3/22/2011:
Orion Arlyn Rudolph “Storing Perishables”
Interviewed: Ashley, North Dakota, 14 May 2008
Born: Fredonia, North Dakota, 1 June 1938
The perishables such as butter, for one thing, and milk, everybody had a habit of having a pail of kind, with a long rope, and that was let down into the well however far down the water was where it was cooler. And of course when the time came when you needed butter or milk or whatever, this was pulled up, you know, and used. I mean it wasn’t hanging in the water, but they had it figured out how far down the water was, and so they would let it down to close to where the water was at. And that’s how they kept that. But other perishables, you know, meats or whatever to keep a long period of time that was — no, you didn’t do that. Anything that was of that sort was probably… Well, you butchered in the fall of the year so whatever was left was in the locker plants areas. And so, you know, next week whatever we needed, to whatever so when you get to town you stop at the locker plant and you bring home this, you know, but not so much. Only, you know, whatever was needed they needed. And a lot of canning was done too. A lot of that was done. Sausages especially. There was always, you know, “Go downstairs and get some sausage up,” you know. So up came a jar of sausage. And other meats were canned too. Well, I recall, you know, that the jars were washed good and proper. I recall that. Whatever meats were put in, if there was any seasoning put in that, I don’t recall anything of that. And then they were put in these glasses, and I don’t know whether the lids were turned tight or not. My suspicion is they probably were not turned, just snug a little bit. Because you have to have the expansion and stuff like that, see. So when the water was heated for these six jars of whatever meats that were in, they heated them until I suppose they knew when the meat was cooked. And when that point in time came when the jars were taken out, and then they turned real tight, see to hold that back. And so then when they cooled off they really sucked themselves tight. And of course, then it was canned, you see. And when it was cooled you took it downstairs. And vegetables were done that way too. Beets. Cucumbers not. Those had a special brine, a salt brine and all kinds of different spices. And hot water was poured on them, and when that was done then they cranked the lids on tight. And some worked and some didn’t, you know.