i " ~ rv,J.., o --- I ne r~m~nm ¢ournAt
s nurR a,y, rqovsmber 1, 1984
The Natural Way
Dr. Jeff Black
Professor of Biology
Oklahoma Baptist University
II
BLACK WIDOW
Part 1
• As a teacher, I am very
much aware that stu-
dents pick up on certain
of my habits. I am well-
known at OBU for wear-
ing a white lab coat, car-
..... rying a coffee cup and
having hair that is hard
to manage and looks like
it is never combed. Con-
stantly drinking coffee is
one of my nasty habits
that I find hard to break.
I recently picked up my
coffee cup and looked in-
to the bottom to see a
spider web with a tiny
spider clinging to it.
Many of you know that
my phobia is spiders, so
a spider in my cup did
not make my day. The
spider and web were
~ '~ ~moved and my cup
~-~-£arefully washed. Then
my brain clicked into
gear and the bells started
to ring. I rapidly return-
ed to my office and look-
ed on my desk. There
were tiny spider webs
with tiny spiders
everywhere I looked,
some of them even hang-
ing from the lights.
I grabbed a quart jar
i~ off the desk and found
iI the answer to the spider
i: in my coffee cup and the
, spiders and webs
i~ everywhere in my office.
Hundreds of baby
i ~, spiders had crawled out
, of their egg sacs in the
~ ',-j~r and then out through
the holes in the lid.
It all started when I
got a phone call from a
local lady that had just
returned from a weekend
visit with her family in
east Texas. Her husband
had found a Black
Widow spider with its
egg sacs and they had
coilected mother and
eggs in a jar and brought
them back for me. We
agreed to meet at school
early the next morning
so that I could get the
spider.
It was definitely a
Black Widow and a big,
shiny, coal-black female
with long legs and two
egg sacs. The people had
put holes in the lid of the
jar so the spider could
breathe. I looked at the
holes and told myself to
be sure and cover them
before the baby spiders
(spiderlings) came out of
the light tan-colored egg
sacs and escaped. You
can guess the rest of the
story. I did forget to
cover the holes and left
the j ar on my desk with
just an occasional glance
as I rushed past. The
spiderlings escaped and I
had an office occupied
with hundreds of baby
Black Widows.
The Black Widow is
probably one of the most
feared and notorious of
all the spiders know as
"widow" spiders. There
are 20. to 30 widow
spiders that occur
throughout the world in
tropical areas. All of
them are a shiny black
with bright red markings
and famous for their
poisonous bites. At least
five of these species oc-
cur within the United
States. It is the Western
Black Widow Spider,
Latrodectus hesperus,
that occurs throughout
Oklahoma. This black
widow usually places its
webs near the ground
under objects, across the
entrances to animal bur-
rows, and even in trees
and bushes. The boys
A Black Widow Spider
and I frequently find
them under rocks as well
as in rabbit and opossum
burrows.
Even though they have
a terrible reputation, the
females {males don't bite)
are rather timid spiders.
They will normally not
bite unless they are in-
jured or irritated. This
usually happens when
they are squeezed
against the body if they
moved, this causes the of an outdoor privy and
spider to "think" that an that most victims are
insect has become en- males. This is another
trapped in the web and it reason to appreciate in-
rushes to the site of the door plumbing. I have a
movement and bites the lot more to tell you about
object vigorously. Black Widow Spiders
Hopefully I don't have to which will have to wait
explain this in detail until next week and in-
when it refers to the seat stallment two.
HAS HAD ENOUGH
SHIDLER
Postmistress Audrey
are hidden in clothes or
when piles of rocks or' Crawford says she will
lumber are moved, start locking the post of-
I used to always hear rice lobby when she
about the danger of black leaves at 4:30 p.m. if van-
widow spider bites in the dalism there doesn't
old-fashioned outdoor stop. People will not be
privies. Under the seats able to check their
is an ideal place for nests mailboxes from 4:45 p.m.
and webs and there areuntil 8 a.m. in the morn-
always lots of flies for ing if the vandalism
food. Whenever the doesn't stop she
spider's web is gentlypromises.
