As the Spirit Moves, Part VII: Too Much Is Enough

Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

Unfortunately several of the husbands among our little circle have been markedly out of sympathy with the spirit movement.

They have adopted a humorous attitude I toward it which has seemed to be almost coarse to the more enthusiastic of the women workers. They use the Ouija board only to ask it such frivolous questions as “Where is the nearest place where you can still get it?” -which is particularly trying to those who realize the true seriousness of the thing. It is small wonder that they get no answer from the spirits when they go about it that way; no spirit is going to stand for that sort of stuff. There are too many demands on the spirits’ time for them to bother about calls which are not absolutely necessary.

Attempts to convince the more hardened husbands of the supernatural powers of the Ouija board have ended in nothing. Some of them when told, by way of positive proof, of the amazing messages which their own wives have received from the board, have even made open accusations of push­ing, which have a most led to an even division of the children, and a parting of the ways. Not since the dance craze came in has there been so much really notable matrimonial friction as there is over this matter of spirit communication. The Ouija board is not without—or, in fact, is with, if you do not mind plain speaking—its somber side.

As the Spirit Moves
by Dorothy Parker
Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

Part I: The New, Prohibition-Era Pastime
Part II: The Age of the Ouija Boards
Part III: When the Bridge Hounds Were Unleashed
Part IV: Henry G. Takes to Verse
Part V: Aunt Bertha’s Snappy Work
Part VI: Mrs. Couch & Mrs. Thill
Part VII: Too Much Is Enough

Personally I find that I am rather out of things at the neighborhood social festivals. When the others gather round to exchange bright sayings of their Ouija boards I am left nowhere as regards adding anything to the general revelry. The spirits have not done the right thing by me; I can never get any action on the Ouija board. It isn’t as if I had not given the spirits a fair chance. No one was any readier than I to be one of the boys; the flesh was will­ing, but the spirits weakened, if you could put it that way. There I was, so anxious to make friends with them, and find out how all the folks were, and if they were still with the same people, and how they liked their work. And they would never even say so much as “Haven’t we had a poisonous winter?” to me. So if that is the way they are going to be about it why, all right. I can take a hint as well as the next one.

As for the community Ouija boards, any time the research workers want to store them away in the spare bedrooms with the rest of the bird’s-eye-maple furniture it will be quite all right for me. I am willing to call it a day and give the spirits a rest any time that the others are. I am not fanatical about the Ouija board; I am per­fectly able to take it or let it alone. In fact, I think that a reasonable amount of daily exercise on it is a good thing. It is not the actual manual labor that I object to—it is the unexpurgated accounts of all the messages received and their meanings, if any.

Sometimes I even feel that I could moil along through life if I never had to hear I another discourse on the quaint things that some local Ouija board has said. To put it in so many words-at a rough estimate–I am just about all through.

In fact, if I thought that you would stand for it I would even go so far as to say that I am Ouija bored.

Classic Covers: Can You Tell a Rockwell?

Tipping the Scales by Leslie Thrasher

Tipping the Scales by Leslie Thrasher
Tipping the Scales Leslie Thrasher October 3, 1936

We’ve used this classic 1936 cover on one of our cookbooks, and people tend to think it’s a Rockwell. Yes, they look like Rockwell-type characters, but no, it isn’t a Rockwell. It was done by artist Leslie Thrasher, who did twenty-five Saturday Evening Post covers. Alas, I’ve had people insist that it was a Rockwell, even though the signature says otherwise. What’s an archivist to do?

“Sick Pooch” by Russel Sambrook

Sick Pooch by Sambrook
“Sick Pooch” Russel Sambrook July 29, 1933

A surprising number of people think all Saturday Evening Post covers were by Rockwell. That’s kind of like thinking all classical music was composed by Beethoven. Although Norman was a prodigious worker and quite prolific, it would have been a physical impossibility to come up with the thousands of weekly covers that would have involved. A couple of things hint to me that this is not a Rockwell. The boy is too dapper for one. Rockwell liked weather-beaten clothing, especially hats (except when showing a “dressed-up” occasion). The wagon is clearly homemade, but maybe a little too neat and “unworn”. This was by Russell Sambrook, who only did 4 Post covers. The Rockwell version? See below.

Sick Puppy by Norman Rockwell

Sick Puppy by Norman Rockwell
Sick Puppy Norman Rockwell March 10, 1923

Here is Norman Rockwell’s version from 1923. Most artists wouldn’t be inspired by a piece of broken crockery, but a dog dish that was far from perfect was right up Rockwell’s alley. This may have inspired the later version above – note the big safety pin holding the blanket around the dog in both paintings and the expression on the dogs faces – let’s hope they weren’t as ill as they were painted.

In the Dentist’s Chair by Kurt Ard

In the Dentist’s Chair by Kurt Ard
In the Dentist’s Chair Kurt ArdOctober 19, 1957

Rockwell did great covers of boys, and this one at the dentist’s office…is not one of them. It has the attention to detail (love the socks), the humor and pathos of a Rockwell, but no, it was by Kurt Ard. A reader purchased this, thinking it was a Rockwell because it had been a Post cover. And it did look like Rockwell’s style. If it’s any consolation, having been a Saturday Evening Post cover often adds value to a piece of art, even if not a Rockwell.

Readying for First Date by George Hughes

Readying for First Date by George Hughes
Readying for First DateGeorge HughesOctober 16, 1948

There’s more than one reason this cover by artist George Hughes looks like a Rockwell. The models! That young man getting ready for his first date was Tommy Rockwell, son of the artist. And trying to figure out the tie was Mrs. Rockwell. This was even Tommy’s room in Arlington, Vermont. Artists and their families often posed for each other. Who knew better how hard it was to get good models?

Height Comparison by Douglas Crockwell

Height Comparison by Douglas Crockwell
Height Comparison Douglas Crockwell January, 28 1933

Artist Douglass Crockwell did several covers for the Post, including this one. Rockwell-type characters are comparing height from son to dad. As with Rockwell, there is a lot of attention to detail (the pattern in mom’s dress, for example) but it’s a Crockwell, not a Rockwell (sorry – I always wanted to say that). It was hard enough to compete with an artist of Rockwell’s stature, but with the last name Crockwell, it was doubly hard. Poor Douglass Crockwell took to signing his work simply “Douglass”.

Cousin Reginald Under the Mistletoe by Norman Rockwell

Cousin Reginald Under the Mistletoe by Norman Rockwell
Cousin Reginald Under the MistletoeNorman Rockwell December 22, 1917

Norman Rockwell featured a city slicker named Reginald on several Country Gentleman covers (a sister publication to the Post for many years). Here’s an embarrassed Cousin Reginald under the mistletoe from 1917. Compare it to the one below.

