Welcome to our group, Marilyn, and thank you for sharing your memories of your grandmother. I remember a scene similar to the one you describe, of my father coming home from the Winnipeg Public Market, carrying a clucking chicken under his arm, wrapped in newspaper--buying a dead bird in the store just wasn't good enough. I couldn't bear to watch him kill the bird in the basement, but I didn't mind helping my mother with the plucking and eviscerating part. As you love discussions about food, the recipes here will no doubt bring back memories of your grandmothers cooking: http://www.dvhh.org/cooking-donauschwaben-style/ Rose On 31 May 2014 20:15, Marilyn McClaskey <m-mccl@umn.edu> wrote: > Since I have jumped in on the Kraut Glace, I will introduce myself as > a new listmember. My nameis Marilyn McClaskey, nee Hochban. I grew > up until age 6 with my grandmother in the household. (She died when I > was 6, in 1953.) My childhood memories include visiting Mr. Most, > the butcher, and the Alexandrias' grocery store. On Sundays we would > sometimes visit with other friends from the Old Country (which I > thought was Germany) and they would sit and visit in German > together. We brought home live chickens from the farmers' market and > she killed them in the basement, making pastry brushes from the > feathers, using every part of the bird. She did not need to read Joy > of Cooking to know how to pluck and dress a bird. She made lye soap, > and there was a small two burner gas stove in the basement where she > canned everything. She made saurkraut,, her own dumplings, bread, > noodles. When she died, I was numb and did not grieve until I was in > my 20s. Then everything came flooding back, the German prayer she > taught me, detailed memories and feelings. > > In 1982 my husband and I travelled to Winnipeg and a relative in the > next generation from my grandmother told the story, the history. He > showed us a book published in Ohio in the late 70s with a map of > Zichydorf and which family lived in each house. I looked at the > family photos from studios in the Old Country and saw the Serbian and > Croatian doubled address on them. They put the Ellis Island records > online in the 90s and I found the ship's manifest with the 35~ pieces > of information about each passenger. I gathered my cousin and my > sister's family to make a pilgrimage with me to Ellis Isalnd on the > 100-year anniversary of their arrival, 11-22-2008. I think my next > step is to go to Zichyfeld and to Setschanfeld where she was born. > > I'm looking forward to the discussions on this list! (maybe > especially the ones about food) > > Marilyn Hochban McClaskey > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >