Summer's weeds not always pests;
some wild plants can be harvested
By Steele Thomsa
ummertime brings picnics, swimming and
golden tans. It also brings pesty insects, pain
ful sunburns and plenty of weeds. However.
some Lincoln citizens believe weeds have a higher
purpose in life than simply aggravating lawn owners.
Some weeds are edible and some even taste good,
according to the coordinator of the Encounter Cen
ter Museum.
Kay You n g said many weeds, or wild plants, make
tasty foods. But she advises caution in choosing
which weeds to eat. Young recommended that peo
ple interested in eating wild plants do research first
and consult more than one source. Then when they
harvest weeds, they know what they are getting.
A reliable book to consult is Edible Wild Plants
from the Peterson Field Guide Series, Young said.
Many people don't realize that although there are
many edible wild plants, there are many more poi
sonous wild plants, Young said.
"Just because it's wild and natural," she said, "it
doesn't mean it's safe."'
Young also cautioned that just like domesticated ,
plants, all parts of a wild plant are not edible simply
because one part is. For instance, she said, although
people eat tomatoes, they don't eat tomato vines.
nother danger of picking wild plants, Young
said, is that many of the plants may have been
sprayed with poisonous chemicals. No one
should pick plants in an area that has been sprayed,
Young said.
Young said three plants she likes to eat are lambs
quarter, dandelion and purslane. When she fixes
A
lambsquarter, Young said, she picks young plants
up to 8 or 9 inches tall and then washes, boils and
serves them like spinich.
"Just because it's wild and
natural, it doesn 't mean it 's
safe.'1
Dandelions can be served several ways, Young
said. They can be bitter, Young said, so she picks
them early in the morning while they are young.
Dandelions are good when warmed in bacon grease
and stirred into scrambled eggs, she said. They can
also be boiled and served like spinach or used in
soups or quiche.
Purslane is commonly found in gardens, Young
said. It is a low-growing plant with small, round,
rubbery leaves that can be used as a substitute for
lettuce. Purslane is especially good in tacos, Young
said.
everal wild fruits, such as chokecherries and
wild plums, make good jams and jellies,
Young said. Chokecherries are native to Neb
raska and, although they are bitter when raw, they
taste good in syrups as well. ,
This has been a good year for mulberries, which
can be mixed with rhubarb, Young said. Young
advised people to taste mulberries from several dif
ferent trees until they find the right tree because
,4
David TroufcaD!!y Nebrstksn
Dandelions part of the world of edible
weeds.
taste varies greatly.
Elderberries can be picked to eat or the berry
flowers can be dried to make tea, Young said. The
obvious drawback, with making elderberry tea is
that there would be no fruit later in the season, she
said.
Young said when people eat wild plants for the
first time, they should try only a small amount to see
if the plants will have any bad effects.
For recipes using wild plants, please see page 9.
Stadeinrts marclk tHirongJh Magic EOngdoM
4r
V
Courtesy of Disneyland Publicity Dept.
William Clifton
What are two UNL students doing
marching with Mickey, dancing with
Donald and parading past Pluto? Work
ing, that's what.
It's more of a working vacation for
UNL music students William Clifton, of
Grand Island and Craig Stilen ofOmaha.
Clifton, 19, and Stilen, 22, are perform
ing this summer at California's Disney
land with the Ail-American College
Marching Band, an extension of the
Disney Entertainment Work Experience
Program.
Clifton, a percussionist, and Stilen,
who plays the trombone, competed
with more than 1,200 other collegians
in auditions conducted at a dozen
nationwide locations during January
and February. The band, composed of
20 musicians and two dancers, repres
ents some of the country's top colle
giate musicians.
Besides entertaining guests through
out the Magic Kingdom, Clifton and
Stilen also receive special classroom
instruction to help them prepare for
s career training
Venn Jonss
College isn't for everyone. Often be
cause of the high cost of a college uni
versity, some people choose an alter
native for their career training.
The Lincoln Opportunities Industriali
zation Center provides such an alter
native. The LOIC offers classes for Lin
coln's economically disadvantaged.
The LOIC helps people earn a start
ing spot in the working world and help
that start into a lifelong career, accor
ding to the executive director of the
center, W. Azul La Luz.
