Speaking of Cabbages...

Okay, so maybe no one was actually speaking of cabbages!

But this is a special edition dedicated to my VA friends, Mr. James, Ms Page and all the children, and of course, Ms Mabel. The rest of you are welcome to wander through, too - you might learn something interesting!











Cabbages and Roses

I wonder if the cabbage knows

He is less lovely than the Rose;

Or does he squat in smug content,

A source of noble nourishment.

Or if he pities for her sins

The Rose who has no vitamins;

Or if the one thing his green heart knows --

That self-same fire that warms the Rose?
Anonymous



So how about we look at some interesting
Cabbage Facts?

~According to the USDA, U.S. recent cabbage production was 2.4 billion pounds. California growers led with with 466 million pounds, New York was second with 456 million pounds.

~Americans consume about 387 million pounds of sauerkraut annually.



~The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.


~The Greek poet, Homer (who lived around 850 BC), mentions Achilles washing cabbages, in his epic poem the 'Iliad.'



~The world record for eating cabbage is held by Charles Hardy. He ate 6 pounds 9 ounces in 9 minutes.



Wow - who knew all that? Who would even need to know, right?



You can find cabbages in your local supermarket (above) organic food stores, or even at farmer's markets. (left)








Cabbage as Food:

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C. It also contains significant amounts of glutamine, an amino acid that has anti-inflammatory properties. Cabbage can also be included in dieting programs as it is an extremely low calorie food.

It is delicious in soups,






cooked as a pot of corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's day,

prepared fresh as a side-dish or added to salads.

For centuries it has been preserved and pickled as Sauerkraut. Have a delicious Reuben sandwich or a dish of sausages and kraut. And what hot dog would be complete without it?


One of the most favorite uses of cabbage is for Cole Slaw salad, fresh or with a creamy mayo dressing. YUM!!!

Fire & Brimstone

Unfortunately cabbage also has the ability to cause - shall we say - gastric emissions of the most unpleasant kind. Jane Grigson in "Vegetable Book" published in 1978 said:

“Cabbage as a food has problems. It is easy to grow, a useful source of greenery for much of the year. Yet as a vegetable it has original sin, and needs improvement. It can smell foul in the pot, linger through the house with pertinacity, and ruin a meal with its wet flab. Cabbage also has a nasty history of being good for you.”


One very important rule to remember - NEVER STEAM IT IN THE MICRO-WAVE OVEN!!!

It can be easily forgotten which causes the cabbage to burn. Odors offend most of those who share the house and could be a possible fire danger!




Places Called Cabbagetown

Cabbagetown, Toronto

This city was formed in the 1840's by poor Irish immigrants who left Ireland during the Great Potato Famine. They planted their front yards with easy-to-grow cabbages as a primary food source. Although at first just a nickname it later became official. Writer Hugh Garner shared his recollection of growing up there during the Great Depression in his book "Cabbagetown Remembered".

Cabbagetown has one of the most oldest and best preserved Victorian housing in North America. Today the area has evolved into a trendy upscale area with profession offices, doctors and lawyers, restaurants and shops serving the elite of the nearby University of Toronto.

Cabbagetown, Georgia

This is actually a section of historic downtown Atlanta. During the Civil War, General Sherman led his Union forces against Atlanta on July 22, 1864. Confederate General Hood suffered heavy losses, losing up to half his forces in death or prisoners. The bloody hard-fought battle went on until Sherman raised his flag in triumph on September 2, 1864.

The area remained in ruins until rebuilding began under the Reconstruction Era. Its recovery came in 1881 as the first cotton mills in the South were formed here; Atlanta Rolling Mill and Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill.

Poor Appalachian immigrants were brought in to work the mills. The owner provided cheap shotgun houses and many of the families planted cabbages which grew quickly in the Southern climate. The distinctive smell of processing the cotton permeated the air around the mills. Prejudice against the poor immigrants caused people to blame the smell on the cabbage grown there. The name "Cabbagetown" was intended as a negative slang. But the area residents took pride in their work and community and officially adopted the name!

