[uplifting music]
- The following program
is a PBS Wisconsin original production.
[metal clinking]
- Jerry Apps: Food was beyond the nutritional part of it.
[bacon sizzling]
Food brought us together.
Food created community.
That makes us what we are as a people.
It makes, it makes us more than what we are as individuals.
It makes us a part of a collective.
[warm acoustic music]
My mother's name was Eleanor.
She spent 50 years or so on the home farm with my dad,
four-and-a-half miles west of Wild Rose.
And she had lived a long and interesting life,
having done all of the things that
farm women of her generation were asked to do.
And yet, when you think back,
when I think back about my mother and what she knew
and the wisdom that she had,
it was quite, quite astounding.
And when she passed, my daughter Susie and I
found her little white recipe box,
and it was absolutely stuffed full of pieces of paper.
Recipes, notes,
all kinds of things.
Susie saw the opportunity to translate the recipes
into today's language,
so today's cook could prepare the food
that we had enjoyed during the Great Depression
and during World War II.
I saw stories as I looked at those recipes,
and we saw, we saw history.
I saw history.
[warm gentle music]
- Announcer: Funding for Jerry Apps Food & Memories
is provided by
the Wooden Nickel Fund,
Greg and Carol Griffin,
the A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family,
Elizabeth Olson,
the Eleanor and Thomas Wildrick Family,
Stanley J. Cottrill Fund,
Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
[gentle piano music]
- The important stuff of our lives
took place in the kitchen.
When visitors would come, beyond the Watkins man,
the neighbor would stop by and would sit by the stove
and share with my dad a story or two,
or maybe even a "lie,"
as my mother might describe some of the stories,
it was at a pleasant place.
[gentle music]
The kitchen was the warmest, the friendliest.
It's where most everything happened that was important.
And not just our farm, but,
as I'd been in a lot of farm kitchens during those days,
was the headquarters for the farm.
Headquarters in a sense that the decisions made
about the farm's operation, they were made in the kitchen.
As headquarters was where
the seeds were ordered from the seed catalog,
where the-- my, my dad would sit
and read the Wisconsin Agriculturist magazine.
So, the kitchen table was a centerpiece of the kitchen.
It was the place where so much happened.
It was on the kitchen table
where the sauerkraut was prepared,
the cabbage was chopped up into little pieces,
and it was put into a crock,
and made into sauerkraut.
It was on the kitchen table
when all of the berries were prepared for canning.
So, the kitchen table had multiple functions
during the course of the year:
from where we ate,
where decisions were made,
where the food was prepared,
all of that took place on this old kitchen table.
And if, if it could talk,
oh, what stories it would have.
My goodness, what stories it would have!
When my mother passed,
we found her recipe box.
And that recipe box had most of the recipes that we have.
And so, I knew that we needed to have,
looking at my mother's recipes,
we needed to have someone who could translate
a pinch of this, a pinch of that,
put your arm on the oven for the heat,
into language that today's cook might be able to use.
That was Susie's job.
The second thing that we decided to do,
we decided to build it around stories,
to build it around the events of the year on the farm.
And those are my stories.
[light upbeat music]
- Susan Apps Bodilly: So, we're making Grandma's special birthday banana cake.
It's the cake I remember her making for birthdays
and really any party because it's pretty easy.
I mistakenly thought it would be easy
to take some recipes and just cook from them.
But what we realized is that the recipes
did not have directions
and did not have measurements, in some cases.
It took quite a lot longer than I thought
to go ahead and translate the recipes
into things that cooks can use today.
[water hisses]
So, working on this book with my dad,
you'd think that I would've heard
every Jerry Apps story there was.
But it was interesting because
when I started pulling out my grandma's recipe cards,
and I would mention a food,
it really triggered
a whole different kind of memory for him.
He started telling me all sorts of different things
that I had not heard, and it was because of the food.
[gentle upbeat music]
- Gee, Susie, that really looks good.
My goodness! I'm waiting to dig in.
- This is, this is Grandma's Special Banana Chiffon Cake.
Tell me about where she would get bananas,
'cause obviously she didn't have bananas at the farm.
- The Wild Rose Mercantile,
which is where we did-- where she did her trading,
which means she traded eggs for groceries.
"How many egg,
how many bananas-- - Bananas.
- ...do you want, Eleanor?"
And she'd say, "Oh, four or five."
And that was, that was a real treat.
- It's interesting to think about how,
something like a recipe, and an old recipe,
and making something from the past
provides a brand-new story.
I didn't know that,
that she traded her eggs for bananas
and that they were sold a different way than we have today.
It really tells you something about the time period
and how it was very special.
- It evokes all kinds of memories.
- Let's try a bite. [laughs] - Ooh.
- It's very moist cake, and she had,
it has seven eggs in it,
which she had plenty of eggs available,
so that was ... - Oh, sure.
- Mm.
- Mm! - It's good.
- Well, I tell you, that takes me back about 75 years.
[Susie laughs] - That's a long time.
- Well, longer than that.
[gentle music]
People today have difficulty understanding
the multiple roles that farm women had
during the years that I was growing up.
My mother, for example.
She did all of her cooking on a wood-burning cook stove.
But preparing food was only part
of the many jobs that she had.
She mended our clothes.
Washing and ironing and mending,
all of that was a part of what she was doing.
She was in charge of preparing all of the food;
not only preparing it but preserving it.
Besides all the things I've just mentioned,
she was also in charge of our health.
I never heard her once complain
about having to do all of these things
because that's what farm women did at that time.
[gentle music]
In my mother's generation,
the farm women learned from their mothers,
who had learned from their mothers.
Just as farming skills were passed on
from generation to generation,
the cooking skills in the family were passed on
from generation to generation.
My mother, as I mentioned, is 100% German.
And so, all these German recipes
that went back to her grandmother, and to her mother,
she had these skills as well,
but I'm sure that she was a stickler,
in making sure that my mother knew
just how to prepare sauerkraut,
knew just how to prepare ham,
knew just how to prepare pork chops with sauerkraut,
and so on.
My mother was an excellent cook.
Aprons came with the job.
My mother had several aprons.
She made them from feed sacks.
In those days, well, during the Depression and World War II,
the feed sacks often had patterns on them.
So, she didn't have to buy the cloth.
She would put on the apron in the morning,
and the last thing she took off at night was the apron.
And they were the kind that covered the whole front of you,
you put the thing around the back of your neck.
It had a couple of pockets.
In one pocket, her everyday apron with one pocket,
she would have some sewing, a needle maybe, and some thread.
Never can tell when something needs to be repaired.
And the apron had multiple functions.
Not only did it keep the splashes from her dress,
from the cooking, but it provided
a place to wipe your hands.
If somebody was coming to the door,
you wiped their hands on the apron.
It was a place, if one of the kids fell down,
scraped a knee, you could,
you could brush away the tears with the apron.
The apron just had all kinds of, all kinds of uses.
One of the interesting things that my mother was able to do,
that I so much appreciate today and took for granted then,
was that in cooking on a wood stove,
you not only had to deal with the recipes,
you had to deal with the stove.
My mother would know the difference between
the heating potential of oak wood and pine wood,
because that was all stacked in the wood box.
And so, she had to know so much more
than just the recipes themselves.
She and this wood stove became partners.
- Susie: So, she really had to know
which type of wood to use
for whatever she was planning to make.
- Jerry: That's right, and which was long-lasting,
and when do you add some more wood?
I mean, it's very complicated when you think about it.
- It is. - And it's not,
in no place have I seen all that written down,
because I suspect there was an art
to cooking with a wood stove.
[fire crackles gently]
- Susie: I think she just knew how to cook.
And she knew how to use her wood stove
and the things in her kitchen.
And like you said, I think she just assumed
people knew how to do things in the kitchen.
And maybe they had learned
from their sisters or their mother.
I don't remember ever hearing her complain
about being in the kitchen.
- No, she never complained about.
- She just seemed to really enjoy it.
So, I feel like her kitchen
was a very important place for her.
- Well, that was her domain,
and she,
well, she ruled the roost in the kitchen.
[fire crackling softly, gentle upbeat music]
Because we were up early,
breakfast was a very important meal
because it helped satisfy the fact
that we'd already worked a couple, three hours,
and it set us up for the rest of the day.
One of the items that she thought, and it's true,
was most useful, was a cast iron frying pan
about this big around.
And she prepared almost everything
in that cast iron pan,
whether it was bacon or eggs or whatever, or pancakes,
whatever it was she was preparing.
Now, if you were in winter,
that would be eggs and bacon, and so on.
It would be a much heavier breakfast.
[gentle upbeat music]
[bacon sizzling]
The fact that we butchered our own pig each year
meant that we had a side of bacon,
as I remember, about yea, gosh, about yea big.
[bacon sizzling]
What wonderful smell when you'd open the door to the cellar,
and you could smell the,
the smoked ham and the smoked bacon.
So, when my mother would bring that big old side of bacon,
put it on the kitchen table,
and slice nice big thick slices of bacon,
man, that was good!
And then, that into the frying pan.
[egg cracking] [bacon sizzling]
As I remember, the eggs were always fried eggs,
I don't remember scrambled eggs.
I think my dad liked to see the yolks there
looking back at him.
So, I don't remember ever scrambled eggs.
And they were good because, well, first off,
we, we knew exactly where they came from,
just down, down the hill to the chicken house.
But the fact that they were prepared in bacon juice,
you know, gave them a special taste, as well.
[gentle upbeat music]
Breakfast in the summertime was much lighter.
Well, we had a pretty good size bowl, each of us, like this,
[clicks tongue] and we'd fill that up with cornflakes.
During World War II, when you couldn't get sugar,
and we're eating cornflakes.
And our sweetener was sorghum.
And if you can imagine putting some sorghum on, on cornflakes,
I mean, they all stuck together.
It was a, but we did it because that's what we had to do.
[gentle music] [food sizzling]
Once a week, generally on Saturday,
we would have pancakes.
And that was a big treat, and she cooked that on that,
on that, with that big skillet.
And we would pride ourselves-- the pancakes were,
oh, I don't know what, that big around.
And if you could eat 10 pancakes,
then you were really with it,
and I was able to eat 10 pancakes.
[warm gentle music]
[gentle music]
Food has been, and continues to be, a part of our lives.
That's how we stay, [chuckles] stay going.
And what was it like during the '30s and '40s?
What was the place of food during the Depression?
Were we without, as so many people were?
But I do remember during that time,
of having people stopping by, men, usually,
young men out of work.
