FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Julia Child ~ August 23, 2010

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Julia Child

Info from this website and this website.

           

Julia Child: 1912-2004

Julia McWilliams Child was born Aug. 19, 1912, and was, she has said, "an adolescent until I was 30." One of her grandfathers left Illinois in 1849 when he was 16 to pan for gold in California. Her mother, tall and lively like Julia, had roots in New England. Julia grew up in Pasadena in a large house with drivers, gardeners, cooks and a kitchen that both she and her mother rarely saw or cared about. She played center for her private-school basketball team and enrolled in Smith College where she lived what she describes as a "butterfly life," driving her friends around in a Ford and graduating in 1934.

To many, Julia Child is the darling grandmother who taught Americans how to appreciate great cooking. Few know, however, that this part of her life came after a high-level stint in the OSS (a CIA precursor) during WWII. Julia Child became interested in military service when she joined the Red Cross after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Before then, Julia was becoming the Paris Hilton of her day -- she would stay out late drinking and socializing and, being from a privileged background, could afford to do so. Joining the Red Cross helped her focus her life on constructive goals. The new lifestyle appealed to her and the Red Cross became her first step toward serving her country.

Julia was eager to do more, but at 6' 2" she was too tall for other military service organizations. Refusing to give up, she a traveled to Washington in 1942 to explore her options. Soon she began working for the Office of Strategic Services. Although she has modestly claimed her duties were only clerical, her performance record suggests otherwise. By 1943 she had been promoted and was working with very sensitive intelligence material. That same year, she was recruited to travel overseas and help manage intelligence activity in WWII’s Pacific theater. Stationed in Kandy, Sri Lanka, she helped the OSS track data on a range of topics including troop movement and espionage. Julia helped coordinate the information necessary to plan the attacks on the Japanese-held islands in the area.

To some degree, Julia was to the service what “Q” was to James Bond -- although her duties didn’t involve undercover work, she helped develop supplies and techniques for spies and clandestine operatives. One of Julia’s first OSS teams was assigned the task of finding ways a spy stranded on a life raft could get water. One particularly unappealing strategy they experimented with was drinking water squeezed from a fish’s body. Unfortunately, the technique turned out to be useless.

Julia’s other surprising contribution to the OSS was a shark repellant. The United States had underwater mines that were being inadvertently detonated by sharks. The shark-induced explosions had two main downsides: There was one less mine and German U-Boats could chart the minefield’s location and know where to avoid. The OSS needed a way to keep sharks away from the explosives, so they turned to Julia. She and some coworkers cooked up a shark repellant that was used to coat the explosives. Unlike her fish squeezing technique, Julia's shark repellant seemed to be successful.

After her service in the OSS, Julia married Paul Child, an OSS operative she had worked with while in Sri Lanka. The two moved to Paris in 1948 where Paul Child worked for the U.S. Intelligence Service. Soon, she began attending the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris and developed skill in preparing French cuisine. Julia's cooking interests and abilities grew steadily, and in 1961 she published her first cookbook: 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking.' It was this book and her subsequent television appearances that made Julia Child a household name, but the events were set in motion by her employment in a clandestine intelligence agency.
 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[ConorMacNessa]

Thunderstorms way up North - don't know what to make of that - Global Cooling?

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[luvie]

I can just imagine how their great beat and enthusiasm
would get the crowds fired up!!

Practical Cats~Till The Well Runs Dry

(Note the handsome keyboardist in the back! :) )

[luvie]

PS....whatcha doin’ staying up all night! Hope you’re ok!

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Thank you very much.I always enjoy the topic and the post.

[dfwgator]

I LOVE Julia Child! Also Loved Dan Ackroid’s Spoof of her. I understand that she enjoyed it too. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was a great patriot. Thank You for profiling a lady hero tonight! Thanks, StarCMC!

They even included showing that skit in the movie "Julia & Julia."

[Kathy in Alaska]

I rarely hear thunder here....it was rather shocking to hear the clap so close, so loud, and so long. There have been 2 since, then no more. All is quiet now, and the rain has stopped.

[luvie]

You just reminded me that I need to see that movie. I’ll bet
it’s a hoot!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Winston....the name fits him well.

[oldteen]

I always enjoy the topic and the post

Well, good! Please join in the fun, friendly, family banter more often! After all, you're now officially family :).

[oldteen]

All is quiet now, and the rain has stopped

You do realize that was Atlas Shrugging, don't you? ;)

[MS.BEHAVIN]

LOL
Thanks for the tune!
It’s good to see Mr B doing something he loves again, after all he’s been through.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thanks for today’s sustenance for body and soul. ((HUGS))

[ConorMacNessa]

Much different down here - we hear thunder frequently - but nothing like we had in South Florida when I lived there. From late May to December, the thunderstorms would form over the 'Glades and move east. Every afternoon at about 3 o'clock they would roll in. You could count on it like clockwork!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

I just couldn’t sleep at all..
I dunno what’s up with that!

[Kathy in Alaska]

So THAT’s what was going on. LOL!

[mylife]

Did I miss a rockin show?

Glad it was a great show!

[ConorMacNessa]

Will get some pics up soon.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[left that other site]

It is iconic! LOL!~Good Night folks!

[Kathy in Alaska]

[luvie]

I know.....I was thrilled when you said that he was going to
be playing with them this weekend! I think he needed this
boost right now! ((((hugs)))) for you both!

(I love their music! I was sooooo happy when Bonny gave me
the CD!)