Bold Medias Publishing For Advertising Please Call (604) 454 - 1387 www.tidbitsvancouver.com“I Love that little paper!”

Want to run your own business?Publish a paper in your area, and become

a part of the family.

1.866.859.0609www.tidbitscanada.com

Make a difference in your community today.

• Armstrong • Cherryville • Coldstream • Falkland • Lavington • Lumby • Nakusp • Spallumcheen • Vernon • Westside Rd •September 18 - 24 Issue 00240

TIDBITS® CELEBRATES

J.R.R. TOLKIEN WEEKby Kathy Wolfe

It’s Tolkien Week, and what better time to focus on the author J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. considered by many to be the “father of modern fantasy literature.” • John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s father was

an English banker promoted to a branch in South Africa, where Tolkien was born in 1892. At age three, the boy sailed to England with his mother and brother for an extended family visit. His father was to join them later, but died from rheumatic fever before he could make the journey. With no means of income, his mother took her children to live with her parents in Birmingham, England.

• Independent and supportive living• Active community with many amenities• Beautiful 23 acre property with gardens and more• Friendly 24 hour staff9104 Mackie Drive, Coldstream BC

www.coldstreammeadows.com

Call 250-542-5661 today to book your tour!

Page 2 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361• Educated by his mother, Ronald, as he was

called, was reading at age four. Studying Latin as a young child, his lifelong passion for languages began. In addition, his mother taught him French and German, and after her death, he learned Old English, Finnish, Gothic, Greek, Italian, Old Norse, Spanish, Welsh, Danish, Russian, and Swedish.

• When Tolkien was 12, his mother was diagnosed with diabetes, which, in pre-insulin days, was usually fatal. She was gone in less than a year, leaving her boys in the care of a Catholic priest, Father Francis Xavier Morgan.:

• As a 16-year-old living in a boarding house, Ronald met 19-year-old Edith Bratt, and a deep friendship blossomed. When it began to turn serious, Father Francis, who saw Edith as a distraction to Ronald’s studies, banned Tolkien from seeing her or even writing to her for three years, until he turned 21. By that time, Edith was engaged to another, but she broke it off to marry Tolkien in 1916.

• World War I broke out in 1914, but Tolkien was able to delay military enlistment until he completed his Oxford degree. After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he was sent to the Western Front in France in 1916 to participate in one of the bloodiest battles in history, the Battle of the Somme. More than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed in the battle, which lasted from July to November of that year. Tolkien spent four months on the Somme front, in and out of trenches, where he contracted “trench fever,” an infection similar to typhus. He spent a month in the hospital, and over the next two years, he suffered several relapses. During his recoveries, he wrote poetry and short stories. He was eventually released from duty due to poor health.

• Following his release, Tolkien was hired as an “assistant lexicographer” by the Oxford English Dictionary, commissioned to work on history and etymology of Germanic words that began with the letter “W”. Within less than two years, he became a professor of English at the University of Leeds, the

youngest professor there. By 1925, he was a professor at Oxford, not only teaching, but writing academic works for scholars, including A Middle English Vocabulary.

• In the early 1930s, while teaching at Oxford, Tolkien had had several poems published in magazines, but it was the story of dwarves, trolls, goblins, dragons, and wizards written for his children that was to cement his success. The Hobbit was the story of Bilbo Baggins who sets out to win a treasure guarded by Smaug the dragon. Many of Tolkien’s characters originated from his love of Norse mythology, and their names, such as Oin, Borun, Dwalin, and Gandalf, were taken from the Old Norse language. He personally created more than 100 drawings for the manuscript. His brilliant capacity for languages inspired him to write his own languages, including Qenya, Eldarin, and Gnomish, which he incorporated into his writings.

• The Hobbit was shown to the chairman of a publishing firm, who tried it out on his own 10-year-old son. The book was published in 1937 and was an immediate success. It has never been out of print, has remained on children’s recommended reading lists since its publication, and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

• As the popularity of The Hobbit began to grow, the publishers approached Tolkien about producing a sequel. He spent more than 10 years working on and off on the sequel, and when complete, a dispute with the publishers led to a further delay. The book was divided into three volumes – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, with the first installment released in 1954, and the second and third over the next several months. Tolkien himself described Lord of the Rings as a “fundamentally religious and Catholic work,” embracing many theological themes.

