Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Party-popping Fried Cashews—from BITING THROUGH THE SKIN, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau

Looking for a snack for tonight's New Year's Eve party? Try this recipe from Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau.

Party-popping Fried Cashews

1/2 pound raw cashews (can be found in most grocery store health food sections)
salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
black pepper to taste

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a small frying pan. When hot, put in all the nuts and stir-fry until medium brown. Drain nuts on a paper towel or in a sieve, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and slide them onto a serving plate. Fantastic served warm.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Aloo Tikka (spicy potato patties)—from BITING THROUGH THE SKIN, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau

Looking for something to spice up your winter? Try this recipe from Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau.

Aloo Tikka

Serves 4

2 potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed with a fork
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely sliced
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and form 2- to 3-inch patties. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan. When hot, place the potato patties in a single layer around the pan. When lightly browned, turn. Serve with taetul (tamarind/date chutney and/or coriander chutney) and slivers of raw onion.

Friday, December 26, 2014

December Gardening Tip—from GARDENING IN IOWA AND SURROUNDING AREAS

"When leaving on vacation, keep potted plants healthy by watering well and covering them with a clear dry-cleaning bag. The plants will stay watered for up to three weeks."—Darlene Lorenz, Independence Garden Club

Gardening in Iowa and Surrounding Areasby Veronica Lorson Fowler with the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa

Monday, December 22, 2014

Holiday Cranberry Salad—from UP A COUNTRY LANE COOKBOOK, by Evelyn Birkby

All of us at the University of Iowa Press would like to wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday! Share this holiday cranberry salad recipe from Up a Country Lane Cookbook, by Evelyn Birkby, with your family this season.

Holiday Cranberry Salad

1 pound cranberries
6 unpeeled apples
1 or 2 unpeeled oranges
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Wash cranberries. Pick out any unusable cranberries and discard. Wash and core apples and oranges. Grind all the fruits together. Stir in sugar and nuts. Chill, covered, for several hours or overnight. This will keep for a week or more. Excellent as a meat accompaniment. Makes about 8 to 10 servings.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Baked Squash—from NEIGHBORING ON THE AIR, by Evelyn Birkby

Thinking about trying something new for your holiday dinner this year? Try this recipe from Neighboring on the Air, by Evelyn Birkby.

Baked Squash

Cut the squash in strips after it is peeled. Slice in a baking dish until full. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little water. Put on lid and bake till done. Then add 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon butter or more. Bake another 20 minutes.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Betty Jane's Wild Rice with Mushrooms—from NEIGHBORING ON THE AIR, by Evelyn Birkby

Looking for holiday meal ideas? Try Betty Jane's wild rice with mushrooms recipe from Neighboring on the Air, by Evelyn Birkby.

Betty Jane's Wild Rice with Mushrooms

1 cup wild rice
1 cup grated American cheese
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped ripe olives
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup canned tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak wild rice overnight; drain and add above ingredients. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 10 to 12 people.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Friday, December 12, 2014

Wreath Week (Victorian Wreath)—from GARDENING THE AMANA WAY

It's wreath week at the Bur Oak Blog! This week, we'll be showing you how to make different wreaths for this holiday season, so be sure to check out all of our posts. You may need a glue gun, a small hammer, and an awl. The final wreath we'll be doing is the Victorian wreath from Lawrence L. Rettig's Gardening the Amana Way.

Victorian Wreath

Materials: 12-inch diameter straw wreath base, three dark purple velvet bows with lace edging, three plain white lace bows, small purple straw-flowers, green velvet leaves, pine cones (I used white pine), dried double baby's breath (it's showier than single-flowered).