FIRST CRIME
WATCH MEETING
PERRY --A crime
watch meeting was held
October 23, at the
women's fair building
here. Steve Bunch, with
the police department,
presided and spoke on ef-
forts to curtail crime by
enlisting mutual efforts
of neighborhoods. A film
was also shown.
-O"
THINKING IT OVER
Is your mind made up?
By Zoh Sample
Sunday evening I sat
glued to the television as
did thousands of other
Americans. The debate
between Ronald Reagan
and Walter Mondale
lasted ninety minutes.
The question is, did you
change your mind or
decide which would make
the best president for the
next four years? It seem-
ed to me a hard decision
to make when the whole
world is in such a whirl
and turmoil. But then I
am not much of a politi-
cian, nor could I see
either speaker's face
while they were talking.
I have always liked to see
the expression on folks'
faces when discussing
their issues.. I was
somewhat in the dark,
being blind, but I stuck
with it throughout.
Much has gone into the
campaigning, and much
money has been-spent
combing the entire na:
tion by Mondale. He is
still going strong these
few last days before the
sixth of November, when
the race will finally be
over.
The vote count is ex-
pected to be heavy all
across the nation.
However, be sure to get
out early and vote, using
your best judgement.
This is a priviledge all
Americans have, and our
country needs your sup-
port in these trying times
of strife, turmoil, strikes,
and unrest.
November 6 will be the
day that decides who will
be the commander-in-
chief of our great nation.
Whichever wins will have
to face the dark future,
trying their best to lead
our nation in peace and
prosperity. Their deci-
sions will be hard, and
very difficult. I can't see
why anyone would strive
so hard for the job. After
such a long, strenuous
campaign, they must be
completely worn out
before they even begin
their term. It must be the
natural human urge that
drives them on.
With space war loom-
ing in the future, prob-
lems with terrorists,
strikes, and the everyday
problems that hang over
1Tla.
JOURNAL FOOD CORNER
Baking soda, mixed with liquid
and heated, gives off carbon diox-
ide, which puffs up the mixture as
it forms. It gives the cake a mild-
ly acid taste, just the tartness of
a lemon cake or a gingerbread.
For the softer tasting cakes,
baking powder is used. One level
teaspoon of baking soda has ap-
proximately the same raising
power as that of three or four
level teaspoons of baking powder.
Often acid substances such as
vinegar, sour milk, cream of tar-
tar, tartaric acid, yogurt, even
marmalade or jam are added to
speed 'up the chemical reaction
which frees the carbon dioxide
from the bicarbonate of soda.
Fats are necessary in cakes,
and butter gives the best flavor.
Margarine has less flavor but is
quick to beat or cream. Vegetable
shortenings give good light cakes,
but add nothing to the taste. Oils
are rarely used in cakes because
they don't hold air when cream-
ed or beaten.
Superfine granulated sugar
with small, small crystals is the
best for cakes. Coarse sugar can
be ground finer in a food pro-
ceesor or blender.
The best flour is weak flour, or
household flour, often called cake
four. Beware of using self-riming
flour. Remember it has baling
powder added so don't add more.
Mrs. Jess Hedges contributes a
basic recipe for white cake, and
:you can see how the ingredients
explained above go together to
produce some sweet delicious
eating!
WHITE CAKE
Cream together.
% cup shortening
2 cups of sugar
1 tap. vanilla
Sift together:
2 tap. baking soda
¼ tap. salt
Add to creamed mixture alter-
nately with 1 cup of water.
Lastly add stiffly beaten whites
of four eggs to which 1 tap. bak-
ing powder has been added while
heating. Fold in evenly and put in
two 9-inch greased and lightly
floured cake pans. Bake at 350
degrees 30 minutes.
