HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1962-10-25, Page 3' !r
Three Sisters
inherit Fortune
Talk about a windfall on the
pools , , , Three sisters, one the
Wife of a billsticker, another
Married to a labourer, and the
third the wife of a filing clerk
have had confirmation that a
Duper -fortune awaits them!
It may well run into millions
oe dollars:
M1 the heiresses -to -be live in
St. Etienne, an industrial city in
the French midlands, They are
the descendants of a man who
emigrated to the United States
in 19.08 from the Greek island of
Leros,
Before the end of this year,
these three poor families expect
to be rolling in wealth. And al-
ready begging letters are pour-
ing in...
Says Jean Kritikos, the thirty-
two -year-old billsticker, whose
wife, K r 1 s ti n a, twenty-four,
should share the huge sum with
her married sisters, Irene Kiris-
els, thirty-two, and twenty -two-
year-old Ketty Masse:
"We have been taking some of
our savings nut of the bank and
we are buying comforts. Soon
we shall be swimming in money
—that's far sure.
"So we thought we could start
improving our lives as front now!
"Although we haven't got the
money yet, we are swamped
with letters from people all over
the place asking for hand-outs.
"A French bank has even of-
fered me, a billposter, a direc-
torship—on condition that I take
over liability of the bank"!
The search for the money be-
queathed by a dead man has tak-
en thirty-five years.
It all began when Dianitrios
19taenatakis, tired of poverty,
railed from Leros to try his luck
in the New World, leaving his
wife, who was expecting their
titbit child, and promising to send
her money later so that she
storuld join him.
But this arrangement soon
Iaroke down. Poor Dimitrios
Must have been dismayed at the
vggnexp0ained silence from Greece
Ile was not to knew -- but
what had happened was this:
His letters were intercepted by
et niece, also nanved Stamatakds,
who, tempted by tete American
etoilaas they contained, saw to it
they were handed over to her at
ilhe post -office.
Then, pocketing the cash, she
threw the letters away!
By 1911, Dimitrios had stopped
writing, as there were no replies.
He had moved a few months
earlier to Alaska and his wife,
of course, did not know his new
address.
A year later the thefts were
discovered when a neighbour
taw fragments of one of the
letters from the successful emi-
grant scattered on the rubbish
heap in the Greek village.
The police were informed and
the niece was arrested. But, on
the very day the trial was to
open, the 1914-18 war broke out
and the Italians occupied the
island,
When the war was over and
communications were resumed.
Mrs. Stamatakis had completely
lost touch with her husband in
America,
She was never to see or hear
from him again.
In 1924, Dimitrios's son, Kon-
stantinos, then twenty - three,
tried, in vain, to pick up the
trail of his father in the United
States. But, three years later, his
mother had word from Greek
people visiting Leros that a rich
Greek, named Stamatakis. had
died in America.
Stamatakis, however, is a name
as common as Brown or Smith in
Canada .. ,
Konstantinos, still delving
away in the States. set out once
more on his father's trail. He was
helped by U.S officials --- and it
was confirmed that a Dur 'ti =:
Stamatakis had died a multi -
Some of his wealth consisted
of a goldanine in Alaska, another
one in Canada, a chain of hotels
in California, some taxicabs
companies—all held in trust by
a bank in Alaska.
But, although- the Americans
had all this information, they
were unwilling'to give it to Kon-
stantinos without having definite
proof he was the son of Alma -
trios,
And, when the son returned to
Leros, the occupying Italians re-
fused all his requests. Eventually
they offered to endorse hie
rights only if their Government
handled the affair. Konstantinos,
a Greek, said no*ert i promptly
had his exit visa withdrawn. ,
So time went by until the
Second World War intervened,
when all researchers stopped;
After that war, useful inform-
ation reached Leros from Koenia
Kelandros, a sister of Konstan-
tinos, who had stayed on in Bal-
timore, and—still more valuable
—there were photographs of
Dimitrios.
Konstantinos began again, this
time with the help of an Eygp-
tian lawyer, who was replaced
five years ago by a Greek law-
yer, Maitre J. K. Spithas of
Athens.
He managed to get documents
from the president of an Alaskan
bank, and it was finally proved
that a fantastic fortune, indeed,
was awaiting, to be collected,
Maitre Spithas, who contacted
members of the family scattered
abroad, eventually said he had
proof that the three women in St.
Etienne have full rights to this
fortune.
As Dimitrios had heard no-
thing from his wife for so many
years, he had disinherited her
and left all he had to his grand-
children. She, by the way, still
lives on Leros .