Directions: Arrange bows and attach to wreath with glue or pins. Attach pine cones, stem side down and evenly spaced, with glue. Glue strawflowers to base, primarily around the inside of wreath. Glue leaves to base, with base of leaf tucked in under flower, using two or three leaves per blossom. Fill in with baby's breath. If you prefer, you can substitute any color of your choice for bows and straw-flowers.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Wreath Week (Angel Hair Wreath)—from GARDENING THE AMANA WAY

It's wreath week at the Bur Oak Blog! This week, we'll be showing you how to make different wreaths for this holiday season, so be sure to check out all of our posts. You may need a glue gun, a small hammer, and an awl. Today's wreath is the angel hair wreath from Lawrence L. Rettig's Gardening the Amana Way.

Angel Hair Wreath

Materials: 12-inch diameter straw wreath base, angel hair, white bows, small gold bells, small gold angels, stringed gold pearls, dried lavender sprigs or other fragrant herb (optional).

Directions: Attach the dried lavender sprigs or other fragrant herb to the wreath with wire pins. Remove angel hair from packaging and tease it by pulling it apart both lengthwise and widthwise until it thins to the point where some of it is see-through. Attach one end of the strand to side of wreath with wire pins and work your way around wreath, anchoring angel hair to base with pins as you go. Strive for a billowy, ethereal effect, but try to keep the basic round shape of the wreath so that it doesn't look lopsided. Weave pearl string over and under hair and around the back of the base, attaching with pins as you go. Glue bows, bells, and small gold angels to base.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Wreath Week (Santa Wreath)—from GARDENING THE AMANA WAY

It's wreath week at the Bur Oak Blog! This week, we'll be showing you how to make different wreaths for this holiday season, so be sure to check out all of our posts. You may need a glue gun, a small hammer, and an awl. Today we'll start with the Santa Wreath from Lawrence L. Rettig's Gardening the Amana Way.

Santa Wreath

Materials: 12-inch diameter straw wreath base, dyed club moss (Lycopodium clavatum), styrofoam 1-inch thick, 18-gauge floral stem wire, floral wire pins, wrapping paper, tiny bows, assorted small Santas. You may substitute small-needled evergreens, either fresh or artificial, for the moss.

Directions: Begin by arranging the Santas on a flat surface until you find an arrangement that you like. Start with the larger Santas and fill in with smaller ones. Transfer Santas to wreath base, gluing each one in place with your glue gun. Wrap small blocks of Styrofoam with wrapping paper and decorate with bows. Fill in spaces around Santas with packages, leaving some room to add the moss, and attach with glue gun. Attach small overlapping bunches of moss to the wreath with floral wire pins. Push pins firmly into base to hold moss in place. If pins are difficult to insert, use a small hammer to tap them tightly into the wreath base.

Friday, December 5, 2014

International Year of Family Farming 2014

We’re coming to the end of the International Year of FamilyFarming. It’s winter here in Iowa—the harvest is in and snow covers the ground. We’re grateful for the food that family farmers all over the world work so hard to cultivate, and we wish everyone a prosperous and healthy 2015.




Iowa Farm in Your Pocket; photographs © Kirk Murray.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Cyber Monday with the University of Iowa Press

It's Cyber Monday! If you're getting a head start on your holiday shopping, a book is always a perfect gift! Make sure you check out the University of Iowa Press sale book page today.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Dean Adkins's Potato Supreme—from NEIGHBORING ON THE AIR

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the University of Iowa Press! We hope you have a safe and happy holiday. We have one last recipe for you to consider for your Thanksgiving meal plans, this time from Neighboring on the Air, by Evelyn Birkby.

Dean Adkins's Potato Supreme

12 large potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 pint sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups grated cheese (optional)

Combine mashed potatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic salt, and pepper to taste. Put in a baking dish and bake in a slow oven (250 degrees) for 1 hour. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Dean says, "This can also be cooked on low in the crockpot for a couple of hours or so. It is a good recipe for Sunday go-to-meetin' dinners. It's delicious."

Monday, November 24, 2014

Black Cherry Salad—from UP A COUNTRY LANE COOKBOOK

Want to try something new this Thanksgiving? Try this black cherry salad recipe from Up a Country Lane Cookbook, by Evelyn Birkby.

