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MARY AT THE FARM AND BOOK OF RECIPES COMPILED DURING HER VISIT AMONG THE
"PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS"
by
EDITH M. THOMAS
With Illustrations
1915
We love our Pennsylvania, grand old Keystone State;
Land of far famed rivers, and rock-ribbed mountains great.
With her wealth of "Dusky Diamonds" and historic valleys fair,
Proud to claim her as our birthplace; land of varied treasures rare.
PREFACE
The incidents narrated in this book are based on fact, and, while not
absolutely true in every particular, the characters are all drawn from
real life. The photographs are true likenesses of the people they are
supposed to represent, and while in some instances the correct names
are not given (for reasons which the reader will readily understand),
the various scenes, relics, etc., are true historically and
geographically. The places described can be easily recognized by any
one who has ever visited the section of Pennsylvania in which the plot
(if it can really be called a plot) of the story is laid. Many of the
recipes given Mary by Pennsylvania German housewives, noted for the
excellence of their cooking, have never appeared in print.
THE AUTHOR.
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY FRIENDS WITH GRATITUDE FOR THEIR MANY
HELPFUL KINDNESSES.
[Illustration]
"HE WHO HAS A THOUSAND FRIENDS, HAS NEVER A ONE TO SPARE."
THE HOUSEKEEPER'S SYMPHONY
"To do the best that I can, from morn till night.
And pray for added strength with coming light;
To make the family income reach alway,
With some left over for a rainy day;
To do distasteful things with happy face,
To try and keep the odds and ends in place.
To smile instead of frown at Fate,
Which placed me in a family always late
For meals; to do the sewing, mending and
The thousand small things always near at hand,
And do them always with a cheerful heart,
Because in life they seem to be my part;
To know the place of everything and keep
It there, to think, to plan, to cook, to sweep,
To brew, to bake, to answer questions,
To be the mainspring of the family clock.
(Or that effect) and see that no tick, tock
Is out of time or tune, or soon or late,
This is the only symphony which I
Can ever hope to operate."
MARION WILEY.
CONTENTS
I Mary's Letter Received at Clear Spring Farm
II Mary's Arrival at the Farm
III Schuggenhaus Township
IV John Landis
V The Old Farm-House and Garden
VI Mary Confides in "Aunt Sarah" and Gives Her Views on Suffrage
for Women
VII Professor Schmidt
VIII Uses of An Old-Fashioned Wardrobe
IX Poetry and Pie
X Sibylla Linsabigler
XI New Colonial Rag Rugs
XII Mary Imitates Navajo Blankets
XIII "The Girls' Camp Fire" Organized by Mary
XIV Mary Makes "Violet and Rose Leaf" Beads
XV Mary and Elizabeth Visit Sadie Singmaster
XVI The Old Parlor Made Beautiful (Modernized)
XVII An Old Song Evening
XVIII A Visit to the "Pennsylvania Palisades"
XIX Mary Is Taught to Make Pastry, Patties and Rosenkuchcen
XX Old Potteries and Decorated Dishes
XXI The Value of Wholesome, Nutritious Food
XXII A Variety of Cakes Evolved From One Recipe
XXIII The Old "Taufschien"
XXIV The Old Store on the Ridge Road
XXV An Elbadritchel Hunt
XXVI The Old Shanghai Rooster
XXVII A "Potato Pretzel"
XXVIII Faithful Service
XXIX Mary, Ralph, Jake and Sibylla Visit the Allentown Fair
XXX Fritz Schmidt Explores Durham Cave
XXXI Mary's Marriage
ILLUSTRATIONS
Mary
Aunt Sarah
The Old Spring House
The Old Mill Wheel
The Old Mill
Old Corn Crib
The New Red Barn
The Old Farm-House
Ralph Jackson
Rocky Valley
Professor Schmidt
Frau Schmidt
Old Time Patch-Work Quilts
Old Time Patch-Work
Home-Made Rag Carpet
A Hit-and-Miss Rug
A Brown and Tan Rug
A Circular Rug
Imitation of Navajo Blankets
Rug With Design
Rug With Swastika in Centre
Home Manufactured Silk Prayer Rug
Elizabeth Schmidt--"Laughing Water"
Articles in the Old Parlor Before It Was Modernized
Other Articles in the Old Parlor Before It Was Modernized
Palisades, or Narrows of Nockamixon
The Canal at the Narrows
The Narrows, or Pennsylvania Palisades
Top Rock
Ringing Rocks of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
High Falls
Big Rock at Rocky Dale
The Old Towpath at the Narrows
Old Earthenware Dish
Igraffito Plate
Old Plates Fund in Aunt Sarah's Corner Cupboard
Old Style Lamps
Old Taufschien
The Old Store on Ridge Road
Catching Elbadritchels
Old Egg Basket at the Farm
A Potato Pretzel
Loaf of Rye Bread
A "Brod Corvel," or Bread Basket
Church Which Sheltered Liberty Bell in 1777-78
Liberty Bell Tablet
Durham Cave
The Woodland Stream
Polly Schmidt
An Old-Fashioned Bucks County Bake-Oven
[Illustration: MARY]
CHAPTER I.
