AMERICA's DISAPPEARING FOODWAYS

RobinB · August 9, 2014

My mom, who was born in 1922, grew up on a farm in very rural Mississippi. If they didn't raise it, grow it or hunt it, they didn't survive. My grandma canned everything, I remember seeing rows and rows of mason jars in a room off her kitchen. Going to the store was reserved for the very few items that they couldn't produce themselves (or swap their neighbors for). I was lucky enough to spend several weeks down there every summer growing up, and I also remember sitting out on the front porch snapping green beans. Everybody was put to work. The kids were always sent off to gather wild blackberries which were often made into cobblers. Mom had a story she used to tell about her father and brothers processing sorghum every year using their oxen walking around in a circle (somehow). They didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing until the mid 60s, so they smoked meats, canned foods, had a huge veggie garden. They would roll watermelons downhill from where they grew them to a pond to keep them cool. Preserving everything for the coming winter was serious business. Everyday dinners usually included fried chicken (which they raised), special occasions included ham. It's amazing how many memories have to do with food! It was simple, homemade and delicious!

Sadly, Mom and Dad (whose family farmed too) moved away and didn't look back. I don't know for sure, but I think they associated "having" to grow/raise their own food with being poor. My dad made a good living, so they could buy everything we needed.

August 9, 2014	#18
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	My mom, who was born in 1922, grew up on a farm in very rural Mississippi. If they didn't raise it, grow it or hunt it, they didn't survive. My grandma canned everything, I remember seeing rows and rows of mason jars in a room off her kitchen. Going to the store was reserved for the very few items that they couldn't produce themselves (or swap their neighbors for). I was lucky enough to spend several weeks down there every summer growing up, and I also remember sitting out on the front porch snapping green beans. Everybody was put to work. The kids were always sent off to gather wild blackberries which were often made into cobblers. Mom had a story she used to tell about her father and brothers processing sorghum every year using their oxen walking around in a circle (somehow). They didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing until the mid 60s, so they smoked meats, canned foods, had a huge veggie garden. They would roll watermelons downhill from where they grew them to a pond to keep them cool. Preserving everything for the coming winter was serious business. Everyday dinners usually included fried chicken (which they raised), special occasions included ham. It's amazing how many memories have to do with food! It was simple, homemade and delicious! Sadly, Mom and Dad (whose family farmed too) moved away and didn't look back. I don't know for sure, but I think they associated "having" to grow/raise their own food with being poor. My dad made a good living, so they could buy everything we needed.