They had come on the train.
And I will never forget the young man one time,
I suspect he was in his late twenties, early thirties,
he stopped at the house and rapped on the door.
And he said, "If you've got some work that I can do,
maybe split some wood for you."
And my mother said, "I'll bet you're hungry."
And he said, "Yes, I'm hungry."
And she said, "Why don't you come in
and I'll make some sandwiches for you."
And she did.
And I will never forget to look on his face.
It was a look of no hope.
And he was so thankful to get the sandwiches
that my mother prepared.
And she made some extra ones for him to take with him.
And I saw him leaving the house
and walking down our dusty country road.
His shoulders slumped forward.
No sense of where he was going, why he was going there.
He was looking for something to eat,
looking for some sense of hope,
because there were so many people
without hope in those days.
[tender music]
Food made life during those tough years
of the Depression and World War II bearable.
The role of food was so much more
than just something to eat.
And we as farm people, and my mother, especially,
was so pleased that she could be of a little help.
[gentle music]
She had grown up with not much, as had my father.
And she knew that if we had enough for ourselves,
we could share some of that,
and make someone's, someone else's life just a little bit better.
>> HI.
I'M JON MISKOWSKI, DIRECTOR OF
PBS WISCONSIN.
WE'RE ENJOYING JERRY APPS, FOOD
& MEMORIES.
JERRY IS WITH US HERE TONIGHT SO
WE'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO TALK TO
HIM A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FOOD
& MEMORIES.
WE'D ALSO LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO
SUPPORT PBS WISCONSIN.
WE HAVE THE COMPANION BOOK THAT
YOU SAW.
IT'S A WONDERFUL BOOK WITH
RECIPES.
ALSO FOR A GIFT OF $10 A MONTH,
WE HAVE THE PROGRAM DVD.
ACTUALLY FOR BOTH TOGETHER WITH
A GIFT OF $20 A MONTH, WE HAVE
THE COOKBOOK AND THE DVD.
SO WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT
SUPPORTING PUBLIC TELEVISION,
ABOUT SUPPORTING OUR STORIES IN
WISCONSIN.
JERRY HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL
TRADITION TO THAT.
THIS IS A LOT ABOUT FOOD AND A
LOT ABOUT YOUR MOTHER, OF
COURSE.
>> YES.
>> BUT I THINK ONE THING THAT
WE'VE HEARD FROM YOU OVER THE
YEARS IS THAT ROLE OF WOMEN ON
THE FARM WASN'T SIMPLY IN THE
KITCHEN.
>> IT WAS A VERY COMPLICATED
ROLE, AS A MATTER OF FACT,
BECAUSE MY MOTHER WOULD BE
TYPICAL OF MANY OF THE FARM
WOMEN IN THE30s AND '40s AND
EARLY '50s.
SHE NOT ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
FOOD, BUT FOR THE HEALTH OF THE
FAMILY.
THE IDEA OF GOING TO A DOCTOR,
YOU HAD TO BE NEAR DEAD BEFORE
YOU'D GO TO A DOCTOR.
SO MY MOTHER TOOK CARE OF ALL
THAT.
SHE WAS IN CHARGE OF THE CHICKEN
FLOCK, 150 LEG-HORN HENS.
IT WAS HER EGG MONEY.
SHE WAS IN CHARGE OF THE
VEGETABLE GARDEN.
>> AND WE'VE HEARD FROM YOU, A
LOT OF WOMEN ON THE PHONE WERE
THE CFOs, ACCOUNTANT,
BOOKKEEPER.
>> SHE DID.
IN FACT, WHEN SHE PASSED, I
FOUND TWO THINGS THAT WERE
INVALUABLE FOR MY WRITING, THE
RECIPE BOX AND THE ACCOUNT BOOKS
THAT SHE KEPT.
SHE WROTE DOWN EVERY NICKEL THAT
WAS ERNED A EARNED AND THAT'S ABOUT HOW
IT WAS DURING THE DEPRESSION AND
HOW EVERY NICKEL WAS SPENT.
EVERY ONE OF THOSE ENTRIES, I
COULD REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED.
SO I'M WRITING A STORY ABOUT
THAT.
>> THANKS, JERRY.
WE'LL TALK MORE TO JERRY.
THANKS.
1-800-236-3636.
>> HI.
I'M CLINT WALZ.
I'M ON STAFF HERE AT PBS
WISCONSIN.
FOR A DECADE NOW WE'VE PARTNERED
WITH JERRY TO MAKE THESE
PROGRAMS POSSIBLE.
OVER THAT TIME, WE'VE RECEIVED
HUNDREDS OF VIEWER COMMENTS
ABOUT THESE SHOWS.
I WANTED TO SHARE ONE FROM DIANE
IN RIPON.
EVERY WORD, EVERY PICTURE, EVERY
MEMORY IT BROUGHT BACK TO ME,
EVERY EMOTION IT TOUCHED IN MY
HEART WAS SO MOVING TO ME.
AND IT'S THAT KIND OF IMPACT
THAT THESE SORT OF SHOWS HAVE ON
OUR VIEWERS.
AND IT'S MADE POSSIBLE BECAUSE
OF VIEWERS JUST LIKE YOU WHO
MADE A PHONE CALL AND MADE A
PLEDGE OF SUPPORT, INCLUDING OUR
SUSTAINING MEMBERS.
THEY TEND TO GIVE THE WAY THAT
THEY WATCH.
THEY GIVE MONTH AFTER MONTH.
YOU CAN DO THAT, TOO.
IT'S VERY EASY.
IT COMES RIGHT OUT OF YOUR
CHECKING ACCOUNT OR BANK ACCOUNT
OR CREDIT CARD.
WE CAN DEPEND ON YOU AND THAT
SUPPORT AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO
US TO MAKE THESE GREAT PROGRAMS
POSSIBLE.
YOU CAN DO THAT RIGHT NOW BY
CALLING 1-800-236-3636.
>> THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALL.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
THE NUMBER TO PLEDGE IS
1-800-236-3636.
WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
YOUR MOM, ABOUT HER A LITTLE BIT
MORE ABOUT THE WORK THAT SHE DID
AT THE FARM.
>> WELL, JUST A WORD OR TWO
ABOUT THE COOKING AND THE
BAKING, BECAUSE NONE OF US IN
THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAD ANYTHING
THAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED TODAY.
SHE DID ALL HER COOKING ON A
WOODSTOVE WITHOUT A THERMOMETER.
PEOPLE WOULD SAY TO HER,
ELEANOR, HOW DO YOU KNOW THE
RIGHT TEMPERATURE FOR BAKING
BREAD?
AND SHE WOULD SAY, WELL,
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT.
GOOD GERMAN WOMAN THAT SHE WAS.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
ALL YOU DO IS YOU MAKE SURE YOU
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
OAKWOOD AND PINE WOOD BECAUSE
ONE IS HOTTER THAN THE OTHER.
YOU OPEN THE OVEN DOOR, PUT YOUR
HAND IN, YOU CAN TELL WHEN IT'S
JUST RIGHT FOR BAKING.
PEOPLE LOOK AT HER AND SAY THAT
WOMAN'S CRAZY.
SHE COULD BAKE BREAD LIKE YOU
COULDN'T IMAGINE, SWEET ROLLS,
ALL BECAUSE SHE KNEW HOW TO
REGULATE THE STOVE BASED ON YOUR
KNOWLEDGE OF WOOD.
WHAT?
A WOMAN HAULING WOOD IN THE
KITCHEN?
WOMEN WHO WERE GOOD COOKS KNEW
ABOUT THE POWER OF DIFFERENT
KINDS OF WOOD.
>> THOSE ARE THE STORIES OF OUR
MOTHERS, GRANDMOTHERS.
WE'VE DONE A LOT OF TAKING THE
PROGRAM AND WATCHING PEOPLE
WATCH JERRY APPS PROGRAMS.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS PEOPLE
NODDING THEIR HEADS AND TALKING
AND SHARING THEIR STORIES.
I KNOW THAT THESE STORIES ARE
RESONATING WITH YOU AND A GREAT
OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
A DVD TO SUPPORT PUBLIC
TELEVISION, BUT ALSO TO SHARE IT
WITH FOLKS IN YOUR FAMILY.
THE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL IS
1-800-236-3636.
>> AND I LOVED HEARING ABOUT
ELEANOR TRADING HER EGG MONEY
FOR BANANAS AND THEN WATCHING
SUSIE MAKE THAT WONDERFUL
BIRTHDAY CAKE.
THAT RECIPE IS RIGHT IN THE
COOKBOOK.
IT HAS ALL KINDS OF TERRIFIC
STORIES, WHEN ELECTRICITY
ARRIVED, THE ONE THAT I JUST
RANDOMLY OPENED TO, AND THE
COOKBOOK IS YOURS FOR A PLEDGE
OF $15 A MONTH OR MORE.
WE ALSO HAVE THE PROGRAM DVD AND
THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR $10 A MONTH
OR MORE.
AND FOR $20 A MONTH, YOU'LL GET
THE PROGRAM DVD THAT YOU'RE
SEEING RIGHT NOW AND THIS
MARVELOUS COOKBOOK.
IT'S TIME TO DO SOME COOKING.
AND THE APRON, THE PBS WISCONSIN
APRON THAT YOU'LL WANT TO WEAR
IN THE KITCHEN TO SHOW OFF YOUR
PBS SUPPORT.
SO GIVE US A CALL AT
1-800-236-3636 AND I FORGOT
THERE'S ONE MORE LEVEL.
FOR $25 OR MORE A MONTH, YOU CAN
GET THE ENTIRE BUNDLE OF ALL OF
JERRY'S DVDs.
AND THOSE ARE MAGNIFICENT AND
THEY'RE WONDERFUL TO SHARE AND
WONDERFUL TO ENJOY WITH OTHERS.
1-800-236-3636.
>> THANKS FOR YOUR CALL.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
YOU KNOW, JERRY, ONE THING I
THINK IS REALLY WONDERFUL ABOUT
THE BOOK IS NOT ONLY ARE THERE
RECIPES, BUT THERE ARE STORIES
ABOUT THE TIMES.
SO THERE'S HISTORY, LIKE
HARVESTING ICE, WHEN ELECTRICITY
ARRIVED, SO THIS STORY OF YOUR
MOTHER IS IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT,
TOO.
>> YES.
THAT MAKES IT A DIFFERENT
COOKBOOK THAN MANY BECAUSE IT'S
A STORY BOOK AS WELL AS A BOOK
OF RECIPES.