Originally, there were five
children born to the wife of Dim-
itrios Stamatakis—one son and
four daughters. On -e o8 the
daughters died—she was the
other of the three wolnee in
St. Etienne, Another daughter
still lives in Baltimore, and the
other two are also alive.
But, like the son, Konstantinos,
who ccs now Bixby -one and a
ship's engineer, they have no
children.
Slate Handling is .
An Ancient Trade
Slate earmarked foe the new
roof of the British Prime Minis-
ter's official London residence,
No. 10 Downing Street, was
hewn recently from a huge quar-
ry in North Wales where men
have been mining for about five
centuries.
This finest of a 11 slate was
quarried in a solid block and
then expertly split along the
"grain" to form the thin slates
needed for No. 10.
This splitting was done by
men armed with special wooden
mallets and thin steel wedges.
It was the custom in olden
days first to water the slate and
expose it to frost to achieve
splitting. But this method is too
slow for modern needs,
No, 11 and 12 Downing Street,
which have also been undergo-
ing reconstruction, are also be-
ing roofed with Welsh slate.
Solid masses of slate from 80
to 100 ft. high have been taken
from some of the quarries along
the west of Britain. When the
sun shines on such blocks they
exhibit with great brilliancy all
the colours of the rainbow.
Slate is practically imperish-
able. Stone may crumble but
slate stands through the ages,
hardly toughed by the passage
of tkne.
PLAN CRASH SURVIVOR — A seriously injured survivor of
the Flying Tigers airliner that crashed in the North Atlantic
is taken from un RAF helicopter in Cork, Ireland, after be -
in.. forrierl frnnt r',e rn"rrhetrit ,tin Celerina.
CANAL CUTIE — in o pensive mood, 16 -year-old actress
Sue Lyon sits by one of the famous canals of Venice, The
star of "Lolita" was in the sunny Italian city to attend the
film festival competition, in which her movie was entered.
;rALET
iJai l -Andrews.
Vegetables are at their peak in
quality now, so you may enjoy
en abundant assortment of them,
and at attractive prices.
Before cooking, remove all In-
edible or "woody" portions, ouch
as root ends of asparagus, tough
neidnibs of kale, course outer
leaves of cabbage and Brussels
sprouts, etc. Pae and slit the
thick stems of broccoli; shred
cabbage, carvrots, turnips, etc., or
coarsely grate them; cube pota-
toes and tuenips; slice anions,
carrots, celery, etc.; cut into
strips root vegetables and also
celery, snap beans, patataes. Se-
parate cauliflower into flower-
less, and divide or out large
vegetables into ivdividuad serv-
ings.
There are a few basic rules
far making all vegetables that
may help you on your fall proj-
ect of giving your family fresh
things froan the gardens of bhe
country. Clean them and keep
•them cool, but don't soak therm
in water unless a recipe SO di-
rects. Pare thinly. Use freshly
bailing water, and as little as
Possible. Boil vegetables gently
and cook only until crisply ten-
der. Cover most vegetables to
speed the gentle' cooking, writes
Eleanor Rtchley Johnsten in the
Christian Science Monitor.
There are many ways to .:dd
zest to vegetables after they are
cooked. For instance, a sour
ereaan sauce on cabbage may
make cabbage popular in your
house. Just add 3 tablespoons
each of mustard -base neat sauce
and sugar to 1 cup commercial
sour cream. Mix until sugar dis-
solve. Or, top hat wax beano
with dill butter. All you do is
add chopped fresh dill to soften-
ed butter (you decide on the
amount) and top your beans
with It.
One of Mir reader, bas sent a
recipe which she developed, in-
cluding •both squash and toma-
toes. "Enclosed is a tried and
true recipe which I developed,"
writes M r s. Alberta Sandford.
"The beauty of this dish is that •
you may vary the quantity of
ingredients according to how
much of each you have on hand,
and it will still be tasty."
ZUCCIXINI-TOMATO
CASSEROLE
3 cups sliced raw zucchini
1 No. 2. can solid pack
tomatoes
cup grated Cheddar cheese
Bread esntnbs
Salt and pepper
Butter
Parboil zucchini until not
quite done; drain well. Place in
a well -buttered casserole, Pour
tomatoes over zucchini, teem-
ing a small amount of tomato
liquid. Sprinkle cheese aver to-
matoes and top generously with
bread crumbs, Sprinicie li.Khtly
with salt and pepper and dot
with butter. Bake at 325 degrees
F. for 45-50 minutes. Serves 7-8.
An eggplant recipe was sent
by Mrs. Gwendolyn S. Holley,
EGGPLANT CASSEROLE.