Cabbage Roses

There are actually beautiful cultivars of roses known as the cabbage rose. They are a hybrid rose developed by Dutch rose breeders in the period between the 1600s and the 1800s. Individual plants are shrubby in appearance, growing to 1.5-2 m tall, with long drooping canes and grayish green pinnate leaves with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are round and globular, with numerous thin overlapping petals that are highly scented; they are usually pink, less often white to dark red-purple.
Finally - cabbages that actually smell good!!

Cabbage Funnies

"Cabbage: A vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head."Ambrose Bierce, American writer (1842-1914)




Okay, this next one is a bit naughty....

Ever wonder what could be so amusing about a 19th Century Medical book:
This the poor chap was nicknamed the cabbage man. We can only speculate that some mischievous medical students were given the task of setting up the photographs to illustrate a nasty skin condition for this very serious medical tome. Perhaps they were instructed to find a way of preserving the patient’s modesty and unable to find a fig leaf, they improvised. Quite cleaver indeed!



Medicinal Uses of the Cabbage

We probably got Ms Mabel's attention with the last picture, but think she will be most interested in this segment. She likes to find helpful uses for vegetables.

~Cato the Censor (234-149 BC) mentions several medicinal uses for cabbage, including treating infected wounds.

~In European folk medicine, cabbage leaves are used to treat acute inflammation. A paste of raw cabbage may be placed in a cabbage leaf and wrapped around the affected area to reduce discomfort.

~ Fresh cabbage juice has been shown to promote rapid healing of peptic ulcers.

However, large consumption of cabbage can interfere with the body's ability to absorb iodine.


Sears advertisement circa 1930

Cabbage Glass

The term Depression Glass refers to manufactured glassware that was produced from the 1920's, through around the early 1940s, ie. the era of the Great Depression until the end of WW2. What we have come to know as Depression Glass was cheaply mass-produced, mould pressed, colorful and highly patterned glass that was sold at very low prices. These items would also be included in soap or cereal boxes, or might be given away at a local movie theater or gas station to promote sales. In fact, one glass manufacturer, Hazel Atlas, was saved from bankruptcy during the Depression years when it received an order from Quaker Oats for five Railroad Cars of glass.

One of the most popular patterns among collectors of Depression glass for its timeless and classic beauty, the Sharon pattern, also known as Rose of Sharon or Cabbage Rose, was produced by the Federal Glass Company from 1935 until 1939. It was made in pink, green, amber and a few clear pieces.

I personally inherited a piece of the more rare green from my Grandmother Goddard.

The Cabbage Head Song

Now you know I couldn't resist finding a piece of music called "The Cabbage Head Song"!

It seems that it evolved from an old Irish drinking song known as "Seven Drunken Nights". The verses tell of a conversation between an angry wife and her husband regarding his whiskey fueled escapades. Today you can hear many versions by such artists as the Fiddlin'Foresters

or Doc Watson on the album "Folk Masters." Perhaps one of the funniest was recorded by Ruth Brown, a jazz singer, in 1999 at age 70. She changed the roles of husband and wife and hints that perhaps the husband is falsely accusing her of infidelity. She attests that he only saw a cabbage head next to her on the pillow. The husband replies that he has "never seen a cabbage with a mustache" before. Her version can be found on the album "Good Day For the Blues".

This is the End!

There now, wasn't that a fun romp through Little Known and useless Facts? You probably didn't know one person could waste...er.. spend so much time hunting down these interesting tidbits!
Just please remember -

PLEASE, DO NOT MICRO-WAVE CABBAGE!!!

You don't want to known as "Old Stinky"!!!

(c) CHRobinson April 21, 2010

Reflections for an Easter Morning

I would like to share what Fr. Manny told us about the Empty Tomb: an interesting detail I had never heard before. In St. John's account of Easter morning, chapter 20, verses 1 - 10, we are told that Mary Magdala reached the tomb first. Finding the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, she runs out in fright telling the disciples that someone had
taken the body of Jesus away! In verses 6 - 8, Simon Peter "went right
into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that
had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up
in a place by itself."


