The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-04-12

btu OuEFiBus UuCkcLS uUW Ell use catch all manner of things from wasps, bark, dead chip hunks, and moths, down to ore dinary road dust and mosquitoes. These foreign substances add col- or to pale syrup and provide a slightly antique flavor to the fin- ishcd product, but they are not healthy rations. If we could frame a town ordnance to force covered pals. we could go right down the line in advertising superior sani- tatlon and get the maple market away from those Vermont hill- billies.
 Kate McKeon is dead, and the town has lost an outstanding cit- izen and q sincere friend. Kate lived in a little house on Jeremy Swamp Road, and she had more friends than almost anyone in town. Mrs. McKeon was c prac- tical farmer, good housewife, and 6 Wide-aWake woman of the world. Her horizons were never clouded by the petty jelaousy and envy often found in more fortu- nate people. She never sought riches or power. She never want- cd to run the Ladies Aid. Kate kept her own garden patch clean of weeds, her dooryard neat, her house q welcome refuge for those less fortunate than she. Some people claim that Mrs. McKeon was born in Cork, and if that Is true, we might well ask Cork to send us another shipment of brave Irish lassies, fresh as the sham rock, Staunch as the oak, and with the same rainbow halo that Kate McKeon wore with such dig nity while she stayed with us. It's lonesome as blazes down on Jer- emy Swamp Road, these days.
 Just as we predicted, land in Newt0wn has proven less valuable than South Britain acreage. The State Parks and Reserva ti0ns committee has filed Q favorable report on the bill providing for the purchase of B acres of land In The Glen, at Sandy Hook. for S10,000. The prettiest spot in New town Is thus valued at about $192 an acre. The State recently pur- chased c acres of south Britain paStureland from former repre- sentative Sidney Pltat for S480O. That figures out at $500 per acre, or four times the worth of The Glen.
 Patriotism is something you find most of where you least ex- pect 1t to flourish. An aged farm CT came to us to list Q farm for sale because his three sons were in the army; Brigadier General Pat kearney, with an injured knee the size of a peck measure talked the army medicos out of ruling him physically unfit; Brig adler General Machine Gun Park CT, "A years young, writes from Reno what sounds like Q longing to again feel the scorch of enemy metal, There was Kid Kelly, six teen, and Bugler Holmes, and Chic Elton. and tiny Joe Sex ton and battalion Of youngsters we knew.
 And then comes the shock, A sturdy lad, tagged by the draft, has the eternal nerve to corral the minister, his grandmOt ther, and his mother to accompany him to draft headquarters with a plea for exemption On the grounds of dependency. The lads mother boards town charity cases for living.
 Philadelphia Jack O'Brien (real name Aloyisious) was scant 17 and a veteran of three active en- agreements when we saw him limping around his gun near Gu mel. We asked him what was wrong. Nothing, Sir!" came the prompt reply. His sergeant order ed men to remove the lads shoes. They did. His heels came away with the leather! Philadelphia Jack, man-sized, wept as they car- ried him on a litter to First Aid. Jack never claimed exemption. He enlisted and he became a regular. We need men like that today.