Betty MacDonald's sister Alison Bard Burnett
Betty MacDonald's mother Sydney with grandchild Alison Beck
Betty and Don MacDonald in Hollywood
Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
do you like ' The Egg and I ' movie with Claudette Colbert as Betty and Fred McMurray as Bob?
What about Ma and Pa Kettle series with Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride as Ma and Pa Kettle?
Did Betty MacDonald enjoy them?
If you know the answer, send us a mail, please and you might be our Betty MacDonald fan club contest winner November.
Good luck!
The Domestic Arts as Practiced in The Egg and I
Author Betty MacDonald's (Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series) first and greatest success was the humorous semi-autobiographical novel The Egg and I
published in 1945. In 1947 Universal brought the book to the screen
starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray as a couple transported
from city life to a chicken farm in the mountains of Washington state.
Apparently, time spent in a foxhole in Okinawa gets a guy to thinking
about the real things in life. For Bob (Fred MacMurray) these real
things include his own little chicken ranch. Presumably, one of the
other real things he thought about were love and marriage. Probably
expecting his intended, Betty (Claudette Colbert) to understand him
through telepathy, he waits until after they are married to announce
that he has purchased the chicken ranch of his dreams and she's going to
love it.
THE LOVE NEST
Betty, whose hands are used to twice weekly manicures and have never
done anything rougher than play the piano, is a good sport and truly
supportive of Bob, so off they go to live in the country. The ranch is
nothing more than a ramshackle group of buildings in desperate need of
repair. Bob views the whole thing through possibilities and
rose-colored glasses. Betty is not so optimistic, especially when she
first meets the resident stove.
BETTY MEETS STOVE
"I don't think it likes me."
BETTY BEFRIENDS STOVE
"There! I bet you never looked better in your life."
STOVE THANKS BETTY!
BETTY'S WEARY TRIUMPH!
The victory of a well scrubbed floor.
BETTY'S FAILURE
You follow the instructions, it should work.
Maybe Betty should talk to her friend Ma Kettle. Ma, Pa and their
census taker's delight of a brood live down the road in a place no one
would mistake for a photo spread in House Beautiful.
MA'S PHILOSOPHY
"When I was first married, Dearie, I was as neat as the next one. I
tried to keep my house and kids clean. But Pa was an awful lazy
so-and-so and it was fight, fight, fight all the time. So I finally
give it up. I says I can't make Pa change and be neat so I'll have to
change and be dirty. Been peace in this house ever since."
MA'S TABLE CLEARING ROUTINE...
...GETS NO COMPLAINTS FROM THE FAMILY.
MA KETTLE'S GUIDE TO BAKING
"Just a drop of this and a drop of that, mix it together and shove it in the oven."
MA HAS AN ARTISTIC SOUL
"I made one of these here quilts every year since we was married. Got
'em in the closet in the spare room. I figure it will be somethin' real
nice to leave the kids when I die."
BETTY INDULGES HER INNER ARTIST!
Don't worry, folks. Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray co-starred in seven films. They have the happy ending bit down pat.
Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride would play Ma and Pa Kettle in seven
welcome sequels. Marjorie would star as Ma in two more Kettle pictures
after Kilbride's retirement. Breakout stars!
What did I learn from the examples of housewifery set before me in this
movie? Well ... let's just say that I'm not as neat as Betty nor as
messy as Ma, but I tend toward the casual line when it comes to tending
to the old homestead and its occupants. Yes indeed, very casual.
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.
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!
Don't miss ' The Egg and Betty ' and ' The Kettles' Million Dollar Egg ' by Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel, please.
The updated versions with many new info, documents and photos are really fascinating.
I adore the brilliant letter by Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Monica Sone.
I share two reviews by Olivier Thill.
The Egg and Betty
Author: Wolfgang Hampel
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.
The Kettles' Million Dollar Egg
Author:Wolfgang Hampel
Publisher: Betty MacDonald fan clubElectronic 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.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.
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 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.
Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter November includes the updated Betty MacDonald fan club essays ' Betty MacDonald in Hollywood' and ' Betty MacDonald and Dorita Hess '.
There is also an article about Betty MacDonald fan club letter collection.
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.
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.
We know that Betty MacDonald's brilliant sister Alison Bard Burnett and Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel have a very good sense of humor.
