The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, August 19, 1938, Image 3
THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C- FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 1938
.□VENTURERS’ CLUB
HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF!
“Playing With Dynamite”
By FLOYD GIBBONS
Famous Headline Hunter
H ello everybody:
The old phrase, “Playing with dynamite” has come to
mean about the same thing as doing something foolhardy.
That’s the figurative meaning of the expression. But literally
speaking, the man who monkeys around with high explosives
is usually one of the unsung heroes of our age.
Over in France, twenty years ago, millions of men were playing
with dynamite, and T. N. T. and just about every other explosive known.
We didn’t call those fellows foolhardy. In those days, it was generally
considered that they were doing a brave and noble thing. This is a
story of another such lad who toyed with danger in a good cause.
Herman Beaver of Chicago wasn’t juggling explosives in and
out of some sort of firearms over in France. He was taking an
even longer chance with the dangerous stuff. On a hot day in
July, 1917, he was working in a munitions plant on the northern
outskirts of Milwaukee, Wis., on the banks of the upper Mil
waukee river.
Grinding Salvaged Powder.
Over in France, millions of men were crouching in trenches, avoiding
the explosives that the enemy was hurling at them, but Herman Beaver
had no way to avoid the explosive that he was dealing with. His job was
to handle the stuff—and to handle it roughly, too. He was grinding
salvaged powder that came in to him in chunks and long tubes that
looked like spaghetti—grinding it in a machine that looked a lot like an
old-fashioned, hand-operated coffee grinder. That powder, when it had
been reduced to bits, would be used to load, rifle grenades.
In only one way did that machir.“ differ from a coffee grinder.
Between the handle that he turned continuously and the hopper into
which he fed the unground powder, was a steel plate fixed so as to shield
his body in case anything happened while he was grinding. On this day,
while Herman ground away, his eyes wandered out the window and down
the row of a dozen or more wooden buildings where the work of loading
the grenades was going on.
They were little better than shacks, about twenty-five by fifty feet,
built about fifty feet apart, in among trees, so as to obscure the plant’s
/ -om
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A terrible concussion threw him backward.
position from the air. Even in those days they were concerned about
airplanes. Those shacks were filled with men and women, and even boys
and girls—all taking long chances, to supply our soldiers with ammunition.
Blast and Deadly Flames.
But Herman wasn’t thinking about the chances. The view
from the window was pleasant. The trees outside swayed in a
gentle breeze. “I was at peace with the world," says Herman.
And then—
Without warning, there was a deafening blast. Acrid choking smoke
filled the air and fire bit into Herman’s flesh. He felt the earth rock
beneath his feet—felt a terrible concussion that threw him backward.
It happened so fast that only when he was on the floor did he realize
what had happened. The powder that he was grinding had exploded.
Behind him were benches covered with pans of powder. In rapid
succession they were catching fire. Then Herman saw that his own
clothing, heavily saturated with powder dust, was afire too. If they
had been soaked with gasoline they couldn’t have burned any more furi
ously. “The flames shot many feet above my head,” he says. “I was a
living torch."
He was stunned for a moment, but he managed to stagger to
his feet. His whole body one mass of flame, he ran to the
door—and out of it.
By that time people were pouring out of all the buildings in the group.
Herman dashed out of the door and kept right on running. He had
lost all power of reasoning. All' that moved him now was a blind,
gripping panic. He wanted to run, and keep right on running until he
dropped. And in his terror he was headed for another building—a build
ing that was filled with powder.
“Lie Down and Roll.”
If he had run into that building, this story might never have been
written.
But suddenly, through his panic, he heard a voice. Out of all the
shouts and yells of that mob of screaming humanity that was watching
his plight, that one voice, and that alone, penetrated his consciousness.
“Roll,” it was shrieking. “Lie down and roll!”
Suddenly, Herman remembered. That was what he should be doing. I
That was the only way to save himself. He dropped to the ground and I
began rolling. The pain was unbearable, as burned, smarting flesh
came 'in contact with the hard earth. He rolled over once—twice—and
then he stopped. It was all he could stand. A workman ran over
and tried to beat out the flames.
His apron caught fire and he stopped to tear it off. Then the superin
tendent ran up. He ordered the crowd back, and he himself began roll
ing Henpan over and over. He burned his hands severely, but he stuck
at the job until the fire stopped blazing.
When the flames were out, Herman’s clothing—what was left of it—
glowed and smouldered like one large, live coal. They rushed him into
one of the shacks, sat him down on a box, and began tearing the charred
cloth off his body.
“That shack was filled with powder," Herman says, “but in
their excitement they never thought of that.
“There was powder in the very box I was sitting on. The Lord only
knows why the whole place didn’t blow up. I know I don’t. And I have
two large scars, one on my right hip and one on the front of my left leg,
that remind me every once in a while of what a close call I had.”
Nobody will ever know how that explosion started, but Herman thinks
a percussion cap might have found its way into the powder he was grind
ing. “I was working with the lid of the grinder open,” he says. “If it had
been fastened down when the explosion occurred, the whole machine
would have shattered to bits—and I don’t believe I’d be here to tell the
story.”