MARY'S LETTERS RECEIVED AT CLEAR SPRING FARM.
One morning in early spring, John Landis, a Pennsylvania German farmer
living in Schuggenhaus Township, Bucks County, on opening his mail
box, fastened to a tree at the crossroads (for the convenience of
rural mail carriers) found one letter for his wife Sarah, the envelope
addressed in the well-known handwriting of her favorite niece, Mary
Midleton, of Philadelphia.
[Illustration]
A letter being quite an event at "Clear Spring" farm, he hastened with
it to the house, finding "Aunt Sarah," as she was called by every one
(Great Aunt to Mary), in the cheery farm house kitchen busily engaged
kneading sponge for a loaf of rye bread, which she carefully deposited
on a well-floured linen cloth, in a large bowl for the final raising.
Carefully adjusting her glasses more securely over the bridge of her
nose, she turned at the sound of her husband's footsteps. Seeing the
letter in his hand she inquired: "What news, John?" Quickly opening
the letter handed her, she, after a hasty perusal, gave one of the
whimsical smiles peculiar to her and remarked decisively, with a
characteristic nod of her head: "John, Mary Midleton intends to marry,
else why, pray tell me, would she write of giving up teaching her
kindergarten class in the city, to spend the summer with us on the
farm learning, she writes, to keep house, cook, economize and to learn
how to get the most joy and profit from life?"
"Well, well! Mary is a dear girl, why should she not think of
marrying?" replied her husband; "she is nineteen. Quite time, I think,
she should learn housekeeping--something every young girl should know.
We should hear of fewer divorces and a less number of failures of men
in business, had their wives been trained before marriage to be good,
thrifty, economical housekeepers and, still more important, good
homemakers. To be a helpmate in every sense of the word is every
woman's duty, I think, when her husband works early and late to
procure the means to provide for her comforts and luxuries and a
competency for old age. Write Mary to come at once, and under your
teaching she may, in time, become as capable a housekeeper and as good
a cook as her Aunt Sarah; and, to my way of thinking, there is none
better, my dear."
Praise from her usually reticent husband never failed to deepen the
tint of pink on Aunt Sarah's still smooth, unwrinkled, youthful
looking face, made more charming by being framed in waves of silvery
gray hair, on which the "Hand of Time," in passing, had sprinkled some
of the dust from the road of life.
In size, Sarah Landis was a little below medium height, rather stout,
or should I say comfortable, and matronly looking; very erect for a
woman of her age. Her bright, expressive, gray eyes twinkled
humorously when she talked. She had developed a fine character by her
years of unselfish devotion to family and friends. Her splendid sense
of humor helped her to overcome difficulties, and her ability to rise
above her environment, however discouraging their conditions,
prevented her from being unhappy or depressed by the small annoyances
met daily. She never failed to find joy and pleasure in the faithful
performance of daily tasks, however small or insignificant. Aunt Sarah
attributed her remarkably fine, clear complexion, seldom equalled in a
woman of her years, to good digestion and excellent health; her love
of fresh air, fruit and clear spring water. She usually drank from
four to five tumblerfuls of water a day. She never ate to excess, and
frequently remarked: "I think more people suffer from over-eating than
from insufficient food." An advocate of deep breathing, she spent as
much of her time as she could spare from household duties in the open
air.
