Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / Dec. 24, 1970, edition 1 / Page 6
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AgnHturdlly Speaking Long-Range Extension Program To Commence By L. B. HARDAGE Ex ten. chairman The Warren County Extension Service, the Extension Advisory Board and many other county leadsrs will soon start working on a ions-range Extension program for Warren County. The program will consist of five major parts and many minor parts of the major. The five major parts are: 1. Production and Marketing of Agriculture and Natural Resources Products. * 2. Family Living. S. 4-H and Youth. 4. Community Resource Development. 5. Environmental Quality and Pollution. This will be a tremendous job and we will be asking many people over Warren County to attend planning and Informational meetings to help us develop a total program for the county. It is our hope thai you will advise us as to what you think we need to include In this program on tobacco, forestry, 4-H, Community Development, etc., and in this way, we will have some id?as other than our own Ideas as Extension workers to develop o better program for the people or Warren County. After we get as much In formation U we can, we, as Extension workers, will write the program and present it to the Warren County Extension Advisory Board for their approval. The home garden plot can and should be the most productive real estate of any you own. Often the major reason why it isn't is because you neglect to attend to its needs. One of its great needs is a soil analysis to assure proper pH and plant nutrient levels. After the growing season is over we tend to forget about the poor performance of our vegetables last season. Moreover, we don't think about it again until the crops become yellow, stunted or have abnormal growth next year and usually it's difficult to do anything about it once the problem develops. This can go on endlessly unless we take a few minutes to take a soil sample and sent it to the Soil Testing Laboratory. it's free," except for the postage. Ask your county extension personnel for containers and instructions. The scale used to measure pH runs from 1.0 to 14.0 with 7.0 being neutral or the "midpoint." Soils testing below 7.0 are acid or "sour" and those testing about 7.0 are alkaline Christmas Brings Lights Have you ever wondered, as you trim the Christmas tree or place candles In your wlr*fc>w^. why lights are such an Important part of our oeletiratlori oI Christmas? According to Jim Rutherford, director of Information for Carolina Power * Light company, many of our Christmas traditions involving lights are as old as recorded history Itself, while others are relatively r it. e tree nasiongoeena YUi<. symbol, early Christmas trees bor«. no lights. In (act, thousands of years before the birth of Christ, the evergreen was reversed as a symbol of long life and Immortality. German tribesman brought fir trees Into their homes to please the god-like spirits they thought inhabited the trees When these pagans were converted to Christianity, they transferred their feelings for the evergreeu to their new religion. The first person believed to decorate a tree for Christmas was Martin Luther around 1530. Walking home one night shortly before Christmas, Luther was awed by the beauty of the stars twinkling among the trees. He went home and placed candles on the limbs of a small fir so that his children might share his experience. The custom grew and spread through North or "sweet". Most vegetable crops grow well, in the range of pH 5.5-6.5. Never apply lime to a soil without a soil analysis. Excessive liming material can cause the pH to rise above 7.0 and make many of the essential elements unavailable for plant growth. This is especially true of sandy soil with low organic matter content. Why is it necessary to test the soil and apply lime now?' Lime is slow to react. In many instances the full effects of lime are not realized for several months. If it is applied now crops planted next spring will reap the benefits. PROFITABLE READING Taking time to read the Sampson County Extension Homemakers Newsletter proved profitable for Mrs. R. C. Merritt, Magnolia, Rt. 1. Using a recipe from the newsletter, the homemaker baked a cake to auction off at a sale It sold for $25. era Europe and then America The custom of trimming trees with lights has alao been traced M far back as the Human celebration of the toast of Saturn, when trees were decorated and candles added to represent the months or seasons of the sun. That some of our Christmas traditions are apparently rooted In pre-Christian customs, once caused the banishment of Christmas celebration altogether. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan followers came to power la England In 1644 they frowned oo the celebration of Christmas—with Its merry making and burning of the Yule Log—as a carryover from the sun-worshiping rites of ancient Britain. Christmas was therefore banned, said Cromwell, as "Immoral sunworshlp." Bui lights have been a part of the Christmas celebration since that first Christmas when Jesus was born in a stable. On that night, candles burned In the Holy Land In celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Light. The lights of Christmas have provided us with many charming legends and customs. According to a manuscript written by an unknown mo>ik in the kingdom of Sicily, even the trees Joined the pilgrimage to the stable to honor the Newborn King. But while the fruit trees had gifts to offer, the fir had nothing and stood humbly in the rear. An angel noted its plight and asked the stars to descend and rest in the limbs of the "towCT " • - • . At so beautiful a sight, the Christ Child smiled and blessed the humble fir. To this day, says the legend, the fir tree remains green the year around. The burning of candles in the window at Christmas time is attributed to Ireland, during the era of Irish suppression by the British. At this time, priests were forced to conceal their identities and conduct religious services in homes at night. Thus a family hoping that Christmas Mass would be said under their roof would place a lighted candle in the window as a welcome to priests in the area. When English soldiers inquired about the candles, they were told that should Mary and Joseph come that way during the night looking for shelter, the candle would be their invitation to enter. Tbe custom was permitted as merely "superstition." Another legend holds that candles in tbe window are to light the way for Christ, who re-appears at Christmas. Since he conceals his true Identity anyone who comes to the door Is supposed to be Invited in. By a curious twist of fate, the first Christmas tree was lighted in America by enemy soldiers. It was Christmas Eve, 1776, and a group of homesick Hessian soldiers huddled