McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, May 02, 1940, Image 3

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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK. S. C.. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1940 “The Name Is Familiar- BY FELIX B. STHEYCKMANS and ELMO SCOTT WATSON Smithsonian Institution * I 'HE Smithsonian Institution in Washington bears the name of an Englishman who never had set foot on American soil but who left his entire fortune to establish in this country what was destined to be* come one of the greatest storehouses of scientific knowledge in the world. James Smithson, bom in 1765, was the natural son of a widow, Eliza* beth Keate Macie and Hugh Smith- son, an English country squire. During his boy hood and college years he bore the name of James* Lewis Macie, but after he was ad mitted to the Roy al society and had won some fame as a scientist, he applied to the . _ ... crown for per- James Smithson mission to take his father’s name. This was granted in 1802 and there after he was James Smithson. How ever, his father’s title as duke of Northumberland went to his half- brother, Lord Percy. Because of the bar sinister on his name he never married. He hated the monarchial system and left Eng land to make his home in Gerioa, Italy, where his life of tragic frus tration ended in June, 1829. When his will was opened it was found that he had left a" fortune of more than half a million dollars “to the United States of America to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian institution, an estab lishment for the increase and diffu sion of knowledge among men." Why did he do it? That is one of the unsolved mysteries of history. Once he wrote, “My name shall live in the memory of man when the ti tles of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct arid forgotten.'* That may afford a clue! • • • Bowie Knife •DICTIONARIES say a bowie knife is a stout, straight, single-edged hunting knife. But more than a hundred years ago, when hunting knives were more important as a means of self-preservation, a Bowie knife was known as “the kind that Jim Bowie carries." History is not certain as to who invented the knife, but there is no question that it was named after Colonel Jrimes Bowie, a native of Tennessee. There is a story that Bowie thrust his butcher knife into an attacking Indian and his hand slipped down over the blade, cutting it severely. _ _ . However, it James Bowie W as the Indian who failed to heal up, not Bowie, and at his first opportunity Bowie had a hunting knife made to order with a guard on it. Soon after he began to carry it he was attacked by three desperadoes and killed all of them with his new kind of knife. The men of the times began ordering knives like Bowie’s and soon began merely to ask for Bowie knives. Bowie was finally killed himself in the battle of the Alamo but when his body was found it was surround ed by dead Mexicans whom he had killed first. CoL James Bowie was the kind of man who, if he lived to day, would be prominent in the tes timonial advertisements. • • • Volfs XTOLTS—the units for measuring ▼ electrical force—are named in honor of Alesandro Volta, Italian professor who tamed the electric spark in the early 1800s. Up until then electricity was pro duced only by rubbing a piece of glass, resin or wax with the dry hand or a piece of dry cloth, making a spark. Electricity had no prac tical use—except as a novelty of the French draw ing rooms. There gentlemen who wore laces would shock ladies who wore hoop skirts by generating static electricity and then touch ing the ladies on the cheek. This pastime is much howeverlLan Volta some of the others that history says went on in French drawing rooms and perhaps we should not minimize the importance of static electricity. At any rate, Alesandro Volta spent the greatest part of his life trying to generate electricity with out rubbing anything. One day he tried piling silver and zinc discs of equal size upon each other with wet pieces of cloth between. He con nected the first and last discs with a wire and got—not a shock, but the first steady current of electricity in history. (Released by Weetern Newspaper Union.) THE TRUTH COMES OUT AT TEA FOR THE CROWD (See Recipes Below) At the Tea Table This is the one year in four when the bachelor had better put on his running boots or else risk getting caught and de prived of the free dom he prizes so dearly. For it's Leap year-. . „ girl proposes and man can’t very well dispose . . . at least that’s how the legend runs. There’s nothing quite so modem as an old-fashioned engagement tea with which to make the announcement that Judy