Betty MacDonald fan club fans from 5 continents enjoy these unique very witty interviews and new ones will follow.
We hope we'll be able to read Wolfgang Hampel's new very well researched stories about Betty MacDonald, Robert Eugene Heskett, Donald Chauncey MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Alison Bard Burnett, Darsie Beck, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde Reynolds Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea DeDe Goldsmith, Madge Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle, Nancy and Plum, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and others - very soon.
It' s such a pleasure to read them.
Let's go to magical Betty MacDonald's Vashon Island.
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.
I'm really very much afraid that this crazy guy could be next President. ( see report below )
I can hardly sleep.
It's a nightmare!
I'm really very much afraid that this crazy guy could be next President. ( see report below )
I can hardly sleep.
It's a nightmare!
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund and Betty MacDonald fan club research team share their recent Betty MacDonald fan club research results.
Congratulations! They found the most interesting and important info for Wolfgang Hampel's oustanding Betty MacDonald biography.
Don't miss our Betty MacDonald fan club contests, please.
You can win a never published before Alison Bard Burnett interview by Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel.
Good luck!
This CD is a golden treasure because Betty MacDonald's very witty sister Alison Bard Burnett shares unique stories about Betty MacDonald, Mary Bard Jensen, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Nancy and Plum.
Do you have any books by Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard Jensen with funny or interesting dedications?
If so would you be so kind to share them?
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.
Wolfgang Hampel invited a very famous author for Vita Magica October and it was very successful.
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.
Wolfgang Hampel is journalist, author, artist and poet.
He is the winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award.
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.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald Biography, interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends and many other famous artists and writers, for example Astrid Lindgren, Truman Capote, J. K. Rowling, Maurice Sendak, David Guterson, Donna Leon, Ingrid Noll, Marie Marcks, William Cumming, Walt Woodward and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members Monica Sone, Letizia Mancino, Darsie Beck and Gwen Grant.
Wolfgang Hampel is also very well known for his satirical poems and stories.
We are going to share Wolfgang Hampel's work with many fans from all over the world who adore his Betty MacDonald Biography and unique Betty MacDonald Interviews.
Wolfgang Hampel's newest literary project is Vita Magica.
Tell us the names of this mysterious couple please and you can win a very new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli is beloved all over the World.
We are so happy that our 'Casanova' is back.
I'd like to visit Betty MacDonald's magical place.
Have a nice Wednesday,
Daniel
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Don't miss this very special book, please.
Vita Magica
Betty MacDonald
Betty MacDonald fan club
Betty MacDonald forum
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( Polski)
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - LinkFang ( German ) Wolfgang Hampel - Academic ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - cyclopaedia.net ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - DBpedia ( English / German )
Wolfgang Hampel - people check ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Memim ( English )
Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )
Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)
Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
Betty MacDonald fan club items
Betty MacDonald fan club items - comments
Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I
Betty MacDonald fan club groups
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund
New Poll Shows Trump Leading In Four Key Battleground States
The poll was taken two days after the FBI's announcement ...
The poll, taken Sunday, shows increases for Trump since the FBI announced Friday that it was reopening its investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
In Florida, 989 likely voters were questioned and 48 percent showed support for Trump while just 44 did for Clinton.
Since the last Axiom & Remington poll on Oct. 23, Trump has gained four points in the Sunshine State. He was tied with Clinton in the last poll.
Trump has also taken the lead in North Carolina, 47 percent to 45 percent.
The GOP nominee’s largest lead in the battleground state poll comes in Ohio, where he tops Clinton 48 to 43 percent.
Of all the battleground states, Ohio boasted having the largest pool of likely voters with 1,187 questioned, and also the second-lowest margin of error with just 2.84 percent.
Advertisement - story continues below
Clinton also leads in Wisconsin, 46 to 42 percent; Colorado, 45 to 44 percent; and Virginia, 47 to 43 percent.
Titus Bond, director of Remington Research Group, acknowledged the race could go either way.
“The presidential race remains very competitive as we move into the final stretch. Hillary maintains an advantage leading in Colorado and Pennsylvania, but at this point anything can happen,” he said.
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?
He came through the pass control with
no trouble!
Is this Mr. Tigerli?
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