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m the a 14,4301 ^M^te^^d8lo^wrto post mm and his &her is deeply 8*es in $ant* ffe, N.M. and is municated with Michael lor four k$i. Meredith was divorced from MammaiII/ <VA4>4SM0 %AMAII nennetiy gcuiiig wPvf \̂ 3SS HH mother, wile, year-old ton and his own all are tkm frimute sav **I want to Ices mv head down.** Kennedy ^ McCall's magazine Irk declining a request lor an interview. "My •^^ajjjfeasg-aijf :::̂ rt:rt'rf Ati If M.': ttAKWty : Kifil aU fko VUtlMailivQ KWU •jMygmtjffi#. WWJf IIPw;"gBW IWp children, Is stfli deeply affected by the drutdesth of brother David in UK, attends mass almost daily and obviously has matured, friends told the magazine. Kennedy is working for an environmental group involved m&QminWn to reach No. 1 in MiHillsUiii Of the Bond movies. The jB*vfet*iitt^ tHe" by Paul McCartnn a ^nu^b iall, to go before the H Select fonimMiton HareottcsAfawe and Control Tuesday to dfe PEOPLE TALK NIU prof, warns of adolescent alcohol abuse *DE KALB - School programs a)med at preventing alcohol abuse in young people should begin at the elementary school level, vgarns Northern Illinois Universi- Sr education professor Lowell o "If our educational efforts start much earlier than high school, then teenagers come prepared to deal with the problems inherent in those years in a productive and healthful way," Horton says. "The lower elementary grades are not too young to begin." lorton. * "An abundance of research data Shows us that children are beginn- ftg.to use and abuae alcohol much ̂ w Published in paperback this younger than many educators and month by the Phi Delta Kappa parents had believed," Horton Educational Foundation as part of Writes in "Adolescent Alcohol its "Fastback" series, the 46-page Abuse." booklet discusses in lay terms the" school's role in education, preven­ tion and treatment of alcohol abuse. In addition, Horton discusses the reasons for adolescent alcohol abuse, how abusers can be iden­ tified, the legal drinking age con troversy and the of •HL.v. -j™ MM problem^ teenage drinking and driving. Horton is a professor in NIU's department of curriculum and in­ struction. He was an elementary and junior high school teacher and ah elementary school principal. He received his bachelor's degree from Rio Grande College, Rio Grande, Ohio, a master's degree in education from Ohio Universi­ ty, Athens, and a doctorate from Ohio State University, Columbus. He resides at 1203 Elizabeth St., DeKalb. Single copies of "Adolescent Alcohol Abuse" are available at 75 cents from Phi Delta Kappa, Eighth and Union, Box 789, Bloomington, Ind. 47402. INDEX/SECTION B Classified.. Pag6s 13B-19B Food".... Pages 4B, 7B, 9B Comics Page 12B Opinion Page 6b Frog leg fans By Joe Agnew Herald staff writer Mention frogs to some people, and the word will immediately evoke images of witchcraft, warts, or freshman biology class. There's an even better chance they'll simply turn up tfteir noses in disgust then quick­ ly change the subject. But mention "frog legs," and the reaction will probably be just the opposite. Conversation will flow freely in praise of their deli­ cate texture, buttery flavor, and their discriminating taste. Though not keen on catching and crippling the croakers them­ selves, these same persons will gladly hop into their cars and drive miles to restaurants that specialize in their preparation. Despite the ever-growing popu­ larity of frog legs - witnessed by the two plus tons (roughly 100,000 frogs) sold recently at Taste of Chicago by Phil Smidt and Co., a Hammond, Indiana restaurant • it appears that most frog con­ noisseurs would rather let some­ one else do their "leg" work. Smidt, for instance, imports its frog legs frozen from Bangla­ desh, a country which has be­ come one of the largest suppliers of frog legs to America. Workers are reportedly paid $2 a night to hunt frogs in a country where the average per capita income is $1,500 per year. Back in Illinois, frog hunting season lasts from June 15 to Aug 31. Under state guidelines, eight bullfrogs may be taken daily, with a possession limit of 16. A sport fishing license is required for "frogging," and state law prohibits the use of firearms, air- guns, gas guns or commercial fishing devices such as hoop nets, traps or seines. But despite its legality, frog hunting just isn't very popular in Illinois, especially its northern regions. Aside from the fact that many persons probably can't stand the thought of handling one of those slippery green ahiphibi- •m ĴjsBLSsrpt̂ prime time for catching them. That time is at night - where amidst the croaking frog choirs • there are snakes, mosquitoes and other woodland creatures making their feeding rounds. "It's not super popular," said Dave Ambrose, information offi­ cer for the Illinois Department of Conservation. In a lengthy 1984 piece Ambrose wrote for IDOC's magazine entitled "Frogger," he gave statistics showing that less than three-tenths of Illinois fish­ ing trips made yearly are made specifically for catching frogs. Ambrose doubts that figure - which represents about 600,000 frogs - will increase in the future. Cpt. Kenneth Young, the Re­ gion 2 commander for the IDOC, which also covers McHenry County, says although not signifi­ cant, frogging is much more pop­ ular in the central and southern regions of Illinois. Young attributed frogging's lack of popularity in Kane and McHenry counties on the fact that they contain more residen­ tial and commercial areas. Young, however, said he remem­ bers doing some frogging him­ self while growing up