HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-02-12, Page 2SalMeiriino Dances
Qn Glass Legs
"Be carefull called her mother
as beautiful 23 -year-old Anna
Mariani rushed out of the house
cowards the suburban railway
station, But Anna, tall, dark-
haired ballerina, scarcely heard,
for she was late for an appoint-
Ment in Milan that morning.
"Click, click" went her stil-
letto heels as she ran for the
railway crossing to get to the
downside of the .station, For e
second or so she hesitated at
the, ciosed gate, then she squeez-
ed through it,
Looking out of his cabin win-
dow, the gate -operator spotted
the girl and screamed a warning.
She glanced hastily up and clown
the line, then she ran across the
four tracks,
She heard the whine of a siren
as a non-stop express hurtled
towards her. Just as she was
about to clear the last set of
tracks, one of her heels caught
M a point and she crashed to
the ground, both her legs across
the outer rail.
Women waiting to cross the
tracks screamed and men ran
towards her, but they were too '
late, The express train roared
down on her at 70 miles an hour
and when it had passed the onde-
famed ballerina had lostboth
her feet just above the ankle,.
Unconscious, she was rushed
to the city hospital in Milan for
an emergency operation. Na one
thought that the lovely girl could
possibly survive the terrible ac-
cident.
But Anna Mariani did survive,
though to save her life both
her legs had to be amputated.
She had not been the most fam-
ous ballerina in Italy by any
means, but she was young and
pretty. and a good dancer, and
the story of her life's tragedy
focused world attention on her
overnight,
Any girl- caught in such a
tragedy would have had a world
of sympathy, but Anna was
somehow different, for it is al-
ways more tragic when a bailer-
ina suffers the loss of her danc-
ing ability.
Anne lost more than that: she
lost her legs.
From every part of the world
setters and telegrams of en-
couragement arrived at her small
home near Milan where she went
when she was discharged from
hospital. Organizations sent
money to help her start a new
life; other people similarly
crippled looked to -see what she
would do,
And Anna -issued a challenge
to the world.
"I will dance again, if God be
willing, she said at a television
interview eight months after her
accident.
Quietly she began to make in-
quiries;
nquiries; was it possible for her
to be fitted with artificial legs,
not those clumsy things some
unfortunate people have to wear,
but delicate, nice legs as be-
fitting a girl who once earnest
ber livelihood as a ballerina?
She was told, secretly, that
there was a plastic manufacturer
in Milan who might be able to
do something for her. A repre•
sentative called on Anna, studied
the case, and went back very
thoughtfully.
Last March, almost a year to
the day after the accident, Anna
carefully tried on the plastic
fibre glass legs made for her
secretly by the company.
They fitted perfectly. But she
stressed that this was to be her
secret — no one else was to
know about it, She obtained a
pair of crutches and began
hobbling around her small home.
Gradualy she gained confi-
dence and the stumps of her
ISSUE 6 — 1959
legs which_ slotted perfectly into
the tops of the piastie legs, grew
hard and no longer hurt when.
she brought her 8 stone to bear
on them,
First she experimented with
using only one cruteh. By April
she was getting around without
crutches and going out a>.one-•in
spite of her mother's protests --
to cinemas and to watch other
young people dance,
No one ever dreamed that the
lonely girl sitting out every
dance was none other than Anna
Mariani, whose name because of
her courage had become a house-
hold word in Italy. When men
asked her to dance she politely
refused, saying that she was not
feeling well.
"My greatest thrill" ballerina
Anna said recently, "came one
evening last week when I went
out to go alone to a theatre: I'
walked along the street, looking
in shop windows, when three
young inen passed rhe. I took
scant notice of thein — but they
had gone only a few paces when
a Thud whistle echoed behind
me.
"I glanced over my shoulder
to see that they were looking at
me! I thought at first that there
was some other girl, but I was
the only girl in that part of the.
street."
Anna ignored- the whistle, but
it filled her with joy. The men
had not noticed that she was
wearing artificial legs!
She thought: "If I can walk
almost naturally—surely I could
dance again?"
