Cheese in the Time of War

Everyone (worth knowing) recognizes that cheese has enjoyed a very long and storied history. For century upon century cheese has blessed the lives of the citizens of the World. All lauds and honours on CHEESE!

Notwithstanding, I thought it was likely that in bleak times - perhaps WORLD WAR II - cheese might have gone the way of rubber and sugar and stockings. But I wandered upon something that confirmed to me that cheese is always and forever important.

Here is a blurb from The Stars and Stripes, Volume 3, Number 8, Page 2 dated Tuesday, November 10, 1942. I'll put it in historical perspective a little later:

Let me give you a transcription of this item, as the scans I was researching are deliberately crap so that you'll order pricey originals. Not ME; I will just read more carefully. Anyhoo, here is the text:

Mrs. Anna Juchs won an uncontested divorce after testifying that her husband kept Limburger cheese under their bed.

While, as a noted turophile, I agree that it is inappropriate to keep ANY cheese under one's bed, particularly - uhm - really strong-smelling cheese (it's also inharmonious in terms of Feng Shui), I don't see how funky cheese in the boudoir is grounds for an uncontested divorce. But what do I know.

This little bon mot, incidentally, was found in the Hush Marks section (gotta love that name) of the paper. If you'd like to see it in it's original context, you can download the whole edition for Tuesday, November 10, 1942 right here.

My favourite thing about this whole cheese tidbit is that Sunday, November 8, 1942 marked the beginning of "Operation Torch" (part of Operation Blackstone), Patton's convoy assault on the Algerian coast (my Grandfather was a military intelligence expert on Patton's staff; he certainly had a bunch of near misses during this time). Consequently, The Stars and Stripes broke the news concerning this important offensive in the November 9, 1942 edition (and for the rest of the week).

What sort of interesting serendipity led me to a cheese item during the investigation of World War II campaigns? The cheese faeries move in mysterious ways.