Black Cherry Salad

1 3-ounce package cherry gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cherry juice and water
1 cup black cherries, pitted
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup diced celery

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Drain cherry juice into measuring cup and add enough water to make 1 cup, then stir into dissolved gelatin. Fold in remaining ingredients and spoon into individual salad molds or pretty glass bowl. Chill until firm. Unmold or serve in bowl with 1/4 cup mayonnaise combined with 1/2 cup whipped topping on the side.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Jellied Cranberries—from UP A COUNTRY LANE COOKBOOK, by Evelyn Birkby

Thinking of your Thanksgiving dinner plans? This year, try a cranberry sauce that doesn't come in the shape of a tin can from Up a Country Lane Cookbook, by Evelyn Birkby.

Jellied Cranberries

2 cups cold water
4 cups berries
2 cups sugar

Combine berries and water in saucepan and cook until the berries pop. Put through food mill or food processor. Combine pulp and sugar. Boil exactly 5 minutes. Pour into jars. Refrigerate for a short time, or freeze if you wish to store for longer period.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Favorite Rolls—from UP A COUNTRY LANE COOKBOOK

Scrambling to decide what will be on the menu this Thanksgiving? Let us help with this classic dinner roll recipe from Up a Country Lane Cookbook, by Evelyn Birkby.

Favorite Rolls

1 cup milk, scalded
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2 cups flour

Scald milk. Remove from fire and add shortening, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt, stir to dissolve, then cool to lukewarm. While this is cooling, combine yeast, lukewarm water, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let dissolve and bubble for 5 minutes. Add dissolved yeast to cooled milk mixture. Gradually beat in egg and enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn out on floured breadboard. Work in only as much flour as needed, no more; the less flour used, the lighter the rolls. Knead lightly for 3 to 4 minutes. It becomes smooth and elastic (dough has a springy feel). Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to coat all sides. Cover with clean tea towel and let rise in a draft-free place until double (about 2 hours). Punch down and knead on lightly floured board for about 5 minutes. Shape into rolls and place on greased cookie sheet or baking pan. Cover with tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free location until double. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Turn out on wire cooling rack. If you like a crusty roll, leave as is. If you want a soft crust, brush rolls with butter or margarine when removed from the oven. This is a fine yeast bread for beginners, but it is equally good for experienced cooks. Makes 2 dozen.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Today in Iowa Nature: November 17

Away from city lights, scan the eastern horizon for the annual Leonid meteor shower, bits of cosmic debris streaking through the night sky.

—from The Iowa Nature Calendar by Jean Prior and James Sandrock

Friday, November 14, 2014

November Gardening Tip—from GARDENING IN IOWA AND SURROUNDING AREAS

"To discourage the use of your plants, including houseplants, as a cat litter box, cut a slit and a hole in the middle of a pie tin and place it around the base of the plant."—Kathleen Moench, Business Women's Garden Club, Des Moines

Gardening in Iowa and Surrounding Areasby Veronica Lorson Fowler with the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Photo from A YEAR OF IOWA NATURE, by Carl Kurtz


Monarch butterflies migrate in spring and spread across over one billion acres by the end of their migration cycle. See more photos like this one in Carl Kurtz's book, A Year of Iowa Nature: Discovering Where We Live.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Thottathil reading and signing in Cedar Rapids

Sapna E. Thottathil, author of India's Organic Farming Revolution: What It Means for Our Global Food System, will be reading from her book at the Cedar Rapids Barnes & Noble on Thursday. Be sure to stop by! For more information or to RSVP, visit our Facebook event.

Where: Cedar Rapids Barnes & Noble
When: Thursday, November 13, at 7:00 P.M.