Anna contacted, again secretly,
her old friend and ballerina
teacher, Carla Carenni, a master
tutor of ballerinas in Italy.
Carle, who of course knew all
about her case, ;but was not
aware that Anna was getting
around on plastic legs—so care -
July' was her secret kept—hur-
ried to her home and was in-
vited in by her mother.
Anna was sitting on a couch
when he entered. "Carlo," she
said, "I want to dance again,"
The tutor stared at her and
his gaze dropped to the rug
which covered her legs,
"Dance again?" he repeated
incredulously. "But—"
"I want to dance again—oh,
I know I can never be a baller-
ina, but I am young and I want
to live again. Look!"
Anna stood up and the rug
dropped away, She walked
across the room while Carlo
stared in amazement, then she
made a few dancing movements
with her legs.
"I am still a little unsteady
trying to dance," she said, "but
with a little help I will manage."
Carlo Carenni jumped up, his
face aglow as he gripped the
girls arms. "Anna, you, are the
greatest girl in the world!" he
cried ecstatically. "And I am
going to help you dance again."
That was a short time ago.
Today, Anna is fast learning how
to dance on her plastic legs. She
is learning slowly, like a child
learning to walk, but the news
that the Italian ballerina is not
only walking again but dancing
as well has electrified the world.
She has brought new hope to
millions of people who suffer
-
irom afflictions not half so bad
as hers.
B'ULL'S -EYE VIEW
In Salt Lake City, after Mrs.
Agnes Haynes complained that
cops surrounded her car on a
downtown street, searched her as
an armed -robbery suspect and
left without apology while a
crowd looked on, Police Chief W.
C. Skousen issued a proclamation
telling all citizens that if they
should find themselves in a simi-
lar situation, they should "accept
the inconvenience as an excep-
tional opportunity to observe
how police function when appre-
hending a criminal."
SANK VISITOR—Surrounded by Secret Service men, bodyguards
and ocal policemen, Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan
waves his hat as he leaves a bank in the heart of New York's
finc'ncial district.
POSTER BOY — Jeffrey Reil, 11, displays sortie of his ship
models. A few weeks ago the shy, diffident youngster was
chosen as one of the three poster children representing 'three ,
Faces of Crippling". The previously lonely, quiet boy has 'be-
come :a celebrity,and is now more enthused and excited about
life than he has ever been.
'TABLE TALKS
ft, eia.A.dve.s.
Have, you ever worked with
yeast? It is an adventure. Car.
you recall the ecstasy of yeasty
fragrance, the wonder of its .ris-
ing vitality? Maybe you have
a' loving. remembrance of a mo-
ther mixing .andworking a
great m e u nd of bubbly' sub-
s t a nc e, spanking , out..' the air.
bubbles as she prepared the
loaves •for.the bread .pans. ;I
even recall "my mother's old-
fashioned tin bread• pans, some-
what battered, rectangular' in
size, and darkened by man y
years of 400 -degree heat.
* * *
The fragrance of three beau-
tiful golden -brown loaves in
their last minutes of Maturity
and mantled glory, especially at
the zero hour of a child's • huh
g e r on returning home from
school, is' overwhelming.
* * *
My mother was an angel who
with a very sharp bread knife
skillfully but very tenderly cut
the crackling heel off a warm
loaf and spread it generously'
with butter. I still see the melt-
ing butter as little Black Samba
saw the angry tigers tied to one
another's tails, whirling, run•
ning faster and faster, just melt-
ing away .— "nothing left but a
great big pool of -butter."' This
my mother did for me, to satisfy
my childish hunger and to share
proudly "the fruit of her hands."
* * *
Four steppingstones in my ad-
venture with yeast are clear in
my memory. As a very young
bride in a newly adopted state
I had a yen to bake bread. My
first effort resulted in an amaz-
ing experience° The yeast aroma
and the wondrous `!aliveness" of
the dough enchanted me. -I could
hardly believe it,
* * *
I was so thrilled at the second
bake -off that I shared a loaf
with my family in Kansas, all
of 300 miles away -by mail, of
course. A loyal family they
were, for I never dreamed but
that after - three days the prod-
uct would be as delectable as
the hour it came out of my oven.
