Page One

News of the Weird

The Associated Press
Tuesday June 18, 2002

Spinsterhood in Maine a woolly way of life  

Portland, Maine — “Miss August” is 55 and proudly describes herself as Rubenesque. 

Susanne Grosjean is a Maine wool spinner and thought up the idea for a calendar featuring her sister spinners in all their glory. 

“Wearing Wool: Celebrating the Ancient Art of Spinning and the Ageless Beauty of Women” features 20 women, ranging in age from 33 to 70. 

Some are lying face down wearing only their woolen socks. Others have bits of wool or a strategically placed sheep to protect their dignity. 

Grosjean says the calendars are selling so fast they can’t keep them in stock. The group is using the proceeds to fund a trip to Ireland and to benefit breast cancer research. 

Watch out, Tiger 

SIMSBURY, Conn. — Tiger Woods wasn’t the only golf champion busy this weekend. 

David McCaslin of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., shot seven holes-in-one in the final round of the Mini Golf Hartford Open Sunday, holding off his two younger brothers for the win. 

His paycheck is a bit smaller than Tiger’s; McCaslin took home $1,000 for a record 9-under-par 30, breaking his previous record of 33 at last year’s tournament. 

Danny McCaslin of Morrisville, N.C., won $400 and Matt McCaslin of Cary, N.C., earned $300 after finishing second and third, respectively. 

Lone listener for task force 

MILWAUKEE — Just one person showed up to speak at a listening session held by a state task force on reforming the government. 

The lone participant was Attorney General James Doyle. A few others, all connected to Doyle, the media or the governor’s ethics task force, showed up for the first of four listening sessions planned by the task force. 

Kenneth Davis, task force chairman and dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, doesn’t consider the poor turnout an indication of how much people are concerned about reforming government. He wondered whether the hearing’s time — at 10 a.m. Saturday — played a role in the turnout. 

“I care about it, but I don’t know if I would have shlepped down to the Marquette University Law School to hear what people had to say,” Davis said Sunday. 

Watch out, Rover 

ROCKWELL, Iowa — Dustin Pillard is betting his farm on compact cows. 

Pillard has 50 tiny cows on his northern Iowa farm, all about 3 feet tall. He’s hoping they’ll catch on as pets, and so far inquiries have come in from as far as Europe, Mexico and Argentina. 

“I like them,” said Pillard, 30. “If nobody else does, that doesn’t really bother me. We’re breeding just for the novelty end of it.” 

The smallest full-grown animal is a 3-year-old bull that’s 33 inches tall and weighs 320 pounds. The largest, a mature bull, is 35 inches tall and 400 pounds. 

Pillard thinks interest for the cattle, which start at about $1,000, is growing. And the more people know, the more interest he sees. 

“If they saw a rodeo bull that was only three feet tall, I’d think they’d have to have one. That’s our hope, anyway.”