Cutting In by Alan Foster

Cutting In by Alan Foster
Cutting In Alan Foster Septemeber 15, 1923

Again, showing the boy in glasses to indicate geekiness. Some of us who wear glasses beg to differ. This was done in 1923 by artist Alan Foster, who did thirty Post covers. As to clues on how to tell the Rockwell from the other artist? In all honesty, sometimes I just have to look at the signature.

Depression America Goes To The Horses

Faced with a deepening depression, most Americans of the 1930s looked for way to reduce risk in their lives. Many withdrew their savings—if their bank hadn’t yet failed—and buried they money in a mattress or a coffee can in the back yard. Some postponed marrying, or having children, for years. They dropped out of college and held onto whatever job they could find.

Others choose risk over caution. With everything in life feeling like a gamble, these Americans began taking chances that they never would have considered in prosperous times. So it’s not surprising to read, in a 1935 Post article, “The Betting Boom,” that racetrack gambling had become one of America’s few booming industries that year.

The author, Bryan Field, told how talk of higher tax revenues and employment enticed several states to legalize race-track betting. In the past three years, he wrote,

the number of states having racing and betting has risen from seven to twenty-seven, with more getting ready to leap on the band wagon. At the moment of writing, several other states have racing and betting measures in process of passage.

In the same period of time, the money handled in legalized wagering has risen to about $500,000,000 annually. [Roughly translated into 2011 money: $7 Trillion!]

Racetrack wagering had dropped in states where it had been permitted for years. All this recent growth, Field said, was in states that had recently legalized betting.

It is in such places that Old Scrooges and Happy Charlies alike have unearthed the tin can from beneath the brickwork in the cellar and put rainy-day money into circulation.

Taking an average of eight horses to a race, we get approximately 120,000 Thoroughbreds in action in 1934, as against a fraction of that number theretofore. There are only about 10,000 Thoroughbreds available in this country, so they have to be run over and over again—practically worn to a frazzle—in order to make up the number of horses indicated above.

Since 1932, when the inflationary expansion of racing began suddenly, the number of days of racing given has increased to almost 2000… The number of races in 1934 approximated 15,000.

Inevitably, this army of novice gamblers attracted crooks and con men. In 1930, they built a scheme around a little-known rule at the Kentucky Derby, which allowed an owner to nominate a horse for the race with no intention of actually running the horse. The scheme backfired in a most satisfactory way.

Rear View of the Machinery of the Tote
Rear View of the Machinery of the Tote Which prints and delievers your wage ticket and adjusts the odds in the same operation

Virtue scored something of a triumph when a sorry nag named Dick O’Hara ran true to form and finished last in the Kentucky Derby of 1930; for the fact that he ran at all caused the utter rout of a ring of Chicago slickers who thought they had a foolproof shortcut to fortune.

They almost had—if it hadn’t been for Dick O’Hara’s owner, the late Stanley Joyce.

Though Dick O’Hara was one of the worst of the season’s two-year racer crop, Joyce had nominated him for the Derby, partly for a gag and partly for a bit of publicity. It cost only twenty-five dollars, and no one expected that the horse would run, since it would take $500 just to place his name in the starting box and a lot more for the jockey, the trainer, and so on.

The nomination of such a hopeless candidate inspired the slicker’s dream—a lottery pegged on the Derby, plus a super-special come-on. Every ticket bearing the name of a horse which even started in the Derby, regardless of how he finished, was to win fifty dollars. And they instructed the printer to run off the vast majority of the tickets with the name of Dick O’Hara.

The lottery took Chicago like wildfire. Clerks, scrubwomen, janitors and other small-time gamblers snapped up chances on this cinch to win fifty dollars. But gradually, as news of the scheme spread, it became apparent that nearly everyone’s ticket was on the unlikeliest starter of them all.

The story got to Joyce. Furious that his horse should be used as a means of swindling thousands, he ordered the beast taken into seclusion, away from possible tampering; put his name in the starting box, to the unbelieving horror of the lottery-syndicate leaders, and ran him in the Derby—last, but in the field.

It was said that Joyce had operatives who watched the ringleaders and forced all who could be cornered to pay off.

Others of them also ran—away.

Open Betting Returns to New York after a generation
Open Betting Returns to New York after a generation;
a Bookmaker and his slate in the Jamaica Ring

 

 

 

Betting Lines at the Pari-Mutuel Windows

Starter George Cassidy sends a field away from the Bahr starting gates
Starter George Cassidy sends a field away from the Bahr starting gatesat Miami’s Hialeah RaceTrack

How Long Should You Wait for Lab Test Results?

We want our lab results fast—within 24 hours when the test involves a serious illness, according to a new American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) survey. But experts say it’s worth the wait to ensure accuracy, and allow time for more extensive processing.

Results from PSA screening for prostate cancer or cholesterol tests can take one week or less.

“But Pap smears for cervical cancer must be specially prepared before slides can be reviewed by medical lab professionals,” said David Glenn, chair of the ASCP communications committee.  “Most people don’t realize that an average Pap slide contains tens of thousands of cells, and the lab specialist is required to look at every cell. That takes time.”

Glenn advises patients to ask their doctors the following questions about their laboratory tests:

“If it’s been a week, and you were told you would have results by then, call the doctor’s office,” he said.

Why the Wait?

Accuracy. To help safeguard against inaccuracies, federal legislation known as the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) sets standards for laboratories to assure the testing is being performed accurately.  CLIA limits the number of Pap slides that can be read in one day by a cytotechnologist (a specially trained lab professional who examines cells for early signs of cancer and other diseases). A pathologist (a medical doctor with an advanced specialty in laboratory medicine) must review Pap slides that show abnormal or suspicious cells.  In addition to reviewing these tests, a pathologist also must review a percentage of normal Pap tests to ensure continual accuracy, according to CLIA regulations.

Complexity. Some tests require multiple and time-consuming steps. For example, a mole sample must be fixed in preservative, embedded in wax, cut into extremely thin slices, placed on slides, stained, and examined under a microscope by a pathologist. Special stains or further studies may be needed to make the diagnosis, and complete the report. Tests for strep throat or a urinary tract infection involve placing a specimen in a substance that allows bacteria or other microorganisms to grow to a level that can be seen, separating the organisms, and testing them to see if they are causing disease and what medications will be effective.

