Daddy and his roots

The last time I really talked to my father, prior to our moving him to North Carolina, and he was still talking to me, he was telling me about his boyhood years and his Amish roots.

That got me thinking...Daddy never had an auto, didn't want one either. He did have a bicycle which he rode all over Runnemede and neighboring towns. He also would pay a bus driver to take him into Philly, and when he got older and wasn't riding the bike any more, he always paid someone to take him to the places he needed to go. A very Amish thing to do.

He also told me about the visits he had to one of his family's farm in Lancaster, PA. He loved going there, but for some reason there are no pictures of that farm.

Also, the things dad loved to eat could be taken right from any Amish cookbook. He loved creamed celery, which he got to eat rarely, so he substituted cream of celery soup. Not one of my favorites. He loved noodles and dumplings and pies and he always had bread and jelly with his dinner. Coffee was another favorite of dads, and he had several cups each day.

Now, some are saying, so what. He had coffee. Read any of Beverly Lewis' books. The characters in her books are always sitting down to have a cup of coffee, and they always have bread and jelly with dinner.

My mom put up enough jelly every summer so that she didn't have to buy any and dad especially loved her peach jam and her apple butter. Of course, we children loved mom's jams and jellies also, but we were rationed a couple of bites. Dad was very stingy with his wife's jellies and jams. I think my favorite was peach, but my sister and brothers liked the grape jelly.

ttfn