Love - The Odessa Record"By Your Relative"

Odessa Record subscriber Larry Fisher of Spokane continues his series of articles on the history of the Batum/Lauer area where his wife, the former Joyce Kiesz, grew up. Hi, here I am again. While talking with Virgil, Marian, and Joyce about their mother, they all remembered the following –(1.) Her weekly schedule while living out at Batum was; Monday, washing clothes; Tuesday, ironing clothes, Wednesday, “mid-week” baking, Thursday and Friday, cleaning the “main” house; Saturday, “serious” baking, Sunday, church. (2.) Her homes were always “spotless.” She would scrub the floor, then get down on her hands and knees, then use a rag with Johnson’s paste wax, go round, round, round, round, cleaning the floor, then take another rag, go round, round, round, polishing the floor until it would shine. (3.) She was well known as a fabulous cook. Every Saturday she did her “serious” baking. If you asked her for a recipe, she would say "just a little of this and a little of that." Her measuring device was her hand. (4.) She was a faithful member of the United Congregational Church, the Ladies Aid and the American Legion Auxiliary. (5.) When TV came to Odessa, after finishing her work in the kitchen for the day she would go to the living room, sit down, place her hands in her lap and watch the news and the Lawrence Welk show – she was “crazy” about Mr. Welk and felt he walked on water. Ha, Ha. (6.) She would bake at least three times a week using the old fashion potato water. (7.) She would can using a metal tub, hot water, wood racks and a wood stove. (8.) The only time she would sit down was to eat. (9.) She wore a corset with stays to stiffen her back from the time she got up in the morning untill bedtime. (10.) She made everything the family ate from “scratch.” No “fast” foods or frozen dinners in her day. She made plachinda, cheese pockets, all types of strudel including onion, schnitz soup, greble, kuchen/coffee cake, dumplings, spaetzle, noodles, home-made bread made with potato water, pigs in a blanket, sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, home-made pies. (11.) During her married life, her grandchildren and her four children were top priority. (12.) She usually had a smile on her face, Until next time.