Notre Dame is playing Navy today as they have  every year since 1927. My aunt Anna Rapp gives it a mention in her 1941 diary when she was almost 18:

Saturday   Dear Diary, Up at 8:00, ate. Did dishes. Went uptown and bought groceries. Ate dinner (that is what they called lunch), Washed my clothes (No automatic washers at that time, so most likely by hand.) I mopped the kitchen floor . Listened to Navy Vs. Notre Dame game.  Heard Glenn Miller.  Oh Darn! Is he swell. After supper Arrys, Rosies and we wentto Warsaw. Saw" Ladies in Retirement"...Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, and Evelyn Keys...Good! Ate at Liberty.
 (I well remember the Liberty Cafe on Center street...famous for their Manhattan sandwich.)

My sister- in-law, Carol, hosted a family luncheon several weeks ago on on a Sunday afternoon.  She is really good at this and even gave a preview of the next one where we will get to see my other sister- in-law, Diana. 
My husband's older sister, Marilyn, had a profound influence on us. She has been gone for years but still the memory of her personality is with us.
Marilyn's son Jim (Dr. James Slough from Buffalo) was present at this event which prompted me to show him a recipe from the Sloughs I was given before I became a Long. 
                  
               Aunt Minny's Salisbury Steak
Aunt Minny's nickname was given to her by her little brother who could not pronounce Marilyn. He spelled it with a y ..she spelled it with "ie".  She had to put up with that all those years, but she grew up and married Uncle Tom.  Anyway, not long after they were married, the couple, up from a tiny apartment in Indy, stayed over at the Sloughs in Bourbon. There must have been some family celebration because all of Tom's brothers were there. The Longs were invited and that included me because we were engaged. Carol, Diana and Grandma Martha were there to scope out the digs. It was at this infamous occasion when Mrs. Slough, a delicate bird of a woman, chose a lull in the conversation to inquire of her son, James, if he had expelled gas.
Aunt Min was trying to cut food expenses and still cook what Tom remembered from childhood. That day Mrs. Slough gave her a recipe that served us through .  It won't necessarily give you gas.

1 lb. ground beef      1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons catsup    1/2 cup finely chop onion
1 tablespoon each water and steak sauce.
salt and pepper...now I add dried herbs

Combine all ingredients in order listed. Form large patties. Lightly roll in flour. Brown.  Pour in 1 can of creamed soup or 1/2 cup water Simmer on very low heat 45 minutes.



 

Rapp
My aunt Anna Rapp, who kept a diary throughout 1941, mentions that the Koscuisko County fair was going on this day that year. It was held in downtown Warsaw as it had been for many years. The midway was mostly on Center and Buffalo streets. The 4H exhibits were down the hill toward the lake. Since I was an elementary school girl and not in 4 H yet I only remember the rides.

My daughter, Grace, urges me to keep writing my blog even though no one comments. It does not mean they are not reading all the family history. Anyway doctors say it is good therapy for anxiety.

Today's topic is ....Health in the 1930s and 1940s

There were health standards in the thirties and forties just as there are today; only they were very different.

I was a thin child. Shirley Temple was the dimpled picture of health parents of the day were presented . Not only was I thin but had freaky white straight hair; not bouncy dark curls like Shirley.

A lot of people did not have enough to eat during that period so overweight people were thought to be extra healthy. People just naturally died of heart disease.  It was thought that this was normal and anyone who suggested changing the way people ate to gain better health was thought to be weird. Consequently, like other little girls who looked unhealthy, I took the dreaded cod liver oil by spoon every day all winter long.

Doctors were few and revered as "Gods" They did come to the house but medicine was not advanced enough to be much help to them or their patients. We went to clinics for what immunizations were available.

 When school started in the fall, the first thing the administration ordered was that all students were checked for lice.  It was an absolute scandal when a very popular pretty  girl from a prominent family , with long hair (down past her waist) was found to have lice and had to have her hair cut off! Then they doused the head with a kerosene mixture. It was not her fault that she got lice from some playmate or pet, but you could see that she felt humiliated.

At least once a week we were lined up and inspected for things like fingernails being  clean and neat, and general overall hygiene. If  some child had a definite problem in that area I think the parents were contacted.

Welfare had a stigma back then. People fought to stay off "the dole". 

The Welfare people were very strict about what one who got welfare could own. I don't think they could own property or a car. There were stories of how welfare recipients would hide belongings, even gifts, when the inspector would pop in to  see how they were doing.

People who were down on their luck, but did not want to divest themselves of most of their belongings, joined churches who made sure they did not starve or freeze. Usually their situations improved swiftly.

Polio was the big scary disease . There was no known defense against it yet.

People did die of polio.  We were shown pictures of people in  iron lungs and told to stay out of the lakes in late summer. Thankfully, when the vaccine became available, uncle Tom Slough,personally, made sure we all got immunized. Whata guy!!

 

Years ago Uncle Jack Anglin gave me some papers about our Rusher relatives. I remember being taken to the Rusher Reunion at Center Lake Park. Since I lived just up the hill this was not such a big deal for me. They pulled out all the stops with  a big banner  reading RUSHER REUNION strung between trees over tablecloth covered picnic tables. .  I'm pretty sure dad made the banner since he was the sign painter  in the area  Although we had to run the gauntlet of cheek pinching aunts, there was swimming and home made ice cream so, we were looking forward to that.