1 eggplant
4 slices bacon, cliopped
1 Iarge onion, chopped
1 can tomato soup
Peel cl g+plti.n( and cut into
cube, Boil tr minutes, in iralt.ed
water to cover Fry been until
.cup; lemon, tr.'nt r. leer ,.nd
drain. Put ore it `n '<'11 I and
fry in t'•'? 1• t re' .tae! r lea
ale and add bacon and anion;
top with tomato soup. Bake at
300 degrees F, fou one hour.
* *
Would you like some Spanish
rice to go with your fresh green
vegetables? Here is a recipe sent
from. Arizona by Ida M. Eggin-
san, who says, "Anyone who en-
joys Spanish dishes will like this
ane,"
SPANISH RICE
1 cup raw rice
is cup salad or olive oil
!et cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup quick melting Canadian
cheese, cut up
1?•s cups tomato sauce
1 cup ripe olives, pitted and
eat up
2 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Fry rice uil Poil, stiavring and
cooking ufamily"e Is golden col-
our. Rem. visitor heat and add
onion, Templemaiheese, bomato
sauce, Moisten rha1•i
powdete and Ja''prika with a
small Lia" `aeatu Ji}cater and add,
with .ilio Delis etvater, to other
ingredile Immo, u n ti I well
blended, de ing dish: . 'ren 1' hoursd grease atba37e5
degrees J
it e * *
Or. to go with your fail vege-
tables, you may like these por-
cupine me -at balls sent by Mrs.
Anna B. Smyth. "These are meat
stretchers," she writes.
PORCUPINE MEAT BALLS
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
'•i teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1•: cup hot water
is cep raw rice, rinsed
I No. 2 van tomatoes
quantity
f. minced
onionSmall and greenapepper
Combine to e a t, salt, pepper,
egg, hot water, and rice; form
into bells size al an egg. Brown
on all side:~ in heavy skillet.
Add tomatoes. onion, and green
pepper. Cover end cook slowly
until don (If more moisture is
needed. swirl tomato 1uico, )
Mts. Smyth also sent a'recipe
fur meat balls from Greece.
ATHENS MEAT BALLS
1 potted lean ground beef
1 teaspoon sett
t _ tcaspoen stepper
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon crushed mint
leaves (or 1 teaspoon taint
flavouring)
1 egg
to cup cracker crumbs
Combine all ingredients and
farm into small baa.hs, about 1
inch. Chill far 1 hour, then fry
in olive oi.1 until brown. Marie
• on abeerbent paper; server with
rice er spaghetti. if desired.
•1'l[essecl are the meek—what
would bossy people do without
tisk
Getting In That
Whiter Stove Wood
Stipping a saw rig onto the
splines of the tractor power take-
off and running the tractor up
into the dooryard isn't much of
a job, but it's hardly worth while
for today's pile of wood. It takes
but a few minutes to disengage
the rig after the job is done, and'
then the saw rig sits in disuse
the rest of the year without mak-
ing
aking any contribution, We don't
begin to saw as much woad as
we did in the long ago, back
when we kept two=three shoves
and a eounle of fireplaces going
all winter.
Before we had a tiactar and
tractors had saw rigs there was
always a man who came around,
and he'd charge so much a cord
for reducing the four -foot lengths
to stove size. Before him, this
was done by hand, but those
cheery days had happily gone
and machinery was a great thing.
His caw rig was hardly as so-
phisticated as the one I've just
taken off nvy tractor, but it was
a good deal faster than any other
way,
It was on a set of wheels,
drawn by two horses, and it had
a huge one -cylinder, make -and -
break engine with a heavy fly-
wheel. The thing had a way of
chugging every once in a while
just as you thought it had stop-
ped. The long belt off the motor
was laid over itself once, to rev-
erse direction, and came back to
the pulley on the saw shaft. The
momentum of the flywheel was
absolutely essential to the whole
operation.
We used to bring our wood
down atter the ground dried out
in the spring. A lot of farmers
tried to get their sheds filled for
the next winter before Easter,
but we never shot at any parti-
cular mark. It was often well
into the spring before we got
hauled, and then we'd have to
wait for mud season to day, and
the summer sun and wind were
helpful in drying the wood out-
doors, anyway. Figuring eight
running feet to a cord, if we had
20 cords of wood going it made
a pile in the dooryard 160 feet
long. It would start by the mail-
box at the road and run back
behind the house along the barn.
When we got it all hauled and
all piled the thing to do was wait
until the man came to saw it.