They, however, encouraged me
to continue my efforts .... they
would not have dealt me such
a blow as to confess that they
could not eat it, let alone slice
it!
* * *
The next step I speak of seri-
ously, my first glimpse of the
art of successful baking, It is
to the kind womenfolk of my
community who taught me this
art that I dedicate this happy
memory. They shared a pint of
their treasured starter writes
Vivian Berner in The Christian
Science Monitor.
* * *
I "set" it at night by adding
the water drained from the po-
tatoes, boiled for dinner, added
a little sugar to make it "work"
faster, covered it lovingly with
a cloth, and set it in a warm
place. At the crack of dawn, I
anxiuosly inspected the ferment-
ing yeast and set about to satis-
fy my culinary ambitions, A pint.'
tvf • the mixture had to be re-
tained and set away in a place
of mild temperature, Then my
production could begin.
* * "
The high light of success was
realized when I received a red
ribbon at the County Fair, It
might have been a blue one, but
the judge stated that my bread
was a bit too light; still to me
this was a flattering criticism.
The third stage of my adven-
ture with yeast was realization
of the value of good bread bak-
ing when, in time of necessity ..
in the lean years of the early
'30's, it helped substantially to
feed a family of four robust
children, their mother and fa-
ther, and the general hired farm
help. I could serve for dinner a •
steaming pot df beans with
hunks of pork, accompanied by
warm rolls from the oven, with
freshly churned butter and• it
became a meal to remember.
* *
Nova after many interesting
years of fruitful occupation and
satisfaction, I feel the urge to
-delve somewhat into some re-
search on the art of bread bak-
ing' and its importance and re-
lation to cultures of the past,
But research can't equal the
glow of pleasure that comes
with cutting fresh, fragrant
slices to serve to friends and
family, or piling warm, tender,'
sugary doughnuts • on a plate
which will soon' be emptied by
eager hands. There's the fer-
ment;of joy and happy achieve-
ment in a jar of yeast.
Kill Those 'Germs
With Perfume
Perfumes today are luxuries
that make excellent presents.
But a few •centuries ago per-
fumes were necessities, used to
mask the crude .odours of the
times. That excuse for their use
is now no longer valid, but this
year modern research has pro-
duced a new one. Scents have
been found to have useful germ -
killing properties. They are not
merely expressions of vanity,
they can be antiseptic, too.
Most perfumes contain ; some
kind of alcohol — and this has
keen known for some time to
have slight antiseptic properties.
The new discovery came from
testing about a hundred of the
aromatic- oils which give scents
their main characteristics.
All of them were poisonous to
at least two kinds of bacteria out
of. ten and- to six fungus -type
organisms out of ten. Some of
the oils tested were lily of the
valley, lavender, jasmine, lilac,
wisteria, sweet pea and orange
blossom.
ROOF & HORN
!n Oxford, England, the South
Oxford Hunt's seven hounds
chased a fox . into Mrs. Evelyn
Lindley's living room, killed it on
her new carpet; and in Minehead,
the local hunt club's hounds fol-
lowed a fox to the front door of
the Beaconwood Hotel, killed it
there, shocking the guests and
the owner, who said indignantly:
"This is a vegetarian hotel."
gating "High
On The Hog"
Greater Boston gourmets; 100
strong, paid signal and epicu-
rean honor recently to the world-
renowned French chef, August
Eseoffier,.
The 20th annual dinner of the
Boston Chapter, Les Amis 'Es -
caner, was held at the Staler
Hilton Hotel, D, Bert Stanbro,
general manager was chairman
of the "Bonne Bouche," and the
grand ballroom, with its six-
foot -wide, fruit -laden tables ar-
ranged in 'a huge "V" was flank-
ed on floor and stage with a
colourful floral display, topped
with •a lighted bubbling fountain.
The four-hour, 10 -course din-
ner was preceded by the tradi-
tional assortment of hot and cold
hors d'oeuvres, prepared by Vasil
Karoli, the hotel's chef de cui-
sine; Albert Baumli, maitre
d'hotel; and 'James F. Gaffney,
executive steward.
