Surrounded by hedge apples, Pamela Thorp, had an eye toward the holidays. The hard, inedible fruit can be painted, making unusual Christmas tree decorations. TIILFA1ThI FRONT Farming has changed so much in recent years that U.S. agricul- tural` colleges are finding it necessary to give their curricula a.' thorough going over. They are adjusting. courses of study to the trend toward "agribusiness." Purdue University., which pro- vides an example of the changes underway, has just completed the drafting of a new, agriculture curriculum, following a two-year study of the needs of today's students. It places much 'more emphasis on basic studies•in'the natural sciences, in economies, in languages, and in business sub- jects, and less on "how -to -do -it" courses. The boy who goes.; to the uni- versity's agricultural school now isn't attending what he used to call a "cow college," .judging by the changes already in effect here. He is spending less time in the college .;farm feedlots, more in the laboratories. * * * He will come out with a greater ability to understand what re- search has to give him, will have greater ability to understand the behavior of prices, will have learned some of the fundamen- tals of business management so necessary today on the farm. As a result of its new empha- sis on these basic slides, Purdue University's agricultural school is growing fast. It had the larg est percentage of hew admissions this year within the memory of its administrators—a 21 per cent increase. The new curriculum, which will go into effect next fall, is expected to stimulate further the growth of the school. * 4 * The rapid changes in agricul- tural technology now occurring encourage this approach. It is not just a case of not doing things the way grandpa did. Progres- sive farmers today read experi- ment station reports, attend con- ventions, confer with their sup- pliers, take short courses, and constantly update their methods in the light of new research findings. Dean Butz says the nee' curriculum recognizes this fact. "If we teach the best practices today," he said, ' the student may find them obsolete by the time he graduates and has the oppor- tunity to use then', It is better for him to learn how to find out these developments for himself." * * Another factorenters into the need for the basic studies., The largest proportion of students at- tending agricultural college come from farms, but many do not re- turn ,to them after graduation, A study of the careers of Purdue students after 'graduation shows that only 10 to 15 per cent • of. them return to the farm imme- diately after graduation. Another 10 per cent go back after a de- cade of work in an off -farm oc- cupation. Another 20 to 30 per cent finally get back to farming, perhaps after a career in the city which has been sufficiently` successful to permit each•, to buy and equip a farm according to his heart's desire, at takes around $100,000 'todo that, they say,) This leaves around 50 per cent who will never return, But it does not indicate that the non- farr'±rs mfr's a mistake in at- tendire agricultural college, Dr. D, C. Pfendler, assistant dean, who made the study, points out that many went into branches of work closely allied to farming, where agricultural education was extremely valuable, writes Doro- thea Kahn Jaffe in The Christian Science Monitor. Some 'went into the gover'n- Mental service as farm advisers or workers in the Department of Agriculture. Some went into agricultural education, others in- to farm research. Still others became agricultural editors, one an agricultural missionary. * * How great is the need for agriculturally trained men and women outside agriculture is shown in figures supplied this correspondent by Dr. Lowell S. Hardin, head of Purdue's depart- ment of agricultural economics. Of this country's labor force, about 8,000,000 persons work in farm production, and from eight to ten million in strictly non- agricultural occupations: But there are an additional 10,000,- 000 persons working in jobs re- lated to agriculture. They are either in farm supply industries and service or in the marketing end, including food processing and retail food sales. The changes in the Purdue curriculum are aimed to meet the needs of those who go into these fields related to agriculture as well as those who intend to farm. Upsidedown to rrevent Peeking 33igger 'tsy Corm* Everyone says that automo- biles are getting too big, but parking lot operators -- bless them -- are doing something drastic about it. One Washing- ton operator iscutting rates by about one third for customers with small cars. L. 13, Doggett, Jr., president of the Washington Parking Assdciation and operas for of 17 lots, makes eminent mathematical sense when he points out that 42 half-pint autos can be fitted into