Banner Graphic, Greencastle, Putnam County, 25 November 1974 — Page 4
4A rm PUTNAM COUNTY IANNEK-GRAPHIC, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, lf74
Russell Baker
Slice of life happens every Thanksgiving around the table
out of the hot grease with relative safety. Should the turkey drop to the floor, however, remove the knife and stone, roll the turkey gingerly into the two bath towels, wrap thejp several times around it and lift the encased fowl to the carving
place.
You are now ready to begin carving. Sharpen the knife on the stone and insert it where the thigh joins the torso. If you do this correctly, which is impossible, the knife will almost immediately encounter a
barrier of bone and gristle.
This may very well be the joint. It could, however, be your thumb. If not, execute a
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OPINION PAGE i J
(x) 1974 New York Times News Service
How to carve a turkey:
Assemble the following tools-carving
knife, stone for sharpening carving knife, hot water, soap, wash cloth, two bath
towels, bar bells, meat cleaver. If the house lacks a meat cleaver, an ax
may be substituted. If it is, add bandages,
sutures and Iodine to above list. Begin by moving the Turkey from
roasting panto a suitable carving area. This is done by inserting the carving knife into the posterior stuffed area of the Turkey and the knife-sharpening stone
into the stuffed area under the neck. Thus skewered, the turkey may be lifted
Letters to the editor Letter not accurate
To the editor: As one of the four founders of the Putnam County Playhouse and a member of the board of directors since its inception twelve years ago, I would like to reply to a recent letter in your paper. The opinions expressed by the writer were not accurate. Miss Carol Wharton has been a loyal supporter of our Playhouse, sometimes coming many miles to see our productions. Even though she has been asked to direct several summers, her commitment to the National Thespian Organization as an advisor at Indiana University has not permitted her to participate actively.
Miss Carol Wharton has revived student interest in theatre at Greencastle High School. Her productions have taste and quality. They involve many students who have never seen live theatre or participated in it. Greencastle is lucky to have ha- as a member of its community. She is first-rate. It is my further opinion that personal attacks have no place in a public forum, such as your newspaper. This is particularly so, when they involve other persons or organizations that the writa appears to represent, but does not. John L. Franklin Greencastle
vigorous sawing motion until satisfied that the knife has been defeated. Withdraw the knife and ask someone nearby, in as testy a manner as possible, why the knives at your house are not kept in better carving condition. Exercise the biceps and faearms by lifting bar-bells until they are strong enough for you to tackle the leg joint with bare hands.
the carcass in ugly chunks. The alternate method fa carving white meat is to visit around the neighborhood until you find someone who has a good carving knife and borrow it, if you find one, which is unlikely. This method enables you to watch the
SfPffjcJWS’TOMt-
football game on neighbors’ television sets and also aeates the possibility that somebody back at your table will grow tired of waiting and do the carving haself. In this case, upon returning home, cast a pained stare upon the mound of chopped
white meat that has been hacked out by the family carving knife and refuse to do anymore carving that day. No one who cares about the artistry of carving can be expected to do work upon the multilations of amateurs, and it would be a betrayal of the carver’s art to do so.
Wrapping one hand firmly around the thigh, seize the turkey’s torso in the other and scream. Run cold water over hands to relieve pain of bums. Now, take a bath towel in each hand and repeat the above maneuver. The entire leg should snap away from the chassis with a distinct crack, and the rest of the turkey, obedient to Newton’s law about equal and opposite reactions, should roll in the opposite direction, which means that if you are carving at the table the turkey will probably come to rest in someone’s lap. Get the turkey out of the lap with as little fuss as possible, and concentrate on the leg. Use the meat cleaver to sever the sinewy leather which bends the thigh to the drumstick. If using the alternate, ax method, this operation should be performed on a cement walk outside the house in order to preserve the table. Repeat the above operation on the turkey’s uncarved side. You now have two thighs and two drumsticks. Using the wash cloth, soap and hot water, bathe thoroughly and, if possible, go to a movie. Otherwise, look each person in the eye and say, “I don’t suppose anyone wants white meat.” If compelled to carve the breast anyhow, sharpen the knife on the stone again with sufficient awkwardness to tip the gravy bowl on the person who started the stampede for white meat. While everyone is rushing about to mop the gravy off her slacks, hack at the turkey breast until it starts crumbling off
'MEEEOWIVW!'