Priority Testing. Tests that may have an immediate impact on the patient’s care are ordered by the physician as a priority and processed first in the laboratory.  For example, an emergency room patient who appears to be in a diabetic coma will have a glucose test ordered immediately and results will be available within a few minutes so the appropriate treatment can be given as soon as possible.  Routine, non-urgent tests are processed by lab professionals as part of their normal workload.

Another factor that may add to lab wait times is the anticipated shortage of lab professionals.

“The aging of the population has led to a growing number of lab tests and ASCP is concerned that the current shortage of lab professionals may make it difficult to meet the public’s demand for prompt results,” said John E. Tomaszewski, MD, FASCP, president of ASCP and professor and interim chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Lab tests are involved in more than 70 percent of medical decisions.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 138,000 new laboratory professionals will be needed by 2012, but fewer than 50,000 will be trained.

More Survey Findings
The ASCP survey, conducted in part to recognize National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (April 24-30, 2011), also reports that 74 percent of adults in the U.S. believe that at least 50 percent of doctors’ decisions are based on lab tests; 84 percent recognize that lab tests are conducted by laboratory professionals; 57 percent expect to get routine test results within a week or more and 41 percent expect them in a day or less, and 63 percent expect the results of biopsies that test for serious disease should be received within a day or less and 37 percent expect to wait a week or more.

[The ASCP consumer survey was conducted March 10-13, 2011, by Opinion Research Corp., Princeton, N.J.  More than 1,000 male and female adults over the age of 18 were randomly selected to participate in a telephone survey that focused on knowledge of the medical laboratory profession and lab results.]

Garden Fresh Salsa Recipes

Salsa is not just a savory dip for chips. It’s amazingly healthy! Tomatoes contain cancer-fighting lycopene that is also being studied for its role in preventing heart disease. Like your salsa hot or hotter? Good! Capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot peppers, has anticancer, antiulcer, and antibacterial properties. There’s nothing wrong with serving store-bought salsa, but it can’t compare to homemade. Here’s a dozen mouth-watering recipes to make the most of fresh produce from your garden or local market.

1. Grilled Chili Salsa

What you need: 5 green chili peppers, 5 yellow chili peppers, 4-5 large ripe tomatoes, ¼ cup onion, 2-3 garlic cloves,
 cilantro to taste.

To make it: Grill chilies and tomatoes until skins swell. Turn occasionally to avoid scorching. Cover with damp paper towel, peel and gently wash out seeds from chilies under running water. Peel tomatoes. 
Crush garlic, and chop onion. Place chilies and tomatoes into food processor and blend to desired consistency. Combine all ingredients in suitably sized bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. South of the Border Salsa

What you need: 6-8 medium Roma tomatoes, 2 serrano chili peppers, 2 tablespoons chopped white onion, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, 
1 ½ tablespoons of lime juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt.

To make it: Cut tomatoes in cubes. Dice peppers finely. Combine all ingredients in suitably sized bowl. Chill for 30-45 minutes and serve.

3. Amazing Avocado Salsa

What you need: 6 Roma tomatoes (or 3 large tomatoes), ½ medium onion, 1 clove garlic, 2 Jalapeño peppers, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1/8 teaspoon oregano, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, ½ avocado, juice of 1 lime.

To make it: Chop tomatoes, onion, garlic. Seed and dice peppers, avocado. Combine all ingredients in glass bowl. Serve immediately or refrigerate for use within 5 hours.

Yield: 8 servings–Serving size: 1/2 cup

Per serving: Calories: 42 
Total fat: 2 g 
Saturated fat: Less than 1 g 
Cholesterol: 0 mg 
Sodium: 44 mg 
Calcium: 12 mg 
Iron: 1 mg

4. Just Peachy Salsa

What you need: 3 peaches, 2 green onions, 1 hot chili pepper,
¼ cup chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar,
1 tablespoon sugar.

To make it: Peel, pit, and chop peaches. Chop onion. Seed and mince pepper.  Combine all ingredients in suitably sized bowl. Let rest 45 minutes before serving.

5. Cherry-licious Salsa

What you need: ½ pound cherries (about 2 cups), 
1 large tomato, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, ¼ cup minced red onion,
2 tablespoons lime juice,
1 tablespoon minced Jalapeño pepper,
½ teaspoon sugar,
¼ teaspoon Sea salt.

To make it: Pit cherries.  Chop tomato. Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Chill 2 hours and serve with tortilla chips, pita bread, or over meats or burgers. Makes about 4 cups.

6. Suit-Yourself Salsa

What you need: Change up the following ingredients and amounts to suit you and your guests! 1-2 garlic cloves, 1/3 large onion,
½ large green bell pepper, ½ -1 whole Jalapeño pepper,
3-4 Roma tomatoes, 1 small bunch of cilantro leaves, 
juice from ¼ lemon.

To make it: Finely chop garlic, onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. Seed and dice peppers. Combine all ingredients in bowl and serve with baked tortilla chips for a low-calorie snack. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

7. Tropical Isle Salsa

What you need: 1 ½ cup diced fresh pineapple, 2 plum tomatoes, ½ cup red onion, ¼ cup diced red bell pepper, 1 Jalapeño pepper, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ cup chopped cilantro.

To make it: Dice tomatoes and onion. Seed and dice Jalapeño. Combine all ingredients in glass bowl and marinate 20 minutes. Serve over grilled fish or as is.

8. Sizzling Salsa

 

What you need: 8 Roma tomatoes, ¾ cup chopped white onion, 3 Jalapeño peppers (add in some seeds to desired hotness level), 1 tablespoon minced garlic, ½ cup chopped cilantro, ¼ cup fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

To make it: Seed and chop tomatoes and peppers. Combine ingredients in medium bowl and serve.

9. Green Salsa

What you need: 2 ripe avocados,1 small onion, juice from one lemon, 2 tablespoons (or more!) of any fresh herb, 1 garlic clove, extra-virgin olive oil, Sea salt and black pepper.

To make it: Chop avocados. Dice onion and garlic. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Add oil, salt and pepper to taste.

10. Fire and Ice Salsa

What you need: 1 ripe mango, ½  medium red onion, 
1 Jalapeño chile,
1 small cucumber, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves,
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice,
 salt and pepper to taste.

To make it: Peel, pit, and dice mango. Finely chop onion. Seed and mince chili. Peel and dice cucumber. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Hint: if too hot or acidic, add diced avocado.) Serve over main dish or as is.