loves John and John doesn’t mind at all. There’s nothing so modem, either, as inviting the young man in the case and his bachelor friends to the party. Now, in 1940, afternoon tea is not the “strictly feminine” affair it has been unjustly accused of be ing. On the contrary, Mr. America prefers the invigorating pick-up, just as long as he can take his tea ex actly as he likes! This may mean with clove-spiked lemon, or a touch of candied ginger, perhaps. Since the boys hate fuss and frills, and like a girl to come straight to the point with out keeping them guessing, they would think * it pretty clever to “say it” with hearts bearing the initial of the happy pair at tached to the strings of the tea-balls. Cookies are to the male what candy is to the baby . . . the most desirable bon-bon in the world of sweetmeats. So ... if you know any girl who has gotten herself en gaged and is about to tell the world so . . . suggest that she invite the boys along with the girls to hear the glad news and tell her to be gen erous with the cookies! Frosted Squares. 4 eggs 2 cups light brown sugar 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon V\ teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cocoa 1 cup nutmeats (broken) 1 cup raisins or dates (cut fine) 1 teaspoon vanilla Beat eggs until very light. Add sugar gradually, continuing to beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa. Add the first mixture, blending thor oughly. Then add nuts, raisins or dates, and vanilla. Spread in shal low, greased pans and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for about 25 minutes. Remove from pan while still warm. Frost with choco late peppermint confectioners’ sug ar icing. Cut in squares. Little Swedish Tea Cakes. 1 cup butter Vz cup sugar 1 egg 2 cups cake flour ty* teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Ice cream Cream butter and add sugar slow ly. Cream well. Add well beaten egg and blend. Sift flour once be fore measuring and then sift again with salt. Add and blend in flavor ing. Place a rounded teaspoonful of batter in very small greased muf fin tins (IVz inches in diameter). Press batter up sides and over bot tom so that there is a hollow in the center. Fill this hollow with an al mond filling (about 1 teaspoonful). Chinese Cakes. (Makes 3 dozen) 1 cup butter % cup granulated sugar 2Vfe cups flour % cup blanched almonds (broken) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup powdered sugar Cream butter and sugar. Add flour and almonds. Knead. Shape into small balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake in mod erate oven (375 degrees) 20 min utes, or until done, but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet with ■ Eleanor Howe’s Cook Book “Easy Entertaining” gives you menus and tested recipes for al most every kind of party; there’s a menu (with recipes) for a re ception for the bride; there are out-door supper menus for beach parties, picnics, hikes; and there are countless menus and hints for planning children’s parties, holi day parties and bridge parties, too. Send 10 cents in coin to “Easy Entertaining” care Elea nor Howe, 919 North Michigan Avenue, Chicagq, Illinois, and get your copy of this useful booklet, now. spatula. Add vanilla to powdered sugar and roll cakes in sugar mix* ture. Almond Filling. 2 eggs Vi cup sugar % teaspoon salt % lb. finely ground almonds Beat eggs until very light and add sugar, salt, and ground almonds which have been put through food chopper twice. Bake 30 minutes in a slow moderate oven (325 degrees). Cool and serve with ice cream. Toasted Almond Sticks. 2% cups flour 1 cup sugar > % cup butter (melted) Vi cup milk 1 egg Vz pound blanched almonds (chopped) 3 teaspoons baking powder Vz teaspoon almond flavoring % teaspoon salt Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Mix beaten egg, butter (melted), milk and flavoring. Add to dry ingredi ents making a stiff dough. Grease a 9 by 13 cookie sheet with butter. Press dough evenly into pan. Sprin kle almonds evenly over all and press well into dough. Bake in mod erate oven (350 degrees) for 20 min utes, or until firm to the touch. Let stand a few minutes, and while still warm cut with a sharp knife into 3-inch strips about one inch wide. Turn cut side up, leaving a space between each stick, and return to hot oven. Toast to a rich brown. Will keep almost indefinitely. Queen of Hearts Cake. % cup butter 1% cuns granulated sugar 2% cups pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Vz teaspoon soda % teaspoon salt 1 cup sour milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 egg whites Cream the butter, add the sugar, and beat well. Sift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt and add al ternately with the sour milk and va nilla. