The Coolidge examiner., 1937-03-25

Washington, ID. C.-WNU Service.
Wv WILLIAM THE CONQUER
M OR, cider, omelets, Mont
v v ST. Michel-these are fea-
lures of Normandy that
come to mind with the name Of
that old province of France. You
accent, thus unconsciously, history,
art, and refreshment.
Cherbourg, the port where Nor
mandy seems to thrust its nose i'm
pudently upward-What does it
mean to the ocean traveller? So
much WEAKNESS of the flesh in con-
nection with embarking and de-
barking that one is glad to be off.
But things are to be seen there,
and Cherbourg is gentle introduc-
ton to the heady sights farther on.
1t is here that one becomes aware
of the value of the fishing industries
as a social center. The chatter,
both shrill and thunderous, that
goes with the business is by no
means the least of the interest.
1t is not perfunctory, this fish SELL
ing by the men of the boats and
their wives. Emotion turns the card
in many sale, for if Jean, the sell
er, takes offenSe at the low offer
of a retailer, he groWlS a refusal
to trade; and if Ginette displays
her wares with enticing good ma
ture, she laughingly reaps big
handful of coins for the deep pocket
concealed in her ample wool skirt.
And of course there is the eX-
change of local gossip. Where a
few white-capped women gather
the talk runs highest, for the wom-
an who retains the bonnet of her
ancestors is usually one who prefers
word -of-mouth to neWsprint or ra-
dio. 1t is a pity the caps are pass
ing. The faces, ruddy and perhaps
too irregular, look better when
topped with picturesqueness than
when frankly unadorned.
In Cherbourg, too, one comes up
on the sight of women washing at
a public fountain. That is matter
that always interests. How can they
work in cold water? What boon
it would be to these Woodworking
women if a little hot water were
supplied! If you have ever watched
them at work you have seen grim
courage.
In Apple Blossom Time.
In the very first miles out of Cher
bourg the charm of Normandy be-
gins to assert itself. Suppose it be
May, what is the enchantment?
The apple trees. They are every
where, like the maids dressed in
sprigged muslins.
The country is full of little hills,
so that each farm has its slopes
and its brooks, among which stand
the blooming trees. And all this
loveliness produces the cider which
is the wine of the Norman country
and one of its big products.
The farmhouSes themselves are
approached by these saucy trees
which flaunt sprays of pink against
the old gray stones. You get an
impression that all farmhouses are
near cousins of old castles. Their
size is often prodigious to American
eyes, accustomed as we are to the
wooden farmhouse. The wide sweep
of well-cut gray stone walls has a
dignity of other days.
A round tower, which seems to
be set on some part of the build
ing, rises from the ground, a sep
arate entity, yet an Indispensable
part Of the whole. 1t may be in
tensely agrarian in its intent, in it's
interior uses, but it vividly suggests
the old story Of the castle tower in
which a fair damsel was confined
in cautious protection, a protection
naughtily defeated by the maiden's S
letting down her hair as a ladder
to a waiting lover.
Even the livestock of the Norman
country is conspicuously different
from the accustomed. The gait
of the immense Percherons sets
a pace for the work of the farmer,
who is ever shouting to them a
strange sound, 'Hue!" delivered
with reproach or scorn. Magnifi-
cent animals they are, but never to
be hurried, whether at the plow
or along the roads.
AS a farmer can go no faster than
his horse, his life is regulated by
the Percheron. Will he some day
exchange this placid power for a
hurrying Ford or Citroen?
A light horse built for speed, per-
haps five miles an hour, is used for
the high-wheeled hooded carts
which take folks to market on a
market day. Sometimes real beau
| ty hides in these excluding hoods.
At Honfleur one sees it often.
Buckwheat, But No Cakes.
The Norman fields are red and
white with buckwheat. 1t is an i'm
portant crop, but raised for local
sustenance. To Americans, the
word "buckWheat" means just one