"We help middle- to low-income people,
the unemployed and the underemployed
people in Lnicoln find work, or better
jobs," said La Luz. "We teach something
called 'jobology," which emphasizes get-
ting a job and keeping a job."
Although Lincoln unemployment is
low compared to other U.S. cities, La
Luz said these statistics dont reflect
accurately the plight of many of the
city's minorities and teens.
"Unemployment m Lincoln may oe
good for whites, but it is not for blacks
and other minorities in general," La
Luz said.
According to his statistics, 38 per
cent of Lincoln's black teenagers are
unemployed. About 16 percent of Lin
coln's teenagers overall are unemployed,
La Luz said.
The LOIC will help people of any age
find work or develop a usable skill for
the marketplace, La Luz said. The cen
ter has had students ranging from 17-years-old
to 72-years-oid in its 10 years
of existence.
The LOIC success rate largely depends
on community support and a good
relationship between the center and
Lincoln's major banks and businesses.
"Many of the city's businesses and
industries provide scholarships to the
students here," La Luz said. "The cor
porations get pre-trained people, which
saves them the cost and time of train
ing someone, and we place our stu
dents in the business world. Everyone
benefits."
La Luz named several Lincoln banks
and businesses, including IBM, the First
National Bank, the National Bank of
Commerce, Dorsey Labs, Bankers Life,
and Control Data as major contribu
tors to the center. Most of the non
profit center's funding comes from
private business, La Luz said. Also, he
said, the center receives help from
charitable agencies, such as the United
Way, and a minimal amount of govern
ment support.
The LOIC also makes money from a
resume service that is competitive with
other such services in Lincoln, La Luz
careers as professional entertainers.
While participating in the 1 1 -week sum
mer program, the students receive
academic credit, a housing grant and a
stipend.
A typical day begins with band mem
bers attending classes designed to pre
pare them for a show business career.
These sessions, conducted by top pro
fessionals from the entertainment in
dustry, last Vh hours a day, five days a
week.
The classroom portion of the pro
gram deals with developing personal
and professional skills, musical arran
gement, choreography and stage and
screen performance techniques.
Following each day's classes, the
students don their red, white and blue
band uniforms. For the next five hours,
they entertain thousands of Disney
land visitors as the All-American Col
lege Marching Band.
The Disney Entertainment Work Exper
ience Program is open to college fresh
men, sophomores and juniors nation
wide. s
X
is
Courtesy of Disneyland Publicity Dept.
Craig Stilen
Police
Report
The following incidents were reported
to UNL Police Department between 1
a.m. Thursday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Thursday
1:16 am. Fire alarm reported
sounding at Military and Naval Science
Building. Malfunction tripped alarm.
8:57 am. Two burglaries reported
at Smith Hall. Clothing reported miss
ing. Friday
1 0:49 am. Theft reported at Former
Law Building. Textbooks reported miss
ing. 3:39 p.m. Fire alarm reported
sounding at Neihardt Residence Cen
ter. Malfunction tripped alarm.
Saturday
12:41 a.m. Car-pedestrian acci
dent reported at 14th and Y streets.
Injuries reported. UNL police assisted
Lincoln police on call.
6:08 p.m. Bicycle reported stolen
from north side of Nebraska Hall.
Sunday '
Noon Parking permit reported
stolen from car in Parking Area 3 near
Harper-Schramm-Smith Complex.
12:45 p.m. Bicycle reported stolen
at Morrill HalL
4:49 p.m. Car accident reported
at 12th and Q streets. No injuries
reported. UNL police assisted Lincoln
police on calL
5:44 p.m. Theft reported at 2255
Vine St. Bicycle and items from car
reported missing.
said.
All of this has led to success for the
LOIG and its students.
"WeVe enjoyed a high success rate
over the years," said La Luz. "We've
managed to place around 80 percent
of our students in jobs 63 percent of
those were people on the welfare rolls
who are now earning their own living."
La Luz said, howevej, that the cen
ter's success is not merely measured in
terms of employment statistics. The
LOIC also offers psychological help
while hunting for a job and keeps tabs
on its students once they leave the
program.
"We give pep talks to the people
when they come to us and give them
confidence in themselves," La Luz said.
Once they find a job, we follow up on
them and make sure everyone is get-
tins along OK.'
Tuesday, My 17, 1984
Daily Nebrazkan
Pcae 7