Anyway, here is the major part of the paper that pertains to the Rushers:  Our Great Grandfather ( Uncle Jacks?), John Rusher came from Elsac  Germany to Canton, Ohio  with his parents when he was nine, where he grew to manhood in Stark County, Ohio.  He married Matilda Runser  who was the daughter of Saraphim and Catherine Runser , natives of France.

Matilda was brought to this country when she was eight.

Both families were Catholic. We know these people had to have lots of Faith and great courage to start a trip across the water in a sailboat. The journey took seven weeks. John was a ' molder., and did not live past age 36. They did , however , have seven children: Mary (Johnson), Vails (Baker) , Catherine (Klinger), John, twins, Michael and Jermiah, Henry and Joseph.

When Matilda remarried she moved the family to Arkensas, (whole other story).  In 1874 , Michael, Jeremia, Henry (our guy) and John Rusher and their families moved back to Indiana.

They used covered wagons , driving oxen and horse teams. This trip took 35 days.

As far as I can tell, Henry Rusher's first child was my Daddy Wash's(grandfather,Washington Irving Anglin)  mother, Ellen Rusher Anglin.

Here 's the thing: I  love fresh pineapple (I don't core it),sliced and peeled ...slightly fermented and sparkly from a couple days in the frig. By then the core is almost as soft as the rest and ever so much more fiber rich.   Some members of my immediate family would double over and have to go to bed if they tried this. That is one of the reasons I never suggest health giving herbs for other people.  Our bodies and guts are not like "cookie cutter" robots.  What is right for me might make you sick.
This herbalist is not ready for the liability.

Soooo much fun was had at the annual Anglin cousins luncheon yesterday. The highlight, besides the food, was a poem recital on cassette tape from our Grandma Grace.
Uncle Jack had set this up in her room at the nursing home just after her 99 th birthday. Her voice was pretty clear and her mind was as sharp as it ever had been. At first we thought she was reading.. No....she was reciting this from memory.  What she said would have filled two or three  pages depending on the font. May we all be blessed with her ability.
Kudos to cousin, Nancy Anglin for hosting this. She has a wonderful sense of good taste and entertainment.

We are on the brink of August and I am not finished with many summer things.  But I just keep on watching TV and playing on the computer instead of doing them. I have noticed companies  are using lots of babies and puppies in ads these days. Sure, they are cute; however I now have four grand-dogs,( two in Kansas), and I think they are probably way up there on the cute meter. I have grand-cats too, but they could care less what I think.
This was a fairly cool summer so far. Son Chris's first summer was way cooler. That was the summer we had moved to a cottage on Winona Lake . My dad had a really jazzed up raft, called "Winnie The Poo" on Center Lake. He and my brother,K, had built it from scratch and tricked it out with a tower and ladder, diving board and flying pennant . Anyway, he  thought it would be fun to put it on Winona from fourth of July through the rest of the summer , for obvious reasons. It was parked at our lakefront and we probably used it five or six times. I think it was so drizzly and windy on the fourth and most other week-ends that no one thought it was worth the trouble. We did take the kids  out on it but they had to be so bundled up they were unhappy. The next summer it was back on Center parked at the very same lot we later bought and where we built this house.

Fourth of July 2017
 As you may have, I woke up late and had only Oolong tea until noon. The reason being that I got the midnight munchies last night. 
It is a stellar day for weather. Went out to the herb garden at 11:30 while the herb oils were still up in the plants and cut the first time this year. Besides oregano    (The Golden Greek) for drying, I cut parsley and basil for cooking fresh.
Mostly watching Book T V, "tv for serious readers".
Reading family history from my aunt Anna's 1941 diary. She is seventeen and spending summer in Detroit  with her brother, Doyle's family. She is a big help to them and totally unaware that this country was on the brink of the second world war. That forth of July she was very happy that they were all going to her grandpa Rapps to see her brother Wayne who is home on furlough from the Army.

Ok ...I'm trying to get back into bloging even though my computer does not see the need.
It is the last few days of school here so things will be more active in this neighborhood shortly.
I remember those last few school days and what I felt was the useless encumbering of my time. Gazing out the open window at the blooming bush whose fragrance was wafted through   the room with each slight breeze expanded the torture of enduring the never ending period..
Miss Love,(typing), was standing there summing up the importance of what she thought she had taught us. Since I am typing this by the touch method, I'm admitting she was probably right. 


 

Today is Chuck Norris' birthday. Alexa has been issuing "Chuck Norris facts" all day.  My favorite was :" When Chuck Norris gets pulled over on the highway, he lets the officer go with just a warning."

Last Friday daughter Grace went to a nursing home to visit  her long-time friend. When she entered the place she could hear singing coming from the dining/activities area. They were singing " I got a brand new pair of roller skates; you got a brand new key". Of course! They were from that generation  that used a skate key. We all had sidewalk scabby knees back then.
This time of the year when I was in early teen years we would go to the roller skating rink. It was on rd.15  across from the Crystal Dairy Bar. The building looked like a war surplus Quonset hut with a hardwood floor installed. We used rented shoe skates and I remember I would be so excited I often went home with a sick headache. The worst was just after Christmas when I had received a bottle of "Evening in Paris" cologne and used it liberally. 
Aargh!!!
 .

This is First Friday in downtown Warsaw, In.  The Ice artists are on almost every corner with huge blocks of ice and chain-saws.  It's 25 degrees at six and going down to  9 tonight...not like when they did this last week in Niles Mi. and it was 50 degrees in Michiana.  So no big rush to see the results as they will keep.