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The Seaforth News, 1960-02-11, Page 2Could Find No Bruises On li..uster When a slapstick comedian Heaves a pie in somebody's face, On it be just any old pie? Em- phatically no, Take the recipe Which film comic Buster Keaton swears by "With a blonde the target, the filling is a mixture of blackberries,' flour, and. water, garnished with whipped cream. When a brunette is the one to be smeared, a lemon -meringue filling is substituted for the blackberries, which shows up better on the screen against a dark complexion. Two crusts are cooked, one inside the other, un- •. til brittle. The double crust pre- vents crumbling when your fin- gers slide across the bottom in delivering the confectionery." According to his own count, it has been 25 years since Buster Keaton made his "last important picture," yet the hand that throws the pies has never lost its. skill. The great deadpan com- edian, now 63, still derives a comfortable income from work in night clubs, summer theatre, European circuses, occasional movies, TV guest appearances, and commercials. He is neither a millionaire, like Harold Lloyd or Charlie Chaplin, nor a broken man such as the late Fatty Ar- temide became. In his antobiograpby, My Wonderful World of Slapstick, published this week, Keaton tells the story of his 60 years in show business, including his rough and tumble stage- performances as featured star, at the age of 5, of The Three Keatons, an act in which he was billed as The Rumen Mop and treated accord- ingly. The rest of the book dwells largely on the happy heydays in Hollywood in the '20s, when life was a round of hard work and big parties. In 1932 Keaton was divorced by his first wife, Natalie (sister of Norma Tal - badge), took up heavy drinking, and was fired by M -G -M. He was "flat broke" by 1934, and from 1935 to 1940 made two -reel films called "cheaters" because they were shot in three days each. In 1940 he started work as a gagman for $100 a week at M -G -M, where his pay had once been $3,000 a week, and he then gradually worked his way back up the financial ladder through small movie roles and TV guest shots. He devotes less than 26 pages to these last 29 years of his life. As The Human Mop, little Keaton, who became probably the greatest knockabout comic of all time, suffered such appar- ently merciless mailings from his father that he was twice re- quired to strip naked — before a New York mayor and a New York governor — to satisfy the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children that he was not covered with bruises. Dur- ing all his years in the movies, he suffered only one work -stop- ping injury — he broke his leg when the sole, of his slap shoe got caught in a moving stair and he was tossed 12 feet. On another occasion while moviemaking he did break his neck when a stream of water knocked him off a train onto the rails, but the in- jury wasn't discovered until long after it had healed. Here is the Great. Stone Face on the most famous element of his vanishing art, his deadpan: "One of the first things I notic- ed tin vaudeville) was that whenever I smiled or let the audience suspect how much I was enjoying myself they didn't seem to laugh as much as usual. 1 guess people just never do ex- pect any human mop ... to be PARALLEL PARKING — A parking lam fills every inch of space in front of this London, England, store window. The carriages with their occupants wait for mothers to return, pleased by what is being done to him .. , (When I was making movies with Roscoe (Fatty) Ar- buckle) a few fan letters to Ros- coe asked why the little man in his pictures never smiled. We had been unaware of it, We looked at the three two-reelers we'd done together and found it to be true. Later , , . I tried smiling at the end of one pic- ture. The preview audience bated it and hooted the scene, After that I never smiled again on stage, screen, or TV." —From . NEWSWEEK Attention! AU Canadian Teachers Trooping into classrooms at Clayton and Bayless high schools in suburban St. Louis recently, bright youngsters enrolled in freshman physics carried under their arms the most unusual textbook in the U.S. Its title: "Russian Sixth Grade Physics." The book is a 128 -page, .loose- leaf volume for Soviet children in'what amounts to the Ameri- can eighth grade. Translated by Alexander Cal- andra, associate professor of physics at nearby Washington University, the text is part of a U.S. Office of Education pro- ject headed by Calandra hiin- self. The project's purpose: To Improve science teching at the freshman level.. "American ninth graders -usually study general science," said Fred Boercker, one of Clayton High's teachers giv- ing the course. "This involves everything from soup to nuts— mostly nutty." In contrast, the Russian book treats just a few topics with ABC continuity, and, unlike U.S. general science, in- troduces the use of math in solv- ing problems. Despite some propaganda in the introduction ("electric light ... was created by . Russian scientists, P.N. Aiablochkov and A.N. Lodigan") the text is effective — and best available. "The sad thing is that it hasn't been done before," said Calandra of the translation last week. "Contrary to general opinion, the Russian pupils are not over- loaded on science. They've simp- ly cut out the frills." The pupils, themselves, are as enthusiastic about the Russian text as their mentors are. "In other science books there were lots of colored pictures," said Joe Langson, a student at Clayton High. "This Russian book has small, simple figures, but they sure are to the point. You understand what they're getting at," TEETHING RING -- Like father, like son, Mark Connolly, 7 months, nibbles on the handle of his dad's throwing hammer. Pop Harold is world champ at the hammer throw, His wife, Olga, holding the infant, is former Czech athletic sior. 