Praise for India's Organic Farming Revolution

"A breath of fresh air in the organic/local food production discussion, this very engaging book provides a significant example of the structural conditions for the scaling up of organic agriculture."—Eric Holt-Giménez, executive director, Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy

"This book will make an important contribution to the field of organic literature as well as to the field of such food and agriculture transitions. I am not aware of many efforts to provide the reader with such a comprehensive treatment of such transitions in the context of a specific community."—Frederick Kirschenmann, author, Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher

Monday, November 10, 2014

Excerpt from THE BOOK OF FAMOUS IOWANS, by Douglas Bauer

In The Book of Famous Iowans, Douglas Bauer explores the life of Will Vaughn, a man of late middle age living in Chicago with his second wife, remembering the month of June 1957 in his hometown,  the rural village of New Holland, Iowa. More precisely, Will remembers just a few days of that month and the quick sequence of astonishing events that have colored, ever since, the logic of his heart and the moods of his mind. He tells of his stunningly beautiful young mother, Leanne, who liked to recall the years of the Second World War, during which she sang with a dance band in a lounge in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He tells too of his father, Lewis, a soldier in the war who one night saw the "resplendently sequined" Leanne step onstage and began at that instant to plot his courtship of her.

--

I learned about my mother's search for work not from her or my father, but from my grandmother one evening as the two of us sat in her upstairs kitchen. I remember that the heat in her apartment that night was a stunning, sodden thing. I remember we had, my grandmother and I, tried and failed to eat our supper, so she'd made us ice cream floats to fill our stomachs.

Before she told me my mother's secret, she'd recalled my parents' arriving from Cheyenne and how, with a determined buoyancy, she and my mother had spent several days complimenting and deferring to one another while at the same time each was taking the other's measure. She said, "The first thing you noticed, of course, was her looks. I said to your father, 'How did you manage this? You're a handsome boy, honey, but the two of you together, it looks like the princess hasn't got around to kissing the frog!'"

But, she said, while my mother's beauty was something to admire, what there was to like was her intelligence; that she was smart enough to know she should be scared to death and strong enough to do all she could to hide her fear. Still, my grandmother said, when she looked back, she wished my mother had been able to say she was frightened; perhaps then she wouldn't have felt "she had to have her dukes up all the time."

Friday, November 7, 2014

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Excerpt from THE BOOK OF FAMOUS IOWANS, by Douglas Bauer

In The Book of Famous Iowans, Douglas Bauer explores the life of Will Vaughn, a man of late middle age living in Chicago with his second wife, remembering the month of June 1957 in his hometown,  the rural village of New Holland, Iowa. More precisely, Will remembers just a few days of that month and the quick sequence of astonishing events that have colored, ever since, the logic of his heart and the moods of his mind. He tells of his stunningly beautiful young mother, Leanne, who liked to recall the years of the Second World War, during which she sang with a dance band in a lounge in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He tells too of his father, Lewis, a soldier in the war who one night saw the "resplendently sequined" Leanne step onstage and began at that instant to plot his courtship of her.

--

I have kept three photographs of my mother, Leanne McQueen Vaughn, and anybody who sees one of them invariably asks me who the beautiful young woman in the picture is. No one recognizes a trace of her in me, since I grew, against her certain prediction, to resemble my father. I have his fair coloring; his stocky build; his wide, square face.

It would be easy to think that the photos had been taken, not over a decade, but within a span of a few weeks. For her face in the first, when she was fifteen, appears remarkably the same as in the last, that of a woman whose sophisticated beauty has matured just moments before the picture was snapped. Her expression, too, is closely repeated and seems to me one of cool epiphany. It's conveyed by a watchful gleam in her eyes and in the way she holds her head, gracefully extending her neck so that she looks to be peering out over the heads of the crowd. I know well how it felt to be within its range (and it often felt powerfully confidential and secure). But thinking now of her actions, the choices she made, and how they permanently changed us all, I see her expression as suggesting that she has raised her eyes to look past the distractions of hope and innocence, in order to see what she needed to see.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Hot off the Press: THE VERY AIR, DEXTERITY, and THE BOOK OF FAMOUS IOWANS, all by Douglas Bauer

The University of Iowa Press is proud to announce the release of The Very Air, Dexterity and The Book of Famous Iowans, all by Douglas Bauer!