the space now required for 20 of the behe- moths which some people in De- troit waspishly term a "normae" size car. Now, there are several honor- able and energetic exception to the trend among manufacturers to make the huge even huger; and the indecision among the big companies which must "freeze" 'models several years in advance deserves some sympathy along with the scoffing. But it is melancholy to note that the infatuation with size as a symbol of something or other still pre- vails; many 1959 models even outspan the mammoths of 1958. Add to this growing length the problem of the fragile new equipment which adorns some models -it has almost come to stereophonic headlights an d switchblade fins -and the deter- mination of parking lot opera- tors to revise rate schedules is understandable, in New York one group of 400 operators has voted to raise fees for most 1959 models by 15 to 30 per cent. Thus if esthetic considerations fail to shrink' the dreamboats, economies—and the sheer im- possibility of providing enough road space if the size of cars in- creases with the volume—may yet curb the length. Sooner or later it may cost more to park these monoliths than to keep up the payments, and the family, garage may loom like an air- drome over the house where:. mere mortals dwell,—Washing- ton Post, Royal Flower Britain's lavender acres are shrinking every year, but there are signs that its oldest and sweetest flower — the finest Ir the -world for making perfume — is returning to front -rank popularity. The Queen loves lavender. The late Queen Mary was so fond o! it that she frequently visited the fields near Sandringham frosp which the spike are gathered for blending and prs paring lavender water. It is said that King George IV devised a special formula for lavender water. The laadies of his court invariably wore it. If the current love of lavender continues to flourish perhaps we shall see again in London full - gowned street sellers crying as they did more than two hun- dred years , ago: "Who'll buy my sweet blooming lavender six- teen branches a penny?" qk:IN MYSC OOZ LESSON fly llek it; harvlay War'rera B.A., B.D. Jesus Galls Forth /Faith Marl' 9:14-28 Memory Selection: Alt things .are possible to hint that be- lieve". Mark 9:223, In this quarter we continue the study of the life 01 Christ es recorded in Matthew, Mark end Luke, We are dealing almost exclusievly with the closing scenes of Jesus' earthly career. After the healing considered in this lesson Jesus takes his final departure •from the northern province of Galilee to proceed to Jerusalem. The event in today's lesson took place after Jesus came down from the mount of trans- figuration with Peter, James and John. When they came to the other disciples they found a multitude of people A man had brought his son who was deaf and dumb to be heated. The disciples had tried to cast out the evil spirit but were un- successful, The critical scribes were watching. The tallier of the boy was disappointed The crowd was interested, Their brought the boy to Jesus. The boy fell to the ground and frothed atthe mouth. Jesus ask- ed ed the father, "Flow long it If ago since this came unto him?" The father replied, "Of a child." and proceeded to describe the ailment and then plead sot coni - passions. It was the practice of Jesus to let people confess fully their needs, Then Jesus chats lenged him to believe saying, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to h:m that believeth." He answered, weep- ing, "Lord, 1 believe; help thou mine unbelief." He had a mea- sure of faith but was struggling with doubt, which was due in large measure to the failure of the disciples, Giving expression to his faith would help to strengthen it. The Jesus rebuked the foul spirit and raised up the boy. Then Jesus had a lesson for the disciples, They asked, "Why could not we cast him out?" FIB replied, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting," It is still true coat one reasQQl for the church's weakness is its ' failure to pray. In most churches the prayer sleeting has died. No wonder we are sopowerless in rneeting the evil forces about, It a spiritual awakening comes, there will be a renewed desire to pray. It is likewise true that if there cones a renewed desire to pray, a spiritual awakening will come. ISSUE 1 - 1959 VORACIOUS — Suggesting a giant housefly, the jagged metal sculpture, called Animole Organico, gobbled up third prize of $1,000 at a Pittsburgh exhibition. The creation is by French sculptor Cesar. lr GRAND C}i'AMP — Grand Champion steer of the International Livestock Show, of Chicago, above, brought $25 d pound to co-owners Gregory Wood, 8, on steer's back, and brother Chuck, 17, in white jacket. Paying the $23,125 for the Aberdeen -Angus is restaurant man Howard Johnson Jr., at left.