>> I THINK AS WE'VE TRAVELED AND
SEEN PEOPLE AND WATCHED PEOPLE
WATCH THE SHOWS AND HEAR PEOPLE
HEAR YOU SPEAK TO OUR AUDIENCES,
THEY REALLY WANT TO SHARE THOSE
STORIES, THEIR OWN STORIES.
A BOOK LIKE THIS GIVES YOU A
CONTEXT FOR THE GRANDKIDS TO SAY
THIS IS WHAT THAT TIME WAS LIKE,
THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE HAVE
ACCOMPLISHED.
AND SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR
THIS WONDERFUL CONTRIBUTION.
>> YOU'RE WELCOME.
>> TEN YEARS AGO WE HAD A FARM
STORY.
IT'S GREAT.
WE'VE BEEN SHOWING THE
COLLECTION OF DVDs.
IT'S A REALLY WONDERFUL
CONTRIBUTION OF PRESERVING AND
SHARING THIS REALLY IMPORTANT
[birds chirping]
Any time I'm working in my garden,
I can hear the voice of my mother and my dad,
both of whom not only depended on the garden
during those tough years of the Depression and World War II,
but saw the garden as I see it now,
as something one has to do.
It's a part of my life as it was a part of my folks' life.
[gentle upbeat music]
Well, during, during the years of the Depression,
when so many people were unemployed
and when prices were nothing,
milk prices were down, everything is down.
But there were a lot of people going hungry
at that time in this country.
And those of us who had big gardens
did not have that problem.
We always had something to eat.
And we had from a quarter- to a half-acre of garden
at that time.
And I was a little guy, of course,
and didn't have an appreciation
for how valuable that patch of ground was,
whatever you think about in a garden, we pretty much had.
We were planting sweet corn, and we were planting tomatoes,
watermelons, and pumpkins, and rutabagas,
and all that stuff.
The soil had to be a certain temperature
before seeds would germinate.
And we never checked it.
My dad simply knew it.
He had a fifth-grade education,
how he knew all this I don't know,
probably learned it from his dad.
But he could put his hand on the ground and say,
"It's ready for potatoes."
He could put his hand on the ground and say,
"I think it's ready for green beans."
[gentle upbeat music]
My dad was the one who would try something different.
He would always order something that was unusual.
One year he ordered squash.
He'd seen a picture in a catalog
of a huge squash, weighed 75 pounds.
Huge!
My dad said, "I'm gonna try that."
And all the kids came by to see this giant squash,
because he did have a giant squash.
The thing, I don't know, weighed 75, 85 pounds.
A huge squash!
Nobody could even lift it.
All the little kids looked and said, "Whoa, what is that?
Oh, my gosh!"
And my dad was smiling all the way.
Gardening kept him going.
And he, he loved that mystique of it.
I would say, "Pa, what's gonna be good this year?"
"I don't know.
"We're gonna see.
We're gonna have to watch and see."
[gentle upbeat music]
Other thing my dad would insist on in my mother's garden,
there had to be something that was pretty,
and that would be a flower,
zinnias maybe, or something like that.
He would always have something that was pretty,
a sunflower, maybe.
I have flowers in my little garden here.
I'm following his advice, something pretty
is important in a garden, as well.
[gentle upbeat music]
We never once watered anything in the garden.
[music brightens]
And so, we depended on the rain,
totally depended on the rains.
And for some reason, I don't remember ever a failed garden
because of dry weather.
I don't.
There were very limited insecticides.
We controlled bugs mostly by--
potato bugs, for example, you would pick them off by hand,
go down the row and pick them off by hand.
Can you imagine doing that?
My brothers and I were in charge of hoeing,
help with the planting, with the hoeing,
getting rid of the weeds, with the harvesting.
It was very much a family operation.
Even though my mother was in charge, we all were involved.
[gentle acoustic music]
- Let's talk about the first spring things.
Like, did you have asparagus?
- And rhubarb was one of the very first ones
to sneak out of the ground,
and asparagus wasn't long after that.
- Yeah, rhubarb is pretty hardy.
And it can-- lasts through the summer, so it keeps producing.
You can keep cutting it. - Yeah, it's, it's very pretty,
and you can make some interesting dishes from it.
The first thing that they would prepare with the rhubarb
was rhubarb sauce.
My dad insisted that every one of us--
my two brothers, my mother, and I-- ate rhubarb sauce.
[gentle music]
And I'd say, "Pa, why do we eat this stuff
that's so sour, and it's bitter, and it's awful?"
He said, "You need to be cleansed from winter."
[gentle music]
- Susie: So, it was for medicinal purposes.
[Susie laughs] - Well, it was terrible.
It was just God awful.
But so, the earliest,
the earliest things were rhubarb and, and asparagus.
- And some, and lettuce, if it comes up.
- Yeah, and then soon after that, lettuce,
and then the-- - Radishes.
- And the radishes would be coming, sure.
When we ate lettuce, I, I knew that spring had arrived.
I wasn't too sure when I ate rhubarb.
But when, when the lettuce arrived,
I knew that spring was here.
She had a special, a special recipe that made lettuce
literally jump right out of the bowl.
- Susie: It's good.
I remember this.
- It is so good, it's so good. [Susie laughs]
- There's nothing better than the taste
of fresh vegetables from-- - Well, the fact that you,
you, you pick the green beans in the morning,
and you eat 'em at noon.
How much fresher could it, could it be?
- Can't get any fresher.
- And you could tell the difference.
- And there's something to be said
for knowing that you put in the work.
- Whatever we were to grow, that's what we had.
- That is the true farm-to-table experience.
- Exactly, 100%.
[warm gentle music]
We had a small orchard, half a dozen trees, or so,
we grew what was called Whitney crabapples.
And they are an apple about this large.
And my mother canned them.
And they were really good.
We also went into the wild for fruit.
And by that I meant, we picked wild blackberries,
wild raspberries-- they were called blackcaps,
that's what we call them.
And she would send us into the woods
with a little pail, a lard pail,
put a belt around your waist
so that you could pick with both hands.
You don't want be holding a pail with one hand
and only picking with one hand,
you gotta pick with both hands.
And so, that resulted in raspberry jam, raspberry pie,
raspberry jelly.
Raspberries, raspberries were a big deal.
Now, the premier fruit crop of course, was strawberries.
My mother had as much
as a quarter of an acre of strawberries
at one time or another.
And she would trade those strawberries
for groceries at the mercantile.
Very little money was exchanged during the Depression.
We traded crops, vegetables, fruits,
for groceries at the grocery store.
[leaves rustling, gentle music]
But the strawberry patch was hers, along with the garden,
and it was large enough so that she would invite
neighbors, relatives, whomever, to come and pick.
[fruit thudding softly]
And in between times, when we were picking strawberries,
and my mother had fresh homemade bread,
[knife clicks]
and we would smear some butter, thick,
on this nice big hunk of homemade bread.
And then we would put one, two, three, four,
five strawberries on it!
And we would mush 'em down with the knife
[warm gentle music]
and then put the second slice of bread on top,
and we would have a strawberry sandwich.
And so the juice would be running down our chins
and people'd say, "What are you doing?"
"Uh, we're eating a strawberry sandwich."
And they'd, "What in the world is that?"
"Let me show you."
And that became very popular in our strawberry patch,
the strawberry sandwich.
Nothing, nothing, nothing comes close
to eating a strawberry that's just fresh-picked.
Oh, my gosh, they're good.
[warm gentle music]
Gardening goes way beyond the utilitarian,
the economic,
the fresh vegetables, which is essential.
Each year's garden is a new lesson.
I must also say that it's fun.
It's therapeutic.
It's something for this old guy
to go out and dig in the dirt, and smell what it's like,
and remember what it was like on the farm.
[warm nostalgic music]
One of the themes of life on the farm
in the '30s and the '40s,
everything revolved around preparation for winter.
Everything.
Preparation of feed for the cattle
and the hogs and the chickens,
that was what we were doing.
Preparation for our own food for the winter,
that's what we were doing.
Everything was in preparation for winter.
And without electricity, of course, we had no freezer.
And so, my mother canned everything.
She canned peas, sweet corn, strawberries,
blackcap raspberries, red raspberries,
crabapples, beets,
dill pickles, sweet and sour pickles.
She made strawberry jam, raspberry jam.
She canned peas, she canned peaches,
she canned beans, she canned cherries.
She was canning all the time!
And can you imagine now,
she's doing all of this on a wood stove
and it's a temperature of 90 degrees outside
and she's working on this wood stove.
It's gotta be 100 degrees,
and she's canning all these things.
Canning was essential to our survival.
Maybe that's an extreme way of saying it, but it,
it, along with a bin of potatoes
and a bin of rutabagas-- we had a lot of rutabagas--
and carrots and onions,
canning was essential.
If you went to our cellar-- and it was indeed a cellar,
not a basement-- it had a dirt floor,
one whole wall was lined up with canned goods.
That was our winter supply.
[warm gentle music]
- Susie: The root cellar, I remember going down to the,
it's a true cellar, dirt floor, and then, the--
- Dirt, under a house had, had a dirt floor.
And we had one bin for potatoes and another,
and then a big pile of squash in another one.
And then, the pumpkins and the watermelons and the squash,
especially the watermelons,
we would bury them in the oat bin in the granary
to prevent them from freezing.
We had another cellar that was in the side of a hill
to the west of the buildings.
That's where we stored the, the main potato crop.
So, we had a big bin of--
a bin, not just a little pile-- a bin of rutabagas.
- You like rutabagas.
- We couldn't get along without rutabagas.
My goodness, they're right up there with sauerkraut.
Most every vegetable you might think about, she had,
and almost every one of those vegetables,
she knew how to preserve.
- I was always very impressed with that root cellar,
'cause there's just so much food.
- Well, exactly.
[gentle upbeat music]
Breakfast, dinner, and supper were the three meals,
and noon was dinnertime.
And the reason that dinner was a major meal
was that there was a lot of work to be done yet
in the afternoon on the farm.
And the idea was to make sure that you had plenty of fuel
so that you could last through the afternoon.
And the dinners varied with the seasons, as you might guess.
As you would come into spring,
a dinner would immediately depend
somewhat on, on the earlier crops in the garden.
Early spring might be some canned meat leftover.
As we worked through the summer, that noon meal
would depend more and more on the garden,
and there was sweet corn and tomatoes.
It was wonderful, those, those noon meals.