 

"From his supple prose to his common touch, one can detect in Douglas Bauer a substantial talent. The genius of Dexterity is that it is scrupulously organized and yet seamless in its narrative structure. In other words, Mr. Bauer is himself extremely dexterous."—New York Times Book Review

"The Book of Famous Iowans is a perfect novel—beautifully written and emotionally compelling in a way that made me wish it would never end even as I raced to the next page. I don't know when I have felt such love and compassion for a cast of characters. I already miss them, and will, I am sure, for a long time to come."—Jill McCorkle

"[The Very Air is] suspenseful, poignant, and irresistibly entertaining. Bauer makes some wonderful observations about life in America during the 1900s, and about humanity's eternal need for illusion, and his characterization is sharp and funny."—Publisher's Weekly

Friday, October 31, 2014

Your Own Maple Syrup—from UP A COUNTRY LANE COOKBOOK

Want a taste of the fall colors? Try making your own maple syrup with this recipe from Up a Country Lane Cookbook, by Evelyn Birkby.

Your Own Maple Syrup

2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 cups white corn syrup
2 cups water
2 teaspoons maple flavoring

Combine ingredients and cook, stirring, until sugars are dissolved and mixture boils. Simmer about 5 minutes. Serve hot on pancakes, waffles, or french toast. Store in covered jar in refrigerator. Makes 5 cups.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Excerpt from ROWS OF MEMORY: JOURNEYS OF A MIGRANT SUGAR-BEET WORKER, by Saúl Sánchez


Every year from April to October, the Sánchez family traveled—crowded in the back of trucks, camping in converted barns, tending and harvesting crops across the breadth of the United States. In 1951, Saúl Sánchez began to contribute to his family’s survival by helping to weed onions in Wind Lake, Wisconsin. He was eight years old. In this excerpt from Rows of Memory: Journeys of a Migrant Sugar-Beet Worker, Sánchez invites us to appreciate the largely unrecognized and poorly rewarded strength and skill of the laborers who harvest the fruits and vegetables we eat.

--


The Mexicans that the sugar-beet companies recruited back then to work in the sugar-beet fields did not receive the same treatment that was given to the Russian Germans brought from Europe. The companies did not lend them money to buy land; they did not offer them any equipment, seed, or utensils to help them work the land bought with borrowed money…. In place of loans, they received credit in company stores to obtain their foodstuffs while they completed the harvest. And they were not paid until they finished…. They did not live in town either; there were separate labor camps for them to keep them apart from the white population. The only tools the companies allowed them, which were also purchased on credit from those same well-stocked stores, were the ones perfected earlier by the Japanese: the short-handled hoe.

For a person to be stooped or arched over (“stooped steep” as people would say with a touch of ironic humor) while hoeing with a hoe that has a ten- or twelve-inch handle for as long as eight, ten, or even twelve hours a day is how I would define the word torture…. It was a punishing way to make a living.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Excerpt from ROWS OF MEMORY: JOURNEYS OF A MIGRANT SUGAR-BEET WORKER, by Saúl Sánchez


Every year from April to October, the Sánchez family traveled—crowded in the back of trucks, camping in converted barns, tending and harvesting crops across the breadth of the United States. In 1951, Saúl Sánchez began to contribute to his family’s survival by helping to weed onions in Wind Lake, Wisconsin. He was eight years old. In this excerpt from Rows of Memory: Journeys of a Migrant Sugar-Beet Worker, Sánchez invites us to appreciate the largely unrecognized and poorly rewarded strength and skill of the laborers who harvest the fruits and vegetables we eat.

--

When I was young I used to hear members of my family say that our ancestors had come to the Winter Garden Valley of Texas at the beginning of the twentieth century, and that they came from the same area: the border between Mexico and the United States. What I have been able to ascertain is that they arrived during the time of the Mexican Revolution in the case of our maternal grandfather and a little after that in the case of our paternal grandparents….

