Robert from UK knew the answer and he is the winner of Betty MacDonald fan club contest.
Congratulations dear Robert!
Do you have any caricatures of Betty MacDonald?
We are working on this subject ' Betty MacDonald in caricatures ' and are very grateful for your support.
Our Betty MacDonald fan club honor members are unique personalities.
Wolfgang
Hampel, Monica Sone's very good friend and author of Betty MacDonald
and Ma and Pa Kettle biography told us that Monica Sone was always
delighted to hear from her fans.
It's the same with our other
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour members.
If you have any
questions or greetings don't hesitate to send them, please.
The Betty
MacDonald fan club honor members are very happy to hear from you.
I
admire Monica Sone's book Nisei Daughter. Betty MacDonald was right
when she described Monica as Kimi the way she did in her book The Plague
and I.
Monica was very witty and intelligent although the subject of
Nisei Daughter isn't a funny one. Just the opposite!
Publisher: Betty MacDonald fan club
Electronic file. 2002 Updated version with many new info, documents and photos in 2016
Rating: **** This is the study of the bestseller, The Egg and I, by Betty MacDonald, first printed in 1945.
You can read many fascinating thoughts from readers of The Egg and I and the long and careful investigation undertaken by the founder of Betty MacDonald fan club.
Contents
A lesson in crosspurposes or Too much scrubbing takes the life right out of things
They were all quite drunk but still jovial or Birdie Hicks the second
My friend Betty or A letter from Kimi
A far cry from the Smith brothers and/or a real bastard?
Put out that match or Do you want me to start the greatest firework you've ever seen?
How long will the forests last? or Where is the spotted owl?
The type of female the pioneers were tickled pink to give the Indians as a hostage or I'm saving my old newspapers for you
The terrible nearness of the mountains or A hell of a place to live
Who is who? or Old McDonald' had a farm
The good guy in The Egg and I or A long search with the help of an ex-FBI man who had helped catch Dillinger
The Egg and I road or People on this road are pretty private
A smile from Chimacum or How beautiful is it to be human
Huge fans of Betty's or The "Kettles" were just trying to feather their own nests...
Photos
Wolfgang Hampel has made funny and enigmatic titles like Betty MacDonald
did.
This first chapter is an informal
discussion about two families, the Kettles and the Hicks, who where the
closest neighbors of Betty.
A "Betty Expert" ventured the hypothesis that the name Hicks
derives from the adjective "hick" meaning rural and uncouth. Wolfgang Hampel unveils the truth which was not easy to guess
and to find, and which is completely different. The second chapter starts with a few words about the Kettles. The rest of the
chapter is about the representation of the Indians in MacDonald's book.
Wolfgang Hampel has asked the opinion of readers, and publishes their very interesting reactions
The next chapter entitled "a letter from Kimi" is also about the
Indians. It ends with a very imporant letter from Kimi who in reality was author Monica Sone, first Betty MacDonald fanc club honor member and a very good friend of Betty MacDonald and Wolfgang Hampel.
The next chapter is about Betty's first husband, Robert Eugene Heskett
Wolfgang Hampel reveals a very interesting lie of Betty, which is that before
marrying Bob, she already lived in the country, not in town.
Knowing the real life of Bob makes you feel more pity for poor
Betty. One might also wonder why she has been so eager to quit her home
at an early age, accepting to fly away with an old alcoholic as a
result.
In the next chapter the truth
is told about the fate of the farm after Betty and Bob left it.
In the rest of the book, you'll discover many other interesting things.
I
won't go into details here (although I have carefully read every line
till the end), because the purpose of a review is only to give an idea
of the content of a book.
Wolfgang Hampel has done a wonderful work of research.
Now, every reader of Betty MacDonald's The Egg and I has the possibilty
of learning the true story, which, personally, I find more interesting
than the semi-fiction it inspired.
Publisher: Betty MacDonald fan club
Electronic file. 2002 Updated version with many new info, documents and photos in 2016
Rating: **** The Kettle's Million Dollar Egg is an historical account of a trial.
