Cooking for Threshers
Written by Loraite (Rossman) Teays

March 1992

    The day that "threshers" came to the farm was a busy one for everybody. I have helped mother prepare meals, for the men, many times. In 1932, when I was 15 years old, it was August and "threshing day" was getting close. It just happened that Grandma and Grandpa Rossman were planning to go "up north, for a few days. They wanted mother and dad to of with them. Mother was "hesitant", as she was afraid that Benny (who was running) the farm would have the "threshers" come while she was away. She thought it would be too much work for me and sister Mae to cook for them. (We were the two oldest girls at home) Mother finally said she would go on the trip, after Benny promised her he wouldn't have the "threshers" while she was gone.

     Well, wouldn't you know a few minutes after our grandparents, mother, dad and youngest sister Shirley (5 years old) left on their trip, Benny was on the phone making plans to have the "threshers" come, two days form then! Mae and I cleaned the house nicely that first day and on the next day we baked pies and cakes, did the shopping for the roast beef for the next day's dinner and hot dogs for supper and everything that would be needed.

     Threshing day "arrived" and we were "up" bright and early. After breakfast was over, we started preparing dinner for 14 men-plus our own family. The men arrived about eight o'clock, with their horses and wagons. They had to haul the grain from the fields, up to the barn, where the "threshing machine"  “puffing was away".

    The menu consisted of roast beef potatoes and gravy, baked beans, cole slaw, pickles and jelly, bread and butter and pie and coffee, for dessert. We had to peel lots of potatoes, as we wanted to have enough left over so we could fix "American fries" for supper to go with the hotdogs.

     We had to "carry" lots of water form the "well" to fill the washtub, which we put out side of the kitchen, on crates along with several towels and bars of soap. The younger children, Dorothy and Abe helped us carry to water. "Threshing" is a very dirty and dusty job and there were too many men to "wash up" in our clean kitchen.
We even hung an old mirror on the outside of the kitchen wall, so they could "see" to comb their hair.

     Well, dinner "went over" real well and the men told us girls, "it was just as good as if our mother had been there.” The men always "enjoyed" coming to our house to eat, as they knew that mother would have lots of good food for them. The "compliments" gave us the "courage" to start getting ready for supper.

     After washing and drying the many dinner dishes, we "set the table" for supper, emptied the dirty wash water out of the tub, filled it again for the men to use at supper time and then took a little "time out" to rest.

     Supper would be a little easier to prepare.  The menu was hot dogs American fries, some kind of home canned vegetables, more cole slaw, bread and buffer, pickles and jelly. The dessert would be mothers "home canned" peaches and the loaf cakes and coffee or iced tea.  After supper, the men thanked Mae and I for two good meals, which made us very happy.

     Of course, when the folks came home a few days later, mother really "bawled out" Benny for puffing all that work on us girls. We told her that we didn't mind it and we were able to do a good job, because we had the best teacher in the world - her.

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