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into cake. Bake in two layers or oblong bread pans in a moderate oven (365 degrees) 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut cake into small hearts with a cookie cutter. Ice with Queen of Hearts Icing. Queen of Hearts Icing. 2 cups granulated sugar Va teaspoon cream tartar 1 cup hot water Confectioners sugar, sifted (about 1 lb.) Red vegetable coloring Cook sugar, cream of tartar and water in a saucepan until a thin syrup (226 degrees) is formed. Cool slightly. Then add enough confec tioners sugar to make an icing of pouring consistency. Add food col oring and then pour over the hearts, covering them thoroughly with the icing. Now that the engagement has been announced, there’ll be par ties galore for the bride-to-be. If you’re planning to entertain for a June bride, be sure to read Elea nor Howe’s column next week. You’ll find, there, tested recipes and menus especially suitable for parties for a bride. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) By VIRGINIA VALE (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) W HEN Columbia decided to film “The Tree of Liberty’ , ; they decided to give the public more than good value. Many of the scenes of the book are laid in Williamsburg, Va., at the time of the Revolution and just afterward. And since the Rockefellers have obligingly re stored most of the buildings of the town so that they look as they did then, Columbia sent the company to Williamsburg. They also invited newspaper writ-j ers down to see Cary Grant, Sir^ Cedric Hardwicke, Richard Carle and others working, under the very; able direction of Frank Lloyd. Students from William and Mary college acted as extras; in a scene, made in wind and rain in front of Raleigh tavern you’ll see them,: dressed as students of the college were in the seventeen hundreds.; The wind and rain were artificially! produced on a beautiful spring eve ning. The next afternoon Grant was to be photographed riding up to the door of a famous old plantation.! The governor of Virginia and crowds of enthusiastic fans assembled to! watch. When you see that scene, 1 imagine the governor and the resf CARY GRANT of us shivering in a chilly wind from the James river, waiting for the sun to come out, while Grant patiently rode his horse up and down until somebody pointed a candid camera at it at close range, making it so nervous that it ran away. Grant lost his hat and got his wig rumpled, and by the time order was restored the sky was too cloudy for any pic tures to be made. The following day a mob was to storm something or other, and a torchlight parade was to be held.' So it rained. The picture people were patient; they’re accustomed to that sort of thing. The newspaper people were not, so they went home. The only news was that the title had to be changed to “The Howards of Virginia,” because the other one sounded too much like a Warner Brothers patriotic short, and that Martha Scott, instead of Joan Fon taine, would play the lead. It’s going to be a swell picture, one of Frank Lloyd’s best—that’s recommendation enough for any movie. —* Director John Stahl, who has been connected with only two studios— Metro and Universal—during the past 25 years, has broken away, along with such producers as Walter Wanger and Frank Capra, to enjoy the freedom of making his own pic ture selections. You must remem ber his “Back Street,” with Irene Dunne, and “Only Yesterday,” with Margaret Sullavan, to mention just a few of his successes. He’s chosen “The Life of Daniel Webster” for his first free picture, and has signed with James Roose velt to direct “The Boy Grew Older” for him. ^ Spike Jones, drummer in Oscar Bradley’s orchestra on the CBS “Screen Guild Theater,” refused an offer of $200 for a drum head re cently. The original cost of the drum head was only $10—but it’s covered with signatures of famous Hollywood stars who have appeared on the program, from Shirley Tem ple to Bette Davis. MX 7t\ ' “ Lany Ross was recently nominat ed as the perfect date by a group of pretty girls who act as profes sional fashion models. To show his appreciation, he invited four of them to be his guests at a very smart—and very expensive—night club. When the night was over,' Lanny, who was selected as the per fect date because he knows just what to do when escorting a woman, found that he couldn’t pay the check —because he’d left his wallet at home. i % Many commentators will air their views on the forthcoming presiden tial campaigns to be held this sum mer. To one, however, it will hold special interest. Many