The aunt we never knews

 Mom said her sister Loretta died at the end of October, 1938.
It was October 27th, seventy-two years ago today.

I think I would have liked Aunt Loretta, and mom wouldn't have felt so alone all those years.

There's a Portuguese word for a sense of missing something or someone you never had.  It's a sense of saudade for the aunt we never knew.

The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota

You have to admit I'm incredibly FUNNY!

Larry and I were talking about the history of Hawaii (where he grew up), and that led to discussing the statue of King Kamehameha on the Big Island and how the statue came to be. He mentioned that the image was used on the Hawaii statehood quarter, too, and googled it to show me ☺.  HERE'S ONE SITE that illustrates all the state coins...Minnesota has a bit of everything, Georgia has an unfortunate butt-shaped peach, and Hawaii  has the Roman-senator-like king.  THAT led us to state seals, and why Minnesota's is in French.

The earliest Europeans in Minnesota were French fur traders & explorers (Nicolet, Radisson, Marquette, Sieur Du Luth,  La Salle ) followed by French priests, in the 1630s to 1680s.  I suppose that felt like history by the time 1858 rolled around, huh?

Anyway, I remember being chagrined when I first saw The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota.  I was sure it would be German or Swedish or Norwegian and have a beer stein and a concertina, at least.  A French motto still feels wrong, don't you think?  But, 'Der Star des Nordens' doesn't have the same cache, I suppose....lol

What do these clippings have in common?

A recipe from Mrs Owens Cookbook from 1903

Gawd, I'm so FUNNY sometimes!

64 years ago today

Johann Heinrich NABER

THIS seems to me to be a really precious document for the Naber family in 1878 Nebraska.  It gave them ownership of 80 acres because they'd lived there for six years, and they'd improved it.  That 12 X 27 soddy was about the size of a small one car garage, and the 10 X 20 one is mentioned as a second house...like for sleeping maybe?

Below, December 1st, 1877, John becomes a citizen of the United States, and so his whole family became citizens too.
(John Heinrich was my grandmothers' uncle, or Great grandpa Gerhards' brother).

THANK YOU to Larry, and to the state of Nebraska for digitizing these records...

Royalton, Minnesota in 1922

WHY does Royalton figure so large in the history of our families in Buckman?  Well, Royalton was relatively close, and had a railroad station on the north-south Great Northern line, not to mention that there are few hills between the two towns, so hauling stuff there would be easier on the team.  Also, the Royalton rural mail delivery incredibly included the Janson farm a mile west of Buckman.  Then too, Royalton was the second largest city in Morrison County and aggressively recruited settlers.  It was built on the Platte river and there were a couple of mills using the water power (a flour mill and a saw mill).  So it's not so odd that this photo was published in the Minneapolis Morning Tribune of October 1st, 1922.  If you were on the train going northwest from Minneapolis, it's a town you might be curious about...

Quick--where was Joe Blow's Bar eventually located?

Zenner's Sausage

When we bought the store in Buckman from Kilian and Dela Zenner,  part of the purchase was learning how to make their wonderful sausage.  Local folks loved it, and vacationers and hunters stopped especially for the sausage on their way 'up north' or 'to the lake'.  They were loyal either to Zenner's Sausage OR Thielen's Sausage (Pierz), not both.  (Thielen's seemed a bit sweeter to me, and the meat was ground finer.  Zenner's was WAY better!)

Anyway, at the time, we were sworn to secrecy.  This was a recipe NOT to be shared, even with family.  It was a sacred trust, ya know?

But now, so much has changed.  It's been over 30 years since the last batch was made at Zenners.   Kilian and Adela have been gone for more than 20 years.  Even the building that was Zenners is gone...maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to share the recipe now, huh?  A sort of Legacy gift from them to us.....especially if some of YOU make it, and think about your memories of Buckman and them...

Of course, you can make this in any quantity you like--as little as a pound or two--and make it into links or not; have it smoked, or not.  It's almost as good frozen in patties, unsmoked.  

As to the amount of garlic, I think you can never have too much.  We were usually limited by how long it took to peel and chop all that garlic, but these days, you can buy quart jars of it, ready to use.  

The mustard seed adds a little flavor, but I add it cuz it's such a treat to find one stuck in your teeth afterwards...lol  DO make a batch, ok?  

It tastes so much like HOME.

Added MUCH later: Here's a workaround if you can't get 

Morton's Sausage seasoning~

 

Morton Sausage Seasoning Knock-off: It can be difficult obtaining Morton's sausage seasoning at a reasonable price. If you can't find it or are unwilling to pay outrageous shipping fees, try this recipe: 4 tsp Kosher salt | 4 tsp ground or rubbed sage | 2 tsp fine ground black pepper | 2 tsp red pepper flakes | 1 or 2 tsp Coriander 

This recipe should flavor 4lbs of ground meat.

A sincere THANK YOU to Kilian and Adela Zenner