Keeper of the 'old ways'

I was recently asked to explain the new interest in canning and preserving.

Oh the stories I could tell, when it comes to putting up a harvest of any type and anything that could be preserved in a country kitchen down in Galia County! Yes, that is Southern Ohio. The Great and the Grandmas, their daughters and their children’s children...

It was women born out of the civil war and their children born in the roaring 1920’s only to experience the great stock market crash and the years of depression and World Wars. It truly was the best of times and the worst of times. Yet, the art of survival demonstrated its strength in the many women of the early 1900’s. Tougher than the grit they had on their bodies from working farmlands while sons & daughters were off to war or pulled into sweatshops of all types! I have spent the last 45 years taking every opportunity to teach my girls and guys and the women in my many communities of fellowship, all about the ins and outs of canning and preserving. My cup runneth over with the young ones who are eager to be trained. So, the art of preserving can be looked at as a way to sharpen your skills for survival, or maybe it's another way for you to throw yourself into a hobby. Regardless of your intent, I am hopeful that your life will be blessed with the art of both survival and preserving.