Captain William S. Wray
Staff photo
B&y Miriam J. Aagell
OAPT. Wilfliam S. Wray, gehior
Medical Officer of the Naval Sta
fem amd of the 17th. Naval Oie
tiM&H, gentleman fram Virginia,
>ainsd amateur cook, gave us iastrut
ft«m« for coofciag a Virginia Ham
{•polled With the capitals the
mighty morsel deserve*) and said
to had ia«e»tieaod in a latter to hi*
wtiife that “It would he iwallf Dire
to have mm." Mrs. Wray Was un
afble to nreompany her husband
to Alaska and is presently living
to their home in Lovingstoji, Vir
j^toia. But there are other points
along the way ere we come to the
mouthwatering suggestions for the
tocum parable ham.
Dr. and Mrs. Wray have o®e
daughter who attends the Uni vers
ify of Maryland, ao* toe fnr from
fftueir last defy station in Patuxent
Stiver, Maryland. Originally the
©aplain came from North Fork,
West Virginia, in the coal field
country, went through high school
iffeere and then to the University
€tf Virginia at Charlottsville, Vir
ginia, for his undergraduate pre
wedical work, and his degree in
medicine. By 1938 he had complet
ed three years’ internship at the
University Hospital. He joined the
Navy that same year, intending to
Stay for a year only, but by 1939,
“M tascanae obvious that War Was
fioaireent I stayed as® and have
wafiote it my career. Well, as to
tMUN ml etety, I Was With coaavoy
Mnntmyoe Dtivksi®® 16 in She At
lantic ®w Winter during the War.
T;hat Atlantic is rough Water i®
winter, and cold, oh i®y. In '42 I
finished at the School of Aviatiion
Medicine and went to Carrier Air
craft Service Unit II in the Pacific.
’Phere were other tours too, one
aboard the USS Wyoming, and
after the war, post graduate train
Qjg at the Children’s Medical Cen
ter in Boston, two tours at Pat
uxent, and one with the Second
Marine Airwing in the Atlantic.”
We wondered if, as part of train
ing in the schools of aviation me
dicine. doctors were required to
grachiate as pilots? “No", Dr. Wray
continued, “It does involve basic
flight training but it isn’t neces
sary for flight surgeons to qualify
as pilots; some are already pilots
Wla© switch to mediciae aod a few
feeeowe pilots after their wiNl
training, but I’m not me ©f either
group.” We noted the post grad
uate work ia pedietries and he said,
“Yes. I’m most interested in work
ing With children, aad that tors
been my training, ah hough my
duties are mostly administrative
now I can work part time at it
hat there is no real need for that
here. We have a small staff, but
they are all highly qualified. I
think it's an excellent hospital, <md
well equipped. We have two young
flight surgeons, so I haven’t hod
am opportunity to go on any SAR
amotions either. (Search and Res
cue missions ia which a Coast
Guard piano fern out to giro me
dical assistance and often trans
portation to hospitals to ill persons
in the area and along the Aleutian
chain. A flight surgeon front the
Station hospital attends these
cases.) Our flight surgeons probab
ly average a SAR call every week
or ten days, at toast since I’ve been
here.”
We were interested to know if
there were particular health prob
lems here, perhaps different frosn
those encountered in other areas
he knew. “No, they geem to be •
bout th© same. Colds are common
to any piece where the changing
seasons bring a warm day, amd
then a cold one, and ®o me knows
What sort erf clothes to put ©n.”