forlornly around their campsite on the icy banks of the Delaware River at Trenton, New Jersey. They were far from home and they sadly missed the good cheer—the traditional Gemuotlichkelt—shared by family and friends in their homeland. But gradually, as fir trees were chopped down and brought Inside to be decorated with makeshift ornaments and lighted candles, memories of happier holidays began to warmths wooden huts. And once again, as they gathered around the tree to sing the ancient Christmas hymns, the spirit of the season worked Its magic spell and their hearts were lifted. The idea and tradition of the Christmas tree spread rapidly through our young country, although there Is a story of a pastor in Cleveland, Ohio, who tried to trim atree around 1851, but ran Into opposition from some people who considered It a pagan practice. In 1856, Franklin Pierce became the first president to decorate a tree In the White House. The first lighting of the National Community Christmas Tree at the White House took place in 1923 when Calvin Coolldge was president. A few years later, In 1929, another tree lighting tradition was begtm in Wilmington, North Carolina. £ach year city parks and recreaii ^. personnel decorate a stately live oak with more than 5,000 multl-colorei lights. Tbs tree, which botanists say Is 400 ypars old, Is 75 feet tall and has a limb spread of 110 feet. It U estimated that 250,000 people— many from other states—annually come to see what has become famous as the "World's Largest Living Christmas Tree." On the island of Maul, it takes half a minion gallons at water to prodace a sing* Ion at raw sugar, the National;;<?ographlc Society say6. Glimpses Of Presidents At Home In White House WASHINGTON-When Mr*. Elsenhower was First Lady she conducted a v/hite House tour In 1999 tor descendants of former Presidents — with surprising results. As tha group paused before a copy of the desk on which President Monro* had slfned his famous Doctrine In 1823, Monroe's great-great-grandson, Laurence Gouverneur Hoes, pressed a spring to reveal aaecret compartment even Mrs. Elsenhower hadn't known about. The newest edition of The Living White House, published by the White House Historical Association, tells how the compartment in the original desk was brought to light by Hoes 53 years earlier. Damaged In Playing As a child In 1906 Hoes "had damaged this treasured family possession, and Its repair had disclosed the hidden space," relates author Lonnelle Alkm an. "Within it lay priceless letters written by Jefferson, Madison, John Marshall and Lafayette." Through this and other anecdotes Mrs. Alkman, a member of the National Geographlc's senior editorial staff, points up the continual blending of past and present In the Executive Mansion. ■ The present First Lady contributed a foreword to the book in which she described her feelings as the wife of a freshman Congressman in 1947, upon receiving an invitation to a White House reception. "My husband felt that the work load of his new Job was too pressing to permit us to go. But I persuaded him to change his mind by saying, 'We may never have another chance,'" Mrs. Nixon explains. One of the book's 160 Illustrations has historical value despite its Inaccuracy. Taken from a 1906 newspaper, It depicts the wedding of President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice to Congressman Nicholas Longworth. Invented Spectacle The artist stowed the wedding party Impressively descending the grand stairway of the White House, the bride oo her father's arm. Mrs. Longworth, now 80, recalls In the book: "It wasn't like that at all. We came down In the elevator In the back and walked down the hall to the East Room." An earlier White House bride, and the only First Lady to be married there, was Frances Folsom who wed President Cleveland In 1886. On leaving It In 1889, she told a member of the White House staff that she and her husband would be back. "Four years later she kept her promise," - Mrs. Alkman writes, "When Cleveland was re-elected- the only President to serve nonconsecutlve terms." The third edition of The Living White House, like Its predecessors, was prepared by the National Geographic Society as a public service. Sales of the 148-page book help to buy paintings, antiques, and other furnishings for the Executive Mansion. The Living White House may be purchased by visitors to the White House or from the offices of the White House Historical Association at 5026 Federal Office Building No. 7, 17th and H Streets N. W., Washington, D. C. 20506. Paper bound copies cost $1.25 and clothbound copies $2.50 plus 25 cents postage. MAKE OWN GIFTS Many lucky persons will receive useful and attractive Christmas gifts from women who attended a district crafts workshop in Greenville this summer. One participant, Mrs. Glenn Smart, Wlnterville, learned to make attractive t ablemats from pine needles. Mrs. Sue May, Pitt County Extension home economist, relates. She plans to give these handcrafted items to friends. Origin Of Christmas By FRANK nanncy. jr. to South Htu Enterprise Risearchers have coma up with soma interesting background on Christmas customs that add depth and meaning to the moat momentous of all holidays. Many historians believe that Christmas may have had its origin in ancient Greek and Roman festivities to observe the midwinter change of seasons. The use of greenery at Christmas also grew out of ancient Greek and Roman customs. The celebration ot Christ began in the third century but was not officially sanctioned until a century later when Pope Julius I authorized an investigation to determine Christ's probable birth date, which led to the selection of December 25. On that date, in 353 A. D„ the Feast of the Nativity was first observed in Rome. Other Christmas customs originated in many lands over the centuries. The traditional mistletoe branch began wUhtfce I ancient Druids, who£eitov*d the ' plant had the po*«r to miraculously cura disease and counteract poisons. p* decorating oI Christmas trees be fan In the eighth 1 century * whan St. Boniface per* tiadect (he pagans to adorn fir trees in their homes In tribute to the Christ Child. A fourth-century bishop of Turkey, Saint Nicholas, was the real-life predecessor of Santa Claus, And ao the stories 00. As the great day of rejoicing and renewal - December 25 • approaches, millions will prepare to greet Christmas with a bone-deep feeling of gratitude and thankfulness. It Is one occasion, one tradition, and one observance that has withstood the test of time. Those who attempt tn tsar down all standards by which humanity lives have so far not had the temerity to burn the Christmas tree. t
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
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Dec. 24, 1970, edition 1
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