OCT. 14, MONDAY: Columbus Day. Thanksgiving Day (Canada). A. A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" published, 1926.
OCT. 15, TUESDAY: Spy Mata Hari executed, 1917. "I Love Lucy" premiere, 1951.OCT. 16, WEDNESDAY: First U.S. birth-control clinic opened, New York, 1916. John Brown's raid, Harper's Ferry, 1859.
OCT. 17, THURSDAY: Albert Einstein arrived in the United States, 1933.
OCT. 18, FRIDAY: St. Luke's Little Summer. Moon near Jupiter.
OCT. 19, SATURDAY: First quarter moon. Eddie Bauer born, 1899. Dow Jones industrial average fell 508 points, 1987.
OCT. 20, SUNDAY: Mickey Mantle born, 1931. Gale hit New England coast, 1770.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: Is St. Luke's Little Summer the same as Indian Summer?
- S.Y., Cleveland
Answer: No, but they're similar, due to their unseasonably warm weather. St. Luke's Day is Oct. 18, and it's sometimes incorrectly referred to as Indian Summer, but technically, it's not. Indian Summer, rightfully, falls between St. Martin's Day on Nov. 11 and Nov. 20. St. Luke's Little Summer is an earlier version, a next-to-the-last gasp of the summer's warm breath before the real Indian Summer arrives in November. True Indian Summer comes after a cold spell or hard frost, and St. Luke's falls too early for that, even in the Northeast.
Dates for Indian Summer have been disputed, but for 204 years now the Old Farmer's Almanac has stood by the saying, "If All Saints (Nov. 1) brings out winter, St. Martin's brings out Indian Summer." Some argue that the name comes from early Indians who believed the condition was caused by a warm wind sent from the court of their southwestern god, Cautantowwit.
St. Luke was the patron saint of painters and physicians. He's described as a physician who painted a portrait of the Virgin Mary. He's usually depicted with an ox (for sacrifice) and artist's tools. The French call St. Luke's Little Summer "l'ete de S. Martin" or speak of "l'ete de la S. Denis a la S. Martin" spanning the period between Oct. 9 and Nov. 11.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: You once published a short essay about old folks being worth a fortune. For the edification of our grandchildren, could you print it again?
- K.T.J., Norfolk, Va.
Answer: Gladly. It was sent to us at "The Old Farmer's Almanac" by A. Foster of Versailles, Ky., with a note saying its origin is unknown. It's signed simply, "an old gal." It goes:
"Remember, old folks are worth a fortune, with silver in their hair, gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys, lead in their feet, and gas in their stomachs.
"I have become a little older since I saw you last, and a few changes have come into my life since then. Frankly, I have become quite a frivolous old gal. I am seeing five gentlemen every day. As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I go to see John. Then Charlie Horse comes along, and when he is here, he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of the day. He doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint.
"After such a busy day I'm really tired and glad to go to bed with Ben Gay. What a life!
"P.S. The preacher came to call the other day. He said at my age I should be thinking about the hereafter. I told him, `Oh, I do all the time. No matter where I am - in the parlor, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement - I ask myself, `Now, what am I here after?' "
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: How many state names are American Indian in origin?
- S.B., Pierre, S.D.
Answer: Almost half. It depends on how you count them, but we'd say 24. Indiana, for instance, means "Land of the Indians," but it's not strictly an American Indain word. But we'd count it, plus these: Alabama ("I make a clearing"), Arizona (Pima for "little spring place" or Aztec for "silver-bearing"), Arkansas ("downstream people"), Connecticut ("beside the long tidal river"), Idaho ("gem of the mountains" or the Kiowa Apache term for the Comanches), Iowa ("one who puts to sleep" or "beautiful land"), Kansas ("south wind people"), Kentucky ("dark and bloody land" or "meadow land" or "land of tomorrow"), Michigan ("great water"), Minnesota ("cloudy water" or "sky-tinted water"), Mississippi ("great river" or "gathering in of all the waters"), Missouri ("river of the big canoes"), Nebraska ("broad water" or "flat river"), North Dakota ("friend" or "ally"), Ohio ("fine river" or "good river"), Oklahoma ("red man"), South Dakota (see North Dakota), Tennessee (from "tanasi," the name of the Cherokee villages on the Little Tennessee River), Texas ("friends" or "allies"), Utah ("upper" or "higher up"), Wisconsin ("grassy place") and Wyoming ("large prairie place"). Many of our rivers, lakes, cities and towns have American Indian names as well.
You might also count two more, Hawaii, which takes a native word for homeland, and Alaska, Aleut for "land that is not an island."
Other states take their names chiefly from Spanish, Mexican, French, or English origins, sometimes naming the kings, queens, and dukes who funded the explorations. Rhode Island may be Dutch in origin, for "red clay," though that's uncertain.
Send your questions to: Ask the Almanac, The Old Farmer's Almanac, Main St., Dublin, NH 03444. Every day the editors of The Old Farmer's Almanac answer a question on the Internet. All questions are archived there as well. On the World Wide Web, the address is (http://www.almanac.com)
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
THIS WEEK WITH The OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC
OCTOBER 14-20, 1996
COLUMBUS DAY, OCT. 14
AMERICA'S FIRST LEXICOGRAPHER
October 16 marks the birthday, 1758, of Noah Webster, author of the first American dictionary. Webster made his living as a lawyer, journalist, and school teacher, but we tend to remember him for the many words he folded into the Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. In 1783 his American Spelling Book appeared, which first Americanized the English spelling of such words as "colour" and "labour" by dropping the u. Webster wrote his dictionaries in longhand.
Words are good but hens lay eggs.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Apple peelings should be included in cooking apple jelly, for that's where most of the pectin is stored.
CRAB APPLE JELLY
3 pounds crab apples, washed and cut, but not cored or peeled
water, to cover
1 cup sugar to each cup of strained juice (about 4 cups, more or less)
Boil crab apples in water until soft. Wet jelly bag and strain crab apples through this. (For clear jelly, do not squeeze bag.) Have sterilized jelly jars ready, dry but hot. Measure the juice, then simmer in a stainless steel pot for 5 minutes. Skim froth, then add sugar. Simmer about 10 minutes, until jelly thickens and drops from a spoon in sheets (about 220 F). Skim foam and pour jelly into sterilized jars, to within 1/2 inch of top if topping with paraffin (use 1/8 inch of wax), or to withing 1/8 inch of top for two-piece metal jar tops. Seal, cool, and store in cool, dark, dry place.
Makes about 4 cups.
The OLD FARMER'S WEATHER PROVERBS
No rain on St. Gallus Day (Oct. 16); a dry spring will come.
Look for a cold winter when the apple peels are thicker than usual.
A field requires three things; fair weather, sound see, and a good husbandman.