You see how it takes shape?
There is the fat {shortening},
sugar, flavoring {vanilla}, the bak-
ing soda, flour, steam (1 cup of
water}, whites of eggs and baking
powder for chemical reaction to
cause rising.
Here is a slightly different ver-
sion by Merle Blakey, but the
basic agencies for cake baking are
here {fat, flavoring, liquid,
sweetening, flour and rising
agent}:
WHITE CAKE
Cream 1 cup of sugar and
cup butter, add I cup sweet milk.
Add 1 tap. vanilla an& 2//2 cups
flour and two large tap. baking
powder. Acki beaten whites of 3
eggs. Mix well and bake ih three
layers. Cover with white icing.
W~ would bet that Mrs.
Hedges' cake would be a little
lighter and fluffier than Mrs.
Blakey's, but there would be lit-
tle difference in the taste. We are
basing this on the fact that
shortening is somewhat more con-
centrated than butter and would
react better with the baking soda,
plus the fact that Mrs. Hedges'
recipe calls for four egg whites
laced with baking powder, which
would add umph to the shorten-
ing and baking soda mixture. Yet,
Mrs. Blakey's recipe would have
a nice flavor because it calls for
butter which has flavor, and
sweet milk instead of water.
Either cake would be delicious,
I o
but we are pointing out the
that the Hedges cake would tend
to stand a little taller and be
slightly fluffier than the Blakey
recipe.
Mrs. Pauline Pierce submitted
the following cake recipe that"
sounds delicious and would be
useful to a busy housewife:
LAZY DAISY CAKE
(Has frosting baked on. A help
for busy days.)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
cup sweet milk
1 tablespoon shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat eggs until thick. Add
sugar gradually. Sift together,
baking powder and salt and add
to egg and sugar mixture.
Bring milk to boiling point~ add
shortening. Pour over first mix-
ture all at one time. This makes
a thin batter. Add vanilla, pour
into 9¼xl3x2-inch pan. Bake at
375° for 25 minutes.
ICING: Combine 3 tablespoons
oleo or butter, V2 cup brown
sugar, 1 cup coconut, and 3
tablespoons sweet cream. Spread
this mixture over hot cake and
brown under broiler.
XXX
Here are a few hints on cake
baking=.
Don't overbear your cake
batter. Too much air in the bat-
ter causes cracking.
.-If you have just purchased
new cake pans and are using them
for the first time, grease them and
place in a modera~ oven for 15
minutes to prevent burned cakes.
-For a moist chocolate cake,
try adding a spoonful of vinegar
to the baking soda.
'Use orange juice instead of
water to make a sponge cake
$
Cake baking is probably the
most delicate of the baking arts,
and many cooks have not ever
contemplated just what happens
when a cake is baked. They know
what the result is, but haven't
given much thought as to why it
results like it does.
At the same time, many would-
be bakers are disappointed by the
results of their efforts.
Cakes are made by mixing flour
to a paste with eggs and liquids,
flavoring the mixture and adding
air or gas to make it rise while
cooking.
Air and gas? you ask! These are
known ,as your raising agents,
such as baking soda and baking
powder. Without these, a cake is
impossible.
Gas is added to the mixture
also by yeast in breadmaking, but
yeast does not add to the flavor
of a cake. The most efficient way
of trapping air in a mixture is by
folding in beaten egg whites,
which contain bubbles of air. Air
is also added to the mixture by
sifting of flour and the creaming
of fat and sugar together. Then
there is steam, which is really
what makes a cake rise. That is
why a cake mixture is highly li-
quified. As the oven grows hotter,
the liquid vaporizes, the steam
rises, taking the uncooked flour
mixture with it. However, the
steam alone is not sufficient to
get an even surface on the baked
cake, even though the steam is a
contributing factor.
Thus, we come to the chemical
ingredients of cake baking, which
are the baking sodas and baking
powders.