11. Black Bean and Corn Salsa

What you need: 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon fresh ginger,
2 teaspoons cumin,
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro,
6-8 Roma tomatoes, 
2 teaspoons salt, 
1 can black beans,
1 can corn.

To make it: Mince garlic and ginger. Chop tomatoes. Rinse and drain black beans and corn. Combine all but last two ingredients in food processor and process to desired consistency. Add beans and corn. Sprinkle in more cumin and salt to taste. When you can, use kernels of fresh, grilled corn for extra flavor.

12. Refreshing Summer Salsa

What you need: 2 cups chopped watermelon, ½ cup chopped red onion,
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, ½  cup reduced-fat feta cheese,
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar,
1 teaspoon olive oil.

To make it: Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Serve over cooked chicken or fish or as is.

Tell us your favorite recipe!

Limerick Laughs

Due to a clerical error, the runners-up for the Mar/Apr 2011 Limerick Laughs contest will not be posted to the website. We apologize to those of you who submitted poems and were hoping to see them in print. In the future, we plan to post the top 10 limericks for each issue. Keep those submissions coming!

The Saturday Evening Post will award $100 to the author of the winning limerick for this picture.

Limericks must contain five lines. Entries will not be returned. Enter as many times as you wish.

The May/Jun 2011 Limerick Laughs winner will be announced in the Sep/Oct 2011 issue. Entries must be postmarked by June 3.

Send entries on a postcard to:
Limerick Laughs
The Saturday Evening Post
1100 Water way Blvd.
Indianapolis, IN 46202

We extend our congratulations and $100 to Steve Boneske, Greenfield Center, New York, for the Jan/Feb 2011 winning entry.

Take your medicine by George Hughes
Take Your Medicine
George Hughes
September 23, 1950

Dad’s ready to show how it’s done,
Gets an uneasy look from his son.
Mom whispers, “My dear,
You have nothing to fear.”
If he felt better, he’d get up and run!

Honorable mentions

The boy shies away with lips pursed,
So Dad says, “Hero! I’ll try it first!”
With eyes tightly closed,
Body stiff head to toes,
It’s quite clear he’s expecting the worst.

—Mary Beth Benecke, Columbus, Ohio

Brave dad is showing his son
To take your medicine on day one!
You’ll get well real quick,
No longer be sick,
And be out with friends having fun.

—Naomi Rogerson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Bibliomaniacs of Book Row

It was far more than a single bookstore. It was New York’s ‘book district’—six blocks in lower Manhattan that contained over 36 bookstores. Today, Book Row is long gone. Only one store remains from its heyday (Strand Books, founded in 1927).

Back when it was crowded with booksellers, Book Row would have attracted anyone who loved reading. But it was irresistible to bibliophiles and bibliomanics. A bibliophile is anyone who loves the look, feel, and scent of books as much as their contents. Bibliomanics, however, are obsessed by books. They are fanatic hunters and compulsive buyers, usually purchasing more books than they can read in their lifetime.

In his 1944 article, “Book Row,” Don Samson gives a brief history of a bibliomaniac who haunted the area.

A shoe clerk from Brooklyn wandered into one of the secondhand bookshops on Book Row. He had never bought a book in his life, but picking up a musty volume, he liked the feel of it and bought it. The more he handled it, the more he liked it. He began buying books, and after a year his modest apartment was filled with them. Finally, his wife couldn’t take a bath because the tub was full of books. “You love your books more than you do me,” she wept, and threatened to go home to mother unless he got rid of them. He did. But within two weeks he was buying books again. His wife? She went home to mother.

There is something about books that provokes fascination and the odd compulsions that Samson saw in Book Row’s regulars:

A regular cash customer is the lady of the evening who collects the works of Marcel Proust. There is the Bowery bum who panhandles to buy books containing the word” hell,” books which he burns” to destroy the devil.” And there is the lawyer, internationally known, who collects books with uncut pages. “Virgin books,” he calls them.

Some people buy anything. Others, like the editor who has seventy-five copies of South Wind, will buy only copies of a single title. A collector who has all the dealers mystified is a banker who buys books in one series, Burt’s Home Library of popular classics. He tears the covers off and has the books and the covers restitched, switching titles and covers so that no book has the right title. Thus Alice in Wonderland becomes Black Beauty; The Divine Comedy, The Last Days of Pompeii, and so on. He boasts to the dealers, “You should see my library. It’s wonderful!”

The hangout for lovers of the unusual is a shop that specializes in strange books. Many are first attracted to the shop by the huge, black, plaster-of-Paris cat that crouches menacingly in the window; others are led here by their “vibrations.” An old German woman used to come regularly to buy books on the occult. One day she bought a book entitled “How to Make Yourself Invisible.”

“And she never came back,” says the dealer. “At least, we never saw her again.”

Book smellers are common. But they are hard to detect because, while running the nose along the bindings, they appear to be short-sightedly browsing. One smeller, a college professor, collects old, odoriferous volumes and wears the badge of his fraternity—a redrubbed nose. A well-known actress, a confessed smeller who never buys a book, is allowed the run of the shops because of the trade she attracts.

There are also book dusters. A good one can dust as many as fifty books in a single visit. He picks up a book, looks at the price marked in it, snaps it shut and, with a mighty huff and puff, blows the dust off before easing it back into place. Ironically, more men than women are dusters.

Odd behavior, I’ll grant you. An electronic book would never excite such mania, or even a semblance of this fascination. E-books will never hold the sensual appeal of what, for many Americans, is the “real thing”: a clean, hard-bound, octavo with clear, dark type on bright, clean pages. And books have several practical benefits. In a recent New York Times article, Sam Grobart wrote about the technical gadgets we won’t need in the future: desktop computers, digital cameras, and iPods. But he advised readers to keep their books. Compared to e-books, the real thing has “a terrific, high-resolution display,” durability, greater water-resistance, and “tremendous battery life.”

As the Spirit Moves VI: Mrs. Couch & Mrs. Thill

Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

Mrs. Crouch, too, has been having some pleasant chats with the spirits. And it is only natural that they should treat her as practically one of the family, for she has been doing propaganda work for the Other Side for years. I often think that one of the big undertaking corporations is overlook­ing a great little advance agent in Mrs. Crouch. She has a way of asking you how you feel that would make you swear you could smell lilies.

Mrs. Crouch frequently states that she takes but little interest in the things of this world, and she dresses the part. There is a quaint style about her, which lends to every­thing that she wears an air of its having been bequeathed to her by some dear one who went over round 1889.

