Notes for Mary Ethel Dailey: From Ethel's son Dean:
My memory of meals my mother made is quite dim. I do know that we had home made bacon, sausage, bread, cake, cookies, and croissants Then too we had other pork cuts, and all the cuts of beef which were usually roasted in the oven; barbecue grilling was unknown. Milk came from our cows, butter was churned from the separated cream, flour came from the mill where we took wheat to be milled into flour. At the store, we bought yeast, shortening (like Crisco), sugar, salt, peanut butter in glass jars, flavorings, etc. In short, because of the very considerable talents of my parents, we were very well fed and almost self-sustaining. We also bought rolled oats (oatmeal) in a round cardboard container, cream of wheat in a box, and flour sometimes in 50-pound sacks.
Breakfast was pancakes with sausage or bacon in season, or cream -of -wheat or oatmeal both of which had to be cooked for several minutes. Great home made soda biscuits were often on the table. Lunch and supper was not that varied - heavy on mashed potatoes and gravy. Always we had delicious homemade bread and butter at every meal. Most of the gravy was 'cream,' i.e., made in a large cast iron skillet with a tablespoon of bacon drippings into which a couple tablespoons of flour was stirred and browned, then whole milk was added and cooked and simmered until the desired consistency was reached. Delicious. Potatoes came from the cellar where a year's supply from a large potato patch was stored every early fall. Also, in the cellar we had turnips, carrots, beets, and all kinds of home canned vegetables and meats. For snacks we had peanut butter and home made jelly sandwiches; our school lunches were commonly peanut butter sandwiches, with a couple cookies or a piece of cake, and sometimes an apple, orange, or banana. In sum, our menus were simple and mostly of home made ingredients; there were no pre-packaged or instant anything available. All bakery items were made from scratch - sift the flour, mix in the yeast and shortening, and salt, knead the dough for 10 or 15 minutes, roll the dough out on a board, shape it into loaves or cake or cookie mode, let it 'rise for half hour or so, place it in the appropriate pan, stick it in the oven of the wood-burning kitchen stove and bake it until 'golden' brown. In the summer time, we often had fresh grapes, peaches, plums, apples and pears from the garden as well as watermelon and muskmelon. For special treats, we made homemade ice cream with a hand-cranked freezer (using ice delivered to the kitchen icebox once or twice a week). In winter we often had home grown popcorn after supper as we played some kind of card games. Our entertainment was very basic as there was no TV, and radio was by crystal set (no electricity) which was of poor and intermittent reception. In the 30's, radios powered by lead-acid batteries (like heavy car batteries) were available and provided 2 or 3 hours of better but not good reception of programs of limited cultural content before the batteries were exhausted. Otherwise, our time was spent growing, gathering, and reaping and storing the fundamental necessities; and preparing the foodstuffs for the table.
Prepare the meals by adding a pinch of this, or a spoonful of that, stirring and mixing and cooking or baking by instinct and experience. There were no exotic dishes.
More About Mary Ethel Dailey: Burial: Unknown, Rosehill Cemetery, Douglas, NE.
More About Mary Ethel Dailey and Claude Smith French: Marriage: 2 Oct 1898, M. E. Church, Parker, SD.
Children of Mary Ethel Dailey and Claude Smith French are:
Verda Loleta French, b. 18 Dec 1899, Watson, MO, d. 11 Feb 1977, Muskegon, MI.
+Marvin Maxwell French, b. 6 Sep 1901, Douglas, NE, d. 6 Jan 2002, San Diego Co., CA.
+Glenn Archie French, b. 8 Sep 1906, Thurman, IA, d. 4 Jul 1977, Clear Lake, CA.
Elberta Rose French, b. 24 Oct 1908, Bennett, Lancastershire County, NE, d. 22 Oct 2007, Providence Marianwood, Issaquah, WA.
+Forrest Wayne French, b. 24 Jan 1914, Douglas, NE, d. 19 Dec 1973, San Pablo, CA.
+Warren Merle French, b. 11 Jul 1918, Douglas, NE, d. 15 Jan 2005, Nevada City, CA.
Mary Ethel Dailey (b. 1 Jun 1880, d. 16 Feb 1971)
Notes for Mary Ethel Dailey: