Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled During Her Visit Among the "Pennsylvania Germans"Thomas, Edith May Bertels
General
Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled During Her Visit Among the "Pennsylvania Germans"
Thomas, Edith May Bertels
Cookbooks; Cooking -- Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania -- Social life and customs; Pennsylvania Dutch
"Gypsy," the secretary, then read the "Count" for the last meeting and
called the roll, and the girls handed in the list of honors they had
won in the last month. Some amused themselves playing games, while
others gathered more wood.
At five o'clock the corn and white and sweet potatoes were in the fire
roasting. A jolly circle of girls around the fire were busily engaged
toasting "Weiners" for the feast, which was finally pronounced ready
to be partaken of. The hungry girls "fell to" and everything eatable
disappeared as if by magic; and last, but not least, was the toasting
of marshmallows, speared on the points of long, two-pronged sticks
(broken from near-by trees), which were held over the fire until the
marshmallows turned a delicate color. When everything had been eaten,
with the exception of several cardboard boxes, corn cobs and husks,
the girls quickly cleared up. Then, seated around the fire, told what
they knew of Indian legends and folklore.
Noticing the sun slowly sinking in the West, they quickly gathered
together their belongings and started homeward singing, "My Country,
'tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty."
Thus broke up the second Council Fire, and in the heart of each girl
was the thought of how much the Campfire was helping them to love God
and His works.
CHAPTER XIV.
MARY MAKES "VIOLET" AND "ROSE LEAF" BEADS.
"Aunt Sarah," exclaimed Mary one day, "you promised to tell me exactly
how you made those 'Rose Beads' you have."
"Yes, my dear, and you must make the beads before the June roses are
gone. The process is very simple. If you would have them very sweet,
get the petals of the most fragrant roses. I used petals of the
old-fashioned, pink 'hundred leaf' and 'blush roses.' Gather a
quantity, for you will need them all. Grind them to a pulp in the food
chopper, repeat several times and place the pulp and juice into an
_iron_ kettle or pan. This turns the pulp black, which nothing but an
iron kettle will do; cook, and when the consistency of dough it is
ready to mold into beads. Take a bit of the dough, again as large as
the size you wish your beads to be when finished, as they shrink in
size when dried, and make them of uniform size, or larger ones for the
centre of the necklace, as you prefer. Roll in the palms of your
hands, until perfectly round, stick a pin through each bead, then
stick the pins into a bake board. Be careful the bead does not touch
the board, as that would spoil its shape. Allow the beads to remain
until perfectly dry. If they are to have a dull finish, leave as they
are. If you wish to polish them, take a tiny piece of vaseline on the
palm of the hand and rub them between the palms until the vaseline is
absorbed. Then string them on a linen thread. Keep in a closed box to
preserve their fragrance. Those I showed you, Mary, I made many years
ago, and the scent of the roses clings 'round them still.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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