[Illustration: AUNT SARAH]
Sarah Landis was not what one would call beautiful, but good and
whole-souled looking. To quote her husband: "To me Sarah never looks
so sweet and homelike when all 'fussed up' in her best black dress on
special occasions, as she does when engaged in daily household tasks
around home, in her plain, neat, gray calico dress."
This dress was always covered with a large, spotlessly clean, blue
gingham apron of small broken check, and she was very particular about
having a certain-sized check. The apron had a patch pocket, which
usually contained small twists or little wads of cord, which, like
"The Old Ladies in Cranford," she picked up and saved for a possible
emergency.
One of Aunt Sarah's special economies was the saving of twine and
paper bags. The latter were always neatly folded, when emptied, and
placed in a cretonne bag made for that purpose, hanging in a
convenient corner of the kitchen.
Aunt Sarah's gingham apron was replaced afternoons by one made from
fine, Lonsdale cambric, of ample proportions, and on special occasions
she donned a hemstitched linen apron, inset at upper edge of hem with
crocheted lace insertion, the work of her own deft fingers. Aunt
Sarah's aprons, cut straight, on generous lines, were a part of her
individuality.
Sarah Landis declared: "Happiness consists in giving and in serving
others," and she lived up to the principles she advocated. She
frequently quoted from the "Sons of Martha," by Kipling:
"Lift ye the stone or cleave the wood, to make a path more fair or flat,
Not as a ladder from earth to heaven, not as an altar to any creed,
But simple service, simply given, to his own kind in their human need."
"I think this so fine," said Aunt Sarah, "and so true a sentiment that
I am almost compelled to forgive Kipling for saying 'The female of the
species is more deadly than the male.'"
Aunt Sarah's goodness was reflected in her face and in the tones of
her voice, which were soft and low, yet very decided. She possessed a
clear, sweet tone, unlike the slow, peculiar drawl often aiding with
the rising inflection peculiar to many country folk among the
"Pennsylvania Germans."
The secret of Aunt Sarah's charm lay in her goodness. Being always
surrounded by a cheery atmosphere, she benefited all with whom she
came in contact. She took delight in simple pleasures. She had the
power of extracting happiness from the common, little every-day tasks
and frequently remarked, "Don't strive to live without work, but to
find more joy in your work." Her opinions were highly respected by
every one in the neighborhood, and, being possessed of an unselfish
disposition, she thought and saw good in every one; brought out the
best in one, and made one long to do better, just to gain her
approval, if for no higher reward. Sarah Landis was a loyal friend and
one would think the following, by Mrs. Craik, applied to her:
"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, of feeling safe with a
person--having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but
pouring them all right out, just as they are--chaff and grain
together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep
what is worth keeping and then with the breath of kindness blow the
rest away."
She was never so happy as when doing an act of kindness for some poor
unfortunate, and often said. "If 'twere not for God and good people,
what would become of the unfortunate?" and thought like George
McDonald, "If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any
man or woman (I should add child) I shall feel that I have worked with
God."
Aunt Sarah's sweet, lovable face was the first beheld by many a
little, new-born infant; her voice, the first to hush its wailing
cries as she cuddled it up to her motherly breast, and oft, with
loving hands, softly closed the lids over eyes no longer able to see;
whom the Gracious Master had taken into His keeping.
One day I overheard Aunt Sarah quote to a sorrowing friend these fine,
true lines from Longfellow's "Resignation": "Let us be patient, these
severe afflictions not from the ground arise, but celestial
benedictions assume the dark disguise."
[Illustration: THE OLD SPRING HOUSE]