• Tolkien considered himself more of a philologist than a writer, that is, one who specializes in the relationship of languages to each other and studies ancient texts. The British census registry listed him as a “professor of English Language and Literature.” He lived a modest lifestyle and was not wealthy from his writings until late in his life. When The Hobbit was published, he was 45 years old and 62 when

For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing Page 3NOTEWORTHY INVENTORS:

GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE

The name of Westinghouse is more than a brand of appliance. George Westinghouse was an engineer who created far more innovations than you may be aware of. Let’s look at just a few. • Even as a child, this son of a machine shop

owner showed an aptitude for machinery. However, as a teen, he put his passion aside to enlist in the New York Cavalry to serve in the Civil War. The year after his release, Westinghouse, age 19, received his first patent for the rotary steam engine. At 21, he had invented a device that guided derailed railroad cars back onto the tracks and a railroad switch that steered trains onto one of two tracks.

• After witnessing a wreck between two trains whose engineers were unable to stop, at age 22, Westinghouse devised a railroad air brake. Previously, brakemen had to run from car to car, applying brakes manually on each one. The new design enabled engineers to apply brakes simultaneously on all cars, an invention that was eventually made mandatory on all American trains. The following year, Westinghouse had founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, the first of 60 companies he would found throughout his life.

• His next contribution to the railroad industry was improvements to railway signals, which had previously used oil lamps. He founded the Union Switch and Signal Company to produce his signal and switching inventions.

• When Thomas Edison began receiving notoriety for his light bulb and electrical distribution system, Westinghouse began his own experiments with electricity.

• Edison’s first system provided direct current electricity to 59 homes in Manhattan in 1882. Westinghouse recognized that the weakness of a DC network was its short transmission range, with customers having to live within a mile of the plant. He began work on an alternating current power system with a transformer that enabled AC to travel long distances. He established Westinghouse Electric in 1886 and that year, his first commercial AC power generating station provided electricity to Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

• When the World’s Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago in 1893, it was lit by 25,000 Westinghouse electric lights. The company had beat out the bid of its rival, Edison’s General Electric, by a million dollars. An entire building at this World’s Fair was dedicated to educating the public through electrical exhibits.

• In 1896, Westinghouse won the contract to install the first hydroelectric power system, harnessing the energy of Niagara Falls. Power was effectively transmitted to Buffalo, New York, more than 20 miles (32 km) away. Westinghouse’s companies were now worth about $120 million, employing about 50,000 workers.

• With the invention of the automobile, Westinghouse went to work on a compressed air shock absorber for better suspension. In addition, he developed steam turbines to provide power for large maritime vessels. The

Lord of the Rings was published. • A 1999 Amazon poll ranked Lord of the Rings

as the “favorite book of the millennium.” • Movie director Peter Jackson undertook a

monumental project in 1999, the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. All three movies, filmed entirely in Jackson’s native New Zealand, were shot simultaneously over 438 days beginning in October of 1999 and continuing through December, 2000. The more than 150 different locations included conservation areas and national parks, with seven units shooting concurrently. Each film underwent a full year in post-production before its release. The overall budget was approximately $300 million. The film series grossed close to $3 billion. Each third of the trilogy was released the week before Christmas, with The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, The Two Towers in 2002, and The Return of the King in 2003.

• Jackson has also directed three additional films based on The Hobbit – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012, The Desolation of Smaug in 2013, and The Battle of Five Armies in 2014. As with the Lord of the Rings films, all were released shortly before Christmas. This trio was made with a $745 million budget, and grossed $2.9 billion at the box office.

1. U.S. STATES: What is the highest capital city in the United States?2. SLOGANS: What was Woodsy Owl’s message from the federal government?3. RELIGION: When is Maundy Thursday in the Christian religion?4. MUSIC: Which pop singer was called “The Man from Memphis”?5. DISCOVERIES: Who is credited with discover-ing streptomycin?6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which president had a pet badger?7. SCIENCE: What has happened to a cell that has undergone necrosis?8. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is the average ges-tational period for a rabbit?9. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the Lombardy region?10. LITERATURE: What 19th-century poet wrote that “the United States themselves are essential-ly the greatest poem”?

Answers1. Santa Fe, New Mexico (7,000 feet above sea level)2. “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!”3. Thursday before Easter, marking the Last Sup-per4. Elvis5. Selman Waksman6. Theodore Roosevelt (“Josiah”)7. It has died.8. 28-31 days 9. Northern Italy10. Walt Whitman

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.

* “To remove spots from suede, try using an art gum eraser.” -- J.C. in Florida

* Wet weather can affect your outdoor applianc-es, making rust a problem. It can even happen to the metal end of a lightbulb in an outdoor fix-ture. Coat threads of the light bulb with petro-leum jelly to keep it from rusting and becoming hard to unscrew.

* To remove scuffs from linoleum floors, sim-ply cut a small “X” into a tennis ball and push the tip of your broom handle into it. When you come across a sticky spot while sweeping, flip the broom and rub the spot with the tennis ball.