There is a certain snap to her conversa­tion, too, for which she is noted among our set. Perhaps her favorite line is the one about in the midst of life, which she has been getting off for so long that she has come to take an author’s pride in it. You never saw anyone so clever as Mrs. Crouch is at tracing resemblances to close friends of hers who passed on at what she calls, in round numbers, an early age; you would be surprised at the number of persons with whom she comes in contact who have just that same look round the eyes. In fact, you might call Mrs. Crouch the original Polyanna, and not be much out of the way.

So the board-board operations have been right along in her line. Scarcely a day passes, she tells me, that she does not re­ceive a message from at least one of her large circle of spirit friends, saying that everything is fine, and how is she getting on, herself? It has really been just like Old Home Week for Mrs. Crouch ever since she got her Ouija board.

Miss Thill is another of our girls who has made good with the spirits. Spiritualism is no novelty to her; she has been a fol­lower of it, as she says, almost all her life, and by now she has fairly well caught up with it. In her case, also, it is no surprise to find her so talented with the Ouija board. She has always been of a markedly mediumistic turn of mind—there are even strong indications of clairvoyant powers. Time and time again Miss Thill has had the experience of walking along the street thinking of some friend of hers, and whom will she meet, not two hours afterward, but that very same friend! As she says, you cannot explain such things away by calling them mere coincidence. Sometimes it really almost frightens Miss Thill to think about it.

You would know that Miss Thill was of a spiritualistic trend only to look at her. She has a way of suddenly becoming ob­livious of all that is going on about her and of looking far off into space, with an intent expression, as of one seeking, seeking. Materialists, at their first sight of her in this condition, are apt to think that she is trying to remember whether she really did turn off the hot water before leaving home. Her very attire is suggestive of the occult influence. What she saves on corsets she lavishes on necklaces of synthetic jade, carved with mystic signs, which I’ll wager have no good meaning behind them if the truth were known.

As the Spirit Moves
by Dorothy Parker
Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

Part I: The New, Prohibition-Era Pastime
Part II: The Age of the Ouija Boards
Part III: When the Bridge Hounds Were Unleashed
Part IV: Henry G. Takes to Verse
Part V: Aunt Bertha’s Snappy Work
Part VI: Mrs. Couch & Mrs. Thill
Part VII: Too Much Is Enough

Miss Thill is a pretty logical candidate for the head of the local branch of the Ouija Board Workers of the World. She has an appreciable edge on the other con­testants in that she once attended a lecture given by Sir Oliver Lodge himself. Un­fortunately she chose rather an off day; Sir Oliver was setting them right as to the family life of the atom, and it went right on over Miss Thill’s head; she couldn’t even jump for it. There were none of those little homey touches about Sir Oliver’s intimacies with the spirits, which Miss Thill had been so eager to hear, and I be­lieve that there was quite a little bitterness on her part about it. She has never felt really the same toward Sir Oliver since. So far as she is concerned he can turn right round and go back to England-back to his old haunts, as you might put it.

By means of her Ouija board Miss Thill, as might have been expected, has worked her way right into the highest intellectual circles of spirit society. As if recognizing an equal some of the greatest celebrities of the Great Beyond have taken her up. It seems that it is no uncommon occurrence for her to talk to such people as Tennyson and Sir Walter Scott on the Ouija board; she has come to think scarcely anything of it. I hear that she has been receiving several messages from Shakespeare only lately. His spirit is not what a person could call really chatty, as I understand it; he doesn’t seem to be one to do much talk ing about himself. Miss Thill has to help him out a good deal. She asks him one of her typically intellectual questions, such as what he thinks of the modern drama, and all he has to do to answer her is to guide the planchette to either “Yes” or “No”; or, at most, both. Still, his spirit is almost an entire stranger to her, when you stop to think of it, so you really cannot expect anything of a more inside nature just yet, anyway.

Classic Covers: Daydreams

Daydreaming Women by Constantin Alajalov by Constantin Alajalov

Daydreaming Women by Constanin Alajalov
Daydreaming WomenConstanin Alajalov

This was actually a foldout cover from 1959. Bored with the demands of the office, this worker is dreaming of a home life with a tall, dark and handsome prince who helps with the dishes (she is dreaming). But be careful what you wish for! Tall, dark and et cetera just might turn out to be an oaf who watches TV while the housework piles up and the baby is squalling, leaving you to daydream about a nice, cushy office job.

Schoolboy Hero by Robert Robinson

Schoolboy Hero by Robert Robinson
Schoolboy HeroRobert RobinsonOctober 12, 1918

World War I was going strong, and dreaming of being a war hero was more satisfying than studying. There may be dangers on the battlefield, but I’m not liking Red’s chances with that ruler.

“Thinking of the Girl Back Home” by Norman Rockwell

Thinking of the Girl Back Home by Norman Rockwell
Thinking of the Girl Back HomeNorman RockwellJanuary 18, 1919

These sailors are in the thick of military service, and one of them is dreaming of back home. Or, more specifically, of the girl back home. The tattooed, seasoned older sailor has seen it all. Artist Norman Rockwell, rejected for being underweight, stuffed himself until he was accepted by the Navy…where he navigated the dangerous waters of Charleston, South Carolina. Notice the proud signature.

“Escape to Adventure” by Norman Rockwell

Escape to Adventure by Norman Rockwell
Escape to AdventureNorman RockwellJune 7, 1924

Entrapped by tedium, Rockwell’s clerk of 1924 is dreaming of adventure on the high seas. The famous artist also did the cover for the following week (below) as a response to the clerk’s dreams.

Thoughts of Home by Norman Rockwell

Thoughts of Home by Norman Rockwell
Thoughts of HomeNorman Rockwell June 14, 1924

One might argue that dissatisfaction is an inevitable human trait. The rough-hewn pirate is dreaming rather wistfully, of all things, a cozy little cottage in the Cotswolds. Perhaps we are just born dreamers. Alas, the grass is always greener on the other side.

The World Comes to an End. Again.

In 1903, the name of Mother Shipton was still familiar enough to be used in an Oldsmobile ad. Twenty-two years had passed since her predictions had been exposed as a fraud— particularly her prophecy that the world would end in 1881.

The original Mother Shipton was a freelance oracle of the 16th century, who became famous when a book of her prophecies appeared 80 years after her death. In 1873, she got famous all over again when a new book of her prophecies appeared, now written in rhyming couplets.

Skeptics thought these newly discovered prophecies fit the 1800s a little too well. There were obvious references to locomotives (“Carriages without horses shall go/ And accidents fill the world with woe”), steamships (“Iron in the water shall float/ As easily as a wooden boat”), the telegraph (“Around the world thoughts shall fly/In the twinkling of an eye”), and the California gold rush (“Gold shall be found and shown/In a land that’s now not known.”)

