Cramahe Archives Digital Collection

The Colborne Express (Colborne Ontario), 14 Feb 1957, p. 6

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THE COLBORNE EXPRESS, COLBORNE, ONT. FEB. 14, 1957 Changing FroV.i Wheels to Runners "Shifting to Runners" was Father's apt phrase to describe the winter transfer from carriages to sleigh and pung. No time could be set for the annual change. Occasionally, a surface-eovering November snowstorm gave an early date to the chore Of changing; frequently, the shift was a December duty; always by mid-January, the sleigh and the pung were in their winter locations in the barn, places that in summer were occupied by the family carriages. Whenever the transfer was made, whether in November or December or January, it was a task not undertaken unadvisedly. Father discussed with Cousin Herman and Dan the prospects of the snow cover being a permanent one. Mother was warned to have the blankets and lap robes on hand, and I was lent to Uncle Arthur's to summon help and to invite Aunt Nellie and Alice to come along as spectators. The door of our barn was rolled back and the two carriages drawn into the whitened yard, where the dry snow made a complaining whine under the wheels. Next the pung and the ileigh were dragged from the farthest corners of the barn, where they had spent the summer in canvas-covered retirement. Then the carriages were pushed into the back corners and covered with the same canvases that in summer had protected our winter vehicles. The final job was that of backing the aleigh and the pung into the barn and turning back their thills, which were caught at the ceiling by leather loops. The family animals were curious onlookers of the "shift to runners." From the opening over his feed crib, Prince watched the proceedings with cocked ears, now and then giving a soft nicker as though he chuckled to gee men and boys doing his work. Shep ran officiously from carriage to pung, his shrill barks punctuating the stillness of the chill air. Joe, the cat, viewed the activity from the safe shelter Of the haymow. The cow could not see the transfer task but she knew that something unusual was being done. From her stanchion came the uneasy clink of her chain and the sound of her restless side-stepping until Father calmed her with a pat and a measure of "shorts." The removal of the canvas from the sleigh was always done was proud of the sleigh, a so-ealled "Buffalo cutter." One year when work had been slack at the granite yard, Father and Uncle Arthur had painted it. They had applied black paint, then sanded the surface, repainted, resanded, and given a final finish that was as smooth as down. The lines of gold and the decalcomania had been painted by Cousin Herman, who was skilled with brush and pencil. The running part was painted vermilion and the upholstery was of morocco leather. The brown buffalo robe was a handsome complement to the equipage. There was no question that the sleigh had style. My brothers and I were always impressed when we watched Mother and Father drive off to Lodge or Grange meetings in it. Prince also was impressed by this, the lightest of the vehicles that he drew. With ears erect and with neck arched, he needed no urging to strike a brisk clip when he was hitched to the sleigh, writes Esther E. Wood in The Christian Science Monitor. The pung had no style but it had utility and an almost limitless capacity. Otis once called it a "big soap box on runners." It had three removable seats. When these were removed, it became a cart for conveying grain, groceries and even lumber. With the seats in place, it was a capacious conveyance that took the family to church, to school, and to dinners at Aunt Harriet's and Grandmother's. Every second year, my brothers painted the pung. The exterior was painted black but it received no such sanding and refinishing as had been lavished upon the sleigh. The interior was painted a contrasting color with whatever leftover paint chanced to be on hand. One year the interior was blue, "dump cart blue" as Ben had belittlingly described it. Another year it was green because green paint remained after the boys had touched up the screen doors. We children preferred a red interior, and after we were old enough to earn money by selling berries, we earmarked a portion of our blueberry money for the purchase of red paint for the pung. The pung had to be furnished with robes, in fact with three robes. One was of black dog fur. A second, of gray wolf fur, shed long speckled hairs upon the pung's occupants. The third was of red wool plaid and was a favorite with the women folks, for it left no telltale hair. The robes gave insufficient warm on the coldest winter days. When we children "punged" to school to the Head of the Bay, Father covered the bottom of the pung with straw, and Mother provided supplementary warmth by heating soap-stones on the top of the stove and by baking potatoes in the oven. The stones were placed at our feet and the piping hot potatoes were held in our mitten-clad hands. On cold days we were as concerned for Prince's comfort as for our own. His bag of hay and container of oats were placed near the pails and boxes that held our own lunches. Folded under the front seat was his green blanket that he wore during the long hours that he waited for us at the blacksmith shop. Our blacksmith friend assured us that Prince found the wait enjoyable, for he watched with