near Kankakee. Ambrose has also done some frog hunting, but confesses that "I really don't care for it. It's kind of a mess fighting mosqui­ toes." Ambrose said frogging in Illinois has been traditionally a rural pasttime, and recalled his days growing up in Macoupin County where "everyone ate them." Frogs can be caught any time of the day, but are traditionally hunted at night, according to Ambrose. He said the best way to catch them is by walking or wading along the shoreline, and scanning the area with a flashlight. By doing this, the frog hunter can locate frogs from the light's yellow reflection. More impor­ tantly, the light's ray temporar­ ily hypnotizes them, enabling the hunter to move in for the catch. The two preferable methods are either snatching them quickly with the hand (the method pre­ ferred by frogging purists), or by the use ef a gig, a small pitch­ fork device that can be attached to the end of a bamboo pole or a broomstick. let others 'hop to it' Ambrose said the best place to catch frogs is on small farm ponds, and that the most two most popular species variety are green and bullfrogs. He said bull­ frogs are preferable because their average length can range anywhere from 10 to 12 inches. Some, he noted, can get as long as 15 inches. Jim Mick, a staff management biologist for the IDOC, is also a frog hunting enthusiast, although he admits he hasn't been out this year either because of the hot weather and his busy schedule. Mick describes himself as a 20- year frog hunter who received most of his experience growing up in Hamilton County in south­ ern Illinois. He said that frogging has always and continues to be more popular in the southern part of the state. Mick agreed with Ambrose that the best frog­ ging is done on small farm ponds and the back water areas of rivers. He also agrees that bullfrogs are the best for eating. "Most of the others aren't big enough to mess with." he said. Mick said he prefers using the gig when frogging. but noted an­ other popular device features a jaw-like mechanism which is handy for plucking them off lily pads. He added that using a fly rod can also add excitement to frogging because "they put up quite a tussle. They'll even take aplastic worm." Although he said it's hard to find a pond without a frog. Mick noted that good frogging ponds are not good fishing spots. Since whole frogs are the preferred cuisine of bass, Mick said "you don't find many of them in ponds with a large bass population." Mick also explained why the daily limit of frog hunting is nec­ essary, saying that it's easy to strip a pond of all of its frogs with one good night or days hunt­ ing. Ambrose pointed to Japan as a good example, saying be­ cause of intense harvesting, that country has nearly depleted its bullfrog population. In his article, Ambrose gives this procedure for preparing frog legs. Clean them by cutting the skin around the girth of the frog near the hind legs, and peel the skin back to the feet. Pliers may be helpful in accomplishing this task. , Next, cut the feet and ankles off and discard them with the skin. The legs can also be de­ tached fron the body by breaking them off at the base of the back­ bone. There is a nerve in the hindlegs that "pros" say should be cut to prevent them from jumping from the frying pan. Ambrose also notes that the front legs may also be used if they're big enough. As for prepa­ ration. Mick suggested soaking them overnight in salt water, then breading and frying them. "They taste real nice that way.' he said, adding that they can also be grilled or baked. As for taste. Mick said "they have the same texture as chick­ en. but the taste is hard to de­ scribe. They don't taste like fish or chicken." Ambrose agrees about their chicken-like texture, but likens their taste more to bass. Phil Smidt owner Mike Probst, who also ran the restaurant's booth at Taste of Chicago, said the frog legs were greeted with amiable curiousity by Taste-go­ ers, but that "a lot of them squished up their faces and walked away." He pointed, how­ ever, to the nearly 16,000 orders sold during the six-day event." They were accepted a lot more than I thought they'd be." While one woman at the Smidt booth offered curious passersby samples of her frog legs, she also noted that they were smaller in size in comparison to the ones she enjoyed during a recent trip to Florida. Linda Van Noort. a manager at the Smidt restaurant, said the 76-year-old establishment at­ tracts frog leg enthusiasts from all over the Chicago area as well as the U.S. She said it even gets i t s s h a r e o f v a c a t i o n i n g Europeans. Van Noort said the restaurant was originally famous for its perch and chicken, but that "people went wild when we intro­ duced frog legs." Smidt and Co. serves them two ways - either sauteed in butter or lightly battered. Van Noort said the restaurant prefers choosing smaller (she describes leg pairs to be about the size of a grown male's index finger) legs because they are more tender. Although Smidt and Co. fea­ tures an all-you-can eat special, Mick said that four pairs of frog legs, served with cole slaw and fried potatoes, make fOr a satis­ fying meal. He admitted, though, that "they're so good, I could eat 200." Wednesday, July 17,1985 Section B A worker from Phil Smidt and Co. displays a pair of the Hammond, Indiana restaurant's famous frog legs at its booth during the recent Taste of Chicago. Phil Smidt owner Mike Probst admitted surprise over legs' popularity, saying the restaurant sold over two tons - roughly 100,000 frogs • at the eight-day event.