Generally, there was always some meat,
pork chops were, were stored in a crock with lard,
and so you'd get some pork chops and prepare those.
And the ham, that lasted through,
pretty much through the summer.
So, each season, the noon meal
was just a little bit different
and there was generally some dessert.
There might be pie.
That was all part of the noon meal.
So, the noon meals were special,
and she was good at preparing them.
[metal clinks]
[gentle upbeat music]
The threshing machine
went from farm to farm in our community
to thresh the farmer's grain,
and I was privileged to be on a threshing crew.
And as we worked around the neighborhood
and going from farm to farm,
we ate a huge meal, a noon meal,
dinner, at each of these farms.
There would be 10 or 12 men at noon,
when we're threshing, would come in
after they'd sort of washed up a bit at the stock tank
and they would sit around the dining room table now,
and my mother would serve maybe pork chops,
maybe roast beef, maybe ham,
and beans, and peas, and maybe corn.
It was a wonderful, wonderful meal.
[warm gentle music]
Not all of the meals were wonderful.
If the place where we were eating
was especially good, and we all knew that,
and I would say to my friend Jim
and I'd, "Let's just slow everything down a little bit,
we might get a second meal if we made it last longer."
And we would come to another place,
and it wasn't near as good, and I'd say,
"Jim, we gotta hurry up and get the heck out of here
"because you get to the next place,
it's gonna be a lot better."
The women in the neighborhood would never admit it,
but they competed with each other like everything,
to have the best meal for the threshing crew.
On the other hand, to show you
how contradictory all of this was,
they all helped each other.
The women would, as we went from place to place,
two or three would always go to help the other one.
They had no problem competing with each other.
They had no trouble helping each other.
And the women, of course,
then got to know each other very well, as well.
[gentle music]
- Susie: I can see the ladies
sitting at their Ladies' Aid luncheon
and they were sharing recipes
and in a way of women getting together, like they did,
it's really interesting to think about
how women would connect with each other through a recipe.
- Yes. - And how, when you wrote down
a recipe for something and you signed your name on it,
that that was sort of a part of you that you are sharing
with the neighborhood. - That's right.
- Susie: And I feel like people still do this today.
Like, if I'm going to a friend's house
and there's something really delicious,
I kind of want the recipe.
And then, you have to decide if you're gonna share
that recipe's secret or not.
- All of these women with their recipes,
they were very proud of these recipes,
and they enjoyed doing it.
- I know for the threshing dinners
it was a big deal to have the best recipes.
- I don't think, back in the day,
that my mother would ever hesitate
to give a recipe to somebody.
- It's just a way of remembering
what life was like in a different time.
And I think I appreciate knowing about it.
[gentle music]
[warm gentle music]
- Well, what was threshing all about?
It was enjoying this wonderful meal.
But it was also an opportunity to get to know our neighbors
at a way that you can't get to know them any other way,
working together, eating together, lying to each other,
telling these wonderful stories,
some of which were true, and most were not.
We just had just the greatest time doing that.
The social part of the threshing crew
was as important as the eating and the threshing itself
because that brought communities together
round that threshing table.
We were one.
We were a community.
We were sharing bread with each other,
>> HI.
I'M JON MISKOWSKI, DIRECTOR OF
PBS WISCONSIN.
WE'RE ENJOYING JERRY APPS, FOOD
& MEMORIES.
THE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE, BUT
WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD REASON FOR
YOU TO CALL, NOT ONLY BECAUSE
IT'S A WONDERFUL PROGRAM.
WE HAVE GREAT THANK YOU GIFTS
INCLUDING THE DVD AND THIS
WONDERFUL COOKBOOK PUBLISHED BY
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
BUT RIGHT NOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR
GIFT DOUBLED BY OUR CHALLENGE
FUND AND THAT IS POSSIBLE
BECAUSE CURRENT MEMBERS OF PBS
WISCONSIN HAVE MADE A GIFT ABOVE
AND BEYOND THEIR ANNUAL SUPPORT
TO ENCOURAGE NEW MEMBERS TO
SUPPORT PBS WISCONSIN.
UP TO THE FIRST $2,000 PLEDGED
WILL BE MATCHED BY THE CHALLENGE
FUND.
SO WE HOPE YOU'LL GET TO THE
PHONE AND CALL 1-800-236-3636.
THE DVD AND THE BOOKS ARE
AVAILABLE WHEN YOU CALL.
JERRY, WANT TO THANK YOU AND
RUTH FOR BEING SUCH GREAT
SUPPORTERS FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
>> YOU ARE WELCOME.
>> YEAH.
SO YOU WILL JOIN ME, MY FAMILY,
JERRY AND HIS FAMILY IN
SUPPORTING PBS WISCONSIN WHEN
YOU CALL 1-800-236-3636.
>> I'M STEPHANIE ELKINS, HOST OF
MORNING CLASSICS ON WPR.
NOT ONLY WILL YOU JOIN JERRY AND
HIS FAMILY AND JON AND HIS
FAMILY, YOU'LL JOIN ME AND MY
FAMILY.
THIS IS A COMMUNITY THING.
WE DO THIS TOGETHER.
WE'RE ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
WE'VE GOT THIS MEMBER CHALLENGE.
IF YOU HAVE NEVER CONTRIBUTED TO
PBS WISCONSIN BEFORE, THIS IS A
GREAT TIME TO DO IT.
WE'VE GOT A FUND THAT WILL MATCH
YOUR CONTRIBUTION.
AND WHEN YOU DO, FOR A PLEDGE OF
$10 A MONTH OR MORE, WE HAVE THE
PROGRAM DVD, FOOD & MEMORIES.
YOU CAN WATCH IT.
YOU CAN SHARE IT.
FOR A GIFT OF $15 A MONTH OR
MORE, WE'VE GOT THIS FABULOUS
COOKBOOK AND WE'RE GOING TO
ACTUALLY BE TALKING TO SUSIE A
LITTLE BIT LATER.
IT'S CHOCK FULL OF EVERYTHING
FROM ALL THE CANNING SHE DID TO
WONDERFUL DESSERTS AND COOKIES.
FOR $20 A MONTH, WE WILL SEND
YOU THE DVD OF THE PROGRAM, THE
COOKBOOK AND THE PBS WISCONSIN
APRON.
I LOVE THIS.
IT'S A FULL BODY ONE, GOES OVER
YOUR NECK AND IT WILL KEEP YOU
NICE AND CLEAN WHILE YOU'RE
DOING YOUR COOKING FROM THE
COOKBOOK.
FOR A PLEDGE OF $25 A MONTH OR
MORE, WE WILL SEND YOU ALL OF
THE JERRY APPS DVDs.
THERE ARE SIX OF THEM.
1-800-236-3636.
>> HI, FOLKS.
I'M CLINT WALZ.
I'M ON STAFF HERE AT PBS
WISCONSIN.
WE TALKED EARLIER ABOUT VIEWER
FEEDBACK AND JUST HOW IMPORTANT
THAT IS WITH US.
THIS IS FROM CHRISTINE IN
FOUNTAIN CITY.
JERRY APPS HAS INSPIRED MYSELF
AND MY FAMILY TO CONTINUE
STORYTELLING.
IT HELPED US REALIZE HOW
IMPORTANT STORYTELLING IS.
THAT'S WHY YOUR GIFT MAKES SUCH
A DIFFERENCE FOR PEOPLE LIKE
CHRISTINE, TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS
GENERATIONAL AND IT NEEDS TO BE
PASSED DOWN.
STORYTELLING IS REALLY
IMPORTANT.
THESE PROGRAMS WERE BROUGHT TO
YOU BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO MADE
THAT GIFT OF SUPPORT, INCLUDING
OUR SUSTAINING MEMBERS.
WHAT'S A SUSTAINING MEMBER?
IT'S SOMEONE WHO MAKES A GIFT
THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.
THAT'S BECAUSE THEY GIVE EVERY
SINGLE MONTH FROM THEIR CHECKING
ACCOUNT OR THEIR BANK ACCOUNT
AND REALLY IT'S A FORM OF
SUPPORT THAT WE DEPEND ON AND WE
RELY UPON TO MAKE THESE GREAT
PROGRAMS POSSIBLE.
YOU CAN INVEST IN THE NEXT GREAT
JERRY APPS PROGRAM WITH YOUR
GIFT RIGHT NOW AT 1-800-236-3636
1-800-236-3636.
>> I THINK THAT ONE THING THAT'S
REALLY WONDERFUL ABOUT THESE
STORIES, BOTH THE DVD AND THE
COOKBOOK, IS HOW IT INSPIRES
PEOPLE TO TELL STORIES.
>> IT CERTAINLY DOES.
AND IN FACT THAT'S ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT KEEPS ME DOING THIS
WORK, IS PEOPLE COME TO ME AND
SAY I JUST READ THIS STORY.
LET ME TELL YOU MY STORY.
OH, MY GOSH.
THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO GOOD WHEN
I HEAR THAT.
>> TEN YEARS AGO, I REMEMBER,
SINCE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW
WE'VE BEEN PRODUCING THESE
PROGRAMS OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS
WITH JERRY, I REMEMBER A HOLIDAY
WEEKEND SITTING DOWN WITH MY
PARENTS AND MY TWO BOYS AND
WATCHING A FARM STORY AND HAVING
MY PARENTS TALKING ABOUT WHAT
LIFE WAS LIKE ON THE FARM.
THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE
FARM, THEIR UNCLES AND AUNTS.
IT WAS THIS POWERFUL MOMENT OF
GENERATIONS SHARING THIS STORY.
THAT IS WONDERFUL.
IT'S A REAL INSPIRATION FOR
PEOPLE TO SHARE STORIES AS WELL.
>> THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU FOR THE
CONTRIBUTIONS THAT YOU MAKE TO
OUR LIVES AND TO REMEMBERING
THESE IMPORTANT STORIES OF
WISCONSIN.
THE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL TO
PLEDGE IS 1-800-236-3636.
>> I REALLY ENJOYED HEARING
SUSIE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
PROGRAM TALK ABOUT SHE HAD HEARD
ALL OF THE STORIES FROM HER DAD,
SHE THOUGHT, UNTIL SH THEY STARTED
GOING THROUGH THE RECIPES AND
THEN STORY AFTER STORY STARTED
COMING OUT.
MANY OF THEM ARE IN THE
COOKBOOK.
WE INVITE YOU DURING THIS MEMBER
CHALLENGE BREAK, REMEMBER, IF
YOU'RE BRAND NEW, IF YOU'D LIKE
TO MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR
THE FIRST TIME, WE HAVE A FUND
THAT WILL MATCH YOUR GIFT.