'TABLE 13&LKS RAISIN SQUARES Mix: 1 0. raisins 1/2 o. hot water / o. brown sugar 2 tbsps. lemon juice or 1 tbsp. vinegar Bringto boil. and thicken with cornstarch mixed with a little water. Cool slightly, 2 o. sifted cake flour 2 tbsps. sugar 2 egg yolks ' 1/2 tsp. salt x/ c. shortening 1/2 a. sour cream 1/2 c. fine dry crumbs 1 tbsp. white sugar 2 egg whites Beat egg yolks .and add sour cream. Sift flour and 2 tbsps, sugar and salt in bowl. Cut in shortening and make a well in centre and pour in egg and cream mixture. Mix with fork. -Transfer to floured board and knead to a ball. Cut in half and chill. 'Roll one half in square shape 8 by 8 inches. Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with dry crumbs and spread raisin filling on top. Roll other half of pastry for top. Brush with unbeaten egg white and invert over rai- sins. Brush top with egg whites and sprinkle with white sugar, Bake in very hot oven 450 deg- rees for 15 minutes and reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking till brown. a • 5 DATE NUT SQUARES 3 eggs 1, 0. soft bread crumbs, packed tightly 1 c. chopped dates 'Fa e. chopped walnut meats Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs until very thick and light. Gradually beat in sugar. Add bread crumbs, chopped dates and nuts, Spread in shal- low 9 -inch square or 10 by 7 inch greased pan. Bake for one hour. Cool. Serve in squares or break into small pieces, place in sherbet glasses and top with whipped cream or pudding sauce. Makes about 20 squares or 8 large desserts, 5 • rt' OATMEAL COOKIES 1 c. batter and shortening mixed 1 c. brown sugar 2 c. oatmeal 2 c. sifted flour 1 tsp. soda li tsp, salt 1 tsp, vanilla i /, c. boiling water Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Blend in oats and dry in- gredients. Add vanilla and boil- ing water. Shape into small balls and press down with fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. 5 5 5 SAND TARTS 1 c. plus 1 tbsp. butter ls, e. confectioner's sugar 12 to 2 e. sifted flour 1 tsp, salt 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cold water tax tsp. vanilla Walnut halves Cream butter and sugar. Com- bine '/z c. flour and salt and blend into creamed mixture. Add water and vanilla and work in remaining flour. Chill dough. Pinch off small amount of dough and roll into 11/2 -inch balls. Top each with walnut. Place on bak- ing sheet at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 325 de- grees and continue baking for 15 minutes. Cool before frosting with s/4 c. confectioner's sugar. 2 tbsps, hot milk l/4 tsp, vanilla mixed until smooth and put around cookie with pastry tube, Yield; 30 cookies, JAM COOKIES 1 egg l: c. brown sugar c. shortening 2 c. flour 4 tbsps, cold water 1 tsp. soda 2 tsps. bakiltg powder 1 tsp. vanilla Cream rus;sr and shortening, Add me water end t•anilla. Sift dry inere:dicnts tosether and add. Mix well, Using about.' a teaspoon of mixture, roll into balls.. Make a hole in centre and fill with jam. Bake at 350 de- grees 'until brown, r • PRALINE COOKIES 3 tbsps. butter 1 c, brown sugar firmly packed l egg 1 0. pecan halves 4 tbsps. flour 1 tsp. vanilla extract Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet and coat with flour. Melt butter and stir in sugar, Mix in well beaten egg, nuts, flour and vanilla extract thoroughly. Drop' from teaspoon onto cookie sheet about 5 inches apart to allow for spreading. Bake 8-10 minutes. Wait a minute — no longer — before removing from pan with spatula. Flyingest People In The World Alaskans probably fly more than any other people in the world. There is one plane for every 150 people in Alaska, sev- enteen times the average of her sister states, If Alaskans have any rivals in this respect, they will be found in other northern countries where huge areas are spanned by few railroads or au- tomobile roads, and where ice conditions limit the shipping season to a short summer period. Along the suburban lake shore of Anchorage you will see rows of neatly moored pontoon planes awaiting their owner pilots. Most. are small craft which take off or land on any of Alaska's number- less lakes. Families living in Alaska's largest city use them to "get away from the conges- tion of city life." They bring spare parts, machinery, mail, freseh food, and relief workmen to remote mining and oil devel-. liver trappers, fishermen, scien- tists, tourists, or weekend camp- ers. They taxi doctors, nurses, patients in and out of the bush and permit a minister to visit the farthest borders of his par- ish, Nowadays much prelimin- ary prospecting for metals and oil is done from the air; so is mapping, in a fraction of the time formerly required. Almost a thousand children go to school by plane in Alaska, salesmen visit their customers and some prosperous Eskimo women at Point Barrow are said to fly south regularly to Fairbanks, a thousand -mile round trip, to have their hair done, In tiny, distant villages, the bush pilot plays an important role. Usually one man does all the ' flying to and from a small village, He knows the terrain by heart and has made friends with the local weather. He will fly in weather other flyers would not dare attempt. He is a combination mailman, ambulance driver, per- sonal shopper, and Santa Claus. Sometimes he is the only link between the village and the out- side world. Of necessity he is their confidant; he is their newsbearer, and usually is ador- ed by the villagers, if he has any unusual personality traits they are discussed with relish and woven into a kind of £olk' lore that follow him for the rest of his life.