Of course, we shouldn’t think less of a prophecy just because it tells us what has already happened. All the best prophecies work this way. It’s how Nostradamus became such a reliable forecaster. But Nostradmus was a professional; he wrote his predictions in a poetic style that could fit several events. Mother Shipton was an amateur who made an unmistakable declaration:  “The world to an end shall come/ In eighteen hundred and eighty one.”

It was just too clear to be credible. Her new book was greeted with blistering criticism and sarcasm. The publisher soon admitted he’d admitted writing the entire book himself. Despite his public admission, the prediction gained currency, particularly as the year 1881 began. In February, the Post observed,

There are lots of people who will tell you that they put no faith in Mother Shipton’s prophecy that the world will come to an end this year, and yet will jump and have a scared look in their eyes when they suddenly hear the noise caused by the dumping of a load of coal.

Over its 60 years of publishing, the Post had often reported end-of-the-world prophecies. The editors were not impressed with this latest prognostication.

Mother Shipton and her prophecies are still in authority in parts of Canada. In one county several farmers have neglected putting in their crops because of their firm belief that the world will come to an end this year.  [July 2]

A newspaper agent, being told by an old lady that it was no use to subscribe for the papers now, as Mother Shipton said the world was coming to an end this year, said, “But won’t you want to read an account of the whole affair as soon as it is over. ‘That I will,” answered the old lady; and she subscribed. [July 30]

Another visionary authority unites with Mother Shipton in pronouncing that the end of the world will take place in this year of grace, 1881. In the fourteenth century, Aretino, an Italian author, fixed in his writings the exact date of the end of the world. According to this distinguished authority, the destruction of the earth and its inhabitants will occupy fifteen days. The cataclysm will begin by an uprising of the water. The human race, before perishing, will lose the power of speech. All will be dead before the final day—the 15th of November. These old authors, it would seem, were terrible jokers. [June 23]

Terrible jokers, indeed. Aretino was a notorious satirist and pornographer of 16th century Rome who reportedly laughed himself to death.

A young lady, recently married, read Mother Shipton’s prophecy for the first time the other day. “Just my luck!” she exclaimed, throwing down the paper, “here I am newly married, and now the world’s coming to an end.”  [November 30]

All too soon, the year was over and, from all we can tell, the world didn’t end. But where Mother Shipton’s forecast of doom had fallen, several others stepped forward to takes its place.

Mother Shipton’s prophecy having failed to bring about the end of the world at the appointed time, another very old prediction is now brought forward. It is expressed in a French stanza, and clearly proves the end of the world in 1886.

Devout Moslems confidently predict the end of the world on November 8 [1886], the close of the Mohammedan thirteenth century. A proclamation has been issued from Mecca warning all true believers to prepare for the coming day [when] the sun shall rise in the West, the day of mercy and forgiveness shall cease, and that of judgment and retribution begin.

We now know that the world will end next year, thanks to the 2100-year-old Mayan calendar. Unfortunately, this prediction relies on the Western calendar, which has been continually revised over the past two millenia. Such fine points will make no difference, however, since the world will end on December 31, when our own calendars will run out of pages.

Mother Shipton Oldsmobile Ad
Mother Shipton Oldsmobile Ad

As the Spirit Moves, Part V: Aunt Bertha’s Snappy Work

Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

But when you come right down to it there are few who can get more out of a Ouija board than our own Aunt Bertha. Her work is not so highly systematized as that of Mrs. Both, but it is pretty fairly spectacular, in its way.

I knew that Aunt Bertha was going to get in some snappy work on the Ouija board; I could have told you that before I ever saw her in action. She has always been good at anything anywhere neatly like that. Now you take solitaire, for instance. I don’t think I ever saw a prettier game of solitaire than that which Aunt Bertha puts up. You may be looking over her shoulder while she deals out the cards for a game of Canfield, and from the layout before her you would swear that she had not a chance of getting more than one or two aces up, at most. In fact, it looks so hopeless that you lose interest in the game, and go over to the other end of the room to get a magazine. And when you come back Aunt Bertha will have all the cards in four stacks in front of her, and she will smile triumphantly and exclaim: “What do you think of that? I got it again!”

I have known that to happen over and over again; I never saw such luck in my life. I would back Aunt Bertha against any living solitaire player for any amount of money you want, only providing that the judges leave the room during the contest.

It was no surprise to me to find that she had just the same knack with a Ouija board. She can take a Ouija board that would never show the least signs of life for any­body else and make it do practically everything but a tailspin. She can work it alone or she can make a duet of it—it makes no difference to her. She is always sure of results, either way. The spirits seem to recognize her touch on the board im­mediately. You never saw such a remark­able thing; it would convert anybody to spiritualism just to see her.

Aunt Bertha asks a question of the spirits, and the words are no more than out of her mouth when the planchette is flying about, spelling out the answer almost faster than you can read it. The service that she gets is perfectly wonderful. And, as she says herself, you can see that there is no deception about it, because she does not insist upon asking the ques­tion herself; anyone can ask whatever he can think of—there are no limits. Of course, the answers have occasionally turned out to be a trifle erratic, but then, to quote Aunt Bertha again, “what does that prove?” The spirits never claimed to be right all the time. It is only human of them to make a slip once in a while.

As the Spirit Moves
by Dorothy Parker
Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

Part I: The New, Prohibition-Era Pastime
Part II: The Age of the Ouija Boards
Part III: When the Bridge Hounds Were Unleashed
Part IV: Henry G. Takes to Verse
Part V: Aunt Bertha’s Snappy Work
Part VI: Mrs. Couch & Mrs. Thill
Part VII: Too Much Is Enough

She can go deeper into the affairs of the Other Side than a mere game of questions and answers, if you want her to. Just say the word, and Aunt Bertha will get you in touch with anybody that you may name, regardless of how long ago he or she may have lived. Only the other night, for instance, someone sug­gested that Aunt Bertha summon Noah Webster’s spirit, and in scarcely less time than it takes to tell it, there he was talking to her on the Ouija board, as large as life. His spelling wasn’t all that it used to be, but otherwise he seemed to be getting along splendidly.