He had similar piles in other
dooryards, and he'd work along
toward us, We'd hear him at one
place, and then at another, and
each time he'd be a day nearer
to us. The day he was expected,
we'd hurry the chores to be
ready for him, and then he would
of course be an hour or two late.
Horse threw a shoe, or he had
to grease the wheels --sorry to be
late, but those things happen. I
remember with what impatience
everybody always waited. and
yet the saw rig man never came
to anybody's house without being
late.
His horses would pull the saw
rig alongside the pile. care being
taken to place !t just right. and
the. man would trig the wheels.
He'd screw drown some grease
cups. flex the belt to see if the
tension were right. and when all
precautions had been effected
he'd wind up the engine. There
was a little handle that pulled
out of the flywneel, and with it
he could, turn the engine over
and over. It would gasp and
suck, wheeze and blow. and then
he'd hold his other hand over the
choke and it would pop,
Those old engines. so marvel-
! ousiy efficient in their time, were
1 reluctant • to thew high enthu-
daent, The pop would not be
repeated after any formai rhy
ihm of melody but eventually
it would repeat. It would go
pcip- pop- buff- buff- tuff- full a
while, and then at would go pop-
fuff-fuff-fuff-pap. The only thing
it required was a second pop be•.
fore the effect of the first was
gone. The flywheel filled in the
gaps. After a bit it would attain
a reasonable frequency, and you
knew by the sound of it that it
would go until noon, anyway.
The hell would whir, the saw
blade would whine, and we were
ready to saw wood.
One man lifter' ( the pile
and handed the =ticks to the
sawyer. Ile alwete inked if ,ecu
wanted two cute cr three te a
four -foot stick, dad it was all ;ne
to hind. My job, V nen 1 was big
enough, was to stcnd alongside
the nailing sew ,'ret nelze
away." The chunk, cut cif
would fall free. end I'd ,.rues
thevtt and toss teem bcnini :re:
By nightfall, we'd have tire.
woodpile moved trate one sie'i. at
the driveway to the reeler. sII
ready for splitting and ,vile' -brig
into the shed. It was quirt• a
day's work, B • cveuias my ter,
would be ringing : s evert Indy
would have to say evervtni:5g
three times, and I'd ye to bt.j. to.
stare at the ceiling in rho dark
and heave wool all nicht.
The man with the portable saw
rig is completely gone. Some
farmers now work up w' hat wood
they still require with a chain
saw, 1educing it to stove size
right in the woods before they
move it. Others, like m 'sell•,
have a simple attachment that
slips onto the tractor and waits
for nobody. Powered by the trac-
tor engine, it doesn't slow down
and gasp when the going get:
tough. The handling of what
wood we house is just as heavy
and tiring as ever, but the pile
isn't 20 -cords long these days.
There is a humming in my ears
this evening tram the blade, for
the noise is just as it always was.
so speak up if you have anything
to say.—by John Gould in the
Christian Science Monitor.
Fisherman Catches
Three Buffaloes
A fisherman in Australia's
Northern Territory set his net
to catch. salmon, trout and other
relatively small fish at a river-
bed site seventy miles north of
Darwin. Ile gathered not a sin-
gle fish in its meshes, but
caught three powerful adult
buffaloes, each weighing in o r e
than 1.900 lbs.
The three buffaloes, when ex-
tracted from the net, were dead.
According to the most plausible
theory advanced by local hun-
ters, one buffalo c:lginally got
entangled in the presum-
ably when he slouc ted down et
Mary River, when the net was
et, for a .drink.
Then, infwr,tud Ly t trapped
feeling, tee buffalo olmnged out
of the teeter, dragging theen-
tire net with him He auccceded
in rejoinin_ his w i1 d.scrub-
roaming herd. Put. a'- he dreg--
gee
reg-gee a good rel ii.f l est
around wtih !rim lo soon em-
broiled two (-ter but fnles in itt
me ette.s.
Then all titre r,o 't, ihr-..l,-
ed and kirkeci to t e .L_nt-
e(ves. but on } L -tt , i worse
mess, until tied ,t t ..a m n: lal-
rzcd b:, the it, p• w,i tua •
strands. Leith t. -r1 i n ;1} of ex --
h u.ation. t:rne. it net,
with its might!:
dragged fifiro ..-os the
titer- bed.
ISSL'll 42 fell
BOMBARD ARSENAL _.- Tanks from Campo de Mayo, the
rebel headquarters, be mbord Esteban de Luca military arsen-
al of Riachuel Pie r, whrt'i c'nnects Buenos Aires with Avel-•
loneda, as hru;:mina r r....1 t ' -ord civil war.