Quakers

Re "A Voyage to a New Life" (by Tom Tugend, Sept. 14): As one of the children freed from the Nazis in the Kindertransport, I regret that no credit was given in the article to the creators and the driving force behind the action that saved our lives: the British and American Society of Friends (Quakers). To the best of my recollection, their efforts convinced the British government to issue temporary entrance visas, and they either provided for us themselves or convinced other Brits to take care of us during this black period.

Quaker Oats (OAT) Jim: Don't buy Mike: Buy * Jim: Quaker Oats is one of those companies that's a case study for the Harvard Business School, right Mike? Mike: You mean in which the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing? Jim: Exactly. A few years ago Quaker Oats committed one of the greatest debacles in corporate history. Or so I'd argue. Mike: Well, certainly a write-off of $1.4 billion is not chump change. Or maybe it is chump change.

Quaker Oats Co. said it is entering a joint venture with Swiss drug company Novartis to woo consumers who want foods that have proven health benefits. The new firm, Altus Food Co., will develop "functional foods"--those with ingredients said to contribute to better health--in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The companies said they intend to get a sizable chunk of the U.S. market for healthy food, which they estimate at $10 billion to $20 billion and which is growing by 10% or more a year.

Japan's young emperor-in-waiting had been carefully instructed on what to say to the American woman who would become his tutor. Say it was very good of her to come so far to teach you, his chamberlains told Crown Prince Akihito. But before the meeting, Elizabeth Gray Vining, a children's author from an old Philadelphia family who became the first foreigner allowed inside the living quarters of the Imperial Palace, had sent the prince a box of American confections.

The leaders of two churches said they still hope to build a 1,200-student parochial high school here, but plans for the new campus are taking a back seat to church remodeling efforts. Yorba Linda Friends Church, on Lakeview Avenue, and Rose Drive Friends Church, next to the middle school on Rose Drive, announced in May that they were interested in building a high school in the city. But church leaders have not yet selected a location.

Quaker Oats Co. said it will eliminate as many as 1,200 jobs in North America, about 10% of its work force, and use the savings to promote Gatorade, its best-selling sports drink. The maker of its namesake oatmeal will take pretax charges of as much as $250 million over the next two years. It plans to close an unspecified number of plants, combine food and beverage warehouse and delivery operations, and contract out some manufacturing.

While thousands of worshipers around the county filed into churches one recent Sunday, a small group of men and women gathered in Norman Cooper's Ojai living room. While the churchgoers launched into opening hymns, the Ojai worshipers formed a circle, then settled into silence. And while priests or ministers delivered sermons to church congregants exhorting them to keep God in their lives, a speaker told members of the Ojai group how U.S.-imposed sanctions have caused Iraqi children to suffer.

The game of the season was played at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and even the NCAA tournament will be hard-pressed to top it. A 3-0 Princeton lead. A 29-0 Pennsylvania run, to go up 29-3. "You have three points! You have three points!" shouted the Penn students, who have been the Dukies of the Ivy League since before Dukies existed. A 27-point Penn lead with 15 minutes left, 40-13. And a stunning Princeton victory, 50-49.

Hasbro Inc., the world's second-largest toy maker, on Monday named Quaker State Corp. chief Herbert Baum, known for his track record in selling consumer products, for its new positions of president and chief operating officer. Baum, 62, will join Hasbro after Quaker State's merger with Pennzoil Co.'s car products business is completed later this month, Hasbro said. He will report to Hasbro Chief Executive and Chairman Alan Hassenfeld, 50. Pawtucket, R.I.

A Quaker church's proposal to build a sanctuary as big as the behemoth Crystal Cathedral on its Yorba Linda property will not significantly damage surrounding neighborhoods, according to a study released Wednesday. The environmental impact study is expected to raise the heat on the long-simmering controversy over expansive plans by the Yorba Linda Friends Church.