Betty MacDonald is the author of The Egg and I, which turned out
to be a best-seller. It was adapted to the screen. A movie was made, and
proved to be very successful too. Afterwards " Ma and Pa Kettle" appeared in a very successful series after
the name of a couple of farmers who are not very flatteringly described
by Betty MacDonald. Undoubtedly it is their dirtyness and dumbness that
make the spectators laugh. The series was a big success.
The problem is that a family sues Betty MacDonald for having been
exposed to ridicule in her book. The Bishop family believes she had been
depicted by Betty MacDonald as the Kettle family.
The plaintiffs are the first to talk. On some issues, witnesses are asked to confirm or infirm what has been said.
A few days later, Betty MacDonald can talk. She is asked to tell in what circunstances she wrote the book.
Comments
Being the defendant is not pleasant. Being in the witness stand is not always very easy:
She said a finer man never lived than Al Bishop and described his wife as a wonderful woman. Cautioned by Judge Wilkins just to answer questions and not to volunteer information, Mrs. Madeline Bishop,
a sprightly and alert woman, turned to the judge with a broad smile: "Am I talking too much, judge?" she asked. "We all do that sometime," the judge remarked smiling. "But I can't tell you unless I explain," she answered pertly. According to her Albert Bishop had tremendous working habits, not at all like Paw Kettle in the book. He had red hair "like that juror's", pointing to a young juror with red
hair. Albert Bishop worked "like a dog, night and day." Her sister
wasn' t profane as was Maw Kettle. "It was not a habit of hers. She was
not a profane woman. She might say 'Doggone you' to a kid or something
like that." Several pictures of the Albert Bishop family which defense attorney
Crandell sought to have introduced through Mrs. Bishops identification
were ruled out of evidence as having no bearing on the case since they
were taken a number of years before the time allegedly covered in THE
EGG AND I. As the last of the pictures was ruled out, Mrs. Bishop drew a photograph
in a small round frame from her purse. "Here's one of my sister when
she was a young woman," she remarked , " but I suppose that one has no
bearing either." Then she put the picture before Judge Wilkins,
commenting as she did so: "She's sweet, isn't she?"
The situation is absurd. When people are attacking others or defending
themselves, they feel the need to say and do stupid things, as if it
were the most stupid person who would be the winner in the end. The
judge knows that natural inclination, he encourages the others to talk
nonsense, and then, he rules out whatever he likes.
Even if the Bishops are mostly interested in getting financial subsidies
rather than in restoring their dignity and honour, they are
nevertheless victims in some ways, because Betty's book changed their
life. They had to deal with tourists, who wished to see the ranch where
Betty lived. They had to recreate it, to reinvent a myth, to charge one
dollar per visit, to declare they were the Kettles or to deny that
according to circunstances.
The story is about a rebellion against mighty forces which are thwarting
long-established plans and desires. The Olympian Gods want to make
surprises, but the poor mortals don't like them.
Work and life of Betty MacDonald will be honored by Wolfgang Hampel in Vita Magica.
We got very important info regarding the original 'The Egg and I' and the way Betty MacDonald described her first husband Robert Eugene Heskett and their neighbours.
Many greetings from Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund.
We are very happy that Betty MacDonald fan club got so many fans in 40 countries.
At the current time I'm rather busy because my father got a very serious heart attack some time ago.
There is reason to be optimistic according to the doctors but we need lots of time and patience.
Therefore
I'm really very grateful that author Heiderose Teynor is going to
support us with activities on Facebook establishing a new site promoting
her literary work ( which I adore ) Betty MacDonald fan club and Vita Magica.
Thanks a million dearest Heiderose!
Now let's introduce our good friend and author Heiderose Teynor!
My name is Heiderose Teynor. I live with my family in Neckarsteinach near Heidelberg.
I’ve studied history
and politics at Heidelberg University and I was always interested in
journalism and wrote my first articles during my study. Later I worked on short
stories and started my writing career.
I adore criminal stories with
meaning and understanding, when the reader has to reflect about it.