[O]ur grandparents didn’t just decide one day to abandon the cotton fields in Texas to go up north and do sugar beets. It was an incremental transition. Their method of decision making was logical for those times. People acted as members of a family rather than as individuals. And they were traditional families, they were bound by powerful family ties. The decisions made by the elders, especially the older brothers, directly influenced the lives of all the members of the extended family.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Moshla Cha (tea with a mixture of spices) recipe—from BITING THROUGH THE SKIN

Have a hot drink in this cooling weather from Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau.

Moshla Cha (Tea with a mixture of spices)

Serves 6

Mixture to make ahead of time and use as needed for tea:
4 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons green cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon whole cloves

Pot of tea
Milk and sugar to taste

Grind the spices in a clean coffee grinder. Store the mixture in an airtight container and add 1/2 teaspoon to a pot of hot water, add tea leaves, and steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain as you pour into cups and serve with milk and sugar.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Apple Tart from GARDENING THE AMANA WAY, by Lawrence L. Rettig

Have some apples to use up? Try this delicious apple tart from Gardening the Amana Wayby Lawrence L. Rettig.

Apple Tart

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups peeled, sliced apples
1/3 cup apricot or peach jam, mixed with 1/4 cup sugar
Extra milk and sugar

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder and cut in butter until crumbly. In another bowl, mix egg with milk and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and mix well. Knead gently on lightly floured surface until smooth. Cover and chill one-third of dough. Pat remainder on bottom and up sides of a 9- or 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Arrange apples over pastry. Top with jam/sugar mixture. Roll remaining dough into ten-inch circle and cut into strips. Arrange lattice-style over apples and tuck in edges. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for forty-five to fifty minutes.

Friday, October 17, 2014

An Unlikely Heirloom, by Susan Futrell

It’s sacrilege to think of the Red Delicious as an heirloom, but in fact it has a humble and impeccable pedigree. The original Red Delicious tree was a stubborn seedling that sprouted in Jesse Hiatt’s field in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Over time, the branches chosen for grafting were selected for shape, color, and durability, and the modern flavor rarely lives up to its name. Strains of the original, sometimes called Hawkeye Delicious, can still be found and tasted.  

Heirloom trees and well-bred modern apples all trace back to seedlings that someone loved enough to keep and pass along. Zeke Goodband, orchardist at Scott Farm in Dummerston, Vermont, told NPR recently that eating and growing heirloom apples is “sort of like a chain letter” through history. Letter writing and apple eating are both among the most democratic of arts, and thankfully not yet lost.

Susan Futrell is writing a book about apples for the University of Iowa Press.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Excerpt from ROWS OF MEMORY: JOURNEYS OF A MIGRANT SUGAR-BEET WORKER, by Saúl Sánchez


Every year from April to October, the Sánchez family traveled—crowded in the back of trucks, camping in converted barns, tending and harvesting crops across the breadth of the United States. In 1951, Saúl Sánchez began to contribute to his family’s survival by helping to weed onions in Wind Lake, Wisconsin. He was eight years old. In this excerpt from Rows of Memory: Journeys of a Migrant Sugar-Beet Worker, Sánchez invites us to appreciate the largely unrecognized and poorly rewarded strength and skill of the laborers who harvest the fruits and vegetables we eat.

--

I write this memoir to leave behind some testimony of a way of life that has disappeared perhaps forever. It is a personal narrative based on experience, taken from memory, and written years after the episodes it narrates. These episodes may not seem exalted or seem like exceptional accomplishments to the reader, but they are to the author. They are exalted because the people who appear here sacrificed a great part of their lives, and in some cases all of their lives, for the benefit of their families. And they are exceptional because it is the narrative of a people who not only survived for years under shocking living conditions but also because of those individuals who appear in these pages managed to triumph in their lives. If we also add the fact that these people spoke Spanish and not English, it is not difficult to understand why they embody those exalted and exceptional qualities that one finds in epics.