Baking soda is used for
stronger tasting cakes such as
gingerbread or chocolate cake,
and cakes flavored with molasses,
lemon, orange or dried fruit in
1S
which the taste of the carbonate3 cups cake flour chemical reaction, and it seems more flavorful.
of soda wdl be maske& ....
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the whitehouse, -it is tasks that will
'enough to age the nation. We need
youngest as well as Abe Lincolns,
bemuddle those who are and even
older. The job will test Washingtons to
the most sane mind and and deliver the
healthy body, and deal We are
with the spiritual soul. ingwork
The leader will un- last forever. Time
doubtedly need the hand quickly.
of a higher power to lead dred years ago,
the way in this day and bus dis
age if we are to survive to of ours, and
the year two thousand, today? It is
Higher education is ab- than you think.
solutely necessary this shoulder
day and age if we are to be proud you
survive in the future. It youth of our
behooves our youth to next
strive to help pull the ICANS
future load of difficult -minded and
Foliage is Beauti
By Winnie Corley
Have you been out in
the country lately, or
looked out the door? If
you haven't, you should
by all means. I warn you,
though, one look will call
for another. The trees are
putting on their autumn
colors; and the view
becomes more spectac-
ular with each passing
day. Today's brilliance,
in a clump of shoe-
makes, keeps my mouth
open in amazement long
after the bushes are no
longer in sight.
A couple of years ago,
a group from our Church
boarded an old school
bus and headed for the
Talimina Drive between
Talihina, Oklahoma, and
Mena, Arkansas. That
was indeed an enjoyable
trip, in spite of a faulty
fuel pump which had to
be replaced at the Queen
Wilhemina Lodge. Lucky
we had several mechan-
ics in the group.
Although some of us
were old enough to be
parents and grand-
parents to others;
fellowship and fun span-
way to the top
trees where they
bing. Fine
willow leaves
yellow;
deeper hue;
reddish brown
seems to add
from hour to hour.
From where I
trees at present,
Chandler Lake,
count seven
green.
very
in the shadowS.
enough yellow a~l
son are scattered ~
the greens to
each
Take a close
trees around yotL
has a character
own. Willows
and graceful,
the breeze; th~
stately and sofia
a while I
a dead tree, still
firm against
of time.
I look with
think nothing
more beautiful.
thought
mind, "I wish
would never
ned the generation gaps. know it will
If you ever get a Tomorrow the~
chance for a foliage tour View will take 0i~
over this highway, by all look. There will
means don't miss the
chance. It is built along a
ridge where you c~n get
a view of hills and trees
for many miles any way
you look. Buy why wait
for that far distant time
when you are free to go
that far from home?
You don't have to get
out of Payne or Lincoln
counties to go on a
foliage tour. At present,
the shoemakes and Vir-
ginia creepers make the
most brilliant splash--
shoemakes yellow blew
ding into red and the
Virginia creepers a
brilliant crimson all the
color and more
which will make
God didn't see
the scene
same.
-0"
REQUEST cITI
C(
STROUD
resident attendi~~
council meeting |
quested a
visory
would report t(
and the has
ty on related
Citizens are
about local
medical charges.
-O-
/
t
Nila Burton to Marry James
Planning a November wedding are Ntis
Burton and James Gordon Bond, Jr.
Parents of the bride-elect are Mr. and Mrs. !
R. Burton of Agra, Oklahoma. Parents of the I
tive bridegroom are Mr. and Mrs. JameS
Bond, St. of Agra, Oklahoma.
The bride-elect is a 1983 graduate of
School and is employed by the Payne
of Perkins, Oklahoma.
The prospective bridegroom is a 1982
Agra High School and is employed by
Manufacturing Company of Oi
Oklahoma.
The couple will exchange wedding voWS
November 2, 1984, in 7 p.m. ceremonieS
Cushing General Assembly and ChurCl
Firstborn with Bishop Harold Case