—From "Here Is Alaska" by Evelyn Stefansson, On the river bank a passer-by stopped and asked an angler: "Having any luck?" "Pretty good," replied the ung ler. "I haven't had a bite for three hours," "That doesn't sound very good to me," said the other, "What makes you think it's good?" '"You see that man over there?" pointed out the angler. "Well, .he hasn't had a bite for • six boors." ISSUE 6 1;100 Eskimo poi Makes Great Partner West Base was a bustle of acti- vitt' a1 inert went to, and fro, their shadows pointing to the South. Pole in the ever -rising sunlight. Each driver was busy with his team . , Even the dogs seemed to feel the thrill of this teamwork, You tell your dog what to do, the way youwant him to turn, and when you want him to stop, He under- stands and obeys immediately, and the rest of the team will fol. low him. A good lead clog is priceless; there are only a few of them. When you find' a dog that will break trail without the driver going ahead of him, when he obeys your 'commands instantly as you steer bycompass day after day over hundreds of miles of snow and glare ice, you have a good lead clog. If you lose the sled and he leaves you far be- hind, then suddenly looks back,, stops and turns the team around to return to you, you have a leader who is also a friend. And if you can depend on his intelli- gence and judgment to lead you through the worst crevasse area in Antarctica without making a single mistake, you have a part- ner who is worth his weight in gold. St, Lunaire was like that; 1 have never found another dog to equal him. But King was one of the best at Little America III. * * • At last everything was ready, the men were wishing us good luck, and the word was given to the dogs to be on their way. It did not have to be repeated; the dogs literally sprang into action, and though the loads were heavy, they had no trouble getting into motion, Each of the two teams was hauling two sleds with a total weight per team of 1,400 pounds. • • • There would be monotonous days of traveling over a bitterly cold and seemlingiy endless waste but the'passing hours and end- less days do not lower the spirit of the proud Eskimo dog; he travels gaily along pulling the geld, and with his pricked -up ears and beautiful tail high above his back, he Is something, to be- hold and remember forever, Wq were proud of our dogs and loved every one of them, They werr+e doing good work, pulling many loads against a strong wind. We decided that seven' miles waa enough for the First march, hav- ing started so late in the day. • We often fed our dogs their two pounds of pemmican each, 'How proud they looked as they watched us coming toveard them with their food. Their tails would wag and their bold -looking eyes- and yesand faces were eloquent with pleasure and appreciation. Many times they did not feel satisfied, and would look at us, asking for more. I would say to King, "That is all, old boy. We can't. give you any more, You will have to get gleng with it, Ile would understand the tone of voice if not the words, and set the example by licking up every crumb, after which he was ready to lie down for the night. I would then take my small shovel and dig a hole for each dog, just big enough for him to curl up in. Now he was protected from the wind and, could sleep comfort- ably. In soft snow the dogs would rather do this themselves, but in hard snow they always looked ex- pectantly for me to do it for them. When I was through each brie would look up at me as 12 to say "Thank you," and then lie down, curling his tail snug- ly around his nose. — front "Antarctic Night," by Jack Bur- sey; Your Teen-agers Will Love This Chocolate -Coated Popcorn Here's a sweet popcorn mix- ture that teen-agers can make some Saturday morning. Pop 2 quarts of popcorn and put in a bowl big enough to hold twice the , amount; set aside. 'Combine 1 cup white corn . syrup, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 2 table- spoons butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dis- solved. Continue cooking, with- out stirring to hard -crack stage. Remove from heat and add a squares unsweetened chocolate, melted. iilend well. Slowly pour over popped corn,' stirring until uniformly .coated. Turn out' on foil. Separate kernels, working quickly. Let get cold. SHOWY CATS WE HAVE KNOWN — Beam Ridge Hi-Fi, a cham- pion Persian cat throws a nasty look at the camera, above, at a White Plains, cat show. One of her prize ribbons serves as an impromptu laurel wreath. She's from Tuckahoe, N.Y. Affection- ate Tanya, 9 -month-old African lioness, rests on John Kipp, Jr., 2, at a New York show, below.