Again, just to show you what she can do when she sets her mind to it, she was asked to try her luck at getting connected with the spirit of Disraeli—we used up Napo­leon and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar and all the other stock characters the very first week that Aunt Bertha began to work the Ouija board, and we had to go in pretty deep to think up new ones. The planchette started to move the minute that Aunt Bertha put her hands on it, if you will be­lieve me, and when she asked, “Is this Disraeli?” it immediately spelled out, “This is him.” I tell you, I saw it with my own eyes. Uncanny, it really was.

There seems to be nobody whom Aunt Bertha cannot make answer her on the Ouija board. There is even a pretty strong chance that she may be able to get Long Distance, after she has had a little more practice.

Classic Covers: Music Critics

The Fat Lady Sings by Dick Sargent

The Fat Lady Sings by Dick Sargent
The Fat Lady Sings
Dick Sargent
December 16, 1961

American Idol wannabes, take note: When everyone is wincing, get a clue. Everybody but the pretty blond at the piano, that is, who still has fun even if the lady in blue is drowning everyone out. The male quartet is not happy. Make that a quintet – Beethoven is apparently in pain.

The Trumpeter by Norman Rockwell

The Trumpeter by Norman Rockwell
The Trumpeter
Norman Rockwell
November 18, 1950

This is not the musician’s posture a teacher would demand. The idea for the painting came when Post editor Ben Hibbs talked to Norman Rockwell about the contortionistic body positions of his son playing the instrument. The dog’s expression is either terror at the strange sounds emitting from that thing or concern that the instrument is somehow hurting the kid (or vice versa).

Rockwell’s incredible eye for detail certainly shows in the chair’s slipcover. Does the charming pattern look familiar? Rockwell fashioned the fabric from a painting done by Grandma Moses, a good friend of his. Oh, and love the socks!

Making Music by Alfred E. Orr

Making Music by Alfred E. Orr
Making Music
Alfred E. Orr
June 25, 1921

Everyone’s a critic! This dog has a definite opinion about the clarinet. Artist Alfred E. Orr did six Saturday Evening Post covers, including this delight from 1921.

Offkey Harpist by E.M. Jackson

Offkey Harpist by E.M. Jackson
Offkey Harpist
E.M. Jackson
April 4, 1925

It’s bad enough when the bust of Beethoven winces, but when the instrument itself covers its ears, you are really off-key. Artist E.M. Jackson did 58 covers for the Post and her sister publication, Country Gentleman with subjects from sad to glamorous to downright whimsical, like this one.

Jamming with Dad by John Falter

Jamming with Dad by John Falter
Jamming with Dad
John Falter
December 1, 1956

Jazz greats like Louie Armstrong adorn the walls and pops is sure getting into it, but the tunes just don’t click with the teens. This 1956 generation gap cover was by one of our most beloved artists, John Falter.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions on cover features, like “could you show us some covers people often mistake for Rockwells?” We’ll be glad to do it in the next installment.

As the Spirit Moves, Part IV: Henry G. Takes to Verse

Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

And Mrs. Curley, who is always so agreeable about doing anything like that, did some of her original child im­personations, in her favorite selections, “Don’t Tell the Daisies I Tolded You, ‘Cause I Promised Them Not to Tell”; and “Little Girls Must Always Be Dressed up Clean­, Wisht I Was a Little Boy”. As an encore she always used to give, by request, that slightly rough one about “Where Did Baby Bruvver Tum Fwom, That’s What Me Wants to Know,” in which so many people think she is at her best. Mrs. Curley never makes the slightest change in costume for her specialty–she doesn’t even remove her chain­ drive eyeglasses–yet if you closed your eyes you’d really almost think that a little child was talking. She has often been told that she should have gone on the stage. Then Mr. Bliss used to sing “Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep,” and would gladly have done more, except that it was so hard to find songs that suited his voice.
mar
Those were about the only numbers that the program ever comprised. Mr. Smalley volunteered to make shadow pictures and give an imitation of a man sawing wood, including knots, but Mrs. Both somehow did not quite feel that this would have been in the spirit of the thing. So the intellectual, Sunday evenings broke up, and the local mental strain went down to normal again.

Mrs. Both is now one of the leaders in the home research movement. She has been accomplishing perfect wonders on the Ouija board; she swung a wicked plan­chette right from the start. Of course she has been pretty lucky about it. She got right in touch with one spirit, and she works entirely with him. Henry G. Thompson, his name is, and he used to live a long time ago, up round Cape Cod way, when he was undeniably a good fellow when he had it. It seems that he was interested in farming in a small way, while he was on earth, but now that he has a lot of time on his hands he has taken up poetry. Mrs. Both has a whole collection of poems that were dictated to her by this spirit. From those that I have seen I gather that they were dictated but not read.

As the Spirit Moves
by Dorothy Parker
Originally published in the Post on May 22, 1920.

Part I: The New, Prohibition-Era Pastime
Part II: The Age of the Ouija Boards
Part III: When the Bridge Hounds Were Unleashed
Part IV: Henry G. Takes to Verse
Part V: Aunt Bertha’s Snappy Work
Part VI: Mrs. Couch & Mrs. Thill
Part VII: Too Much Is Enough

But then, of course, she has not shown me all of them. Anyway, they are going to be brought out in book form in the fall, under the title “Heart Throbs From the Here­after.” The publishers are confident of a big sale, and are urging Mrs. Both to get the book out sooner, while the public is still in the right mood. But she has been having some sort of trouble with Henry, over the Ouija board. I don’t know if I have it quite straight, but it seems that Henry is behaving in a pretty unreasonable way about the percentage of royalties that he insists must go to the Thompson estate.

But aside from this little hitch–and I dare say that she and Henry will patch it up between them somehow–Mrs. Both has got a great deal out of spiritualism. She went about it in the really practical way. She did not waste her own time and the spirits’ asking the Ouija board questions about who is going to be the next President, and whether it will rain to-morrow, and what the chances are for a repeal of the Volstead Act. Instead she sat right down and got acquainted with one particular spirit, and let him do the rest. That is really the best way to go about it; get your control, and make him work your Ouija board for you, and like it. Some of our most experienced mediums agree that that is the only way to get anywhere in parlor spiritualism.

The Cross-Country Drive: Cheap In 1931, Cheaper In 2011

It’s 1931 and the prices are incredibly low. You can buy bread for just 7¢. A quart of milk is 12¢. The national average for a month’s rent is $35. It’s hard to read these prices and not assume that life was a lot less expensive in those days.

With gasoline at 17¢ a gallon, and new Ford sedans available for a mere $450, Nina Wilcox Putnam told Post readers there was never a better time to drive to California.

The best bargain on the American market today is a trip across the country, which can now be had for practically the same price as staying at home.

