Stewart appears at glitzy ball

Did you see the smiling picture of Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and Martha Stewart together in the April 21 Boston Herald?

Seldom do we see Belichick smile, but he looked relaxed and handsome in his tuxedo and bow tie, standing beside Martha Stewart, also smiling, and always beautifully dressed. She is now on probation after her five-month prison sentence.

Her appearance at the April 21 evening event, a soiree for the “World’s 100 Most Influential People,” which the Boston Herald called a glitzy Manhattan ball, caused the New York Daily News to question her attendance there, as she is confined to her Westchester home except for 48 hours a week, when she is allowed “to roam for work, food shopping, medical appointments, and religious services.”

She had been given approval to attend the elegant event, but does such pleasure come under the 48-hour-a-week restriction schedule?

Anyhow, it was nice to see the Boston Herald picture of these two celebrities.

Allen Crabtree Spoke May 4 At Westbrook Historical Society

Allen Crabtree of Sebago spoke on Danish immigrants at the May 4 meeting of the Westbrook Historical Society. His grandmother, Laurina Petersen, was 7 years old when she emigrated to New Brunswick in 1903. He illustrated his talk with pictures and slides of statistics and information on the early immigrants from Denmark. Suzan Norton, secretary of the society, opened the meeting and introduced Mr. Crabtree. There were 26 present, including some guests who have Danish ancestors.

Allen Crabtree and his wife, Penelope, operate Crabtree’s Collection of Old Books as an Internet business from their 1830s farmhouse in Sebago. He is a busy man, a town selectman, training officer for the Fire Department, sings in the church choir, among many other activities and has lived all over the world. He is an excellent speaker.

He told us that a total of 380,000 immigrants arrived here from 1820 to 1940. There was little opportunity in Denmark, and skilled laborers were needed here. Single men or married men, leaving their families behind, arrived. They were offered 100 acres of land, if they worked to improve the acreage. They lived in barracks in the three years of their trial period. They were paid $1 a day for chopping wood or working on the railroads. Those who did not fit in with their trial period in New Brunswick left for the United States. The area where they lived in New Brunswick was called New Denmark.

Mr. Crabtree’s list of prices of merchandise in 1883 were interesting – Bacon, 15 cents per pound; Butter, 24 cents per pound; Milk, 8 cents per quart; Blankets, $4; men’s shoes, $2.50; and a flannel shirt, $1.50.

His interesting lecture made us appreciate what these immigrants endured in order to seek a new way of life here in North America.

The Saco Daffodil DisplayWas Gorgeous

The expression “made my day” surely applied to my annual visit May 6 to Saco’s Laurel Hill Cemetery, but this spring’s rainy weather delayed my trip for an earlier viewing. The display was outstanding, with the thousands of plants at the back of the cemetery in full bloom.

An added treat this year, as I parked my car and walked down a steep path to admire another banking filled with daffodils, was my meeting there with a Saco couple and a lady friend of theirs who also were making their annual visit. I mentioned that I usually walk down a woods path, below the daffodil banking, to see the marsh marigolds, but I wouldn’t try it alone this year.

They were great! They wanted to join me, and all of us climbed over a huge, barkless fallen tree (an elm, I guess) to reach the path beyond it. I had mentioned a small hut down in the woods, near the marigolds, and the helpful gentleman spotted it, through the trees. We admired the dogtooth violets along the way. Marilyn Dwelley’s “Spring Wildflowers of New England,” says of them, “This early spring flower can be found at the edge of moist woods. The violet has two long slender leaves of a pale gray-green color, speckled with white or purple. It has a single nodding lily-like flower. Each flower has six yellow petal-like parts. The outside is a pale or brownish yellow, but the inside of the petals are bright yellow with rich brown spots. Dogtooth violet is a misleading name, for this flower is of the lily family and is not a violet.” It is a fascinating flower.

We also saw the lovely star flower in full bloom. Dwelley says “This is a dainty, fragile woodland plant with one whorl of pointed green leaves, at the summit. From the center of the whorl, two tiny stemmed flowers arise. They are white and have pointed petals.”

This was a nice show, as we attempted to approach the marsh marigolds. But, alas, the moist woods turned out to be absolutely sodden ground, and since none of us wore rubber boots, we had to give up our wildflower walk, having only glimpses of the yellow marigolds, out beyond the little hut.

But I surely enjoyed my walk with my new friends. I learned that he has climbed Mt. Washington three times, up the Tuckerman Ravine trail, and Katahdin, too – and, yes, over the knife edge too. I had a chance to reminisce about my climbing days too. His wife told me that he was a Scout leader and an Eagle Scout, and their son is an Eagle, too.

Daffodils, wildflowers, and new friends, too!

Recipe

Winkelwhiffer’s Oatmeal Cookie

I think this is one of Hayden Pearson’s recipes; they used to be printed in the Portland paper years ago. The author wrote that it is one of his favorites, and that sounds like Pearson. He gives us good details, too.

Use three-fourths cup butter or margaine, one cup sugar, one egg beaten, one-fourth cup molasses, one-and-a half cups flour, one tsp. soda. 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1 cup quick oats, 2/3 cup seedless raisins, soaked and drained, and 1/2 cup chocolate bits.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add molasses and blend. Sift the flour, risings, and spices into the creamed mixture and blend. Add the beaten egg, then the oats, raisins and chocolate bits, and mix.

Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheets. Flatten batter with fork dipped in hot water. Leave space, as the batter spreads. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done.

This makes a tangy, chewy moist cookie.