Copyright.—WNU Service.
Silkworms Like White Mulberry
Silkworms will eat any mulberry
leaf, but the white mulberry results
in the finest silk. The white mul
berry, a native of China, is found
in many other countries. The red
mulberry is a native of Americc.
‘Ma’ Has Six Meanings
In the Annamite language of
southern Asia, the term “ma” has
six different meanings, depending
on the inflection used—young rice,
but, horse, ghost, tomb and mama.
Bill Curves to the Side
The wry-billed plover of New Zea
land (a stouter, more compact sand
piper), is unique in having a bill
that curves to the side, a result, it
is said, of searching for food around
stones.
Best Man at Wedding
The custom of having a best man
at a wedding originated in primitive
days of marriage by capture, when
the husband called his friends to
assist in carrying off the bride.
Mechanical Pitcher Throws Only Strikes
Ifliti
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Byron Moser, a St. Louis hanker with mechanical inclinations, tries out the mechanical pitcher he has built.
It pitches four balls a minute, each of which is a strike. The speed and height of the ball can be regulated.
Marathon Golfer Wins Farm
J. Smith Ferebee, young Chicago broker who achieved the amazing
feat of shooting 144 holes of golf in 15 hcnrs and thereby winning sole
title to a $30,000 Virginia plantation and a number of cash bets. Ferebee
played the four 18-hole courses at Olympia Fields twice, averaging under
91 per round. The bet that resulted in the one-man golf marathon was
made with Ferebee’s partner, another Chicago hreker, who was joint
owner <>f the plantation.
MEMORIAL TO MOTHERS
Commissioned by the boys and
girls of Ashland, Fa., in memory of
their mothers, this monument was
designed by Emil Siebern. The
statue, which is twice life size, will
be dedicated in September. The
money for building the statue was
raised by popular subscription
among the children of Ashland, who
contributed their spending money
and sums earned at odd jobs for the
sculpturing and construction.
SWIMS BALTIC
Jenny Kammersgaard, nineteen-
year-old Danish swimming star who
entered the Baltic sea at Gedser,
South Denmark, and swam a 37-mile
route to Heinhagen, Germany, in 40
hours and 9 minutes. She is believed
to be the first to accomplish this
difficult feat. The young swimmer
has been an aquatic enthusiast al
most from infancy.
Temperance Women in Conclave
, Greeting National President Mrs. Ida B. Wise Smith (left) of the
Women’s Christian Temperance union as she arrived in San Francisco
for the annual convention of the organisation is Mrs. Louise J. Taft,
state president for California.
Ripped by jagged rocks where she ran aground off Gloucester, Mass., the 100-foot fishing seiner. Uncle
Sam, was pronounced a total loss by coast guardsmen after being abandoned by her captain and crew. Nearly
80,000 pounds of fresh mackerel was dumped into the sea to lighten the boat in an effort to save it..
IMPROVED
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
S UNDAY I
chool Lesson
By HA
Dean
HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST, D. D.
of The Moody Bible Institute
of Chicago.
© Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for August 21
HANNAH: GODLY MOTHERHOOD
LESSON TEXT—I Samuel Z:l-5.
GOLDEN TEXT—Her children arise up.
and call her blessed. Proverbs 31:28.
“Godly Motherhood” — All the
power and grace of the infinite God
working in and through the most
tender and at the same time most
potent human relationship—mother
hood! There indeed is the solution
of many of our national and social
problems. For we agree with the
poet that man, who regards himself
as being mighty, ruling over land
and sea, must defer to a mightier
power.
"For *he hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.”
Hannah was the mother of Sam
uel, who became one of Israel’s out
standing leaders—a priest, a proph
et, and “the maker of kings.”" God
needed a great man, so He chose
for i.im a great mother.
Our study for today will be topical
rather than textual and extended to
related portions in chapters 1 and
2. We consider Hannah as a mother
who was spiritual and sacrificial,
but at the same time practical in
her daily life and service.
I. Spiritual.
Many are the tributes offered to
mothers, but none has deeper sig
nificance than the testimony of a
boy or girl that their mother has
led them both by precept and ex
ample to have faith in God. Though
other advantages may be beyond
the reach even of the most self-
denying mother, this most impor
tant of all benefits she may bring
her children, but only if she herself
is an earnest and faithful follower
of the Lord.
1. Hannah trusted God in her hour
of trial and sorrow (1:10). Although
her husband was a man of good
qualities, he had followed the cus
tom of his times and taken a second
wife. Hannah, childless in the pres
ence of Penninah and her children,
was in deep sorrow. But she knew
where to take her burdens; she
brought them to the Lord in prayer.
2. She prayed—fervently and ef
fectually (1:17, 18, compare James
5:16b). Mother’s prayers have fol
lowed many a wayward boy and
girl and brought them back to God.
When every other influence for good
had been swept aside, they have
been unable to forget
prayers. One wonders what
happen to boys and girls who go out
to face a wicked and bewildering
world, with the memory of a prayer
less, worldly mother to blight rather
than to bless them.