Automobiles in 1931, she reports in her Post article, “What’ll It Cost Me To Drive To the Coast?” have greatly improved over the past ten years. When she first drove from New York to California in 1921—

I carried spare parts enough to make up a second car, including new magneto points, and used every darned one of them before the first California real ­estate salesman was sighted.

The roads are better, too. Back in 1921, she says, you wouldn’t think of driving across the western states without an axe “for chopping brush to get you out of gumbo roads during Missouri rainstorms” and an extra set of suspension springs “because you were practically certain to break a spring on what were playfully nick­named ‘roads’ in Arizona.”

But even in 1931, Porter says, you had better bring  better along a length of strong tow-rope, and a waterbag to hang on the front of the car so you won’t run out of water in the desert.

“And ah, yes, I almost forgot a water­proof tarpaulin. No matter how good the trunk on the back of your car, take it from me you’d better cover it with a tarpaulin. It’s a big square of treated canvas, and it really does prevent dust and moisture from working into the luggage and ruining that one good suit or dress which you’re taking along in case you feel like changing some night at a stylish hotel.

The modern driver of 1931 now has a choice of cross-country routes. Most travelers take the National Road, which runs from Atlantic City to San Francisco, but she recommends a new route between Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

If you are sick of cities and want a vacation from them; if you are tired of passing trucks and of being held up by traffic stop lights, let me submit the new Midland Trail. I’ll guarantee you’ll hardly meet a truck, see an advertising sign or lose a moment through traffic sig­nals.

But let’s return to the question in Putnam’s title: just how much does it cost to drive from New York in California in 1931. Before she started, a New York travel agent had told her—

“With a small car it will cost you five cents a mile, including good but not fashion­able hotels, food, gas and oil, and ordi­nary running repairs. We figure it will take you nine days.”

When she reached her destination outside Los Angeles, Putnam found that she had actually spent a little less than the predicted $165.

photo_2011_04_08_1931_motels
Before there were motels, travellers stopped overnight at rustic motor camps, whose comfort level can be guessed by the picture above.

That’s a sizeable figure for a year when unemployment had risen to 16% and was continuing to climb. Yet it’s fairly inexpensive for nine days of sightseeing, hotels, and meals.Yet you could take the same trip for much less today.

Adjusted for 80 years of inflation, $1.00 in 1931 has the purchasing power of $14.50 today. So Putnam’s trip cost her the equivalent of $2,392 in 2011 dollars.

Today, the drive from New York to Los Angeles is 500 miles shorter. Using the gas prices of this last week, AAA’s fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com, determines that a new, inexpensive car (comparable to what Putnam drove) would consume $440 in gas. Furthermore, you wouldn’t need nine days to cover that distance. While I’ve known people who drove that distance in a heroic, three-day marathon, I’ll allow a modern driver six days (450 miles/day) and a daily allowance of $80 for hotels and $50 for food.

The total cost would be $1,220. Divide that number by 14.50 to reverse inflation, and the price in 1931 dollars, would be $84.

Even with the price of gasoline so high today, our per-mile cost has dropped from 5¢ to 3¢ in 80 years. This doesn’t even factor in the three days saved by driving modern highways in more dependable cars—and three days is just as valuable in 2011 as in 1931.

Classic Covers: Women in Sports in the 1900s

Woman With Basketball by Carol Aus

Woman with Basketball by Carol Aus
Woman with BasketballCarol AusNovember 20, 1909

Dr. James Naismith is credited with inventing basketball in 1891, and apparently it didn’t take long for the ladies to try their hand at the sport. A Norwegian artist named Carol Aus (1868-1934), about whom little is known, painted this young player for a 1909 Post cover.

Woman Playing Tennis by George Brehm

Woman Playing Tennis by George Brehm
Woman Playing TennisGeorge BrehmAugust 3, 1907

We have plenty of cover art showing a pretty lady posing with a tennis racket or other sports equipment, but an action shot like this tennis player makes a person wonder how the artist did it. A person might also wonder how the lady was so active in a long skirt. This is from 1907.

Lady Fishing by Harrison Fisher

Lady Fishing by Harrison Fisher
Lady FishingHarrison FisherAugust 16, 1902

We have dozens of covers depicting the art of fishing, the first of which was Grover Cleveland fishing in 1901. The second, in 1902, was of a lady reeling one in! Harrison Fisher was a big name in Post covers, doing nearly 80 between 1900 and 1915.

The Finals and Alice Gray by Pete Fountain

The Finals and Alice Gray by Pete Fountain
The Finals and Alice GrayPete FountainMarch 21, 1903

We have numerous depictions of the great game of golf, also. This is one of the earliest, from 1903. Maybe they couldn’t vote, but women could certainly golf…and fish, hunt, play tennis, basketball and baseball.

Woman Archer by J.J. Gould

Woman Archer by JJ Gould
Woman ArcherJJ GouldJune 1, 1907

This is another action painting. Early Post artist J.J. Gould went for verisimilitude in this one from 1907. The lady looks like she knows what she’s doing.

Woman on Horseback by Philip R. Goodwin

Woman on Horseback by Philip R. Goodwin
Woman on HorsebackPhilip R. GoodwinJune 9, 1906

Hundreds of covers depict a lady reading, holding flowers or a fan, or simply looking lovely in a beautiful gown. This 1906 cover shows many of the fair sex were made of sterner stuff.

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie

From the chef:
“I love this recipe because it’s comfort food and diabetic friendly all in a one-meal dish.” —Holly Clegg

Recipe courtesy of Trim & Terrific Diabetic Cooking

Chicken Pot Pie
Makes 6 servings

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook chicken breasts over medium heat 7-10 minutes or until done. Season with salt and pepper (if using) and cut into pieces.
Recoat skillet with nonstick cooking spray and sauté carrots, mushrooms, onion, and potatoes for 5 minutes or until tender. Add thyme and flour, stirring for 30 seconds. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring and cooking over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Add chicken and peas and cook another 5 minutes.
Coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and fill with chicken mixture. Split biscuits in half and lay them on top. Bake for 10-12 or until pastry is golden brown.

Tips
For a time-saver, use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in this classic chicken pie.
Use leftover chicken, grilled and ready chicken or rotisserie chicken.
Add any leftover or favorite veggies to your chicken pie.


Diabetic Exchanges/Choices
1 Starch
1/2 Carbohydrate
2 Lean Meat

Calories 236
Total Fat 5 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 44 mg
Sodium 404 mg
Total Carbohydrate 24 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 22 g