Putnam Patter
Appreciation to Wharton To the editor: department was responsible for the sound The members of the Greencastle High and lighting effects.
School faculty wish to express, their appreciation to Miss Carol Wharton for her leadership in fostering a renewal of educational theatre in Greencastle. The recent production of “Up the Down Staircase" was an excellent example of what educational theatre should be. Not only as the faculty involved directly with the students in the performance, creating better rapport between the two, but also many other unseen faculty and students worked together in a common effort. The Industrial Arts department printed the tickets and the programs; the Art Department designed the program cover and printed the posters; the Audio-Visual
Appalled
To the editor: I was appalled to read in your issue of Nov. 15 the contemptible and unfounded personal attack upon Miss Carol Wharton and equally appalled at what seems to me to be irresponsible journalism in publishing such an attack. I trust that you will also make your opinion page available for the many letters I am sure you will receive in support of Miss Wharton. Let me make this point clear: this letter is not a -‘defense” of Miss Wharton. To those who have sat in her classes or worked under her direction in plays, to their parents and friends, and to her colleagues, I am sure she needs no defense. Instead, this is both a personal and a professional tribute to one whose work and whose proficiency I admire tremendously. I speak not only as one who has viewed most of the Greencasle High School productions for many years but as an adult member of the cast of “Up the Down Staircase.” Under Miss Wharton’s patient and talented direction we progressed from being just ourselves into feeling' that we were the characters we portrayed. It was a joy especially to watch the growth of the students in their roles. It was equally rewarding to have the op-
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Other students ushered and poured punch, and nearly 650 elementary, junior, and senior high school students participated as active members of the audience. Students and faculty together built an unusual, creative setting. Educational theatre should provide many students with varied interests and abilities, united in a single goal, the opportunity to gain new experiences. This is the contribution Miss Carol Wharton’s leadership has made to our school community. Editors: note: the letter was signed by all members of the Greencastle High School faculty except three members who were not present because of illness.
at letter portunity, as a teacher, to share an exciting experience with students outside the classroom. I believe that the students returned this feeling. We all owe Miss Wharton our gratitude for her creative approach to the casting and direction of this play. I am disturbed when one young man-a freshman last year at DePauw-can publish remarks that defame the professional capabilities of someone of Miss Wharton’s stature. This letter is addressed to the thousands in Putnam County who do not know her in an effort to “Set the record straight.” The parents of our students at Greehcastle High School may be assured that if their sons and daughters have an opportunity to work under Miss Wharton, not only will they receive fine dramatic direction, but even better, they will share those weeks of hard work and creativity with a truly warm and loving person whose influence for good is a tremendous asset to this commuhity. Charlotte E. Peterson (Chairman,^ English Department Greencastle High School) Why not wind tunnel ? To the editor: I just read the letter to the editor about a warning system. Have any of the residents there heard of a wind tunnel? It could save lives! What good is a warning system (if all you want to do is watch your town and school being destroyed.) Wind tunnels can be built very economically under a structure such as a school even after completion. Ask your civil defense leader to visit Brownsburg school at Brownsburg Ind. Pods, tennis courts, etc. are great: why aren't people insisting on wind tunnels? I know the children at Bainbridge elementary haye absolutely no protection in case such a warning, nor do the Greencastle schools. Sandy Mountcastle Jamestown
Silent is the turkey gobbler on old McDonald’s Putnam farm
If Old MacDonald had a farm in Putnam County nowadays, he might hear a “gobble, gobble here” but there probably wouldn’t be an answering “gobble, gobble there.” There just aren’t enough turkeys on the hoof to render such a two-part chorus. A few years ago, the Thanksgiving bird was about as common in these parts as the starling or the sparrow. County folks who raised them sold them feathers and all to people who wanted to slaughter their own or marketed them ready to plop into the oven for those not hankering for the messy job of dressing. Now a turkey scout in areas where the birds did once abound wouldn’t be able to scare up a single gobble. One by one, these growers who supplied the holiday demand have gone out of business. In most cases, a leading cause for the demise of the turkey trade had to do with the stuffing. In other words, it now costs too much to stuff the birds with all the grains and concentrates needed to produce a well-rounded and respectable looking centerpiece for the Thanksgiving
table.
