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Letter to the editor

Reader Exchange: Warm thoughts and more for our troops

By Linda D. Cole and Ingrid L. Kohler, Times Staff Writers
Published October 6, 2007

Since it appears that our troops face another winter in Iraq, the staff wants to remind REX knitters: From headbands to warm the ears, to Christmas stockings to cheer the heart, we still have on file some of the patterns you used last year to make life on the front a little easier for these men and women.

If you want the pattern for wrist warmers crocheted or knitted or the Christmas stocking or the headbands that are worn beneath the helmet (both knitted), please send your request by snail mail (no e-mail please; you'll understand the reason in a minute) to our address below. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so we can mail the pattern back to you. Each pattern sent out will include information about where to send the completed items.

Bev and Bob Shipley would love to surprise their mother/mother-in-law on her 90th birthday with an 8-track player in working order. Mom has several 8-track tapes that she can no longer enjoy because her player cannot be repaired. Please call (727) 798-1498 if you can help.

Boy Scout Troop 375 is a new troop in a rural area. (It meets at the Trilby United Methodist Church.) The guys, ages 10 to 16, need a little help gathering their equipment. If your Scout has moved on to other interests and no longer needs the uniforms (they needn't be new), manuals, boots and cooking utensils that are part of scouting, this troop would love to have them. The contact person is David Hinks, who may be reached at (352) 583-5926 or hinkster@enbarq.com.

Palm Harbor's own Sherrie Hellrung writes that her 89-year-old father just rediscovered a big bunch of 78 rpm records in his storage shed. Back in the '40s Dad serviced jukeboxes, and he saved many of the records when they were taken out of play.

He's getting them all cleaned up and ready to listen to, but the Hellrung family doesn't own a record player that plays 78s. So they hope you may have one you no longer need. Let's get Dad grooving (but no Lindy hopping, please!); e-mail garyh@knology.net.

Leslie Bouwman of St. Petersburg recently read about special replacement controls for electric stoves that turn off the burner after a given time. The product was marketed as a safety measure for seniors, and plain old forgetful cooks.

Trouble is, Leslie thinks she read about it in this newspaper, but after ransacking files and grilling section editors, we were unable to dig up any such information that ran here.

So maybe readers who also have heard about this device can provide a lead to Leslie that will help her track it down. Please e-mail moglo1844@hotmail.com. If this product doesn't exist, it ought to. Maybe you can invent it and make your first million.

Ann Paquette needs help replacing some vintage cookbooks. Years ago (in the mid '60s) officers' wives around the world published a series of 10 cookbooks, Recipes On Parade.

But after more than 40 years of use, Ann's books are showing their age (Meats and Casseroles are in the most perilous shape.) If you have any of the books you are willing to part with, she would be forever grateful, as would her family, which grew up savoring the great recipes. Ann may be reached at (727) 525-1560 or annpaquette@tampabay.rr.com.

Nancy Dougherty of Community United Methodist Church in Holiday writes that the church is trying to save information to CD-ROM that is currently stored on 25 51/4-inch floppy discs, but it no longer has a computer drive this size. Can someone in Exchange Land help transfer this data, which is in Texas Instruments Extended Basic Program, to CD-ROM? Nancy may be reached at (727) 937-3268 (office); (727) 514-3001 (cell); and by e-mail, nancycumc@verizon.net.

Ruth Dow of Clearwater, while painting and organizing her garage, discovered that the previous owner had left her quite a few white ceramic tiles: one box of 33 6- by 8-inch tiles and about 50 4- by 4-inch ones. If you can use any of these, please call (727) 599-4862.

Thank-you note

Linda Pinke, activity director at the Gardens of Dunedin, says thanks to our "kind, generous readers" for their donated tea-time items. "We have had so much fun already reminiscing and planning what is ahead. I knew I could count on your readers and am grateful beyond words."

Send requests to Reader Exchange, Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg 33731 or e-mail cole@sptimes.com. Requests will be accepted only by mail or e-mail. This is an exchange column, so we will not run items that are for sale. Readers must agree to publication of phone numbers.

[Last modified October 5, 2007, 11:02:31]