3. She recognized children as a
gift of God (1:11). And surely they
are. Christian men and women
should protest by both word and
deed against the vicious modern
theory that children are a sort of
biological accident to be avoided
II. Sacrificial.
The most precious possession a
woman can have is a child of her
own. It was, then, the deepest and
finest sacrifice of a noble mother-
heart when she
1. Dedicated her boy to God, even
before his birth (1:11). Yet this
act so fine and commendable was
in reality only an intelligent recog
nition of the fact that children are a
gift of God. Your children and mine
belong to God. Let us not stand
in His way (or their way) as He
graciously leads them out into serv
ice for Him.
2. She kept her promise (1:24-28).
Many parents have solemnly dedi
cated their children to God before
their birth, and then later the pros
pect of separation from them has
been too much for the parents,
and the promise to God has been
thrust aside. The writer has on
many occasions seen young men
and women weep with broken
hearted dismay because a mother
or father has forbidden them to go
to China, Africa, or elsewhere at
God’s call. Mother, have you kept
your promise to God regarding your
boy, your girl?
III. Practical.
Hannah not only promised her
boy to God; she made the comple
tion of that promise certain.
1. By guiding her boy in the right
way (1:24). As a matter of fact,
she went with him to the temple.
A mother who “sends” her boy to
Sunday school or church will never
help him like the mother of whom
it may be said “she brought him
unto the house of the Lord.”
2. By providing for her boy (2:18,
19). There is no more tender and
meaningful story in all literature
than that of Hannah bringing her
boy his “little coat.” It is still true
that the best “support” a mission
ary of the Cross can have is a home
that “stands by.”
The story is told of a missionary
candidate who had no “board” back
of her but the “washboard” of a
godly mother, and who made a
valiunt and useful servant in the
foreign field. Such an arrangement
may not be the most desirable and
it really should not be necessary if
God’s people would give, but it has
its glorious advantages.
Such a mother as Hannah would
have such a son as Samuel of whom
it is said that he “was in favour
both with the Lord, and also with
men” (2:26).
Brighten your kitchen and light
en your tasks with decorative tow
els Use up scraps for the ap
plique flower pots—or do the en
tire motifs in plain embroidery.
Pattern 1783 contains a transfer
pattern of 6 motifs averaging 5%
by 9% inches and pattern piece
for applique; illustrations of
stitches; materials required.
Send 15 cents in stamps or coins
(coins preferred) for this pattern
to The Sewing Circle, Needlecraft
Dept., 82 Eighth Ave., New York
City.
Please write your name, ad
dress and pattern number plainly.
Toxsted Coconut Ice Cream
(Freezer Method)
3 cups :
1 cup shredded coconut, toasted
Add milk very gradually to ice
cream powder, stirring until dis
solved; then add cream and fla
voring. Pour into freezer can;
place in freezer and pack mixture
of crushed ice and salt around can
(use 8 parts ice to 1 part salt).
Turn slowly for 3 minutes, then
rapidly. When thick, but not hard
add toasted coconut and continue
freezing. Makes 1% quarts.
How Women
in Their 40’s
Can Attract Men
Han’s good advice (or a woman during bar
change (usually from SS to 62), who Ison
shell loae her appeal to men. whe wnirlee
about hot flaahes, loes of pep, diaacy epefle.
upeet nerree and moody epella.
Get more freeh air, 2 hrs. Bleep and If you
need a good general Bystem tonic take Lydia
E. Fink ha m’s Vegetable Compound, made
eepeciaOs for women. It helpe Natan build
up physical reeutance, thus helpe give nsoca
vivacity to enjoy life and emtet calming
Jittery nervee end disturbing symptoms that
often accompany change of life. WELL
WORTH TRYING!
Matter of Taste
The greatest element of criti
cism is taste.—Sainte Beuve.
ruined eyes
by neglect; they get ted and
sore and you let them go. Don’t
doit. Leonardi’s Golden Eye
Lotion cures soreness without
pain in one day. Cools, heal*
and strengthens.
LEONARDI’S
MAKES WEAK BYES STRONG
9fe C» a* dhqpn
Ntw Lrryr Sin wadi Dropper—SO am*
am. leeward! m Ce^New ■erinW.,U.T.
Sentinels
of Health
Don’t Neglect Them I
Nature designed the kidneys to do •
marvelous job. Their task is to keep tbm
flowing blood stream free of an excess of
toxic impurities. The act of living-—<{/•
itoelf—is constantly producing waste
matter the kidnevs must remove from
the 'blood if good health is to endure.
When the kidneys fail to function as
Nature intended, there is retention of
waste that may cause body-wide dis
tress. One may suffer nagging backache,
persistent headache, attacks of dizziness,
getting up nights, swelling, pufflness
under the eyes—feel tired, nervous, all
worn out.
Frequent, scanty or burning passages
may be further evidence of Iridney or
bladder disturbance.
The recognized and proper treatment
Is a diuretic medicine to help the kidneys
« et rid of excess poisonous body waste.
Fse Doan’s Pills. They have had more
than forty years of public approval. Are
endorsed the country over. Insist on
Doan's. Sold at all drug stores.
Doans Pi lls