It is not very easy to
write good stories, and a teacher said to me “You can do anything,
just do not get bored!” I try to entertain my readers that they cannot
stop. In holidays I visited Italy and the Tuscany. I love these old
towns like San Gimignano, Siena or Pisa. Another aspect is my home
region round Heidelberg. Visitors from all over the world visit this
town, the castle and the river Neckar. So why is it so much interesting?
I tried to research it.
My book “Im Bann der Omertà” is about my home region around Heidelberg and the Tuscany. It is
a story about organized crime and the duty of silence. The special feature in “Im Bann der Omertà” are the regional stories both around Heidelberg and in Tuscany.
4. My opinion to Betty MacDonald
Betty
MacDonald’s “The Egg and I” is very funny and amusing as Betty MacDonald
wrote about her childhood and youth, and later about her experiences at
the chicken farm. This is a
wonderful gift to describe everyday life like she does it! Some other
people would not even see it, but she was able to write a whole book in a
very amusing and witty style.
I
heard about Betty MacDonald and The Egg and I
in Vita Magica from Wolfgang Hampel. Through facebook and net I met
Linde Lund. It is very
interesting to attend Vita Magica last Tuesday every month. The program
is always very interesting with quiet different writers and
musicians.
5. My appearence in Vita Magica
I will read together with other writers on 30th of May 2017, when Heidelberg is on program and with “Im Bann der Omertà” I will be guest reader on 28th of November 2017.
A very warm welcome dearest Heiderose to Betty MacDonald fan club and thanks a million for your outstanding support!
Love,
Linde Lund
Do you want to see photos of Betty MacDonald's beloved grandmother Gammy? You can see several ones in Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter November. Isn't this great? By the way I totally agree. The author of an oustanding Betty MacDonald biography needs a very good sense of humor.
We
will be able to offer you very witty and exciting stories because of
our outstanding Betty MacDonald research and many interviews with Betty
MacDonald's family and friends by Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel.
We are going to publish new Betty MacDonald fan club items including new Betty MacDonald interviews by Wolfgang Hampel.
Fat. Pig. Dog. Slob. Disgusting animal.
These are just some of the names that Donald Trump has
called women over the years. Yes, a man who's hoping to become President
of the United States and presumably persuade a few women to vote for
him, too.
The billionaire has
been widely called out for his objectification of women - he has a
tendency to criticise them for their looks - and sexist remarks.
To me it would a awful if this dangerous clown would be next President.
Our next Betty MacDonald fan club project is a collection of these unique dedications.
If you
share your dedication from your Betty MacDonald - and Mary Bard Jensen
collection you might be the winner of our new Betty MacDonald fan club
items.
Thank you so much in advance for your support.
Thank you so much for sending us your favourite Betty MacDonald quote.
More info are coming soon.
Wolfgang
Hampel's Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and Betty
MacDonald interviews have fans in 40 countries. I'm one of their many devoted fans.
Many Betty MacDonald - and Wolfgang Hampel fans are very interested in a Wolfgang Hampel CD and DVD with his
very funny poems and stories.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club fans from all over the World are very interested in Wolfgang Hampel's interviews, stories and poems.
You'll
be able to read some of Wolfgang Hampel's new satirical stories and
poems in our Betty MacDonald Fan Club newsletter. It'll be available in
November.
As
we all know Wolfgang Hampel founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty
MacDonald Society in 1983.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club got members in 40
countries.
Wolfgang Hampel visited all the places where Betty MacDonald and her family lived.
Wolfgang
Hampel's new Betty MacDonald documentary of Betty MacDonald's life in
Boulder, Butte, Seattle, Laurelhurst, Chimacum, Vashon Island, Carmel
and Carmel Valley is really fascinating. My personal favourites are
scenes of Betty's and Don's life in Carmel and Carmel Valley.
There are two things that,
we fear, will never go away: Anthony Weiner sexting scandals and talk
of Hillary Clinton's private email server. Now, the constant
controversies have joined in an unholy alliance that's threatening the
Democratic nominee's presidential campaign, according to a new ABC/Washington Post poll released Sunday.
