MacGregor Reunion 2012 Recap Part Four

The Bar in Oshkosh is the place to be for the Schroeder family on Wednesday nights and the Wednesday of our reunion week was no exception.The Bar has many sand volleyball courts with league play. Eddie plays volleyball on Wednesdays year round and during the winter months so does my sister Barb, her husband Mike, my brother Mike and  his wife Jody (if they would all stop getting hurt that is). The rest of us go there just as spectators and enjoy some cold beer and delicious wings.

Of course there was something very special about this Wednesday night at The Bar. Remember on one of my previous blogs that I mentioned that some of my family members were treated to a Milwaukee Brewers game? Well, Mike Fiers, an outstanding new pitcher for the team decided to join the family for beer and wings. Mike is from Florida and didn't know what cheese curds were so he got to experience deep fried cheese curds for the first time! Gotta love Wisconsin.Welcome Mike.

Mike came into the place without many patrons recognizing him, but by the time he was ready to leave he couldn't get out the door with being asked for another picture or autograph from a fan. What a great sport he was during all of this. Of course most of the pictures were family members and we informed Mike as of that night he was an unofficial member of the MacGregor family and he even is getting a reunion shirt. We already have three Mikes in this family, this new Mike makes the fourth!

By Wednesday night we had another member of the MacGregor family arrive...Cathy Cruze so that gave us another reason to celebrate and we did. We made many toasts, we harassed the volleyball ref, we ate loads of gooey wings, took lots of pictures, shot pool, but mostly we laughed and enjoyed being with family.

The Bar has many locations in Wisconsin. Check out their Oshkosh site

 http://meetatthebar.com/oshkosh.html and like them on facebook.

MacGregor Reunion 2012 Recap Part Three

What an amazing day we had on Wednesday. Barb, Mary Christine, Patty, Donna and I went to Amish country. I was raised here and never knew that Wisconsin had an Amish country and it's not too far from this house. This is what I found out from this website about theWisconsin Amish.
amishamerica.com/wisconsin-amish/
"Though the first Amish only began to settle in Wisconsin in the early 1900s, the Wisconsin Amish presence has grown to become the fourth-largest in North America.  In terms of Amish population, Wisconsin trails only Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana."

And before I go any further I need to let my good friend Sandy know that all the pictures that were taken during our Amish experience were taken with permission from Mary Yoder, a sweet Amish woman who we visited.
My cousin is a quilter and was interested in seeing Amish quilts and possibly purchasing one. My sister did a google search for Amish stores in Wisconsin and so our adventure began.
We drove until we were lost, so Barb stopped at a gas station to ask directions. The woman behind the counter at the gas station rolled her eyes when she was asked where we could find an Amish store, I imagine she is asked that all the time. Cracked us up but she got the last laugh, she sent us in the right direction but she wasn't  too accurate on the details. After a few u-turns we found the store. BUT, after parking and a walk we found the doors locked and the closed sign up. The hours were posted Open 10-4 and it was around 11 so Barb called the phone number on the sign. When she told the woman on the phone that no one was at the store the woman replied "I guess she didn't want to open today, but we have two other stores you could drive to" and then she preceded to give directions. Wow, that just continued our laughing fits.( Hey, it's better than getting upset right?)
As we traveled the country roads trying to find the second Amish store Barb notice a homemade wooden sign that said Amish Quilts for sale. The sign wasn't posted in a store it was posted in the yard of an Amish family, Freddie and Mary Yoder. 
The men evidently just finished their lunch and were leaving the house. They gave us permission to enter through the front door. Mary Yoder greeted us. The first thing I noticed was the wood flooring, not the kind of wood flooring that people buy at Home Depot, but the original old wood flooring. The living room was actually a working room. It had an old sewing machine with metal petals to pump to make it run, tables lined with cut pieces of black  material ready to sew together to make a new Amish dress and bonnet, small book shelves with religious books on them, a couch and rocking chair. From the ceiling where we have lighting and fans they had metal plates over those openings with wires hanging from them for gas lanterns.
The kitchen was off to our right and in it was a long, rectangular, wooden table surrounded by handcrafted wooden chairs. The dishes from the men's lunch were still on the table and Mary Yoder apologized for the mess. The counters and cabinets resembled ours but the stove was a large black wood burning stove.