A pedestaled tallow statue of
Eseoffier was flanked with a
dozen white -capped chefs who
held forth over such delicacies
as caviar in ice bowls served
with ground prime beef and
blinis; frogs legs, Meuniere; bak-
ed stuffed snails in their golden
brown shells; smoked salmon and
sturgeon; and a hundred or more
rare canapes.
Regular attendants at Eseoffier
dinners were instantly aware of
the marked simplicity yet ornate
array of hors d'ouvres and wisely
partook sparingly knowing full
what was in store for them later.
The dinner opened with
L'Elixer de Volaille - described
by gourmet Harold Dolby as "a
rich essence pf chicken :. , care-
fully prepared and complement-
ed with angel . hair (fine vermi-
celli) and served with cheese
straws,"
Then,from the cold, clear
waters of Massachusett's North ,
Shore carne Le Crabe Exquis —
lumps of crab meat blended with
anchovy paste and shallots, re-
stuffed in the shells and baked
to a golden brown — served on
a bed of rock salt — and with
watercress •rolled in wafer-thin
slices of white and brown bread.
An apple sherbet course whet-
ted appetites for Les Cailles
Richelieu, a brace of white -meat
quails, masterfully cooked and.
prepared in a toast casserole
garnished with julienne of celery,
and served with Italian finocci,
or anise, braised in veal stock,
writes Everett,M. Smith in The
Christian Science Monitor.
Then, with most diners already
well satisfied, there came the
main course — Contrefilet -de
Boeuf Pique au jus Naturel —
individual selected prime larded
loins of beef roasted and served
in natural juices with julienne of
potatoes and truffles, sauteed in
sweet butter, Companions to
these were young; fresh string
beans served with butter,
Delight was expressed by the
gourmets for the next course —
Le Froinage de Brie Escorts —
French cheese chosen for its del-
icate quality and accompanied
on a separate service with Bel-
gian endive, Romaine dressing
artfully combining fresh lemon
juice, olive oil and garlic.
The grand finale to the 20th
dinner - La Bombe Glacee Sur-
prise wasprepared by the
hotel's ice cream chef, Alfredo
Benedetti, in the form of a
watermelon. Green on the out-
side, red inside, complete with
seeds, garnished with fresh rasp-
berry sauce — the ice bomb was
served after an illuminated par-
ade with fancy petit fours in a
liarlequinade of colors.
Show Folks Defy
Superstition •
Defying the greatest of all
superstitious omens, the Cana-
dian National Sportsmen's Show,
which in the past decade har
developed into the best spring-
time exhibition on, this contin-
ent, will ring up, the curtain on
its 1959 presentation in the
Coliseum, Toronto, on Friday,
March 13, itwas announced to-
day by France H. Hortrigilt,
president.
"We have no qualms, :what-
soever, about opening .on a day
which many people consider un-
lucky," Mr.' Kortright said, I am
convinced' our 1959 production
will far surpass any of our pre-
vious ,efforts. Profits from this
-big extravaganza willagain be
used to carry on a varied pro-
gram to conserve our natural
resources offorest, field and
stream," he pointed out.
Among the many features of
the 1959 Canadian National
Sportsmen's Show will be Can-
ado's largest boat and marina
show, outboard racing with
miniature boats and three dog
shows.
In addition, there will be
bowling competitions, a sports
demonstration, area, demonstra-
tions of fancy and trick ice skat-
ing, a casting ,pool, a fashion
show and a vaj'iety of other
features.
• SMALL FRY
In New Iberia, 'La., state game
agents donated to public school
lunchrooms four tons of confis-
cated undersized shrimp.
SHE WALKED AGAIN Told by doctors after a •1952 skaimg
accident that she might never walk again, Alena Murray is now -,
striding into Hollywood stardom. Here, she takes time out'from
work by the edge of a pond.
•
A WING AND A PRAYER — It was mostly prayer as this TWA Super G Consrellatidn slid in
on Its belly„on a foam -covered runway at the i•lavr! Air Station in Olathe, Kan. The craft's
landing gear could riot be operated, but the pilct ride a landing without injury to the crew
or passengers in this emergency,