The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

RN RA ACERT SH A HRI Wii i i LR BREA I Mn REN ne BA YE i wy )_-- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, Aug. 30,1972 Cryptography a hobby for Greenbank resident dgq9 rdct gei 39 tz dsx gt gei. Czy, 3sr t4gjdirNo ? cljr, No, that jumbled com- bination of letters and num- bers is not a gross typo- graphical error on our part. Rather, it is the first line of a personal diary written in 1893 in the form of a cryptograph. Obviously the writer didn't want anyone to know the contents of his diary, but recently a 16-year old schoolboy from Kentucky who is an active member of the American Cryptogram Association went to work on thediary, and was successful in deciphering it into normal English. Cryptography means sec- ret writing (from the Greek "crypto" meaning hidden and 'graph' meaning writ- ing). Very basically, a crypt- ogram is a seemingly mean- ingless combination of words letters (like the line above from the diary) which through a devised method of substitution stand for letters that make up coherent and related words and sentences. The term "hidden writing' is self-explanatory. There are many kinds of cryptograms based on met- hods of letter and-or number substitution with varying degrees of difficulty and sophistication. And because they enjoy it, the 700 or so members of the American Cryptogram Asso- ciation spend a good deal of their free time trying to "break the codes' so tospeak of the secret writing. One such cryptograph de- votee is Dr. Warren Mc- Cready, 1 professor of Spa- nish at the University of Toronto, and who since last May has taken up residence in Greenbank. A couple of weeks ago, Dr. McCready attended the annual con- vention of cryptographers in Seymour, Indiana and gave an address on the Nicodimer Cipher, which he says is a variation of another form of cipher. Of all the members in the Association, Dr. McCready says there are only about '100 who are 'really active," and of these there are just a handful in Canada. But they correspond regularly, pass- ing of bits of information on deciphering methods, and of course providing each other with new crypts to be deciphered. Once every two months all members receive the Association magazine which contains from 80 to 90 crypts of different variety and degree of difficulty. As many of the crypts as possible are solved and then returned by the member to the magazine which keeps track of the number each member has correctly worked out. Since joining the Associ- ation in 1954, Dr. McCready has worked out over 3,000 of the crypts, and since he first started working on them as a teen-ager he has solved many . more than that. He says it usually takes him two or three hours to work out a crypt, with some of the more difficult ones taking longer. He finds some so easy, he can solve them without even using a pencil. Of course others have left him baffled. Cryptograms have been used throughout history for conveying messages by gen- erals, diplomats and spies. A famous one, called the Play- fair Cipher was used by the British during World War 1. Although Dr, McCready des- cribes it as being actually quite simple, the Germans never managed to break the code. Another, called the Trifid Code was developed by the Italians during World War 2 and as far as he knows Dr. McCready says it was never broken by the Allies. Expert cryptographers say no practicable cipher system has ever been invented which cannot be broken provided there is sufficient infor- mation to work with. Dr. McCready relates with a smile an incident whereby a person sent a cipher to the US government claiming it was "unbreakable." The chap was politely told the govern- ment wasn't interested, and the '"'unbreakable' cipher found its way to the Associ- ation who sent it out to its members. Dr. McCready solved it in a couple of hours. Another intersting anec- dote involved a member of the Yugoslav Embassy in Washington who joined the Cryptogram Association. This person was later re- called to his native country and put to work organizing a cryptographic bureau for his government. As mentioned there are many different kinds of cryptograms, and naturally enoughsince he is a language professor, Dr. says such things as cross word puzzles, or games like "instant insanity' don't in- - terest him at all. "I like McCready systems of analysis which are required in solving difficult crypts. The game instant insanity is really only trial and error," he says. In solving crypts, there are several basic laws to follow, the first being