The quilt room was off of the living room. It was loaded with quilts, pillow shams, throws, aprons for women and children and hand woven rugs. We were allowed to take the quilts off the hangers and into the living room where Mary and one of her younger sons helped unfold it so we could see it better. Mary Christine was in heaven, she is the one that truly understood the work and love that went into each item. Mary Christine recognized all the designs on these quilts. And she, Donna and Mary Yoder had a "quilting conversation". Mary Yoder told us she didn't make the quilts on her own she had help from the other women in the community. She explained to us that each household in the area sold specialty homemade items. they work together as a community in making everything and then each household has the responsibility of selling an item. Mary gave us a map to show us how to drive to each home. There was a bakery (closed that day), a candy store, a general store,a cabinet maker, a greenhouse, a sawmill, a hickory chair store and a harness maker just to name a few.

The top picture is one of the many quilts in the Amish home but not the one that Mary Christine actually purchased. The bottom picture is the quilt she brought home.

The younger Yoder children were in the house and the older boys were outside farming the land with their father. Their clothes were exactly like we see in pictures, the little girls had dresses and bonnets and the men had dark pants, light shirts, suspenders and straw hats. Mary Yoder wasn't wearing her bonnet in the house but she had her hair in a bun with a white netting over it.

We did go to one more Amish store, the one that sold candy! Imagine that. I bought cashew brittle and my cousin bought cashew chocolate clusters. The chocolate was all made with goat's milk and the goats were right outside the door of the store. Now I know that's a cow in the picture, I am from Wisconsin and I know the difference between a cow and goat but thought it was a good shot of a cow and wanted to share it. The bottom picture shows how the Amish pile their hay. I never, ever saw this before. 

We are putting together a book about everything that happened during our reunion week. If you would like to do the same for one of your family events I know the perfect website for you - Memories in Bits and Pieces at www.memoriesin.com

Recipes from the Hi-Holder District

I'm taking a short break form the reunion stories to share a couple of recipes. After writing yesterday's blog about German cuisine I had some requests for recipes of what mom use to make for us for that Sunday dinner. After giving it some thought I actually remembered some stories behind those weekly meals.

Mom always purchased her pork roast from Reichenberger's Grocery Store on the corner of 6th Ave. and Knapp St. in Oshkosh.. She had a standing order for a center cut pork loin with the bone in it from Ticker Reichenberger, the butcher. Every Saturday he put aside mom's pork roast and either she picked it up or sent one of us to pick it up. If it was getting late in the day and none of us had showed up to purchase that roast he would call my mom to make sure we were coming.

On Sunday morning mom would start the meal by browning the roast on all sides in her kitchen skillet. Then it went into the oven with onions, salt and pepper. It was just that simple. She always had it timed perfectly to be done by noon. However, my father would come poking around the kitchen about 11:30 or so because mom would pull the roast out and pick the bone off. That was always my father's favorite part and he would snack right before the meal on the meat off of the bone. The roast was so tender it basically fell off that bone. (You don't see too many center loins anymore with the bone in.)

German potato dumplings: 1) boil potatoes until tender then mash with a fork while they are still warm; and salt in  layers 2) add flour to the mashed potatoes (the amount of flour is usually equal to the amount of mashed potatoes); I begin mixing with a fork but the best way is to mix with your hands. It's very hard to explain the texture to anyone because grandma's recipes usually didn't have measurements and were taught with the old fashioned "hands-on" technique. When the mixture no longer feels gooey on your hands make into balls about the size of a baseball or a little smaller. Let the dumplings set for a while in the fridge, at least one hour. Boil water then add dumplings and boil for about 20 minutes or until they float to the top.

