My aunt Julie was more like a
mother to me in the formative years. She was a wonderful cook. A baker of big, lightly brown, crusted bread. After school
she would give me a generous slice of a round loaf, country butter, and brown
sugar. That was gourmet eating. The bread was many times a prelude to a later
supper of country ham and home fried potatoes topped off with a generous slice
of elderberry pie. What a dear soul aunt Julie was, no children of her own, she
babied me and made my young life meaningful. I say here that I loved her and
wish I had expressed my feelings to her when I was young. Thanks aunt Julie.
I had many cousins, girls and
boys including: Helen, Genevieve, Herb, Henry, and Bill. Bill lived about nine
miles away and it was my good fortune when I was invited to his house. There
were ten children, mother and dad. It was a real experience in large family
living. The father was a lifetime trapper, hunter, fisherman, and woodsman.
With twelve mouths to feed, nothing was wasted. On my visits there, I ate
rabbit, coon, opossum, groundhog, skunk (yep- skunk and not bad if cooked
right), squirrel, many types of “ greens”, and always
good, fresh milk from their cows. They also prepared many pork products like
bacon, sausage, pon haus,
liver, pan pudding, country ham, red-eye gravy, and corn meal mush. They were a
handsome family; some of the older girls were real beauties. My visits there
were a real test of survival living. The elderberry pie was outstanding too.
Cousin Elmira could have made a fortune as a chef but she chose ten children
instead.
Friends, Ringtails (3), and Free Enterprise
My good pal Charlie, a husky lad
and quiet fellow, lived across the street. One day I said to him” Charlie, I
dare you to knock this chip off my shoulder”. And he did. His second swing
caught my left eye and my butt hit the ground. That black eye taught me to
leave the quiet ones alone and to hit first and hard, funny how one learns.
About a dozen of the older boys,
ten to fifteen years old, were the envy of other town boys. They were the “ Ringtail Gang” complete with a tree clubhouse, furnished
with what each boy could spirit away from home. And they did quite well, their
mothers never knowing where some of their treasures got to. Thus the den was
cozy. Bylaws were strict and covered most every situation.