Inside the Kingdom

INSIDE THE KINGDOM March 22, 2017 the Chronicle Section B – 20 Pages History students take a stand by Elizabeth Trail NEWPORT — In 1967, authorities tried to drag Kathrine Switzer off the course in the middle of the Boston Marathon because she was a woman. Women weren’t officially allowed to run in the event until 1972. Ms. Switzer had gotten a race number by filling out the entry form with just her initials. Robin Nelson, an eighth-grader at Glover Community School, won a first prize in the NEK History Day fair in Newport last Thursday for her research on Ms. Switzer. In just a few weeks, Robin and the rest of her family will be in Boston cheering her mother, Tara Nelson, across the finish line. Of the 30,000 entries in this year’s race, about half with be women. Ms. Switzer, who went on to win both the Boston and New York marathons after they were opened to women, took a stand for equality in her sport, Robin said. But Robin’s choice of project highlights another trend at this year’s NEK History Day event. Maybe it was the theme of this year’s national and local history day events — “take a stand for history.” Or maybe it was the recent election, the national political climate, and the widely publicized women’s marches around the country. But just over a third of the projects entered Zoe Hamilton (right) and Allyson Harris, ninth-graders at NCUHS, studied assassinated Prime Minister of in this year’s NEK History Day were about Pakistan Benazir Bhutto. Many countries around the world have elected women leaders, but the United States women. still hasn’t. “It’s surprising we haven’t gotten there yet,” Zoe said. Photos by Elizabeth Trail That’s something new, organizer Aimee Alexander said. Ms. Alexander volunteers on what Ms. Alexander calls “dead white men.” “The National History day person I spoke behalf of the event’s sponsor, the Old Stone Girls, in other words, have been just about as with said that they expect to see an increase in House Museum in Brownington. likely as boys to pick male heroes and political both civil rights and women’s rights projects In past years, the number of entries figures as their subjects — until this year. because of the current political climate but also featuring women as the subjects was less than “I talked to people involved at the state and because of this year’s theme,” Ms. Alexander 10 percent, she said. national level, and they were seeing the same said. Even projects by girls tended to be about thing,” Ms. Alexander said. In fact, almost half of the top awards in the local event —17 out of 35 prizes — went to projects about women. And since one prizewinning exhibit was about John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the couple who famously took a stand on peace from their bed, it could be argued that the awards were exactly split between projects about men and women. “There are not a lot of females in history who took a stand,” said Allyson Harris, a ninth- grader at NCUHS, explaining the choice that she and classmate Zoe Hamilton made to research assassinated Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ms. Bhutto stood for women’s rights and democracy, and against shariya law, Allyson said. “She was cool.” Pakistan is just one of many countries around the world that has elected a woman leader, Zoe said. But the United States still hasn’t elected a woman President. And our country lags far behind a lot of countries in the percentage of women in Congress and cabinet positions. “It’s surprising that we haven’t gotten there yet,” she said. It’s not so surprising, though, considering what Jazmyne Leach and Christina Young learned in their research on gender equality around the world. The sole entry in the performance category, North Country Union Junior High eighth-grader Tori Young took the stage just before the awards ceremony to sing a piece of her own composition about Nelson Mandela. (Continued on page 7B.) IN THIS WEEKLY SECTION, YOU’LL FIND: BIRTHS l WEDDINGS/ENGAGEMENTS l OBITUARIES l KINGDOM CALENDAR l CLASSIFIED ADS l RESTAURANTS & ENTERTAINMENT l REAL ESTATE & AUCTIONS l YOURS FROM THE PERIMETER l RUMINATIONS l AND MORE! Page 2B the Chronicle, March 22, 2017 Ruminations The art of the Mason jar salad by Elizabeth Trail For the first three-quarters of his life, my father could have been fairly described as helpless in the kitchen. His mother, Mae, was a legendary cook at a time when there was a pretty strict division of labor between the sexes. I’m guessing my father was never allowed in the kitchen growing up except to grab a snack on his way out to play. In fact, growing up in the little town of Antlers, Oklahoma, where every other house belonged to a cousin, he was free to wander in and out of most of the kitchens in town. I’m not sure what he ate in the years between the Navy and marriage, but he arrived in late life not knowing much more about feeding himself than how to open a can. And although there’s a rumor that as a young bride — she was only 18 when she married — my mother crumbled burnt chocolate chip cookies into spaghetti to stretch it for company, she grew up to be a fearless and inventive cook. In any event, my father never really cooked until he retired. It was a little bit bumpy at first. One time, my mother came home from work A truly mouth-popping lime and cilantro dressing brings out the southwestern flavors of black beans, peppers, to find him sitting in the dark. corn, and tomatoes in this Mason jar salad. Quinoa adds pizzazz and protein. This one is vegan, high-protein, and Somehow he’d set off the oven timer when he gluten-free. Photo by Elizabeth Trail was alone in the house, and he hadn’t been able to figure out how to turn it off. suspicion of raw greens in general. While the quinoa is cooling, make the The buzzing was making him crazy, so he So I was pretty excited to come across the dressing. flipped the main breaker in the electric box and idea of Mason jar salads. sat waiting until my mother got home. It might be news to us in the Northeast Cumin Lime Dressing The only surprise to any of us was that my Kingdom, but in the rest of the world, apparently father knew where the breaker box was. eating and drinking out of glass canning jars is 1 cup cilantro He was the least mechanical of men, or at trendy. 1/2 cup lime juice least he pretended to be. Or was. I’m probably hearing about the craze 2 garlic cloves Late in life he confessed to my sister that he after the fact. I wouldn’t know and don’t much 1 or 2 jalapenos, depending on size had adopted the absent-minded professor guise to care. 2 teaspoons cumin keep from being co-opted for the endless home There are recipes on the Internet for 1/2 teaspoon chili powder improvement projects that my mother would have everything from lasagna to desserts baked right 1/2 teaspoon salt dreamed up if she’d had access to a live-in in the jar (yes, you can bake in a Mason jar as 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil handyman. long as you set it in an inch or two of water). Over the years he built a series of lovely Mason jar fruit and yogurt parfaits are full of Process ingredients until smooth in a food fences and garden benches that belied his claim nuts, chia seeds, and raw oatmeal that are ever processor or blender. of helplessness around tools. And he loved to lay so much healthier — and lower in sugar — than Combine quinoa and dressing and divide into brick walks and patios. commercial yogurt snacks. the bottoms of four 16-ounce Mason jars. Layer But he did manage to leave anything that You can stick veggies, seasonings, and rice beans and chopped vegetables on top. took a wrench or power tools to my mother. noodles into the jar. Then at lunchtime all it Screw on lids and refrigerate for up to four As with her cooking, my mother’s approach to takes is boiling water to have a much healthier days. When ready to serve, dump the salad out home repairs can best be described as fearless version of a ramen soup cup. into a bowl and top with diced avocado or and inventive. But the recipes that catch my eye are for guacamole. “I don’t believe this,” said the plumber who brightly colored salads with a protein built in. Of course the Mason jars aren’t required. had to take apart the leaky u-bend that she’d The idea is to layer the ingredients into a These meals would work in whatever food storage fixed with dental floss and nail polish. jar, screw on the lid, and then invert the whole containers you happen to have on hand. It was a frequent refrain. thing into a bowl at lunchtime. But jars — as long as they’re protected from When my father retired, he had to start The veggies stay crisp until time to eat, and breaking — are a clever and inexpensive option. cooking lunch for himself at home.

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