My father and mother met during WWII. Dad was in the Navy and played softball, mom was with a traveling woman's softball team and played against the Navy team. They fell in love, married and lived in California for a while. My father always talked about missing having dumplings for dinner. My mother wanted to surprise him so she made what she knew as dumplings...those light flour type dumplings that are in chicken soup...dad was surprised all right! Poor mom had no idea there even was such things as potato dumplings. But their love lasted over 50 years, maybe because she learned to make dad his potato dumplings.

Summer cucumbers: Slice cucumbers and an onion real thin, salt and mix with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Right before serving pour white vinegar and milk into the mixture. The amount of vinegar depends on how tart you like them. (Notice once again I only know how to mix this with my hands.)

Wilted lettuce. 1) tear up a head of iceberg lettuce into bite size pieces into a large bowl, 2) salt in layers, 3) add enough water to cover the lettuce, 4) cover and refrigerate for at least one hour 5)  dice about 4-6 slices of bacon and fry and keep the drippings. 6) drain the lettuce, 7) sprinkle lettuce with sugar about a tablespoon, 8) add white vinegar about 2 or 3 caps full from the vinegar bottle (once again depends on how tart you like it) 9) and then add hot bacon and hot drippings to the lettuce. To wilt the lettuce even further I usually take hands full of lettuce and add it to the hot frying pan...and you guessed it...all the mixing is with my hands.Salt and pepper to taste.

I know these recipes are lacking a lot of measurements but I honestly was taught by feel and taste and that's how I taught my boys and others who like to cook for my sons.

MacGregor Reunion 2012 Recap Part Two

Tuesday night. Eleven of our family members attending the Milwaukee Brewers game. They got tickets from the Milwaukee Brewer pitcher, Mike Fiers. He is an aquaintance of my niece Julie. The family got to sit directly behind home plate in the family and friend section of the stadium.

Mike didn't pitch that night but the Brewers did beat the Cardinals 3-2. The family invited Mike up to Winneconne for our family reunion on Saturday, but he had to play in Cincinnati that day...so he was invited up to The Bar in Oshkosh to watch volleyball and eat wings on Wednesday night instead. But that story and those pics are for another blog.
While some of the family traveled to Milwaukee the rest of us enjoyed a delicious German meal at The Roxy restaurant in Oshkosh.

The original plan was for everyone to order a different German dish and then we'd each get to try a little from every plate. That didn't happen. As you can see on the menu this restaurant has a Hi-Holder special. That consists of pork roast, potato dumplings and gravy. As a member of the John Schroeder family that was the meal we ate EVERY Sunday at noon. And while we enjoyed our Sunday meal we listened to polka music on the television broadcasted from the local Green Bay station. With our pork roast and dumplings mom always served applesauce (sometimes homemade) and in the summer we had cucumbers sliced thin with vinegar and cream, in the winter she served wilted lettuce smothered with hot bacon dressing. I love both even today. BEWARE, if you are hungry don't look at the next picture!

I can't remember the last time I've laughed so much. Being with Mary Christine, Patty and Donna was a hoot especially after a few cocktails. I haven't seen them drink since we were kids. They let loose on this night and had two whole drinks...and believe me that's all it took.

After dinner I took them on a short tour of Menominee Park in Oshkosh. The sun was just beginning to set over Lake Winnebago. They were impressed with how large the lake was and the cool breeze coming off of it. It was a refreshing change after a hot and humid day. Patty told us she was going to sleep on the park bench and told us to pick her up in the morning.

The main reason I wanted to take them to the park was to show them the statue of Chief Oshkosh, the chief of the Menominee Indians. 

They were so funny. They kept trying to text their kids and it took them forever to hit the right keys. I have the same problem but I can't hit the right keys when I'm sober. We acted silly, laughed until we cried and just had a great time together while cruising the streets of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 

MacGregors, Schroeders and a Cruze

So much has happened since the last time I've sat down to write to you. I'm going to start with the MacGregor family reunion which was held in Winneconne, Wisconsin on Saturday, July 21st.

My grandparents on my mother's side - Gordon and Edna Murphy MacGregor had nine children: Mary Grace, Donald, Irene (my mother), Jack, Bruce, Harry, Teddy, Charlie and Molly. Over the years we have met many times for family reunions. We began by gathering in Hemet, CA, then moved to SanDiego, CA and this year for the first time it was hosted by the Schroeder branch in Wisconsin.