interest the shoeing of the horses, and snorted in amaze-were plunged hissing into a barrel of water. However much Prince had en-Joyed his stay at the shop, he was delighted when school was out and my brothers came to harness him and hitch him to the pung. He showed his pleasure by setting a brisk gait that made the deep-toned bells dingle. Our own bells were not the only ones that we heard on our homeward trip to Friend's Corner. We caught the clang-clang of the single bells that hung from the collar plates of the work horses dragging home sleds loaded with cord wood. We listened to catch the distant jingling of bells on approaching sleighs. There were not a few sleighs that we could recognize from the reverberations of their bells. The high-pitched chime of Uncle Arthur's bells, the tremulant tone of Aunt Harriet's, and the jingling of Grandfather's were familiar sounds to our ears. Father's decision to "shift to runners" was always one that we children welcomed. We knew that it meant the laborious changing of vehicles in the barn and the locating of robes and blankets. But we also knew that "shifting to runners" meant changing to bells. "And where, my dear," inquired a music master, "did you originally learn to sing?" "In a correspondence school," replied a girl who was obviously no budding opera star. "Are you sure none of the lessons was lost in the post?" ENGAGED -- Herb Score, Cleveland Indians' youthful pitching ace, and Nancy Ann McNamara announced their engagement. Miss McNamara, 20, is a senior at St. Mary's College. She was a high school class-mate of the Tribe pitcher who, at 23, is recognized as one of the outstanding pitchers in baseball. 9 TABLE TALKS daac Anctaews. LIONS SHARE - Playing with dolls is hardly what you'd expect of lions, even cubs like these two, Nina and Prince, who live in Paris, France. Just like human youngsters they'll give their tov such rouah trentmer^ 1* won'* verv |ona< Nothing in the world -- except possibly a pocket-book or bank account -- seems to get empty so mysteriously as the family cookie-jar. Here are a couple of recipes for Brownies made with cocoa -- both delicious and both well worth a trial. COCOA FUDGE BROWNIES y2 cup sifted flour y2 teaspoon baking powder Yi cup cocoa Vi teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped walnuts iy2 cups sugar y3 cup melted shortening 2 eggs, well beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla cocoa, and salt together. Add nuts and mix well. Add sugar gradually to beaten eggs, beating constantly. Blend in shortening. Add flour-nut mixture and beat well. Add vanilla. Pour into well-greased, floured, 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350° F. for 30-35 minutes. Cool and turn out of pan. Cut into squares. * DRY MILK COCOA BROWNIES 94 cup sifted flour iy2 cups sugar V2 teaspoon baking powder 14 teaspoon salt y2 cup cocoa Vi cup dry milk y2 cup soft butter 2 unbeaten eggs 2 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon vanilla y2 cup broken nut meats Combine dry ingredients and mix; add remaining ingredients and beat hard for 1 minute. Spread in well-greased 8x8x2 pan. Bake on center rack 25 minutes at 350° F. Cool in pan on cake rack for 30 minutes, then cut into squares. Many of us have used grated carrots in puddings or cakes, and with simply grand results. But a carrot pie is something different, and those who have tried it have been delighted. CARROT PIE 2 cups ground raw carrots y2 cup sugar Yolks of 2 eggs 1 cup, half milk and half cream y2 teaspoon salt M teaspoon each, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon 1 unbaked pie shell Whites of 2 eggs H cube butter (1 ounce) Precook carrots with salt in just enough water to cover. Remove from heat; add other ingredients except egg whites and mix well. Pour into unnbaked pie shell. Bake at 350° F. until done. Beat egg whites to peaks and top pie with them. Brown and serve. There is no bottom crust to this honey apple pie, so it can be reheated and will maintain its original, delicious flavor. HONEY APPLE PIE Sliced apples 2 tablespoons water l/i cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons liquid honey Pastry for 1 9-inch pie 1 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon Fill baking dish 9 inches round and 2 inches deep with sliced apples. Add water. Combine flour and brown sugar and spread over apples. Pour on honey. Sprinkle with spice. Cover with pie dough. (Put pie tape around edge to keep juices from running out.) Bake at 425° F. for 50 minutes. BAKED PUDDING WITH MOLASSES 4 slices bread, lightly buttered, or 2 shredded wheat biscuits, crumbled 2 cups milk % cup molasses (unsulphured is best) 1 teaspoon cinnamon ]4 teaspoon salt y2 cup raisinns (optional) Place bread, cubed or whole or shredded wheat in buttered baking dish (if shredded wheat is used, dot mixture with butter before baking). Combine other ingredients and pour over bread. Bake at 350° F. for 45 minutes. Serve with cream or milk. Serves 4 generously. And here's a new -- to me at least -- recipe for gingerbread. Try it hot from the oven or, for a real treat, with a slab of vanilla ice cream on top. FEATHER GINGERBREAD 4 tablespoons melted lard 4 tablespoons sugar 4 tablespoons molasses 4 tablespoons each, sweet and sour milk 1 teaspoon each, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and soda 1 cup flour 1 egg, lightly beaten Sift together the dry ingredients; add