Dr. Wray said that he has beeffii
liner's long enough to d© very many
eS’tea-currtcfciLnr things, kut that ke
krais Kodiak is as perfect a spat as
one could ever fos>;pe to find if one
likes outdoor living, hunting and
fishing. “I like to fish and have
caught, some silvers and gotten
them smoked; they’re practically
ready to send home. I’ve got a lot
of other hobbies I dabble in,
though not very extensively, I sup
pose. I’m strictly an amateur cook,
but I don’t have much opportunity
for it here. T%em there’s leather
Put the finest label
on your table
Miller’s High Life
Tony’s Liquor Store
and woodworking; I'm an amateur
silversmith — bracelets, pendants
and things, and very frequently I
make my own buckles and orna
ments for my leather belts and
bags.” From his office closet he
brought out a large and handsome
leather bag to show us. “This is
my workroom in here; it’s kind of
small but it’s a place to keep my
tools and things. The thing I do
the most of is something Mrs. Wray
and I do together; we collect an
tiques-furniture, copper and brass,
apothecary jars—we have all kinds
of antiques. But we don’t go in for
any particular period pieces, just
things we think are beautiful and
can use in our home. We bought
an old house in Lovingston; it’s a
funny old place that rambles. It’s
a real splitlevel house; you go
up two steps here and down
a step there. It had lots of
additions built on and I don’t
know that it’s any particular
style, but it’s fine for our
collections. Let me show you some
pictures my Wife sent me; she has
done a lot of the redecorating and
placing of things since I’ve been
here. Now in this room I put on
thie Wall paper, but I’ll never do
iit again. If you ever get the idea
corf doing your own wall papering,
jitifst sit down until fee feeling goes
away, then paint the walls.”
The pictures, i© soft e@ter, dw
ly showed the patina of teeautwful,
solid old woods, pine, walnut, pop
tar, and the classic lines ©f furni
ture lovingly mode a tang time
ago by craftsmen who took pride
im creating. The eaptaan has re
finished them with care and ap
preciation. There ie one tall cab
inet which houses a fine collection
of copper end brass-can dies tick*,
coffee p o t e, chaffing dishes,
pitchers and picture frames. The
article* came from antique shops
all over the East and South. One
unusual and ornamental item hang
ing beside the cabinet is a wooden
iron; its origin is Pennsylvania
Dutch and it was really used for
pressing clothes, though how
would make an interesting discov
ery- Two lovely old ships’ lan
terns in pierced brass hang in the
doorway to the diningroom; these,
and a street band, carved wood
with ivory heads, of German origin,
are favorites of Dr. Wray. “I have
a nice collection of old apothecary
jars”, he said. They are mostly
glass and pottery, of course, but
there is one quite old Dutch one of
peuter. I can’t imagine what they
kept in that.
“I like photography, too, but I’m
strictly a picture snapper and I
waste miles of film. Kodiak is a
wonderful place to take pictures.”
“For your Virginia Ham you
want one at least a year old, and
it’s better if you get one closer to
two years old. Soak it overnight
and throw out the soaring Water,
then senajpe end scrub off all the
mold and pepper. Simmer it about
20 minutes to the pound. Let the
ham cool in the cooking water and
then skin, and glaze it for a short
while in about a 400 degree oven.
I don’t go for the fancy mollasses
or other kinds of glazes — just
bread crumbs and black pepper.
When cool, slice thin.” We will
add: Do slice thin. A good Virginia
Ham is too rich to eat in slabs,
and it’s a little like gold now days.
GS Committee To Meet
The Girl Scout community com
mittee will meet Friday, Nov. 18,
at the home of Mrs. Larue Troyer.
The meeting is scheduled for
1:30 p.m.
Put the finest label
on your table
Miller’s High Life
Log CUbiu LiqUor Store
The Town Club Staff
Wishes to extend
ia most sincere thank you
to the Bartenders, Bar Owners
and Liquor Dealers and Guests
who made their party such a hinge
success
Wondering what to give
her?
i m iwb $m m iqtionfflltnj,,
IftMl <#®f Iterate
m
Ballerina length gowns,
shorty p.j%, slips, pan
ties*
s
&& AiU ewp<tai*g8jy toAnawg % ##ifrfeiBfn-'t-:
|Bk
^ MTfttl.
lausdous colors, all sizes.
k
D & A’s Ladies
READY - TO ■ WEAR
the MONTMARTRE INN SATURDAY RITE SPECIAL !!»
CHEF EDDY JULIAN'S
FAMOUS ROAST PRIME RIB OF BEEF All JUSKIBE SIZE CUT $4.50