* Boots will be coming out of storage soon, while pool and beach supplies will be packed away for the winter. Save your pool noodles to keep boots sitting upright. Simply cut a pool noodle to the height of the boot top, and insert. Lo and behold, the boots won’t flop over. This will extend the life of your boots.

* “As you pack away your pool supplies, you might want to save the water wings for this cruise/duty-free alcohol hack: Use blow-up arm floaties to protect your liquor bottles while being transported in luggage. Use one or a set depend-ing on the size of the bottle.” -- T.T. in Georgia

* Got dogs? Here’s a great recipe to get the smell of skunk out: Mix 1 quart hydrogen peroxide (3 percent), 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon liquid soap. Mix well and bathe pet in this so-lution, rubbing it into coat and keeping it away from your dog’s eyes. It can’t be made ahead, so keep the ingredients on hand if you have curious pups and skunks in the area.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Or-lando, FL 32803.

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.

Page 4 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361

image of a Caribbean-born model named Renee L’Esperance who was discovered while working at a department store. Today the company uses digitally-produced images.

• According to folklore, Paul Bunyan formed the Great Lakes out of a need for a large enough watering hole for Babe the Blue Ox to drink from. He supposedly cleared North Dakota of its forests and Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes were reportedly formed by his and Babe’s footprints as they stumbled through a huge blizzard. This lumberjack of legend may have been a participant in Canada’s 1837 Papineau Rebellion when French Canadians rebelled against their new ruler, the Queen of England. A tall bearded bellowing man was among the loggers and became famous for his part in the battle, Legends of his heroics were told around loggers’ campfires for years to come, each one being embellished a bit more.

first illuminated tennis court was designed by George Westinghouse, lit by 1,500 bulbs. He was also responsible for several inventions for the distribution of natural gas.

• When Westinghouse died in 1914, he had more than 360 patents to his credit. Because he was a Civil War veteran, he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

FOLKS WHO DIDN’T EXIST

There are several familiar people you might think were historical figures. Not so! Follow along and see! • For generations, young girls have been

reading Nancy Drew mysteries, a series that originated in 1930. Their author, Carolyn Keene, was the invention of publisher Edward Stratemeyer, who hired several ghostwriters over the years to write the books. He paid the writers $125 per book, and made them sign over all rights to the manuscripts. They were also required to sign a secrecy contract that forbade them from claiming any credit for the books.

• Maybe you learned to type from the “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” program, software introduced in 1987 to teach touch-typing. It’s logical to assume that the lovely face featured on the box is that of Mavis Beacon, except for the fact that there is no such person. When The Software Toolworks designed the packaging, they used the

Grocery Line: 250-275-8845

9am-11pm

we’ll deliver to your boat at Blue Heron marina!

www.acrosstowndelivery.com

Groceries Cold Beer & Wine Personal Items Parcels & Parts etc...

Also

Personal & Business Delivery Service

Across Town Delivery

For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing Page 5

THEY DIDN’T EXIST (continued):• The historical existence of King Arthur

has long been debated with no conclusive results. The legendary 6th-century king is said to have led British troops against Saxon invaders. In the Middle Ages, Geoffrey of Monmouth penned The History of the Kings of Britain, depicting Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as great warriors, but his account is considered a work of myth without much history.

• It’s possible that a character similar to Robin Hood may have actually lived, but no positive real-life person has been verified. The famous outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor had his origins in 14th-century folklore, with some versions claiming he was actually nobility who turned outlaw. Historical evidence exists for a criminal named Rabunhod, but there is no proof that he was the renowned bandit.

• Betty Crocker was invented in 1921 by the

Washburn Crosby Company (later General Mills) as a customer service representative for answering questions about baking. Her name was chosen as a tribute to the recently-retired director of the company, William Crocker. By 1924, “Betty” had her own radio program, the airwaves’ first cooking show. By the 1940s, Betty Crocker was known to 9 out of 10 American homemakers, and a 1945 Fortune magazine survey revealed her as the second best-known woman in America, with only First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt ahead of her. The first Betty Crocker cookbook, published in 1950, was an instant best-seller, and is still in publication today.

Page 6 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361

Microwave Peanut-Apple

CrumbleApples and peanut butter! One bite and you’re a goner!

4 cups (4 medium) cored, peeled and sliced cooking apples1/3 cup peanut butter-flavored chips1/2 cup fat-free half & half1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour1/2 cup quick oats1/4 cup Splenda Granular1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon2 tablespoons light margarine3 tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter

1. Spray a microwave-safe 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter-flavored cooking spray. Evenly arrange apple slices in prepared baking dish.2. In a 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, combine peanut butter chips and half & half. Microwave on HIGH for 60 seconds or until mix-ture is smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Drizzle mixture evenly over apples.3. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, Splenda and cinnamon. Add margarine and peanut but-ter. Mix well using a pastry blender or 2 forks until mixture becomes crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over apples. Lightly spray top with butter-flavored cooking spray.4. Microwave on HIGH for 10 to 12 minutes or until apples are tender. Place baking dish on counter and let set for 5 minutes. Divide into 6 servings.

