This was a wonderful little magazine, "a Roman Catholic magazine published for the enjoyment and education of the entire family." Now I challenge anyone to find a copy. It disappeared. I used to subscribe to it and have every issue from 1994, a few from 1993, and one from 1996. Now you can't find it in eBay or in any archive online. It's was so good, and now it's disappeared. Nevertheless I'm still reading and enjoying my copies.
For the complete contents of the Butter Rum Cartoon, click HERE.
I've collected all 209 issues of QUICK News Weekly. In that wonderful little magazine you can discover the whole 1949-1953 world! And here's part of it:
Bob Smith, creator of "Howdy Doody," recalled that his pint-sized puppet-cowboy once was a bodiless voice named Elmer. That was when Smith was a radio m.c. on a children's show. To add to the fun he introduced a drawling, oafish voice (his own on a higher register), called the character "Elmer." Because Elmer always addressed the kids with "Howdy doody, kids!" his radio fans soon began calling him "Howdy Doody," demanded to see what he looked like. That made him a natural for video. Late in 1947, a body that matched the voice was constructed and introduced on his own NBC-TV show (Mon.-Fri., 5:30 p.m. EDT - Sponsors: Mars Co., Ovaltine, Colgate, Kellogg Co.). He's been a top-rating TV-viewing habit ever since. (QUICK, July 3, 1950)
A freckle-faced puppet named Howdy Doody has become a $15 million-a-year businessman with five TV shows a week, a record album that outsells "South Pacific" albums, and a flourishing comic-book circulation. By fall, musically-equipped, three-dimensional, animated displays of Howdy Doody are going to be in 18 department stores. Predicts the Howdy Doody brain trust: "This year at Macy's, Howdy Doody will share billing with Santa Claus." (QUICK, Sept. 11, 1950)
Buffalo Bob Smith, human alter ego for puppet cowboy Howdy Doody, admitted he "knows less about puppets than anybody in the world." A former radio actor, Bob parlayed a booming voice and an ability to get excited about the things kids get excited about into one of TV's top small fry shows.
The "Howdy Doody" idea developed five years ago out of a Western comedy character Bob used to do on radio. It now employs seven live actors and a handful of puppet regulars. Bob's job: playing himself, and Howdy's voice. (Someone else pulls the strings backstage.)
For grownups who can't understand the show's big moppet following, Bob explains: "Kids are dominated all day long. They'd like to be Howdy, because nobody bosses him around and he always wins out in the end." The show's 6,000 letters a week, 3-year wait for tickets to the show's "peanut gallery" bear him out. "It's a natural," says Bob, "and in three years there'll be a whole new generation." (QUICK, Feb. 2, 1953)
My primary health physician, St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). In her book, Physica, she writes this about Feverfew:
"Feverfew is of moderate heat and somewhat dry. It is absolutely balanced and has good vital energy. It is good food for a healthy person, since it diminishes putrid matter in him, augments his good blood, and creates clear understanding. It restores strength to an ill person whose body is almost completely failing. Providing good digestion, it lets nothing pass through the body without being digested. A person who has a lot of phlegm in his head will find it diminished if he eats feverfew frequently. Eaten often, it expels pleurisy and provides a person with pure humors. It gives him clear eyesight. In whatever way it is eaten, whether dried or in food, it is beneficial for both sick and healthy people. If a person eats it frequently, it will chase illness from him and keep him from getting sick. When it is eaten, it draws moisture and saliva from the mouth. Because it draws out evil humors, it restores health."
I buy mine in capsule form from Swanson and take it daily, but . . .
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Feverfew is actually one of the easiest herbs to grow. Many gardeners say it grows almost like a weed. Even beginners usually succeed with it. Feverfew likes sun. Full sun is best, but it tolerates light shade. It grows in average garden soil; it doesn’t need anything fancy. It needs moderate watering, but tolerates short dry periods. It's hardy in most temperate climates (USDA zones 5–9). It grows one-to-three feet tall, and produces many small white daisy-like flowers with yellow centers. It often self-seeds, meaning once you plant it, it may come back every year without replanting.
Feverfew is very easy to start indoors or directly in the garden. It can spread easily because of its self-seeding. Some gardeners actually have to pull extra plants each year.
Traditionally it’s used as an herbal remedy, especially for headaches and migraines.
If you grow Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) and want to make your own capsules, the process is fairly simple. The main steps are harvest → dry → grind → encapsulate. Here’s a careful step-by-step guide.
1. Harvest the Plant.
Harvest when the plant is in bloom; this is when the active compounds are strongest.
Cut the upper stems with leaves and flowers using scissors or pruning shears.
Best time: late morning after the dew has dried.
Tip: Avoid harvesting after rain because wet herbs mold easily when drying.
2. Prepare for Drying.
Remove any damaged leaves or insects.
You usually do not wash herbs unless they are visibly dirty (washing slows drying).
Tie several stems into small bundles or spread them out loosely.
3. Dry the Herb.
Two common methods:
Air drying (most traditional).
Hang bundles upside down in a dry, dark, well-ventilated room.
Or spread stems on a screen or drying rack.
Drying time: about 1–2 weeks.
Dehydrator (faster).
Use a herb setting around 95–105°F (35–40°C).
Takes 6–12 hours.
The herb is ready when leaves crumble easily between your fingers.
4. Strip the Leaves and Flowers.
Once dry:
Remove the leaves and flower heads from the stems.
Discard the woody stems.
Store the dried herb in a glass jar away from light until you’re ready to process it.
5. Grind into Powder.
Use a coffee grinder, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle.
Grind until you have a fine herbal powder.
Let the dust settle before opening the grinder so you don’t inhale the powder.
6. Fill Capsules.
You will need:
Empty gelatin or vegetarian capsules (size 00 is common).
A capsule filling tray (optional but helpful).
Steps:
Separate the capsule halves.
Fill the larger half with powder.
Pack gently and close the capsule.
Manual capsule trays can fill 24–100 capsules at once.
7. Storage.
Keep capsules in a dark glass jar.
Store in a cool, dry place.
Best used within about 1 year.
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For the complete contents of the Butter Rub Cartoon, click HERE.
I felt like I had been a pretty good guy. When the day came up that Micki and I had planned to go to Confession, I couldn't really think of what to confess, and I mentioned this to Micki.
When I went into the confessional, I told the priest, "I couldn't think of what to confess, so I asked my wife, and she told me."
I had never heard Father Rick laughed so hard in the confessional before.
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For the complete contents of the Butter Rum Cartoon, click HERE.
