On a lovely June evening in the pastoral setting of New Hampshire we were treated to a lovely meal by Marrie. We dined on crusty bread with ham, orzo salad, green salad, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and homemade pickle beets. As mentioned in Kalish’s book Marrie made sugar pie…yummy!!!! Marrie promises to post these delicious recipes soon! Thank you Marrie for a lovely evening! We missed Karin and hope she has a great visit with her family.
Little Heathens by Mildred Kalish was the book of the night. It was agreed that no matter where you’re from, Midwest, the South or from the North, readers could resonate with Millie’s stories as they conjured up memories from their own past. Many of us remember our grandmothers and mothers having a button box/jar/tin and some of us still maintain that tradition today. The chapter on home remedies got a few chuckles. We discussed the recipes laden with lots of lard and butter, but back then people worked hard and exercise took place in many ways, from play to household chores to the back breaking work of running a farm. We recalled grandparents who stored bacon fat on the stove top. Millie’s family was fortunate; although she grew up during the great depression they had farm land and were not without food. Not to undermine Millie’s family struggles through the great depression they were better off than most in terms of food and education. Sara enjoyed learning more about Millie as a young woman and her experiences in the Coast Guard. Certainly Millie carried her resourcefulness and independence into her adulthood. At times for me the book was self indulgent and I never connected with Millie or her family. What I did connect with were the nuggets within her stories that brought memories of my own family history forward. Around the table last night we all made those text to self connections, where we shared stories of our past. We even had some show and tell moments: Allison brought in a medical book dating back from the 1800’s; Amy brought in some wall paper beads remembering making them with her grandmother; Susan brought in the fire bellows from the family camp and a beautiful old wooden bowl belonging to a former neighbor; Marrie shared her families’ piano and the egg collecting basket from the farm; and I shared my grandmother’s home economics book and my great grandfather’s Franklin Reader and school bell. At one point in the evening we got into discussing chicken farms as many of us have had experiences with family or friends who raise chickens and sell eggs (Susan is going to give it a try, buying the eggs from a friend not raising chickens!).
Ellen recommended a book entitled The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald. Here is a quick summary “When Betty MacDonald married a marine and moved to a small chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, she was largely unprepared for the rigors of life in the wild. With no running water, no electricity, a house in need of constant repair, and days that ran from four in the morning to nine at night, the MacDonalds had barely a moment to put their feet up and relax. And then came the children. Yet through every trial and pitfall—through chaos and catastrophe—this indomitable family somehow, mercifully, never lost its sense of humor.” In looking up the summary for the book I came across the fact that The Egg and I was also made into a comedy/romance film in 1947 starring Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray and Marjorie Main. Ellen you’ll have to check it out and give us a movie report next month!
Overall it was a pleasant evening sharing our own stories thanks to Marrie (and Millie too). Up next month is Sara’s pick, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Until then I wish you all happy summer solstice.
Best,
Jenn
No comments:
Post a Comment