Of the 1,160 likely voters polled, 46% backed Clinton while
45% backed her opponent, real-estate-mogul-turned-politician Donald
Trump. The one-point margin is narrow, and a stark contrast to Clinton's
12-point lead days prior.
Hillary Clinton addressed the damn emails on the campaign trail after the FBI reopened its investigation Friday.Source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Roughly one third of those surveyed cited the FBI's recent
reopening of its investigation into Clinton's email server, after
missives uncovered in the separate investigation of problematic texter
Weiner's inappropriate messages to a 15-year-old girl
apparently necessitated dredging the whole email issue back up.
Weiner's estranged wife is Huma Abedin, Clinton's top aide, which is how
the candidate finds herself involved here: According to the New York Times, "tens of thousands" of Abedin's emails were sitting on Weiner's laptop.
Sponsored
It's presently unclear what link, if any, those emails have to Clinton's private email server, but FBI director James Comey thought transparency would be of key importance to voters and so revisited an investigation he closed in July. Clinton has urged the FBI
to just come out with whatever it has already, rather than throwing
wrenches into her campaign strategy with a little over a week before the
election.
Huma Abedin, top aide to Hillary Clinton.Source: Alex Brandon/AP
While this most recent poll indicates that Clinton's emails persist as a troubling issue for many voters, the majority were unconcerned.
The worry for Clinton is that the FBI's renewed interest in her emails
might mean more Trump supporters actually vote on Election Day,
according to the poll. People for whom the emails were decisive already
backed Trump, but they could serve as disincentive for "reluctant
Clinton backers," per the poll.
Still, 60% of those polled believed Clinton would win the election and 46% believed she possessed a "stronger moral character."
Members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather around the
Mormon Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City in 2011. (Reuters)
Although
Mormons have traditionally been the most Republican religious group in
the United States, it appears that they are fleeing this year’s GOP
candidate.
This election has proved excruciating for Mormons, who
have deep animosity toward Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, both of
whom are perceived as not living up to their moral standards. But
Mormons may have found an alternative to choosing the “lesser of two
evils”: Independent candidate Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer turned
policy wonk who also is a Mormon.
The shift of Mormons away from
the GOP is stunning, said Quin Monson, a political scientist at Brigham
Young University. A Democrat has not won Utah, a heavily Mormon state
that holds the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, since 1964.
Acts of Faith newsletter
Conversations about faith and values.
“In
many elections in the last 20 years, Mormons have been neck and neck
for the title of ‘Most Republican,’ but that’s not going to happen this
time,” Monson said.Evan McMullin’s runMcMullin’s path to the White House is highly unlikely but not impossible. As FiveThirtyEightexplains,
McMullin would have to win Utah, which has six electoral votes; both
Trump and Clinton would have to fail to receive a majority of votes from
the electoral college; and the House would have to choose McMullin as
president. The last time an election was decided in the House was 1824,
when John Quincy Adams was selected.
Even though McMullin, who
will be on 11 state ballots, has an extremely slim chance of becoming
the country’s first Mormon president, his candidacy has divided Mormons
in Utah. The state appears to be almost split between Trump, Clinton and
McMullin, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average,
with Trump polling just five points ahead. Many Mormons are turned off
by Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson’s pro-abortion-rights position,
and Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s policies don’t align with those
of conservative Mormons.
Mormons, who make up 1.6 percent of the U.S. population, account for about 60 percent
in Utah. When Mitt Romney, a Mormon, was running for president in 2012,
more than 60 percent of LDS members identified as Republicans; now 48
percent say the same, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
McMullin’s vice-presidential candidate, Mindy Finn, is a Jewish business executive and tech entrepreneur who touted the ticket’s commitment to religious diversity.
“Neither
candidate on the stage at the debate Sunday night stood for religious
freedom for all people (Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc.),” Finn told the
Forward, a Jewish magazine, after the second presidential debate. “When
you don’t protect the religious freedoms of one group, you don’t stand
for it at all.”