Instead of having a reunion "day" it was more like a reunion "week" because our cousins who traveled from Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan wanted to take in as much of the wonderful state of Wisconsin that they could.
They began to arrive as early as the Sunday before the reunion. My nephew Nico surprised his grandma and grandpa Van Dyke when he walked into their home last week Sunday. Tuesday cousins Mary Christine and Patty arrived with their friend Donna, Wednesday brought Brian MacGregor and Cathy Cruze, Thursday was a busy day of arrivals with my nephews Charles and Garritt, my son and daughter-in-law Jon and Marina as well as Amy MacGregor and Uncle Jack MacGregor, and then Friday Scott, Jim and Gina MacGregor arrived as well as my cousin Mary Grace with her entire family. They flew into Chicago, Milwaukee and Appleton. On Thursday we had to travel to Milwaukee airport twice because Jon and Marina fly standbye (Jon works for the airlines) and they had to take two different flights because there wasn't enough empty seats on the early flight. Marina arrived at 3:30 pm and Jon didn't get in until after midnight the next morning.

As you can see we had plenty of activities planned for our family. The most important thing, so we made sure it was on the agenda every day, was the catching up (gossip) on the cousins who decided not to attend.
We started partying on Tuesday night with German food at a local Oshkosh restaurant, The Roxy. I haven't laughed that much in a long, long time. More on Tuesday night in the next blog.

What does the word reunion mean to you?

re·un·ion/rēˈyo͞onyən/

Noun:

An instance of two or more people coming together again after separation. A social gathering attended by members of a certain group of people who have not seen each other for some time: "a school reunion".

On the 4th of July a few people from the Lourdes High School Class of 1971 met at Menominee Park (North Park to us old timers). It was so good to see them again. Most of them I haven't seen in 30 years or longer. It was great to hear about their lifes now and of course there was a lot of reminiscing going on. We talked about getting together in the next year to celebrate our 60th birthdays together. I needed to remind them that I was almost a year behind the rest of them when we graduated. Can you believe it? I didn't have a camera!!! But Janet did and she was kind enough to share this pictures with  me. Thanks Janet. Actually, I want to thank everyone...I didn't actually graduate from Lourdes, I switched to Oshkosh High my junior year and that is something I will always regret. But it is what it is, I can't change the past. In my heart I am a Lourdes grad and that's all that matters. Actually if you look at who is in this picture...three of us (Kris, Peg and I) went through eight years of Sacred Heart elementary school together before we entered Lourdes,,,so we have known each other for a long, long time. I love you guys.

Wisconsin has a "wet heat", Christmas in July sale at Heritage Makers...

You know what people say about the hot days in Arizona? "It's a dry heat." Well I have to tell you the heat here in Wisconsin is NOT a dry heat! When I went outside this morning I felt like I was walking through a mist of some sort...does that make sense? When they talk about how you can cut the air with a  knife I now remember what that feels like. But, when I asked someone about how high the humidity was I was promptly told they don't call it humidity any more, they call it the dew point. Whatever they call it I was miserably sticky and I was ready for a second shower by noon.

We did get rain and it arrived with vengeance early this evening. I watched the waves turn into high white caps within a matter of minutes. The only one enjoying this weather (besides me I LOVE storms) was a lonely seagull sitting on the pier.

My sister called to warn me about the weather because she knows I don't have television stations or listen to the radio so I don't receive weather warnings. She was a little too late on the warning I was already enjoying the show taking loads of pictures. Then the hail came down, this scared the dickens out of Bella. We have 4 skylights in the kitchen dining area and the hail bouncing off those glass panels made a terrible ruckus. As I approached the scrapbook room to take more pictures from another direction, I noticed my deck had nothing on it...no chairs, no table and almost all of my chimes were gone. The winds wiped everything right off and into the yard. Thank God the glass table didn't break and the chairs were ok, but I'm still missing some chimes and the ones I did find are in pieces.

