The Coolidge examiner., 1933-05-05
Normandy yDons
Festival Attire
Crects Spring With Quaint
Age-Old Ceremonies.
D u. III.

IOhhaNbI lS plduullS lOT dp-
N pie blossom time. Like Win
chester. In the Valley of Vir-
ginia, and other great apple-grOw-
ing regions of America. Normandy
fares forth In festive attire when
the buds of its famous apple trees
burst in the spring.
Although the French are largely
a wine-imbibing people. the natives
OF Normandy drink apple cider.
There. you can't eat meal without
cider, you can't be born without
cider, and you can't get married or
die without cider. The old duchy,
slightly smaller than the state OF
Maryland. is one huge orchard.
Even when it's apple blossom
time in Normandy. however. the
duchy has many world famous spots
that also attract the attention of the
raveler-Rouen. Deauville, Cher
bOurg. Havre, Bayeux. Honfleur.
Dieppe. Falaise. AlencOn.
Mortimer swooping down. raiding.
destroying. but finally settling on
the land and giving II softened
form OF their name; stalwart son
OF duke and tanners daughter
crossing the channel 10 make world
history at Hastings; Norman dukes
reigning in England; the king Of the
English reigning in Normandy.
Armored knights, clanking about. In
London. Sicily. Naples. at the tomb
of Christ. The Maid burnt at the
stake. Daring sons OF Normandy
roaming the seas TO fish. to explore
and coloniZe unknown lands, from
Newfoundland TO the antarctic. TO
the South Seas. around the world.
Normans building lordly castles,
chateaux, cathedrals, and abbeys of
distinctive Norman architecture"
painting pictures. writing poetry,
plays. and novels of enduring fame.
Poussin and Millet. Pierre COrneille,
Alain Charter and Malherbe. Flau-
bert. he Maupassant. and others
Norman galaxy.
Normandy does more than sit
around and dream of the long ago.
Through Havre. second seaport of
France; through Cherbourg, 1t saw
some of the legions pass to the
western front. Ii has greeted kings
aud queens. admirals and generals,
and heard the roar of cannon sa-
lutes, the hum of sky craft. Through
these ports today pass travellers
from the western world. and pro-
cessiOns of cOnsuls. agents, buyers,
OF every kind-hunters all, scenting
the romance aud adventure In for
eign trade. in anything from an
chovies To antiques.
Dress designers. looking to Paris
for the first and last word on fash
ions. send scouts" to the golden
beaches OF Deauville and its less
ariStOcratic vis-a-vis. TrOuvllle.
Here. where the beau monde dis
ports itself In season beneath gaily
striped tents. al the casinos, along
the promenades. and at the races,
the gods and goddesses of style dis
play their latest creations on beau
tiful women.
Back from the white chalk cliffs
and sandy beaches stretches
green and pleasant land of wind
ing streams, fertile grain fields and
pastures. hedgerows. orchards. we'll
kept farms. and villages of thatched
cottages. There are hills. and dales
and glenS. forests and waterfalls,
and the typically Norman long.
straight roads.
Famous for Cattle.
And cows! Innumerable herds
spot the lush meadows everywhere,
but especially in the Contentin. the
peninsula which points toward Eng
land. II has given its name to a
Norman breed of cattle famous for
beef, but more so for milk produc-
ton. Paris drinks NorInandy's milk
and cream. and both London and
Paris eat its fresh butter and cheese
- Camembert. Neufchatel. Pont
L'Eveque-with histories as distin-
guished as the duchy's own.
In one field men in blue smocks
are loading hay into carts drawn by
ponderous horses. They are perche-
ronS ~ exclaims the horse lover from
the Middle West. MY Indiana
neighbor used to import carloads OF
them. Don't they remind you of
Rosa Bonheur's Horse Fair9 AS
matter Of fact. most OF her mod
els for that picture were perche-
rnns."
Another Normandy product is Its
paiois: ones school book French
will not serve here. In the daily
common speech one authority has
counted some 5000 words which are
foreign 10 French.
On an early visit to England, the
future COnqueror found Normans
everywhere. There were Norman
prehtes in the hishoprics. Norman
lords and soldiers in the fortresses.
Norman captains and sailors in the
Seaports." The Conquest itself af.