FOR A PLEDGE OF $10 A MORE OR
MORE.
WE'LL SEND YOU THE PROGRAM DVD,
THE ONE THAT YOU'RE WATCHING
RIGHT NOW AND YOU CAN SHARE IT
AND REWATCH IT OVER AND OVER.
AND THAT COOKBOOK.
IT'S NOT JUST A COOKBOOK.
RECIPES, MENUS AND MEMORIES.
AND IT IS JUST RICH WITH ALL OF
THAT AND THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR
YOUR PLEDGE OF $15 A MONTH OR
MORE.
AND FOR $20 WE'LL SEND YOU THE
PROGRAM DVD AND THE COOKBOOK AND
THE APRON, THE PBS WISCONSIN
APRON.
AND THEN FOR A PLEDGE OF $25 A
MONTH, WE HAVE EVERY SINGLE DVD
OF JERRY APPS STARTING WITH FARM
STORY, FARM WINTER AND THE NEVER
CURSE THE RAIN.
THAT'S A BRILLIANT ONE.
ALL AVAILABLE FOR YOUR PLEDGE.
THE NUMBER TO CALL IS
1-800-236-3636.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
AND THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER
TIME TO CALL THAN RIGHT NOW
BECAUSE THIS IS A CHALLENGE
BREAK.
I'M LOOKING OVER AND SEE THAT
WE'VE HAD ALMOST 30 NEW MEMBERS
MAKE THEIR GIFT OF SUPPORT RIGHT
NOW.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT SEVEN MINUTES
OR SO LEFT, SO THERE'S STILL
TIME FOR YOU TO GO TO YOUR PHONE
AND CALL 1-800-236-3636.
WE'VE GOT WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS
STANDING BY WAITING TO HEAR FROM
YOU.
SO GO AHEAD.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS CHALLENGE
BREAK.
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT SOME
GREAT THANK YOU GIFTS TONIGHT,
BUT WHEN YOU BECOME A MEMBER, WE
ALSO HAVE OTHER BENEFITS THAT
WE'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU,
INCLUDING OUR "AIRWAVES,"
PROGRAM GUIDE, ARRIVES IN YOUR
MAILBOX EVERY MONTH, SHOWS YOU
ALL OF THE GREAT PROGRAMS THAT
YOUR DOLLARS ARE GOING TO MAKE
POSSIBLE TONIGHT.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE PASSPORT.
WITH ANY OF THE THANK YOU GIFTS
THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HERE
TONIGHT, YOU'LL HAVE ACCESS TO
AN ONLINE LIBRARY, DEEP, DEEP
LIBRARY OF GREAT PBS PROGRAMS
THAT YOU'VE COME TO KNOW AND
LOVE AND PBS WISCONSIN PROGRAMS
AS WELL.
BUT IT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF YOUR
PHONE CALL RIGHT NOW,
1-800-236-3636.
>> JERRY, AS I WAS WATCHING THE
SHOW, I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW
THERE ARE VERY PRECIOUS THINGS
THAT WE PASS ALONG THROUGH
GENERATIONS.
SO AT MY HOUSE THE VERY PRECIOUS
THING IS MY FATHER'S DOG TAGS,
RIGHT.
A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THING
THAT MANY FAMILIES HOLD AND
SHARE FROM GENERATION TO
GENERATION.
BUT IT'S REALLY INTERESTING HOW
MANY OF US HAVE SHARED RECIPES
THAT WE --
>> EXACTLY.
>> SO WHAT IS IT ABOUT FOOD AND
THOSE RECIPES THAT INSPIRES
THAT?
>> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT RURAL
PEOPLE REALLY DIDN'T TALK MUCH
ABOUT WAS HOW RECIPES WOULD
CONNECT PEOPLE.
AND WE HAD A COMMUNITY OF
NORWEGIANS, GERMANS, HO BOHEMIANS
AND RECIPES WAS A WAY TO CREATE
COMMUNITY, NEIGHBORS SHARING
WITH EACH OTHER.
SO IT WAS MORE THAN FUN FOR
THESE RECIPES TO BE PASSED
AROUND AND I HAVE MANY STORIES
TO TALK ABOUT, THE DIFFERENT
KINDS OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE DID.
BUT WE ATE WHAT THE RECIPES WERE
SUGGESTING.
>> IT'S SO WONDERFUL THAT YOU
FOUND THIS RECIPE BOX AND THAT
YOU SAVED IT AND YOU'RE
TRANSLATING IT FOR US.
THERE ARE MANY STORIES IN HERE
THAT ARE NOT JUST THE APPS
STORY.
THEY'RE WISCONSIN STORIES.
I KNOW FOR MANY OF YOU AT HOME,
THESE ARE YOUR STORIES.
IT'S WONDERFUL TO HAVE JERRY
TRANSLATE AND SHARE THEM WITH US
AND WITH YOU.
THE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL TO
PLEDGE, REMEMBER, THIS IS A
CHALLENGE BREAK, YOUR DOLLARS
ARE DOUBLED AS NEW MEMBERS WHEN
YOU CALL 1-800-236-3636.
>> AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE
ALREADY OVER 40.
WE'VE GOT 42 INSOFAR.
IT'S A WONDERFUL TIME <!24576>
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MATCH IF
YOU'VE NEVER BEEN A MEMBER OF
PBS WISCONSIN.
IT FEELS REALLY GOOD TO MAKE
THAT CONTRIBUTION.
EVERY TIME YOU TURN ON THE TV,
USE THE APP, YOU KNOW YOU ARE
CONTRIBUTING TO SOMETHING REALLY
IMPORTANT AND MEANINGFUL.
RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT SOME
WONDERFUL THANK YOU GIFTS FOR
THIS FOOD & MEMORIES PROGRAM.
FOR A GIFT OF $10 WE'LL SEND YOU
THE PROGRAM DVD.
YOU CAN WATCH IT ANYTIME, ENJOY
OVER AND OVER.
FOR A GIFT OF $15 A MONTH WE'LL
SEND YOU THE COOKBOOK, WHICH IS
CHOCK FULL OF NOT JUST THE
RECIPES AND THE MENUS, BUT SO
MANY MEMORIES AND STORIES.
AND FOR A GIFT OF $20 A MONTH,
WE'LL SEND YOU THE DVD AND THE
COOKBOOK AND THE PBS WISCONSIN
APRON.
AND THEN FOR A GIFT OF $25 A
MONTH, WE'LL SEND YOU ALL OF THE
JERRY APPS DVDs.
THERE ARE SIX OF THEM.
AND YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE AND
MAKE THAT CALL, TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE ONE-TO-ONE MATCH AT
THAT WE'RE OFFERING THIS DRIVE.
BUT DO IT NOW.
THIS IS A CHALLENGE BREAK.
>> YOUR DOLLARS ARE DOUBLED WHEN
YOU CALL NOW.
I WANT TO EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT
OF THE BOOK.
WE HAVE A RECIPE HERE FOR CHERRY
DELIGHT, AND I HEARD IT'S
DELIGHTFUL.
I HEARD THE GROAN.
CANNED CHERRY CAUSE, CHERRY
CAKE.
BUT BEFORE THAT WHAT A WONDERFUL
WISCONSIN THING.
YOU HAVE A PAGE AND A HALF HERE
ABOUT CHERRIES IN WISCONSIN AND
HOW CHERRIES CAME TO WILD ROSE.
>> ONCE A YEAR, ROSS CAVES, THE
TRUCKER WHO WOULD HAUL CATTLE TO
THE STOCKYARDS IN MILWAUKEE,
WOULD CLEAN OUT THE BACK OF HIS
TRUCK AND HE WOULD INVITE THE
WOMEN FROM THE WILD ROSE
COMMUNITY TO RIDE IN THE BACK OF
HIS TRUCK TO DOOR COUNTY AND
PICK CHERRIES.
AND THEY WOULD HAVE CHAIRS IN
THE BACK OF THIS BIG OLD CATTLE
TRUCK AND RUMBLING THEIR WAY
THROUGH GREEN BAY AND ON UP TO
DOOR COUNTY, SPEND ALL DAY
PICKING CHERRIES, COME BACK
BEYOND TIRED.
MY MOTHER SAID THAT WAS THE MOST
FUN THING SHE HAD EVER DONE.
WE WOULD SPEND THE NEXT COUPLE
OF HOURS TAKING THE PITS OUT OF
THE CHERRIES.
SO CHERRY DELIGHT AND ALL THAT
OTHER STUFF COULD BE MADE.
<!32768> I
>> WHAT A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT
WISCONSIN AND DOOR COUNTY AND
WONDERFUL WISCONSIN STORY HERE,
INCLUDING THOSE RECIPES THAT
WE'VE MENTIONED.
THE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL TO
PLEDGE, REMEMBER IT'S A
CHALLENGE BREAK, IS
1-800-236-3636.
CALL NOW.
>> WE'VE ALREADY HEARD FROM SO
MANY OF YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GIFTS
OF SUPPORT OF PBS WISCONSIN.
AND WE'VE GOT SOME WONDERFUL
THANK YOU GIFTS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE BACK AT THE
PROGRAM IN JUST A MOMENT.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE THIS
PROGRAM FOR A GIFT OF $10 A
MONTH OR MORE WE WILL SEND YOU
THE DVD, FOOD & MEMORIES.
AND FOR A GIFT OF $15 A MONTH
WE'LL SEND YOU THIS FABULOUS
COUNTRY COOKBOOK, THE OLD FARM
COUNTRY COOKBOOK.
FOR A GIFT OF $20 A MONTH WE'LL
SEND YOU THE DVD AND THE
COOKBOOK PLUS THE PBS WISCONSIN
APRON.
AND THEN AT THE $25 A MONTH
LEVEL, EVERY SINGLE DVD THAT
JERRY APPS HAS DONE WITH PBS
WISCONSIN.
AND THEY ARE FABULOUS.
ONE ROOM SCHOOL IS ANOTHER
TERRIFIC ONE.
SO GIVE US A CALL,
1-800-236-3636.
>> WELL, ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE
BOOK, POTATO COUNTRY.
WE GREW UP IN THAT SAME AREA OF
WISCONSIN, SO POTATOES ARE
PRETTY IMPORTANT, ALONG WITH
POTATO SOUP.
I LOVE POTATO SOUP.
BUT POTATOES ARE AN IMPORTANT
STORY IN WISCONSIN, TOO.