Last year when prices wer good and feed was selling sound $6 per hundred pounds, turkey growers still in the business had a real good year. Now feed costs are nearer $9 per bag and to those hanging on, the gobbling of the flock has been sad music. Sadness this year is intensified at the market place where turkeys are selling for about 24 cents a pound less than they did last season. The only one really smiling about the situation is the housewife who, in the face of inflation, no doubt deserves something to rejoice
about.
Bureaucracy, too, must take its raps for the dearth of locally-grown turkeys. Some of the major growers Mice had their own slaughtering and processing plants and no one had any trouble finding a properly cleaned bird for his table. But the government sought to improve on this situation with a maze of rules and regulations, most of which cost so much in money and trouble that local raisers closed up shop and turned to more profitable uses for their premises. Added to their other woes, turkey raisers have always lived in fear of such natural hazards as varmits or storms that could either drown their birds or cause them to pile up and smother to death. Such catastrophes could strike early in the season when investments were small, but
they were just as likely to hit when the flock was near its market peak when the
loss would be a disaster.
In recent years, the Putnam turkey capitol has shifted from south of U.S. 40 to the county’s central and northern regions. Reports are that south contians such as the Staleys, the Cassidas, the Samsels and the Smedleys are not raising turkeys
these days. A few connected with feed
companies are still at it, but for some, things will be different next year. Joe Stultz of Stultz Feed & Seed west of Morton contracted and marketed 9,500 turkeys this year, but it won’t happen again-soon, that is. Feed costs didn’t
break his back but the market did. He chalked up his losses at nearly a quarter a pound over last year’s prices. “This is my third year in the turkey business and I’m through,” Joe said. “Last year was a good turkey year for me but I don’t expect another one like it for some time.” Gene Clodfelter of Roachdale Elevator is another county grower who took it on the chin and his losses were greater because he had gone into the business in a bigger way. He raised and sold 20,000 turkeys this year. But he isn’t ready to give up-not just yet. He aims to give it another try next year. As things now stand, there are still fresh turkeys available for your Thanksgiving table if that’s what you want. Grocers say they can get a few from
backyard family operations. And just possibly you won’t have to rely on a frozen bird next year unless that is your choice. However, unless there is a drastic change for the better in the econMny to lure locals back into the turkey business, your bird will have to come from the outside and will obviously be lacking in Putnam County flavor. While our statisticians haven’t come up with a report on what the early freeze did to the pumpkin crop, this factor should have little bearing on your holiday feast. Few cooks there be who have the knowhow, the time or patience to hack up a “Live punkin” and cook it a half day to pie consistency. There’s a much easier way. The stuff comes in cans with a recipe on the side and the grocery shelves are loaded with them.
ADDITION Al HOURS Op«n Doily Oct. 1st thru Doc. 24th tfandle VI omer M«*t: 4:00 p.m. tof :OOp.m. WW. 1M. 1:OOp.m. •• 9:OOp.m. S«t. 4 Sun
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GAG Ij Septic Tank Cleaning j Licensed • Bonded Phones 653-8054 Days 653-4856 eve. {j
H.V.SMYTHE KNARf SHOE SALES Tol. No. 795-4006 Call Aftor 4:00 p..n. J dovordalo
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Private Instruction Guitar and Beginning Banjo David A. Hill 653-9634 Guitar Sorvico and Repair
SAW SHARPENING Olr* Waterworks Rd. Men.-Fri. 4 p.m. - ?? Sat. 1 p.m. -6 p.m. 653-9396 •
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Joe's Barber Shop Poland, Ind. Open 1:30 to 5:30 Men.-Fri. 8 to 1 on Sat. Good Work, popular prices. PHONE 986-2137
CATARACT BAPTIST CHURCH Cataract, Ind. S.S. at 9:30 a.m. Morning worship 10:45 a.m. BYSatft:OOp.m. Evening Service 7:00 p.m. Everyone cordially invitod.
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