The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-22

the festal boa d
 and give an exhibi- ton of the real way to eat spaghetti?
 certainly thought of it when I paid 8 visit to the Birmingham Macaroni factory and saw the great. shining, amber-colored ropes of spaghetti swinging across the rods that hold them.
 Indeed, I don't know when I've ever seen any ''real'' spaghetti that haven't thought of the way MT. Warneld wound the steaming food about his fork, and throwing his head back, dangled 1t teas ingly into his mouth until fairly envied him the delicious morse1 that he was about to partake of
 Macraoni and spaghetti are quite differ ent. if you please, although they are . blood kin, Somebody has said that spa ghetti is just little macaroni that mas broken into society,"" and it is very good description of this food, because macaroni certainly is the grown up member of the family-it's larger in every way than spaghetti, but otherwise the two foods are as like as two peas in pod
 Upon entering the Birmingham Maca- roni factory, which is located at the cor ner of Fourteenth street and Avenue D, you find one of the most complete indus tries in all the big Birmingham district
 A splendid building, three stories high, brick and stone, is the home of this com pany, the little frame building that once bore that distinction having been moved over into the adjoining lot, but. still con- nected with the present building, being used for packing purposes and other things
 To the splendid ability and unswerving energy of one of Birmingham's most valued and prominent citizens, Mir. Charles S. Simmons, and his associates, the success of the Birmingham Macaroni factory is due.
 It is needless to say that this institution is sort of hobby with MT. Simmons.
 He is very proud of it. and he has a right to be, and nothing pleases him more than to have visitors see the factory, especially housekeepers, and if the latter only knew what they are missing by not going, over the Birmingham Macaroni fac- tory and seeing for themselves where this delicious foodstuff is made, I feel sure they'd all avail themselves of the very first opportunity to do so.
 When my brother and I went out of the grocery business some 10 years ago." MT. Simmons told me, i've became interested in the Birmingham Mac aroni factory It was then small es- tablishment situated on the present site--a little frame building and only three barrels of flour day were con sumed in the making of macaroni and spa ghetti Now we use 60. Three years later we found ourselves planning for q
 
 creased to such proportions that 1t de- manded such and the present building was erected"
 'You know, it has always been thought until recently" MT. Simmons continued, that good macaroni and sraghetti could not be made in this country That. of course. is now an ex- ploded idea The Italians are the great est spaghetti makers and eaters in the , world and they do make good spaghetti and that's why nearly all of our force with the exception of few is com posed of Italians The reason that we surpass Italy now in making spaghetti is because we have better machinery. Given the best machinery that can be secured ard the best Ital- iaIl labor that can be found, the re- sul4 is that we turn on. in the Eagle Brand-in the blue boxes with gold letters, so familiar to every house. keeper-the best brand of spaghetti in the world. I say that advisedly, be- > cause our patronage suatains me in the ] statement. l want to. say just here apropos of that remark that there has never been anything more loyal, more encouraging or more appreciative than Birmingham If a man makes a good article of food or clothing or anything else he can depend upon success fol- lowing him because the people want the best and when they find it they stick to 1t. I am very proud Of our large clientele and we try to live up to the mark in every respect ana merit their kind approval"
 If you're spaghetti lover-and even if you are not-you woul denJoy see | ing it made.
 The first stage shows the flour t@hich.. by the way, looks more like meal than flour--a yellow hued, granny sort of stuff-being wheat flour With gluten plus-because this is the only kind that is desirable for making mac, a~oni and spaghetti) in great powi or vessel and this is mixed with warm , water (filtered) until a dough is made just like biscuit dough.
 A huge revolving vessel awaits this. which is spread out on circular arrange ment and over this rolls tremendous piece of machinery which kneads the dough into shape-that is into the proper stage before being placed in moids.
 After the dough has been worked until 1t is ready for use, 1t Is then put in large quantities into deep vessels and the molds are placed in operation. and the next thing you see is the sphaghetti or maca- roni as the case may be, coming out in strings yards long until it fairly dazzles you to see so much of it.
 4 big force of operators stand by. dressed in spic and span white clothes ready to take the spaghetti from the molds and place 1t on rods. preparatory to talk ing it to the drying rooms. where 1t goes through the process of being cured"
 was told that the "curing" process is the most important of all. as the wealth. T. CT affects conditions of course, the cold ! making the food brittle and then it breaks of easily-and 1t requires experts to do it
 In charge of this department is one of the ouaintest characters at the Birming- ham Spaghettic Factory-Mr. Guercio Pas ouale-an Italian born and bred-can't . speak a word of English. although he has been in this country for the past IF years.
 Mr.-or should call him "signor'' Pas quale-has forgotten more about curing spaghetti than nearly everybody else in Birmingham has known about 1t all their lives.
 He's an expert and I would have liked to talk with him-but-well. what's a body to do when the other fehow can't talk in your language, and you can't talk in his? MT P. ]. Serio. the efficient general manager and head man" at the factory. however. speaks English as well as he does Italian. and very kindly offered to act as interpreter. but I may as well tell you now as any other time that MT. Sim . mons had whispered to me at the start that it was MT. Serio who was the whole show at the factory and that it Is to him that the Birmingham Macaroni Factory owes it's well-deserved success.
 MT. Serio has hundreds of friends here who knew him when he started the Bir- mingham Macaroni Factory, which MT. Simmons and his associates bought