* Each serving equals: 240 calories, 8g fat, 6g protein, 36g carb., 161mg sodium, 47mg cal-cium, 4g fiber; Diabetic Exchanges: 1 1/2 Fat, 1 Starch/Carb., 1 Fruit.

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.

Cats Shun Litter BoxDEAR PAW’S CORNER: My son’s two cats will not use the litter boxes at all! They will defecate in them, but only urinate on the carpet or floor. We helped him clean the carpets, which seemed to help some, and blocked off areas they were urinating on. But now they just go in a different spot. Our vet said to take the lids off the three boxes, but that didn’t work. What will help stop the madness? -- Tim H., via email

DEAR TIM: Litter-box avoidance is one of the biggest issues cat owners can have. Even when you rule out most of the possible causes, the problem may never be totally solved. However, you’re taking some very good steps to minimize it.First, your son is in touch with the cats’ vet. This is important in order to rule out any illness, such as a urinary tract infection, causing elimina-tion outside the box. Second, you’ve thoroughly cleaned the soiled areas and tried to keep the cats away. Third, access to the boxes is unim-peded because the lids are off.Now it’s time to try a few more things. A “keep-away” spray, available at pet supply stores, could make the marked areas much less desirable. Cleaning both the carpet and the padding un-derneath with an enzymatic cleaner that neu-tralizes odors also can help. Scooping the boxes daily is essential, too.Next, observe the cats’ behavior closely. Is there some conflict? Is one cat preventing the other’s access, or disturbing the other cat while it’s try-ing to go? Are both cats marking the carpet, or just one?For more tips on solving this problem, go to the ASPCA website at www.aspca.org and do a search for “litter box problems.”

Smartview Exteriors. Replace Your Leaking Gutters Today! 5” continuos gutters, 40 + Colours, Down-pipes, Leafguard- Nev-er Clean Your Gutters Again Fascia, Soffit, Siding,  Vinyl Windows,  Doors smartviewexte-riors.ca Free Estimates Call Stan 250-317-4437 1-844-279-0699

by Samantha Weaver

* It was Che Guevara -- physician, author, revo-lutionary, guerrilla leader and diplomat -- who made the following sage observation: “Silence is argument carried out by other means.” * If you’ve ever awakened from a dream feeling especially calm and content, you’ve experienced euneirophrenia. * Sometime in July of 1518, a strange malady swept the town of Strasbourg, France, when hundreds of people were overcome with an irresistible compul-sion to dance. Some believed that the only cure was to dance day and night until the compulsion ended, so city leaders hired musicians and set aside guild halls for dancing. According to eyewit-ness documents, people so enthralled expressed their misery but were unable to stop dancing. Those with weak hearts actually died while under the compulsion. As inexplicably as the malady struck, it ended in early September, after affecting about 400 residents. * Those who study such things say that, on a per-capita basis, residents of Louisiana consume twice as much electricity as residents of Maine. * Of all the works of art stolen in Europe, 60 per-cent of it ends up in London. * The name Samantha is thought by some to be a combination of the biblical name Samuel and an-thos, the Greek word for flower. During Puritanical times the name became associated with witch-craft, causing a steep decline in its usage. When the TV series “Bewitched” premiered in 1964 -- featuring a witch named Samantha -- the name began steadily gaining in popularity. By 2009, it was the ninth most popular name for girls born in the U.S. * If you’re in the state of Washington and decide to paint polka dots on an American flag, you should be aware that you’re breaking the law.***Thought for the Day: “Well done is better than well said.” -- Benjamin Franklin

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.

Wanted: Purchasing old Canadian & American

coin collections & accumulations.

Old gold & sterling! Private, Prompt &

confidential. 250-548-3670

(Shuswap)

For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing Page 7

Wanted: alfalfa grass mix hay.

Salmon Arm to Armstrong area.

Please call (250) 803-3443 or email scgoat-

farm@hotmail.com with available and

price.

Firewood for Sale16” Split, Dry & Ready to Burn. Mix of Larch,

Fir & Pine. Free Local Delivery in

Cherryville(250) 547-6872

J.R.R. Tolkien: ‘All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.’Gandalf

Page 8 TidbitsVernon.com Cosita Publishing For Advertising Call (250) 832-3361

Silhouette BoutiqueFashionS2516 Patterson Avenue

ARMSTRONG 1.877.667.8450armstrongwoman.com

Well-pricedCanadianFashions