McMullin’s Mormon roots
Mormon
observers say it’s easy to identify McMullin, a clean-cut conservative
who always wears a white shirt and tie, as an LDS member because of the
idioms he invokes in speeches. In a recent interview with Glenn Beck, who is Mormon, McMullin appeared to reference the Mormon doctrine
to seek honest, wise and good leaders. He told Beck, “If we don’t have
honest and wise leaders who respect that Constitution, our nation will
suffer.”
Former CIA agent Evan McMullin announced his presidential campaign on Aug. 10 in Salt Lake City. (Getty Images)
McMullin,
who graduated from Brigham Young University and spent two years in
Brazil on a Mormon mission, worked on counterterrorism operations during
his tenure at the CIA, going undercover for 10 years. Consistent with
Mormon mores, he said he has never imbibed alcohol or used illicit
drugs, according to Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin.
Families
and marriage are upheld as very important in Mormon communities, and
many Mormons note how unusual it is that McMullin, 40, is not married.
Some have joked that McMullin’s presidential bid is an elaborate plan to
find a wife.
It’s unclear from McMullin’s speeches whether his
faith was a driving motivation for his run for office. Some Mormons
believe in a “White Horse Prophecy,” a saying from Joseph Smith Jr., the
founder of Mormonism, that some interpret to mean that when the
Constitution is imperiled, a Mormon will rescue the nation. McMullin’s
campaign said he was unavailable for an interview about his faith. The
Associated Press reported that McMullin has downplayed his faith, saying his principles are not just Mormon principles. Republican turned Independent
McMullin
aligns with the GOP on most issues, including opposing taxpayer funds
for abortion, but he diverges on some issues. He believes human activity
contributes to climate change, according to the Guardian,
and sees the environment and racism as issues “where the Republican
Party is stuck in the past … making it unable to lead the country
forward.”
And
although McMullin, whose mother is now married to a woman, personally
defines marriage as between a man and a woman, he has said he believes
that the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage means conservatives
should move on
from the issue. During his campaign, McMullin has also focused on
poverty, criminal justice reform, slavery and sex trafficking and racial
reconciliation.
After
his time in the CIA, he received an MBA from Wharton and worked for
Goldman Sachs. He also volunteered with the Romney campaign part-time
and became a senior adviser to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman
Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.). In August, McMullin quit his job as chief
policy director of the House Republican Conference to run for president.
While
he worked in Congress, McMullin focused heavily on the atrocities in
Syria. McMullin has published Facebook messages criticizing Trump’s
policies, including his plan for a ban on Muslims coming into the
country. Mormons are deeply sensitive to issues of religious freedom
because of their history of being persecuted.
“As Donald Trump
continues attacking Muslims and as a former CIA officer, I’d like all
Americans to know the truth: American and other Muslims have played a
central role in virtually every counterterrorism win we’ve had since
9/11,” McMullin wrote on Facebook in August. “They are an indispensable
asset in this fight.” Opting out of the GOP — this time
Mormons
have previously voted in patterns similar to evangelicals, with both
groups concerned about social issues like abortion and same-sex
marriage. Although the election has been divisive, evangelical voters
appear to be supporting Trump in similar numbers as previous GOP
candidates.
Meanwhile,
polls suggest that Mormons will likely diverge from evangelicals in the
voting booth this time around. In a 2014 survey, Mormons were the
religious group that most identified with the GOP. Now that distinction goes to white evangelicals, 76 percent of whom say they are or lean Republican.
“You
see evangelicals who are sticking with Trump, which probably says
something about the priority of politics versus religion,” said David
Campbell, a political science professor at Notre Dame. “For
evangelicals, it’s the politics that comes first. Mormons don’t seem to
be making the same conclusion.”
The nail in the coffin
McMullin’s
growing popularity in Utah is significant because Trump was already
deeply unpopular in the Republican state. Trump finished third in Utah’s
GOP caucus in March, 55 points behind the winner, Ted Cruz. Since his
entry into the race, McMullin snagged some key conservative
endorsements, including from The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol,
National Review’s Jonah Goldberg and The Resurgent’s Erick Erickson.
