However there were some people who liked to do their own baking, so since yeast could not be bought as now, at the grocery store, papa sold yeast which he made himself both dry and liquid. He boiled a pan of hops in water for a certain length of time, then drained and cooled the liquid. When the right temperature was reached, he added some starter yeast and flour. He increased the amount until he had about two pails of liquid yeast. Then it was stored in a cool place on the cellar steps. This was sold for one center per cup. The dry yeast was made by using corn meal mixture was spread out to dry, weighed out in eight ounce lots and packed ready for sale at five cents per sack.
The dairy was particular work too. Usually ten to twelve cows were miked morning and evening. In summer, when the cows were kept in the pasture over night, everyone had to get up at five in the morning. Our stepmother and four of the children milked, so it didn't take very long. I was too young to milk but I often went out to watch and listen to the jokes and interesting talk they had while working. The cows were given feed to eat while being milked and later watered before being returned to the pasture or bedded down in fresh straw. We didn't know too much about germs in those days, but we knew that disease could be carried in milk and it had to be cooled as soon as possible. Not having a refigerator, we had a long narrow wooden case with a lid, built out on the deep well platform. The warm milk was put into earthen jars and set in this long case. We then pumped well water into it until the milk cooled in the jars. An outlet pipe carried the cold water off into the garden after it had cooled the milk. The water was changed several times per day depending upon the temperature of the weather. We also kept out butter with the milk except in the hottest summer weather when we put it in a pan and hung it in the deep cool well.
The third project, the farm, gradually became the responsibility of my older brother Fred. He enjoyed farming, specially the responsibility. When the busy season came, the younger brothers, Will and Ben, helped him a great deal. Planting potatoes for the family winter supply was fun. At least six of us cut the potatoes up for the project and all went out on a nice spring day to drop them in the furrows Fred had ploughed for us. I always thoroughly enjoyed these family projects, especially since my older brothers and sisters had a loving attitude toward little sister Annie. Our family was closely knit since we did so much important work together. Even my stepmother seemed to have a different attitude toward me than she had toward the older children. I remember her rocking me and singing me a German lullaby when she first came. It still rings in my head: "Hei-a ba bei-a dic breilich sind gut wenn mann viell milich und gukar drauf tut." However, I soon was too big a girl for rocking, especially since step mother gained weight which interfered with her lap space. She even asked my father to give me to her as her very own and take me with her to the German Lutheran church where she attended. This he refused to do.
He, with all of the children, attended the baptist church both Sunday school, where he taught the bible class, and to the church services that followed. He had carried me to church when I was too small to walk the distance to the farther end of town. Since he had very different doctorine beliefs, he did not want me brought up a Lutheran. However, he did not object to my stepmother taking me with her when the church had special celebrations. I remember with pleasure the huge christmas tree reaching almost to the high ceiling of the church, lighted with several hundred candles. A man stood by all through the services with a long pole with a snuffer at the end of it so that any candle burning low could be put out. The Christmas program consisted of recitations and songs by the Sunday school children. At the end, a treat of candy was passed out to all children. |
