I was six, and we lived in Evansville, IN when I first remember Grandma making the Date-nut roll. The year was 1942 and we lived in a little 2 room apartment upstairs, near the downtown area. Years later when I asked Grandma where she got the recipe, she had only said that a friend had given it to her. The experience of tasting that date-nut roll was heavenly.... I'd never had anything like it before! Never have I heard of, or tasted anything exactly like it since. The only thing that comes near to compare it - is a fruit cake. But before I give you the recipe, I'd like to give a little background of our brief, one year stay, in Evansville.

When we first moved to the "Big City" from the little burg of Eldorado, IL, we lived with Grandma's aunt Minnie GENTRY Gagnon, (her namesake). Grandma's maiden name was Minnie Ann Talbott, and her mother, Hattie Gentry, was Minnie Gagnon's sister. Aunt Minnie owned property downtown right above the "American Theater". This is where we moved - into a little room next to Aunt Minnie. Everyone shared the bath down the hall. There were not laundromats in those days. I remember grandma washing clothes in an old wringer washer in the room everyone used to do their laundry, and then hanging the clothes upstairs in the attic with a lone yellow light bulb dangling from the ceiling. The attic was musty and dim, and that yellow light remained my mind as a beacon in the night in that scary "forbidden" place upstairs.

The American Theater, as I said, was downstairs and on the main street. I was 6 years old, and had never gone to the show by myself before but, they allowed me to go as they thought it was safe because it was so close. (Something I would never have considered with my children) I remember the "Serials" that were continued each week, that I just "had" to see. Red Ryder, Batman, Charlie Chan, and numerous others that escape my mind now, were among the features that I enjoyed.

Speaking of theaters, we often attended the Lowes theater a few block south and toward the Ohio river. This theater was more elegant than the "American". The lines were always long, and everyone standing in line was friendly and talked the whole while we were waiting. This of course, helped pacify an antsy little six year old. We also loved to walk down to the Ohio River to watch the boats and barges slowly go up and down. There was a park at the river, and much of the town turned out at least once a week for the dances and other entertainment available there. It was there that I remember seeing my first "zink" penny. Copper was also scarce because of the war, so copper in pennies was replaced with zink. They were shiny at first, and looked like dimes. As they aged a little, they turned grey and dull.

The whole city was abuzz with the war...soldiers were everywhere reveling, and having a general good old time, as they awaited orders to be shipped overseas. Mother was in the process of getting a divorce from dad at that time, so she enjoyed the attention that was paid to her by a lot of the young men. She was a very pretty young woman, being about 22 at the time, and she worked at the Woolworth store downtown.

Speaking of the war, dad was exempted because of his hearing....I don't remember his hearing being that bad. One of the laws during the time of the war was that you couldn't divorce without a waiting period. Mother had to wait for a year for her divorce to be final.

When we first arrived in Evansville, Grandma worked at a little hole in the wall cafe downstairs from our room. From there she went to work at the White Swan laundry. She worked hard for very little pay. A large industrial firm, Serveles, was transformed into a war plant to make airplane wings. Grandma was trying to get a job there, as the pay was good. A regulation during the war, was that you couldn't leave one job for another until you had a release from the first job. Of course, the laundry didn't want to release Grandma and give her the necessary paper she needed to obtain the coveted job at the war plant. They did at last give her the release, and she was off to work at Serveles, to make more money than she'd ever made in her life. She said that the first week or so at the plant she was terrified as to the enormity of the size of the facilities. She got lost, which quite unnerved her at the time, but eventually she got used to it.

Another thing that sticks in my mind about our time in Evansville was the rationing and the mock air raids. Some food was scarce and had to be rationed. The troops overseas were to be supplied with food, so that came first. We at home we to sacrifice so that the soldiers could have their necessary provisions. This was accepted as a fact of life and no one complained that I ever heard about. Some of the food items rationed were: coffee, sugar, canned milk, etc. Gasoline was also rationed but, this didn't affect us as we didn't have a car . Everyone was issued rationing stamps, and were only allowed a designated amount per household, per month. Another item you couldn't get was "silk" hose for women. (Before nylons) Silk was used for parachutes, so the women used "leg makeup" to replace the hose.

A scary thing for me were the air raids. When the sirens blew at night, all lights had to go out! From a city bright and bustling with lights one moment, to pitch black in a number of seconds was pretty scary for a child. This was a mock raid in case of surprise attack. Thinking back, I don't know why they did that in Evansville, as it was near the middle of the country, but they did. Back then the enemy didn't have the capability of flying that far. I guess because of the war plant being located there, they observed this practice.

Now, to the date-nut roll. I remember Grandma working on it a few days before Christmas as it was supposed to "age" a little to be at it's best. She made one every year as I was growing up, and occasionally in the years to follow. I guess she just got tired of the trouble, as there were several steps to the process. There was not the conveniences that there is today, so the whole thing was from scratch.

2 lb graham crackers

1 small pkg marshmallows

2 lb dates

1 large can Milnot - trademark (evaporated milk product)

2 lb English walnuts

Roll graham crackers between waxed paper with rolling pin til fine crumbs (Today you can buy the crumbs in a box.) Cut marshmallows into small pieces with kitchen shears that have been dipped in water. This step is the most important. (Do NOT buy the miniature marshmallow! It will not stick properly) Mix all together with the Milnot. Roll in additional cracker crumbs. Make into rolls and wrap in waxed paper. (Could use saran wrap today) Let set for a few days to ripen. May add marichino cherries if desired.

This is making me hungry for the taste of years gone by. You know what? I think I will make one this year for my family... perhaps the tradition can be revived... whaddya think?

(1998 - writing assignment, for class on Virtual University online)