Section B Qlhp IMnttttl Section B
Wednesday, September 5, 1984 ^ wl %' ^ ^ ^ Wednesday, September 5, 1984
Local Visitor Offers Comparison
Of German, American Lifestyles 1
By MARY C. HARRIS
Staff Writer
A generation ago, a little girl named Alice delight
ed in making the trip from her home in Wilmington,
and later Princeton, N. J., to the Warrenton home of
her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. H. R. (Shorty)
Geddie. Now, as an adult, Alice Smithey Spindler
crosses the miles from Munich, West Germany to
re-establish her bonds with Warrenton and to intro
duce her children to an unknown part of herself and
of their own heritage. Mrs. Spindler is the daughter
of the late Doris Adams Smithey, stepdaughter of
Geddie who resides on Halifax Street in Warrenton.
Warrenton was always a magical place tor uie
child Alice and the years have not faded that early
impression, which seems also to have passed to her
children, 10-year-old Elisa and 12-year-old Richard.
They spent the month of August renewing ties of
family and friendship, visiting places of interest,
and enjoying the freedom that Warrenton affords.
Their stay in the States has been flavored also by
time in New York City where Mrs. Spindler's
brother, Bryan Smithey, lives. Smithey accompan
ied them to Warrenton for the August visit.
In an interview last week, Mrs. Spindler describ
ed the fascination which New York held for her
children. "They loved it," she said. They were par
ticularly impressed with the buildings, their vast
ness and variety, in contrast to the general uniform
ity of structures in Germany, where the building
laws are very strict.
Their travels have also taken them to enjoy the
sun and surf at quiet Holden Beach near Wilming
ton. Mrs. Spindler indicated that she has attempted
to acquaint Elisa and Richard with as many aspects
of American life and landscape as a month's time
allows.
Every trip to Warrenton, which she tries to
schedule every two years, includes a side excursion
to "Airlie," the Halifax County childhood home of
Mrs. Spindler's grandmother. "Airlie" holds a
special attraction for her as it brings numerous
beautiful early memories to surface.
It was in 1970 that Mrs. Spindler moved with her
German husband, a lawyer, to Munich from
Chicago, where she had attended college and taught
school. She had met him at the University of
Chicago,' and they had married in Warrenton's
Emmanuel Episcopal Church.
Having spent her life almost equally divided be
tween the American and German cultures, Mrs.
Spindler last week offered several comparative in
sights.
She complimented highly the "excellent school
system" in Munich, where she teaches part-time
and where Elisa and Richard will attend the fifth
and sixth grades, respectively, from September 18
until July 31. Elisa attends the school where her
mother teaches, a school which emphasizes
languages; whereas Richard is a scholarship
student at a private school which concentrates on
math and science.
Standards are high in German schools. The
students, who naturally grow up speaking German,
begin studying a second language in the first grade
and add third and fourth languages in the seventh
and ninth grades. At the end of fourth grade, which
is graduation from grade school, students who have
attained a 2.5 or better average on a scale from one
to six may enter the gymnasium, which includes
grades five through twelve. Those students who do
not qualify must enter vocational school, where
they may study until graduation or which may
serve as a transition from grade school to the gym
nasium. There is much pressure to succeed, and
Mrs. Spindler observed that the high suicide rate
among school-age children is one unfortunate statis
tic of that pressure.
She sees an advantage in the fact that following
grade school, students may choose the gymnasium
they will attend, depending upon their areas of in
terest, a concept similar to that of the "magnet
school" in a nearby North Carolina system.
Mrs. Spindler is pleased that her children are ex
periencing exposure to many nationalities. She
feels that their open view and apparent lack of '
prejudice have been nurtured by these oppor
tunities.
Elisa and Richard especially enjoy the freedom
offered by the spacious home and yard of their
great-grandfather in Warrenton. "In general, Ger
man people do not cater to children. Theirs is a 'no
no,' very disciplined attitude toward young people,"
Mrs. Spindler stated. In some places children are
not allowed to play outside between the hours of one
and three in the afternoon because people may be
sleeping. On a recent afternoon in Warrenton, the
Spindler children were observed having a pleasant
time with neighborhood children in the Geddie
backyard.
Upon her arrival in Germany, a new wife in a new
country, Mrs. Spindler was surprised by the warm
and positive attitude with which the German people
related to Americans. She recalled how her local
grocer assisted her, speaking in broken English to
help her understand. After the passing of what he
considered u> be sufficient time of orientation, he
said to her in effect, "Okay, that's it! Now we speak
in German."