a knowledge of the frequency which letters and words occur in normal language.. In English, the "letter ""e"' for example occurs most frequently. Among words with three letters, "the" is the most common. One must also learn common endings to words such as ing, tion, and ally.From these and other basic laws of normal language, the experienced cryptogram looks for clues on how to solve the crypt. Like a lot of things today the pen and pencil crypto- gram has been replaced for all practical purposes by sophisticated machinery and computers, which can devise codes only decipherable by other computers. " However, crypts are a fascinating subject, and Dr. McCready says, "working them out provides a sort of mental training for the mind." The following is a very simple letter substitution 'cryptogram. Can you solve it? PNOJHTOA HTONO J LJX DHMT, AIBW, AI KOJK, DTI, XDCON, AHIYYOK, JXK, HBNXOK TMA TOJK, JXK BXHI TMLAOWK TJHT, AJMK, "IT PIF". Maybe the American Cry- ptogram Association can help. Their address is 9504 Manchester News We regret that in the McCartney family reunion printed last week one name was omitted, that of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cleverdon (Carol of Markham). { Mrs. Holtby Turner and -son Brent of Carroll, Mani- toba and her daughter Wendy of Toronto called on Holtby relatives on the weekend. Mr. and Mrs. Robert McFadden and family spent Sunday with Mrs. D. Roberts. Visitors at the Roach home this past week were Mr. and Mrs. Bud Black of Calgary, Alberta, Mrs. Ruth Barfoot, Mr. John Richardson, Toronto, and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Isoki and Julie of Rexdale Miss Brenda Taylor of Stouffville spent a few days with her grandmother Mrs. Maude Crosier. Miss Fannie Stevens was in * Toronto with her son Mr. and Mrs. Jim Stevens. Mrs. Joe Bain had a very Forest Rd., Bethesda Md. 20014. And maybe in a few years, after you've solved several thousand crypts, you'll be able to solve one like the above at a quick glance. successful sale on Saturday. Mr. and Mrs. L. Bonin of Osahwa were dinner guests with Mr. and Mrs. WJ. Mitchell on Sunday. Mrs. Florence Mitchell is enrolled in the caneing class at the Sc finds it very interesting. Welcome back to Mr, and Mrs. Ronald McKinzey and girls who have been living in Florida for the past year. Miss Joanne Vandervoort og museum and ° is a guest of Lisa and Leanne g McKinzey at their cottage in [GONG OVERSEAS You'll Need A PASSPORT PHOTO Contact Peter Hvidsten 985-7383 PORT PERRY STAR ART'S PLUMBING - HEATING Sewer Connections QUALITY WORKMANSHIP PHONE 985-2581 ART PETROZZI F & G CONSTRUCTION R.R. 4, Port Perry BUILDING & REMODELLING Cottage Raising Foundation Work, Etc. For any of your con-' struction needs call us. 985-2979 REPAIRS to Barns & Houses Block Work - Chimney Repairs - Painting Call 985-3417 Joe Buckley Septic Tanks Cleaned By PUMP EQUIPMENT Septic Tanks and Weeping Beds Installed Armstrong Port Perry -- 985.2226 LJ Ron Rankin AND SONS General Contracting Plumbing - Carpentry - Electric - Phone 985-7679 NEED MUSIC? for a WEDDING call 985-3089 P:Hvidsten after 6 p.m. BUSINESS and PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Malcolm Phillips ONTARIO LAND SURVEYOR 157 Main Street W. Stouffville, Ont. Phone 6404031 For Income Tax & Bookkeeping Services see ALEX SHEPHERD 28 Water St. Phone 985-7031 Specializing in Business and Farm Operations McINTYRE UPHOLSTERING & FABRIC SALES Wide choice of fine quality fabrics, at ig duced Dre a workmans! Fa Call 985-3513 Murray Burnfield PLUMBING & HEATING 19 Water St. - Port Perry PHONE 985-7980. Forced Air Furnaces Pressure Systems New Work Repairs DUFF Electronics ADMIRAL TELEVISION SALES & SERVICE 985-7993 PORT PERRY LEONARD B. NIXON (Ess HEATING & BURNER CONTRACTOR HOME COMFORT AUTHORIZED HOME COMFORT SERVICE DEALER 985-7120 [Srwame Garage Auto Body Doug Robinson Bruce McCreight Free Estimates 985-3291 Godawa, Tomlin & Co. CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS 178 Simcoe St. N. Oshawa, Ontario Telephone 728-3891 DON MYERS CONSTRUCTION EXCAVATING -- DRAG WORK PORT PERRY 985-3142 Electric Motor Rewinding and Repair MITTON ELECTRIC Tel. 668-2670 208 Chestnut St. East, Whitby, Ont. V-Belts and Pulleys Bearings Chain and, Sprockets EMMERSON INSURANCE AGENCY LIMITED General Insurance -- Port Perry - 985-7306 GRIEVE'S GULF SERVICE General Repairs PORT PERRY, ONTARIO 985-3182 FARM SALES - * MYLES KING * Auctioneer and Valuator FURNITURE and ANTIQUES OSHAWA -- 725-5751 or 723-0501 WM. A. 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