USA, Canada / Stories from Babcia's homeland Poland- Please join in the discussion [29]

I was surprised to see Ignac's post It seems that we both are from the same neighborhood.. Although I do not know Ignac, I can relate to his story.

As a young girl I too went to a farm in New Freedom Pa. with my Busia. We slept on straw mattresses, in a wood shack with a kerosene lantern for light..We all worked. We girls were left behind to cook and bake for the old folks. We did this on a community stove with a steel plate for the top. The stove was fired by logs,and was never allowed to go out. The was a five gallon coffee pot on at all times. It was filled with water and coffee grounds were put in. It tasted like strychnine,but no one cared. It kept them awake. We made the borscht mentioned in ignac post with,fresh beans, milk from cows,and sour cream, and pickle juice..We also made potato placki,corn fritters, baked our own bread and babka. We even made punczki.

The boys went out to steal watermelons, canteloups, apples and anything else. When the old folks came back from work, dinner was ready.. After cleaning up after dinner. There were two men. One playing a violin and the other a concertina.. We sang polish songs and danced until bedtime..After the growing season was over, we went back to school. To us kids, it was fun. We looked forward to it every year.