I have a three volume set of books by Lee Maril, published in 1944/1945. The rarest of the three, (all in dust jackets) is “Crack and Crunch: Nuts in Fact and Fancy”. There are some wonderful stories, and then a little history of nuts.
I then have the book “Nuts: From Forest, Orchard, and Field” by Gray Johnson Poole, 1974, also hard to come by in the dust jacket. The author states “From our earliest memories, nuts have played a role in our lives…” There is then a good description, and stories of many common nuts.
I also have “Nuts” by Olive Earle, 1975. It also is a difficult book to find with the dust jacket. This book describes nuts for a younger audience.
I then have the book (By Landmark Books!), that did not come with a dust jacket. The last several years in this series only had the photographs printed directly on the cover. This is “The Battle of the Bulge”, by John Toland, published in 1966.
Why is this book about a battle in World War II in a story about nuts?
On December 22, 1944, Brigadier General Anthony McUliffe famously replied “NUTS!” to a German ultimatum demanding the surrender of Bastogne, Belgium. The Germans had a surprise offensive in the Ardennes Forest against the Allied forces, creating a “bulge”, trying to break through. The German commander, sent his ultimatum, expecting an “honorable surrender”, and giving the Americans two hours to reply. Even though outnumbered, outgunned, and running out of food, ammunition, and medical supplies, it only took that one word “NUTS!” to rally the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Armed Forces, to hunker down and continue to hold against the Germans, until reinforcements from the US Army’s 4th Armored Division got there on December 26th.
What a nutty story.
P.S.
December 22nd is Forefathers’ Day, celebrated by The Old Colony Club (the oldest social club in America), for when the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. I did some research with the book “The Landing of the Pilgrims” by James Daugherty. It was published in 1950, by…Landmark Books!
This celebration is NUTS. In 2024 (this year), The Old Colony Club is celebrating tomorrow for what happened yesterday(!?) The pilgrims actually touched ground on December 21st. The Old Colony Club screwed up the date when translating to the Gregorian calendar by making it the 22nd. They still kept that date. Then, there is their rule that if 22nd is on a Sunday, they celebrate on the following Monday, so…tomorrow for yesterday. Nevertheless, The Old Colony Club will follow their traditions like they have been doing since 1769. It starts off with firing a cannon at 6:00 am.
In a nutshell, these connections crack me up. I thought I would just shell-ebrate some nutty books that walnut let you down. Life’s too short to not be nutty.
Cashew later, alligator.
Librarytomes 