milk, molasses, and lard. Last, add egg. Pour into shallow loaf pan that has been greased and floured. Bake about 30 minutes at 375° F. - TAKE A CHANCE The dentist told the millionaire Texas oil man that his teeth were in perfect condition. "But I feel lucky today," pleaded the Texan, "drill anyway!" Handy Gadgets Make Their Bow New household tools and utensils help homemakers save time and work. They are attractive too. More than 100,000 pots, pans, brooms, dust mops, toasters, roasters, knives, dish-pans, appliances and other products used in running the home have been shown at the National Housewares Show. Housewares are so important that they draw more than 10,000 buyers. This year there have been at least a hundred more manufacturers showing their wares than last year. Among the several miles of exhibits color has appeared everywhere, even in dust mops, mundane household cleaning brushes, and fly swatters. Handles of kitchen tools, egg beaters, and cutlery are in natching color. Yellow, turquoise and pink are the most popular, followed by white, red, and copper. Take peeling and cutting, for instance. A professional type enamel drumshaped peeler eliminates hand peeling of fruits and vegetables. With a flick of the handle a micro-thin peel is removed from two pounds in less than a minu'-e. A special citrus hart3 peeler has a steel point that runs around the center of the .fruit and a curved plastic blade to lift the peel from the inside. Another new knife, with a double grinding action, has a series of saw tool grooves ground into the edge on one side only. It's especialy effective on foods with hard outer crusts. For simple cake icing jobs, there's a spreader with angled handle which keeps frosting off the finger and does a smooth, even job. An old-fashioned improved biscuit cutter cuts, crimps andd seals tarts and turnovers and can be used to make ravioli -- filled cookies, Bismarks, and fried pies. A glass enclosed rotating food chopper does the job quickly and safely on an ordinary flat cutting board. It will chop three onions, four hard boiled eggs, and a dozen cooked chicken livers at a time. Glass bake-and-serve dishes can also be used for freezing and storage of cooked foods. The same is true of stainless steel individual" 10-ounce casserole dishes. A serving oven heats rolls and other baked foods on the range and is equipped with a candle theTaWe.0 ^ Every year, new cake and pastry mixes appear on market shelves. So, there are new utensils to keep up with them. A two-inch layer cake pan is tho result of suggestions of home economists to enable a cake to rise gradually and lie flat. Last year a square angel food cake pan was so well received that this season manufacturers brought out a long loaf pan. Molded salads have become so popular that they have inspired new utensils. A small one-quart mold holds one package of gelatin and makes six servings. A two-in-one mold has one side as a party-size ring mold, the other for individual molds or salad. Warm water in either side helps ^release the contents, as good cooks know. Eating out of cans is made easier than ever with an electric can opener. A knife sharpener can be attached to stand ard mixers, portable mixers, and power tools. There are many new devices for more efficient kitchen storage. A dinner ware caddy holds complete service for eight in a 10-by-20-inch space. A cupboard rack holds 12 cups securely, with room for large dinner plates and outsize platters. A storage rack holds 24 plates. Cups, a special storage problem, can also be kept out of the way on sliding racks or a circular unit for hanging. A similar circular unit which fastens to any shelf will hold a good collection of any size or shape of spice packages. Magnetic racks, which fasten or metal cabinets, can be used to hold tools and towels. Even the most mundane cleaning tasks are easier. There are sponge rubber knee pads, for instance. An electric polisher scrubs, washes, and polishes hard wood, tile and patio floors and also has an attachment for dry cleaning rugs. A paste wax now comes in liquid form which protects like paste, but is easier to use. A new liquid cloth can be used mending everything from pillow cases to boats. It is applied to c loth, canvas, rubber, plastic, or leather and remains flexible. It also repairs glass, china, crockery, porcelain, wood and metal. SAVED MONEY A storekeeper in a small town was greeted by a neighbor who consoled him on the loss of some merchandise in a fire. "Did you lose much?" he asked. "Not as much a I would have a few days ago," answered the storekeeper. "I'd just marked most of my stock dcwn 25%. The young man who's looking forward to stepping into hij father's shoes ought to be reminded that Dad doesn't we«i loafers. FAR CRY FROM TIMES SQUARE - This elaborate hall, looking like part of a royal palace, is slated to become part of the Moscow subway system. It is the central hall of the Frunzenskaya Station of the city's Frunze line, scheduled to begin operation this year. Artist's sketch and caption material are from an official Soviet source. MINUET IN LILLIPUT - It might be the hand of Gulliver seating the pianist in this charming •cene from a collection of miniatures on display in'Brussels, Belgium. The exquistely ca-ved figures of the couples on the right are poised to begin the dance while the orchestra prepare* to play.

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