The tragedy of the day was we lost another large tree. I would guess it was 100 years or older. It went down and fell into the neighbors yard. No one was hurt but it did take down their flagpole and it's leaning on one of their large pine trees. I sent this picture to my family to show them that another tree went down (last September when I was here recovering from surgery we had a large tree go down during a similar storm and that one took out phone and electrical lines). My brother Mike said he was going to come by with his chainsaw but remarked that he doesn't think his saw is going to be large enough. I always get sad when I see such large, old trees burn, or blow over.

This property is shaped like a peninsula sorta...when my parents bought it and built on it the entire peninsula was covered around the shoreline with large trees just like this one. Over the years storms, ice shoves and diseases have slowly taken them down. And now there are very few left. I will look up old pictures to show you the difference. What a tragedy.

Back to birds. I told you the other day about the bird that flew down my chimney and flew around my living room. Well...he must have recovered because after I took him outside he flew away. So there is a happy ending to that story. However, tonight when the storm hit, the wind blew open the door leading into the garage, when the storm ended I went to close the door and there was a bird inside the garage flying around all frightened. Then I saw my car, I washed my car about 4 hours before the rain but wasn't worried because I knew it would be safe in the garage...boy was I wrong... now it was covered with bird poop! I guess the storm scared the crap right out of this bird. Now I ask...what is it with me and birds???

New July sale at Heritage Makers...Christmas in July. More information soon.

MacGregor Reunion and Spanferkel...

I discovered something worse than goose poop on my deck...bird poop in my house! For the second time in a week a bird has fallen or flown down the pipe into my wood burning stove. Last time this happened, before I could figure out what the heck to do the bird in the stove, it somehow figured out how to fly out again. This time however the bird must have been  more stupid...he's been fluttering around in that stove all day. I tried to get him out safely but...he got away from me and started flying around the house, mainly in the living room with the high vaulted ceiling. Needless to say there is bird poop on things in this house that I never thought I'd have to clean poop off of. The story gets better. It's a very hot day here in Winneconne  and the high ceiling in the living room has a fan hanging from it...yup the fan is on high speed and that's where this bird decides to fly...straight into the blades. The bird almost sounded like he let out a grunt and went flying (not with his wings) past Bella and I and passed out on the floor. With one hand I had to hold on to Bella so she wouldn't get any closer to the bird and with the other hand I was able to pick the bird up and take him outside. Hopefully he will recover from this ordeal. I'm still laughing because I keep seeing this poor thing being flung across the room. Sorry,

This is not the first time I had a bird get knocked across a room by a ceiling fan. I used to raise cockatiels and the one rule that I had for my family was not to allow any bird loose in the house while our ceiling fans were turned on. No one in my family ever listened to my rules therefore my prize cinnamon colored bird was injured by a ceiling fan. We made a quick and expensive trip to the vet. Did you know they make splints for broken birds' wings? It's really a popsicle stick strapped around the wing...but since it's called a bird splint it cost $110.00!

My family is working hard on making this year's MacGregor family reunion a memorable event. We have family flying in from Florida, California, Arizona and Michigan.

So far the plans are: 1) A bonfire on Thursday evening at Barb and Mike's - all our guests should have arrived by then and the story telling can begin. 2) Dinner on Friday at Jack and Marys (brats and fresh picked corn on the cob)  and the stories can continue. 3) The all day reunion is on Saturday at the Schroeders' house on the lake with a spanferkel*, boat rides, fishing, volleyball,  fireworks and loads of picture taking.(there is also a street dance with a live band in Winneconne Saturday night). 4) And to finish off the reunion Mike and Jody are opening up their home for some swimming on Sunday... and more food...this time we are serving Mexican cuisine. Does it sound like we are going to be busy? You Betcha. Does it sound like we will all put on a few pounds from all the delicious food. You Betcha. I think I will be working out every day instead of every other day the week after the reunion..,or maybe I should start that schedule now and get a head start.

*Suckling pig is known in German cuisine as Spanferkel. It can be roasted in the oven or grilled, and is often served at festive occasions.