years ago Edwin C. Hill, “America’s Star Re porter,” covered the Theodore Roosevelt convention. From the time Teddy became President, Hill was referred to by the Rough Rider as “the unofficial member of my; cabinet.” This summer Hill will again cover a Roosevelt convention providing Franklin Delano Roose velt runs for a third term. OP?. SEW Ruth Wyeth Spears /~\NE day a snap-shot came from a reader showing a half dozen braided rag rugs spread out on the grass. No two were alike. I thought this one with a scalloped border was particularly interest ing and the maker wrote me that the scallops do stay flat on the floor. She uses wool rags and fre quently dyes them the colors she wants. She cuts or tears them into strips an inch or more wide, according to the weight of the material and then braids them tightly. The braided strips are sewn together with double carpet thread and she keeps the work flat on the table all the time she is sewing. For this rug, the cen ter row is 15 inches long. Sew around and around this, using the colors indicated. When the oval is 31 inches long and 16 inches wide, divide it evenly around the edge with pins about five inches apart. Now, sew a row around with a 2-inch loop at each pin. Sew the next three rows around these S t AROUND R THE HOUSE rv The cookie cutter will not stick and gum up if dipped in flour be fore cutting the dough. * * * Old-fashioned iron beds can eas ily be camouflaged by putting at tractive slipcovers over the ends. • • • To keep mashed potatoes hot, place them in a tightly covered kettle set in a pan of hot water over a low heat. • * * Wipe off parchment lamp shades with a cloth dampened with olive oil. It will remove all soil and will restore the former freshness. * * * v Grease spilled on a hardwood kitchen floor may be quickly re moved by pouring kerosene over the spot. When the kerosene evap orates, the grease will have dis appeared. * * • Chopped cooked prunes mixed with peanut butter or cottage cheese makes a good sandwich spread. * * • Add a tablespoon each of pre pared horseradish and mustard to half a cup of whipped cream. Serve with ham, veal or pork. * * * The sun should not be allowed to shine directly on begonias or plants that have large, rather soft leaves when leaves are wet. If water is left on leaves, they are likely to burn. • • * Washing machine hints: Always turn off the machine if you are suddenly called away. The aver age tubful of clothing requires six minutes for ordinary washing— and 10 minutes for badly soiled ar ticles, such as overalls. Change the water twice in laundering soiled articles such as rugs and play suits. Never overcrowd the washing machine, since the gar ments in it may be torn. loops easing the braiding in just enough to keep the work flat. NOTE: “The Rug That Grew Up With the Family” is another interesting rug-making idea. Di rections are in Mrs. Spears’ Book 3, which also tells how to make spool shelves; streamlining an old style bed; and many other useful ideas. Write Mrs. Spears today, enclosing 10 cents in coin and book No. 3 will be sent to you by re turn mail. MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS Drawer 10 Bedford Hills New York Enclose 10 cents for Book No. 3. Name Address O-Cedar It, Mother! Don’t clean and polish/ fool Do BOTH at once. Any lovely lady can polish her furniture and floors as she cleans them. All the work she used to do to wash and dry AND then polish her furniture . . . was half wasted. Instead, use O-Cedar Polish in your damp cloth and wash and polish at the same time. v Your neighborhood dealer sells genuine: MOPS, WAX, DUSTERS, CLEANERS AND O-CEDAR FLY AND MOTH SPRAY Better a Jewel Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.—Confucius. WHY SHOULDN’T / STEAL H/M FROM YOU LF LCAN? i it, but—my stsfehn- naiea me. Maybe it was because we were only half-sisters. Our mothers were dii-'| ferent; as different as we were our selves. But, I had promised our father on his deathbed that I would see that Gladys got everything until she was old enough to look out for herself. I was faithful to that promise. Gladys was beautiful, popular—and in spite of my efforts—wild. And she envied me the man I loved. Yet sha might have found real happiness^ but— * ★ ★ b Maybe you, yourself, are in the position of Jane Kent, or maybe you know some one who is. How would you work out this human problem? That there is a way out—a real solution—is proved by the human, poignant diary of Jane Kent who writes her real life story under tbaj title “Wild Sister” in June Jiue Sioiy m—m—mmmmmmm Nome On Sajfe A treat with .. o SLICED BANANAS ’ / ^5^ MADE »Y KELLOGG’S IN BATTLE CREEK Copr. 1940 by Kellogg Company