>> WHEN I WAS A KID, WE GREW 20
ACRES OF POTATOES, PLANTED, HOED
AND PICKED BY HAND.
THE SCHOOL HAD PO POTATO VACATION
SO ALL THE KIDS COULD PICK
POTATOES.
>> THE NEXT LINE WAS POTATO
VACATION WAS NO VACATION.
>> EXACTLY.
>> IT WAS A LOT OF WORK, RIGHT?
>> EXACTLY.
>> YEAH.
POTATOES WERE A BIG DEAL.
>> LOTS OF WONDERFUL STORIES,
LOTS OF GREAT WISCONSIN
TRADITIONS IN THIS BOOK ALONG
WITH THESE WONDERFUL RECIPES AND
WONDERFUL
[gentle upbeat music]
- Susie: I'm making sorghum cookies.
The sorghum smells a little bit like molasses.
It has a little bit of the same color and the same texture
and sort of the same smell, but it's not molasses.
And my grandma, at the time when sugar was rationed,
she would use sorghum instead of sugar.
- Starting in World War II, sugar was rationed.
You only were allowed, oh, just a few pounds.
My mother baked all kinds of things,
and now there wasn't any sugar to do it.
And during the war, we would have
three, four acres of sorghum.
And my mother made sorghum cookies, sorghum cakes,
and all kinds of things from sorghum.
It was our major sugar substitute.
- I can smell that sorghum. It smells really good.
- In fact, she went to town when she heard that sorghum,
that sugar was available and she bought, I don't know,
200 pounds, and, and put it up in the attic and said,
"I will never run out of sugar again."
I don't know, it probably was still there
when they sold the house, but... [chuckles]
[gentle upbeat music]
Well, my mother was an excellent baker,
and her, her specialties were pies, especially apple pie.
We picked wild blueberries,
and we'd pick a whole bucket full
and bring those home.
And so, there would be blueberry pie.
There would be blackberry pie
that we picked blackberries from the woods.
There would be blackcap pie, different from blackberries.
Blackcaps are wild raspberries.
- Susie: So, I did cook with her,
and I spent a lot of time with her in the kitchen
when she lived on the farm.
And I remember that kitchen fondly
because it always smelled really good.
And she was always very busy in the kitchen,
and she loved to bake.
- Jerry: The cakes my mother was making, too.
She would make a wonderful devil's food cake,
a wonderful angel food cake, a cherry cake.
Made all kinds of cakes.
- Susie: So, I sort of like to bake the way she does.
When I use her recipes, I don't ever use my mixer.
I just use a wooden spoon like this one, and I use,
I don't use electricity.
I just mix everything up by hand.
And I feel like that's a really great way to honor her.
And to honor her, honor all my ancestors,
my female farm-woman ancestors,
who worked so hard to provide food for everyone on the farm.
And I like to think about that when I'm baking her recipes.
[gentle upbeat music]
- Yeah, she, she baked a lot.
She, well, and she, she loved doing it.
- Susie: How often did she bake bread?
Was that a--
- Jerry: At least once a week.
- Susie: And then, multiple loaves of bread.
- Jerry: Oh, we had six or eight
[chuckles] loaves of bread.
Those six loaves of bread were wonderful!
And it was an accomplishment.
And there's nothing I looked forward to more
than a slice of homemade bread.
My gosh, it smelled good, it tastes good,
felt good in, in your mouth.
It was just wonderful.
In fact, my dad would say,
"I want you never, Eleanor, to buy any baker's bread,"
as he called it. - I was gonna ask you,
I don't remember you... yeah.
- And you know why he said-- - You didn't buy bread.
- You know what he said about baker's bread?
- Yeah. - There's no power in it.
- No store-bought bread.
- Meaning it's got too much air in it.
[both chuckle]
There's no power in it,
and when you eat bread, it should have power
because you got a lot of hard work to do.
- So, bread day, it just seems like
what a wonderful way to spend your day.
And it's, like I said, it's very,
it's something very meditative about that,
the yeast smell and the dough in bread.
- The smell of baked bread. - Isn't it the best?
- You just can't, there's nothing much--
- It smells so good.
- But the only thing that compares to it
is drying alfalfa. - What? [both laughing]
I would have to say, I like the baking bread smell better.
Although I don't have a lot of experience
with the smell of drying alfalfa.
[Jerry chuckles]
[birds chirping]
- There are two picnics that I remember vividly.
One was at the last day of school at the country school.
We had a potluck picnic
for all of the kids and all of the parents.
And it was a fantastic event.
[happy chatter in background]
The school board would buy ice cream in tubs,
two-and-a-half gallon tubs, I think they were, metal.
And they would furnish the ice cream.
And we all brought something to eat: cookies, sandwiches.
So, it was a wonderful picnic.
Second kind of picnic that I remember
was on the 4th of July.
And the 4th of July, of course,
was in the middle of haying season,
which meant we were cutting hay, drying hay,
hauling hay, stuffing up into the barn.
It was a busy, busy time.
But on the 4th of July,
my dad would announce at the kitchen table,
"This is the 4th of July.
"We're not going to work this afternoon.
"We're gonna go to Silver Lake, so you kids could swim,
[crowd speaking faintly]
and we're gonna have a picnic."
And my mother knew this ahead of time, of course.
And so, we did the morning work, traipsed off to Silver Lake,
which was about five miles away.
And my mother laid out this wonderful spread for our picnic.
One of the Catholic organizations
had their picnic there,
and they had a, had a foot race for kids.
And I kind of saw that race
and some guy said, "Come on over here."
And I come over there and they said, "Oh, you, what? Who?
We're gonna have a foot race, you wanna ..."
"Well, sure, that'd be fine.
I'd be good."
So, I line up with all these other kids,
and by golly if I don't beat 'em!
They gave me, as a prize for winning, a can of asparagus.
And my mother said, "Where'd you get that asparagus?"
And I said, "I just won the foot race over there."
"You run the foot race!
You have no business being in that Catholic group."
And "Gosh," you went.
And "Whoa, what is this?"
"Take that asparagus and give it back to them."
My dad said, "He won the race.
He keeps the asparagus."
That's a memory that I've never, ever forgotten. [laughs]
[gentle upbeat music]
Well, Thanksgiving was one of those days
that we really always looked forward to.
Unfortunately, it always occurred
in the middle of deer hunting season.
My dad hated turkey.
He would not, he thought turkey was
the worst kind of food in the world, it was just too dry.
So, prior to Thanksgiving,
we would go to the farmer's fair in Stevens Point.
In addition to vegetables, live animals:
pigs and ducks.
And so, my dad liked duck.
He bought this great big old duck, live, now, live duck,
chucked it into a gunny bag, burlap bag,
put a string on it, and I'm to hold this duck
as we're driving back.
The duck is not liking it inside that burlap bag.
It's kind of quacking and flapping
and I'm, "Please, I'm holding onto the duck."
Well, the duck ended up on the Thanksgiving table, of course,
and it was pretty good, I must say.
We may have had some ham to go along with the duck,
in case somebody didn't like duck.
We had cranberries.
Cranberries, of course, were near Wisconsin Rapids,
which was not far from us,
and we had a lot of cranberries always
by that time of the year.
We had apple pie, sometimes cherry pie,
so it was a big deal.
And, of course, we--
I couldn't wait to finish eating
because I had to get back out on my deer stand.
[gentle upbeat music]
Now, now Christmas was a day of celebration,
generally with the family,
either coming to our place at, at noon,
or we going to one of my aunts' or uncles' homes.
No, that was very commonly done.
- Susie: What do you remember about food at Christmas?
- Jerry: First off, the, the premier food,
passed on from generation to generation, was oyster stew.
- Yes, which we still eat to this day at Christmas Eve.
Do you know why they started having oyster stew
on Christmas Eve? - I don't.
It went back to Europe. - Okay.
It went back to my German relatives in Europe
and come to find out my,
Ruth's Norwegian relatives did the same thing.
Then, what else did we have at Christmas?
Well, it would vary, just as we had at Thanksgiving,
we might have duck, we might have ham.
- And pickles.
I remember, I remember a relish tray with--
- Exactly. - What kinds of pickles?
- Well, dill pickles, sweet and sour pickles,
crabapple pickles. - Right.
- Mother made a lot of pickles.
- She did make, and there was always
special dishes for relishes.
Lots of pickles. - Yes, that's, that's correct.
That's correct.
- So, there wasn't a certain meal for Christmas.
Just some things that were saved over.
- A lot of the things that she made for Christmas
had previously been preserved and were in cans downstairs.
And then, we had these, these...
My mother made wonderful cinnamon rolls.
- Yes.
We might have those at Christmas time.
It was very special time.
We did not open presents until Christmas morning,
until after the cows were milked.
- Susie: Even on Christmas?
- Even on Christmas, my-- - Cows first.
- My dad said the cows come first.
So, we would get up early, walk by Christmas tree,
all the presents, and put on my outdoor clothes,
and run off to the barn and milk cows, and wonder,
"What in the world is under that Christmas tree?"
My mother would say, "You, you get two presents."
- Two presents?
- One, one toy, and one clothing.
One of my favorite presents, I always picked out a book,
and this book was a, a, a book for boys.
And in there, oh, my gosh, was that a fine book!
Because it's, it taught people how,
boys how to throw their voices.
Then there were stories about,
there were chapters in this book
on how to spot German airplanes.
- Did you ever see one? - I never saw one.
[laughing] - You never saw one.
- I never saw one, but I was ready.
I was ready.
- So, your tradition was to open the presents
after you'd milked cows.
And then, did you do anything else?
- We sometimes, we'd go ice fishing
in the afternoon of Christmas Day.
- No, that sounds like fun.
It's a fun day.
[gentle music]
- My mother, she was much more active in the church
than my dad.
And the Ladies' Aid was the women's group
connected to the church,
who met in the homes, generally in the winter months.
The pastor would come by,
and you would try and impress the women
with your, with your cooking skills
by providing a fancy kind of dessert.
It might be a, a lemon something or another,
something my mother ordinarily wouldn't make.
And the women would all gush and,
"Oh, Eleanor, that was so good."
And I can't imagine that the preacher
wouldn't have weighed 300 pounds
because he went around,
he ate everything, liked everything.
And it must have been taught in the seminary
how to balance a plate of food on your knee,
because he could do that with a skill.
And I, I tried it, I'd go, "Gee,"
dump food on the floor.
It takes skill.
[gentle music]
Well, a shivaree is a form of welcoming
a newly married couple into the community.