A video of Trump making lewd comments
about women was a tipping point for many Mormons. The Deseret News, a
newspaper owned by the LDS Church, called for Trump to drop out of the
race, writing that it does “not believe Trump holds the ideals and values of this community.”
Hal
Boyd, the opinions editor for the Deseret News, said editors had
observed “anxiety and stress” among readers but that the video was the
last straw. “We had deliberations for a while, but it was so beyond the
pale that it provided such clarity that we needed to speak out on the
moral issue,” he said.
When Trump was trying to appeal to Utah
voters, he completely missed core Mormon values, according to David
Holland, a professor of New England church history at Harvard Divinity
School and an LDS member. Trump’s “crass” and “bullying” style
conflicted with Mormon “values of modesty, self-restraint and simple
human kindness,” Holland wrote for the Deseret News.
And Trump also dismisses the values of Mormons who believe individuals
should work hard and be self-reliant but also should take care of
communities.
“When Trump promises to strong-arm us past the
wearying competition of personal freedom and community obligation, to
relieve us from the burden of this paradox by shifting our sense of
priorities, he is also denigrating two of the values that many Mormons
hold dear,” he wrote.
The LDS Church as an institution usually
does not get involved in individual political campaigns. Still,
McMullin’s fast rise to name recognition is a testament to the
organizational power of LDS members, said Matthew Bowman, author of “The
Mormon People.” Many Mormons believe there’s a moral imperative to
oppose Trump, Bowman said.
“Standing against Trump was a way to
exhibit religious belief,” he said. “Now, McMullin is presenting himself
as the morally acceptable choice.” Want more stories about faith? Follow Acts of Faith on Twitter or sign up for our newsletter. Donald Trump’s pastor problem: 40 percent of Protestant ministers are still undecided
Mr.
Tigerli in China
Copyright 2016 by Letizia Mancino translation by Mary Holmes All rights reserved
Yes Betty, either or it seems he wanted to fly only with
Singapore Airways.
Boeing or Airbus, it’s just the same
isn’t it? Aren’t they both just fat birds with 500 passengers?
Yes, but Singapore Airlines has the
most beautiful airhostesses: delicate, fine, graceful…Mr. Tigerli had looked forward to the flight
so much!
So the little man was disappointed?
You just can’t imagine how disappointed
he was.
But thank God one of the hostesses was a
pretty Chinese girl. Mr. Tigerli purred loudly but she didn’t hear him because
the purring of the Airbus 380 was even louder.
The poor cat!
You’ve said it Betty. Mr. Tigerli was
in a very bad mood and asked me for a loud speaker.
I’m sure you can get one in 1st
Class.
“”Russian Girl” had even heard you over
the roar of the Niagara Falls” I said to Mr. Tigerli. “You are a very
unfaithful cat. You wanted to get to know Asiatic girls. That’s how it is when
one leaves one’s first love”.
And what did he say to that?
“Men are hunters” was his answer.
Yes, my dear cat, a mouse hunter. And
what else did he say?
Not another word. He behaved as if he
hadn’t heard me.
The Airbus is very loud.
I told him shortly “Don’t trouble
yourself about “Chinese Girl”. There will be enough even prettier girls in
China. Wait till we land in Guilin”.
Did he understand you?
Naturally Mr. Tigerli understood me
immediately. Yes, sweetheart, don’t worry. They will find you something sweet
to eat.
And he?
He was so happy.
No problem going through the immigration
control?
Naturally!Lots of problems. How could I explain to
customs that the cat had come as a tourist to China to buy shoes?
Fur in exchange for shoes…
Don’t be so cynical Betty!
Cat meat in exchange for shoes?
I said to the officials. He isn’t a cat, he is Casanova.
Former CIA agent Evan McMullin announced his presidential campaign on Aug. 10 in Salt Lake City. (Getty Images)
McMullin,
who graduated from Brigham Young University and spent two years in
Brazil on a Mormon mission, worked on counterterrorism operations during
his tenure at the CIA, going undercover for 10 years. Consistent with
Mormon mores, he said he has never imbibed alcohol or used illicit
drugs, according to Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin.
