What’s For Dinner?

meant the old wood cook stove was in for a workout. The meat had to
be on to cook. Pies and cakes had to be baked. The neighbor women
and girls who were old enough to help would all gather and start
preparing the meal for that day.

In our neighborhood the thresher-man was Mr. Bill Timerberg. He
had a 19 HP Keck-Gonnerman engine #1847 and a separator of the same
make. Bill was an excellent threshing man. Kept the machinery in
top shape at all times.

On one particular morning, about sunrise, as usual the whistle
on #1847 sounded and he was heading for the Clarence Graue farm,
near Mineolo, Missouri, a distance of about 3 miles. The whistle
prompted Mrs. Graue to check her kitchen for supplies, and she
needed a few things from the store.

They had a 1929 Chevrolet that was nearly new, which was always
kept in the garage. They also had a pair of goats. Upon Mr.
Graue’s return from the store, he parked the car under the
shade tree, took his wife the kitchen supplies, and went out to the
barn to get some sacks ready for seed wheat.

I am sure if Mr. Graue were alive today he wouldn’t object
to my telling this. While he was at the barn, the goats took a tour
on top of his car, which resulted in the top having to be replaced.
Upon noticing this, Billy Goat Gruff and his girl friend Nonnie
suddenly became candidates to furnish the meat for the threshing
dinner. By then, a couple of neighbors had shown up to help
thresh.

Soon butcher knives were flashing in the morning sun as the
goats were cleaned and cooled in spring water nearby. Everyone
agreed they had an excellent dinner that day.

My mother told of a time when she was a girl, back about 1914.
She went to help with the preparation of a threshing dinner and
this family always saved two big hams to cook for the threshers.
Mother said when they went to the smoke house to get them, they
discovered the rats had gotten there first and all that was left
were the bones and little of the rinds. The only thing left to do
was head for the chicken house, she said. Several roosters ceased
to crow and some old hens were fixed so they wouldn’t lay any
more eggs.

Back then, banana pie was a real special treat. Bill Rohning was
very fond of these pies. When the whistle tooted for dinner, Bill
came in and caught sight of a banana pie, which had been
transferred to an old fashioned paper plate the kind that would
soak up some of the juice.

He said that would be enough dinner for him, and without looking
he tore into it and ate the paper plate and all. The other fellows
turned their heads and laughed. Later, they asked him how the pie
was and he said real good, but the crust sure was tough.

I can well remember the 10 gallon crock jars full of iced tea
and lemonade, another time a threshing dinner was being prepared.
And they had planned to have a fruit salad, but somehow the fruit
salad bowl got dropped. The family had just purchased a new slop
jar had the price tag on it and hadn’t been used for its
intended purpose, and it worked very well.

We men who helped thresh have complained about the heat, the
dust and sweat, but the women folks didn’t have it easy with
the wood cook stoves that was a hot job, too. All these people I
have mentioned are now deceased.