And, when somebody was newly married,
the first night that they had returned,
they knew to expect the neighbors would come.
But before we would come to the house,
we would, we would all gather, all the neighbors, quietly,
very quietly, we didn't want them to know we were there.
And when we'd see the lights go out in their bedroom,
ah, that was the time.
This sounds so primitive.
Those of us with deer rifles shot them into the air.
Those of us with shotguns, whoo-wham!
Oh, my God, the lights came on upstairs.
I wondered if they thought they were being attacked,
but they knew that it was a shivaree.
We pounded on, on metal.
We made the more darn noise you could ever imagine.
I thought it was wonderful.
We went and marched up to the door
and they appeared kind of bleary-eyed and embarrassed,
and we had,
we said, "We just couldn't believe what you've done.
"Welcome to the community.
We're so happy to see you here."
And then, we drank beer
and had all kinds of cookies and cake.
It was an event that took place every year,
depending on who got married.
And it was looked forward to by the couple,
as well as everybody in the community.
[gentle music]
Often, you'd go to someplace and it would say,
"Bring a dish to pass." - Right.
So, what does that mean again?
- And that means-- - Susie: Bring a dish to pass?
- Bring the hot dish.
And so, we would have a collection of hot dishes,
but that was common language when something was set up,
bring a dish to pass.
The other, the other use of hot dishes,
if somebody were injured
in the community. - Oh.
- Or somebody died,
everybody would bring the hot dish to the family.
- So, like, at the home?
- Yeah, to the home, for the place.
Very common.
[gentle music]
It was in 1941 that my grandfather died,
and I was, what, seven years old.
It was the tradition, in our farming community,
that you celebrated the life of a person
by having them in your home,
albeit in a casket, surrounded by flowers.
To this day, by the way,
when I smell certain kinds of flowers
my mind immediately goes back
to my grandfather's death and funeral.
People brought all kinds of food.
Mostly casseroles, hot dishes of various kinds.
You know, the food was an expression of thanks
and, and an expression of appreciation.
A chance to say, "Here, enjoy.
Enjoy, enjoy this hot dish that we've prepared."
It was a very respectful,
interesting kind of event
when people would bring all these different kinds of foods.
And, as a hungry kid, I was usually hungry,
it was wonderful to have all these different kinds
of hot dishes available.
And my mother, of course, during that time,
didn't have to do any food preparation.
She could grieve the loss of her dad
along with all of the neighbors who had come.
So, there was an opportunity for people to gather.
It was more of a celebration, as I remember.
Food was a part of it, no question about it,
but the stories, oh, all the stories
were always a part of it.
I so much appreciated the opportunity
as a little kid, seven years old,
to sit in on these stories.
[gentle music]
It told me what life was really like,
and that death was a part of it.
I didn't realize at the time-- I do now--
how important food was to bringing people together,
to providing a sense of,
you're part of our family, and we like you,
and here's, here's a way
to express some of our love for you,
is through the food we serve.
And my mother knew this intuitively,
I think, so did my dad,
that food was a way of doing that.
Whether it was a funeral,
whether it was the new neighbors that are coming in
and a chance to see what they were like, oh my gosh,
and decide that we're gonna have to live with them anyway,
'cause they're our neighbors.
Food was, was behind all of that.
Food brought us together.
Food created community, and for community to exist
one has to know, in depth, the neighbor.
And there's no better way of knowing a neighbor
than working aside of them, sharing a story with them,
and sharing a piece of bread with them.
[food sizzling gently] [gentle music]
Food has been, and continues to be, a part of our lives.
That's how we stay.
Food was more important than merely nutrition.
[metal clicking]
Food was an opportunity to socialize.
Food was a trigger for stories.
Food made life during those tough years
of the Depression and World War II bearable.
[liquid burbling]
The role of food was so much more
than just something to eat.
Food was so much more.
[warm gentle music]
For all of my work that I've done,
and I've been at it for a very long time,
my hope is that I might trigger in someone's mind,
"Oh, I remember a funeral that I went to
that was something like this."
Or "I remember sauerkraut sizzling in a,
in a cast iron skillet."
Or "I remember the year that we butchered a pig,
and how sweet those pork chops were."
I get that all the time now, and I want to continue
helping people see their lives
in a way that may have been different
>> HI.
I'M JON MISKOWSKI, DIRECTOR OF
PBS WISCONSIN.
WE'VE JUST ENJOYED JERRY APPS
FOOD & MEMORIES AND NOW YOU'VE
SEEN THE WHOLE SHOW AND I WANT
TO THANK JERRY, SUSIE, THE
PRODUCERS OF THE PROGRAM WHO PUT
THIS BEAUTIFUL SHOW TOGETHER,
TOUCHING ON SO MANY OF THESE
IMPORTANT AND WONDERFUL
MEMORIES.
THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR YOU
TO CALL DURING THE PROGRAM, SO I
WANTED TO MENTION THAT THE DVD
IS AVAILABLE FOR A GIFT OF $10 A
MONTH OR THE COOKBOOK IS
AVAILABLE WITH A GIFT OF $15 A
MONTH OR A GIFT OF $20 A MONTH
YOU CAN RECEIVE THE JERRY APPS
BUNDLE THAT INCLUDES BOTH OF
THOSE THAT WE HAVE MENTIONED.
IT'S REALLY A WONDERFUL SHARING
OF TRADITIONS, TALKED A LITTLE
BIT HERE ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS.
YOU TALK ABOUT THRESHING.
FOLKS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT
THRESHING IS, YOU WANT TO TALK
ABOUT THAT?
>> THRESHING TODAY WOULD BE
CALLED COMBINING AND IT'S A VERY
DIFFERENT PROCESS, BUT IT'S A
WAY OF SEPARATING THE KERNELS
FROM THE STRAWS OF GRAIN.
WE WENT FROM NEIGHBOR TO
NEIGHBOR.
THE CREWS WERE ALL OF THE
NEIGHBOR MEN WHO WENT FROM FARM
TO FARM.
AND THE WOMEN HELPED EACH OTHER
PREPARE THE THRESHING MEALS.
AND THEY WERE OUTSTANDING MEALS
BECAUSE THE WOMEN TRIED -- NOT
TRIED, THEY DID.
THEY COMPETED WITH EACH OTHER TO
MAKE SURE THEIR THRESHING DINNER
WAS THE BEST.
AND THEY WERE JUST WONDERFUL.
AND IT WAS A WAY, AGAIN, FOR US
TO SHARE THE VARIOUS ETHNIC
FOODS AND AS WE GOT BETTER
ACQUAINTED WITH OUR NEIGHBORS.
>> AND IN THE BOOK, OLD FARM
COUNTRY COOKBOOK, NOT ONLY
INCLUDES RECIPES, BUT SOME OF
THOSE STORIES OF THAT HISTORY,
OF THAT TRADITION.
IT'S A WONDERFUL WAY FOR MANY
FOLKS TO REMEMBER, BUT THEN ALSO
SHARE WITH YOUR FAMILY THESE
WONDERFUL TRADITIONS.
THE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL IS
1-800-236-3636.
>> I WAS ALMOST SALIVATING WHEN
THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT BAKING
THE BREAD AND THE SMELL OF THE
YEAST.
JUST MAGNIFICENT, WONDERFUL
PROGRAM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING
US.
WE HAVE SOME GREAT THANK YOU
GIFTS FOR YOU.
AT THE $10 LEVEL AS JON
MENTIONED, THE PROGRAM DVD,
WHICH YOU'VE BEEN SEEING, IS
AVAILABLE.
FOR $15 WE'LL SEND YOU THE OLD
FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK AND, BY
THE WAY, SUSIE APPS-BODILLY IS
SITTING RIGHT HERE AND IS GOING
TO BE TALKING TO US IN JUST A
MINUTE.
FOR A GIFT OF $20 WE'LL SEND YOU
BOTH THE PROGRAM DVD AND THE
COOKBOOK AND THE PBS WISCONSIN
APRON, WHICH IS ADJUSTABLE, GOES
OVER YOUR HEAD AND PROTECTS WHAT
YOU'RE WEARING.
FOR A GIFT OF $25 A MONTH, WE'LL
SEND YOU ALL OF THE JERRY APPS
DVDs, ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE AND
FARM STORY AND ALL OF THEM
INCLUDING TODAY'S.
SO GIVE US A CALL AT
1-800-236-3636.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT
SHARING TODAY, SHARING STORIES,
SHARING HISTORY AMONGST FAMILY.
YOU CAN ALSO SHARE SOME OF THESE
THANK YOU GIFTS AS WELL.
FOR A GIFT OF $20 WE'LL SEND YOU
BOTH THE COOKBOOK AND THE DVD
PLUS THAT APRON, ALL WAYS FOR US
TO SAY THANK YOU FOR MAKING
THESE GREAT PROGRAMS POSSIBLE.
ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH YOU'RE
ABLE TO DO THAT IS BY BECOMING A
SUSTAINING MEMBER.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
IT'S KIND OF LIKE YOU MAY HAVE A
SUBSCRIPTION FOR YOUR CELL PHONE
OR A NEWSPAPER.
IT'S A LOT LIKE THAT.
EVERY MONTH YOU MAKE A GIFT TO
PBS WISCONSIN.
YOU DECIDE HOW MUCH THAT IS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE GIVE $10 OR $20
A MONTH.
SOME PEOPLE EVEN GIVE $100 A
MONTH.
IT GOES AS LONG AS YOU LIKE AND
EVERY MONTH YOU CAN BE SURE THAT
YOU ARE AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF PBS
WISCONSIN MAKING THESE GREAT
PROGRAMS POSSIBLE.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE
HAVE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE
MAKING THESE PROGRAMS POSSIBLE
AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN
THEM.
YOU CAN DO THAT BY CALLING
1-800-236-3636 OR YOU CAN GO
ONLINE AT pbswisconsin.org.
>> HAVING HEARD JERRY SPEAK AND
WATCHING PEOPLE WATCH THE SHOWS
THAT WE'VE DONE TOGETHER, WHAT I
REMEMBER AND WHAT I WILL SHARE
WITH YOU IS A LOT OF NODDING OF
HEADS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE RECOGNIZING
THEIR STORY IN THE COOKBOOK, IN
THE DVDs THAT WE PRODUCED OVER
THE YEARS, REALLY TOUCHING
PEOPLE ABOUT THESE WONDERFUL
MEMORIES AND TRADITIONS.