And German she now understands and speaks
fluently, as a result of her studies and, of course,
living in the German culture. Her perfect English is
spiced with a trace of German accent.
Although she appreciates the warmth with which
she has been accepted in Germany she admitted
missing the openness of American people. She
related that among the Germans, there seems to be
a limit beyond which it is difficult to tread in getting
to know one another.
In answer to the inevitable question of any plans
to return to the United States to live, Mrs. Spindler
indicated that the "door is open" on that subject.
She would like for her children to attend college in
this country, and yes, she does nourish some desire
to return to live, possibly even in Warrenton. She is
depending upon the passing of years and intuition to
suggest to her an answer to that question.
For now, she is content with her life in Munich,
West Germany and pleased that her children are
reaping the benefits of education offered by the
schools there and by their exposure to different
peoples. She is certain, however, that her life will
always allow time for visits among the "friendly
and open" people of "peaceful, quiet" Warrenton.
School Menus
Sept 10-14
All schools will be
served the same lunch
menu, with Norlina and
John Graham Middle
Schools and Warren
County High School
having a second choice.
Breakfast
MONDAY - Pork
barbecue/bun, baked
beans, creamy cole
slaw, pickle chips.
TUESDAY - Baked
ham roll, macaroni &
cheese, Southern style
green beans, fruit cock
tail.
WEDNESDAY -
Beef-a-roni, tossed
salad with dressing,
school baked roll, fresh
apple.
THURSDAY -
Crunchy fish, cole slaw,
French fries w/catsup,
roll, sliced peaches.
FRIDAY - Taco
w/cheese, tomatoes/
lettuce, Mexican corn,
cinnamon bun.
Breakfast
Breakfast will be
served grades K-6.
MONDAY — Honey
bun, juice, milk.
TUESDAY - Butter
ed toast, bacon/jelly,
Juice, milk.
WEDNESDAY -
Cereal, banana, milk.
THURSDAY - Ham
roll, Juice, milk.
FRIDAY - Poptart,
juice, milk.
Entomoligist B. A. Foote draws in a breath and
lozens of flies he's netted in a Cape Cod, Mass., salt
narsh. The flies then travel through a tube to a
collecting vial. A filter prevents Dr. Foote from
ingesting the insects. The scientist is surveying
hundreds of fly species along the Atlantic coast.
Beaches Abuzz With Special Flies
By BARBARA S. MOFFET
National Geographic News Service
You probably didn't notice, but the flies that
pestered you at the beach this summer were not the
same kind as those buzzing around at home.
And anyone who traveled the length of the Atlan
tic coast may have encountered hundreds of dif
ferent fly species. Bar Harbor, Maine, for example,
has as many as 15 species on its coastal rocks alone.
At the other end—in Florida—mangrove swamps,
sandy beaches, salt marshes, and rock pilings
provide a living museum of coastal flies, members
of a highly evolved group known as higher flies. For
entomologist B. A. Foote, Florida's diverse habitats
were an ideal launch pad for a survey of East Coast
fly species.
Neighbors Vary
"On a sandy beach, the flies are usually different
from those on nearby rock pilings and definitely dif
ferent from the array of species in a salt marsh,"
Dr. Foote explains. "Even one salt marsh can have
scores of species."
This spring, near a man-made rock barricade on
a north Florida beach, Dr. Foote discovered a new
genus of flies, a member of an obscure family
known as Asteiidae. Moving up the coast, he turned
up three new species. Fly species vary in traits such
as body size and wing pattern, but higher flies are
hard to tell apart at a glance; most are less than a
quarter-inch long.
Still, identifying a new genus or species isn't so
surprising. "If you're talking about insects that
have been intensively studied, like butterflies or
beetles, finding new species is difficult," Dr. Foote
says. "But there just aren't many specialists look
ing at flies."
Dr. Foote, a professor of biological sciences at
Kent State University, has chased flies across most
of North America, including Alaska, and has
discovered about a dozen new species. His East
Coast study is supported by the National
Geographic Society.
Dr. Foote set up this year's tour to zero in on 15 or
20 families of long-neglected coast&f flies, part of
the large group known as acalyptrate Diptera. Alto
(Continued on page 2B)