ONE THING YOU TOUCHED UPON AND
MAYBE EXPLAIN FOR FOLKS WHO
DIDN'T LIVE IN THAT WORLD, THE
SHIVERY.
>> IT WAS A CULTURAL EVENT IN
OUR HOME COMMUNITY.
IT WAS TRUE IN A LOT OF RURAL
COMMUNITIES.
WHEN A NEWLY-MARRIED COUPLE CAME
HOME FROM THE WEDDING, TRIP OR
ANYTHING THEY'D TAKEN AND THEY
WERE AT THE PLACE WHERE THEY
WERE GOING TO LIVE, THE
NEIGHBORS WOULD ALL GATHER VERY
QUIETLY AT NIGHT AND WHEN THE
LIGHTS WOULD GO OUT IN THE
BEDROOM IN THE HOUSE AND
EVERYTHING WAS DARK, THEN WE
WOULD SHOOT OFF OUR DEER RIFLES
AND BANG TOGETHER METAL, MAKE A
BIG NOISE.
AND OF COURSE THE LIGHTS WOULD
ALL COME ON AND THE YOUNG COUPLE
WOULD KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING
BECAUSE THEY HAD PURCHASED AHEAD
OF TIME A COUPLE OF CASES OF
BEER BECAUSE THEY KNEW WE WERE
ALL COMING AND WE ALL BROUGHT
FOOD AND WE HAD A BIG FEAST AND
WE WELCOMED THE NEW COUPLE TO
THE COMMUNITY.
>> FOOD IS AT THE HEART OF THAT
AND WE SHOULD BLESS AND THANK
THOSE FOLKS WHO REALLY BRING US
TOGETHER AROUND FOOD.
FOOD MAY BE SORT OF AT THE
CENTER, BUT IT IS THOSE
CONNECTIONS IN THE FAMILY ACROSS
THE TABLE, THE CHAIR NEXT TO US,
THAT REALLY ENLIVENS OUR LIVES.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THESE
TRADITIONS.
THANK YOU FOR CALLING AND
SUPPORTING PBS WIGS.
PBS WISCONSIN.
YOU CAN JOIN AT 1-800-236-3636.
>> AND SPEAKING OF FAMILY
CONNECTIONS, WE'RE JOINED RIGHT
NOW BY THE DAUGHTER OF JERRY
APPS AND THAT WOULD BE SUSIE
APPS-BODILLY.
HI, SUSIE.
>> HI, STEPHANIE.
GOOD TO BE HERE.
>> SUSIE IS A 2nd GRADE
TEACHER AND COAUTHOR OF THIS
WONDERFUL COOKBOOK.
YOU BROUGHT A HEIRLOOM WITH ME.
>> I BROUGHT MY GRANDMA'S RECIPE
CARD BOX.
IT WAS JUST A REALLY FUN PROJECT
TO WORK ON.
IT'S JUST SUCH A JOY TO HEAR THE
STORIES THAT GO WITH THE
RECIPES.
>> IT'S OVER 100 YEARS OLD THESE
CARDS AND THE RECIPES, SO YOU
HAD TO DO SOME TRANSLATING.
>> I DID.
WE ORIGINALLY DECIDED TO
TRANSLATE THE RECIPES INSTEAD OF
INCLUDING THEM IN THE BOOK AS
PRIMARY SOURCE ARTIFACTS BECAUSE
WE WANTED PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY BE
ABLE TO COOK THE RECIPES.
BUT SOME OF THE RECIPES SAID A
PINCH OF THIS OR A DASH OF THAT
OR A HANDFUL OF SOMETHING OR A
GOOD SIZE APPLE OR USE WHAT YOU
HAVE ON HAND AND WE HAD TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT MEANT.
>> DID YOU DO ALL OF THE
RECIPES?
>> SO TALKING WITH MY DAD ABOUT
ALL THE FOOD THAT THEY MADE, WE
DID COOK AND TRY OUT ALL OF THE
RECIPES IN THE BOOK EXCEPT FOR
THE FRIED SQUIRREL.
THAT WAS ONE I WAS NOT
INTERESTED IN MAKING OR TRYING.
>> THE SO SO NO FRIED SQUIRREL.
>> NOT FOR ME.
>> BUT YOU WORKED HARD.
>> IT WAS A LOT OF WORK.
WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME MAKING
SURE THEY WERE RIGHT AND
FIGURING OUT THE PAN SIZES AND
OVEN TEMPERATURE AND LOTS OF
ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS BECAUSE SOME
OF THE RECIPES DIDN'T HAVE THE
ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS OR TEASPOON
OR TABLESPOON, THE RECIPE CARDS.
>> AND THE RESULT IS THE OLD
FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK, FULL OF
STORIES AND RECIPES THAT YOU CAN
USE.
GIVE US A CALL AT 1-800-236-3636
AND THANK YOU, SUSIE.
>> OH, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> AND I'D LIKE TO SHARE ONE
MORE PIECE OF VIEWER FEEDBACK
BECAUSE THIS ONE IS REALLY
LOVELY.
JERRY HAS A GIFT AND I'M GLAD
HE'S USING HIS TALENT THIS WAY
TO SHARE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
ABOUT WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE IN THE
RURAL AREAS.
IT'S THAT GENERATIONS TO COME
THAT I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT
BRIEFLY AND I'D LIKE TO THANK
THE MEMBERS OF OUR HERITAGE
SOCIETY AND THOSE ARE FOLKS WHO
HAVE INCLUDED PBS WISCONSIN IN
THEIR WILL OR ESTATE PLANS.
AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE
GUARDING THIS INSTITUTION FOR
FUTURE GENERATIONS, MUCH IN THE
SAME WAY WE ARE CAPTURING THE
HISTORY OF OUR FAMILIES AND THE
STORIES OF THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.
IN THE SAME WAY.
AND WE HOPE THAT YOU MIGHT
CONSIDER INCLUDING PBS WISCONSIN
AS A PART OF YOUR LEGACY.
WE'D BE HONORED AND PROUD IF YOU
WERE TO DO SO.
IF THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING
YOU'D BE INTERESTING IN DOING,
TALK TO OUR VOLUNTEERS ON THE
PHONE AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO BE
IN TOUCH WITH YOU.
RIGHT NOW WE INVITE YOU ALSO TO
MAKE A GIFT OF SUPPORT TO PBS
WISCONSIN AND YOU CAN DO THAT BY
CALLING 1-800-236-3636 OR YOU
CAN ALWAYS GO ONLINE AT
pbswisconsin.org AND CHOOSE
FROM ANY OF THE THANK YOU GIFTS
THAT WE'RE OFFERING HERE
TONIGHT.
>> THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY
CALLING.
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
QUESTION FOR YOU, JERRY.
BUT JUST HANG ON FIRST.
FIRST I WANT TO THANK THE
FUNDERS OF THIS PROGRAM.
YOU PROBABLY SAW AT THE
BEGINNING.
YOU'LL SEE IT ON THE CREDITS.
BUT FOLKS WHO SUPPORTED THIS
PROJECT WHEN IT WAS A PRODUCT IN
OUR IMAGINATIONS.
THE WOODEN NICKEL FUND,
WONDERFUL TRADITION OF SUPPORT
FOR PBS WISCONSIN.
CAROL AND GREG GRIFFITH.
ELIZABETH ELLEFSON.
THANK YOU FOR HER SUPPORT AND
GREAT PERSONALITY AND LIVELY
FRIENDSHIP FOR US.
THANKS ALSO TO ELEANOR AND
THOMAS WILLEDRICH FAMILY AND
ALONG WITH WISCONSIN FOCUS
FRIENDS AND ALONG WITH FRIENDS
OF PBS WISCONSIN.
EVERYBODY WHO CALLED TONIGHT
WITH THEIR PLEDGE IS PART OF
FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN.
THANK YOU.
HEARING ALL THESE PHONE CALLS, I
DO HAVE TO ASK YOU, WOULD YOU
CONSIDER DOING ANOTHER SHOW WITH
US?
>> YOU KNOW, JON, I WOULD,
BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
HOW TO DO THESE SHOWS, AND I
FIGURE IF I EVER GET IT FIGURED
OUT, I'LL PROBABLY QUIT, BUT I
HAVEN'T FIGURED IT OUT YET.
>> WE'VE DONE SIX, SEVEN IN TEN
YEARS.
WE'VE GOT SOME WORK TO DO.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT.
SO YOU HEARD THAT.
I WANT WITNESSES FOR THAT.
SO I THINK WE HAVE A COMMITMENT
TO CONTINUE TO TALK.
WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT NEXT
SHOW IS, BUT THERE'S LOTS OF
GOOD IDEAS.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE TREMENDOUS
SUPPORT FROM A FARM STORY WHEN
WE FIRST WENT OUT AND WE TALKED
TO PEOPLE ABOUT THAT.
HUGE, ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE FROM
OUR VIEWERS BECAUSE IT REALLY
TOUCHED ON THOSE IMPORTANT
MEMORIES AND IMPORTANT HISTORY
OF OUR STATE.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALL AND
One year we had wild grapes.
All over there were wild grapes and my dad said,
"We should do something with those wild grapes."
And so, they, we had, folks never mentioned this,
but they had bottles left over from Prohibition.
Everybody had bottles, beer bottles.
And so they began,
they chucked a bunch of these grapes
into these beer bottles.
We had a capper, so we capped all these bottles,
and now they're all in the basement.
And, and all of a sudden, one night,
there was an explosion and a ka-boom!
Oh, my gosh! Everybody woke up.
We ran downstairs, thought--
Well, we didn't know what to think.
And Pa said, "I bet one of those bottles blew up."
[gentle music]
And he went downstairs,
and he brought up a bottle, very carefully.
My dad opened the bottle
and ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-choo,
right up against the ceiling.
Grapes began falling back down again,
partially-fermented grapes.
And my mother was, she couldn't believe it.
She said, "Herman, it's raining."
"It's not raining.
It's the grapes that are dripping off the ceiling."
That was one of our failed attempts at canning. [laughing]
But it provided a moment,
and we always needed a moment
of something that was different
because life during the Depression
was bloody boring if you were a kid.
And this provided a story
that made the rounds of the neighborhood,
the Apps's with their exploding bottles.
- Announcer: Funding for Jerry Apps Food & Memories
is provided by
the Wooden Nickel Fund,
Greg and Carol Griffin,
the A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family,
Elizabeth Olson,
the Eleanor and Thomas Wildrick Family,
Stanley J. Cottrill Fund,
Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.