In the time of Jesus, banquets could, and often did, go on for days at a time. The master of the house and his guests would dine, drink, dance, rest and then start over again. The servants who attended the guests would be especially vigilant to signals from the master of the house. They would bring fresh wine and replenish platters of food. They would provide pillows for resting and clear spaces for dancing. If the master was finished he would fold his napkin carefully and replace it at his spot at the banquet table. If he was not finished the napkin would be placed off to one side, by itself. This signaled that he intended to return!

Imagine how those linens in the tomb spoke to Simon Peter and the disciples! They reported that the cloth that had been placed over his head (the napkin) was not with the other burial linens but "rolled up in a place by itself"! Jesus was telling them, "I'm not finished. I am coming back!"

Something to reflect on of an Easter morn...Jesus Christ has promised, "I am coming back!" What a precious promise!

Easter Cookies

Just new to this Blog thing so I just realize I should do the Blog first, then post it to my FaceBook profile - So here's the story:

Grammy and Miss Emily Make Easter Cookies

Emily came for an overnight visit and we decided we should make Easter egg cookies. It was lots of fun! We didn't get pictures of actually mixing the dough because those durn beaters kept getting a little out of hand and flinging bits of dough around...

We finally got the dough mixed, then on to important stuff:

LICK THE BEATERS!!! YUM!

Oh yes, we're having fun now!

Mixing in the lemon peel

Get it all on the plastic wrap (Em taking pictures now)

One big blob of dough

Make it into a roll

Twist the ends

Into the fridge for 45 minutes.

We can hardly wait...

Slice, put on the cookie sheets, then into the oven

If you look close you can see Em's reflection as she takes the picture.

Warm cookies! Oh they smell so good!

I'm ready - when can we decorate?

Finally getting the icing on! Decorate away, Miss Em!


Sprinkles are good...

...and more sprinkles are better!

Our finished masterpieces #1

and #2!

...and they were as good as they look! Light, sweet, crispy and lemony! We shared some after dinner, sent home a plate for Aunt Crissy's house and brought the rest home to the Spatz house. What a great time we had!

....oh, and we are supposed to send out samples the Florida, Bedford, VA, and Ms Mary's house.

The Story of Esther

This blog is dedicated to the memory of Esther Marie Lang Robinson. Thought I'd share some of her story - at least the early years.

Esther Marie Lang was born on August 18, 1922 in the rural community of Woonsocket, in northeastern South Dakota. Her mother, Mary and her father, George married because of her impending birth. After Esther was born Mary left and her grandparents took her to the family farm to raise.


Lang Family Farm

The family spoke only German and Esther didn't learn English until she began attending school. Although she was the only child in family of grown uncles and her father, she wasn't spoiled. She was expected to do her share of chores, and do so without complaint. Love and discipline
went hand-in-hand. There were no friends of her own age so she made friends of the farm animals; even giving her favorite cows names! She loved the outdoors and dreamed of having a large family of her own someday!



Esther about 1 1/2 yrs old

Besides learning English, she also learned "the family secret" from the children at school. She heard from them that her "Uncle George" was actually her father! She tearfully reported this to her grandmother who confirmed it in a matter-of-fact German way. It was quite a shock! She said after this she would see pictures of her mother, but had never met her in person.

Esther (front/center) about 8 yrs. old with Granddad Lang and cousin (?)

Esther about 12 yrs. old on her Confirmation

Shortly after the above picture was taken, both of her grandparents passed away. She was sent to live with one of the married uncles to help around their house. She told the story of when the aunt had her first baby, and it died. They placed the baby's body in the basement (where it was cool) and set off for town to make funeral arrangments. Esther stayed behind and was to have dinner prepared when they returned with the priest. She went about her chores of cleaning the house, setting the table, and starting dinner. Then she realized the potatoes were down in the basement where the dead baby was! As the sun was starting to set she tried to convince herself to be brave and go get the potatoes. She knew if dinner wasn't ready, she'd get a beating - but she just couldn't do it! She was just a young girl! So dinner was made sans potatoes, she did get a beating AND a memory that stayed with her forever.

She rotated time between one or another of the uncles and the family farm. She said George and the uncles did some pretty wild and crazy things. And George never really was a father figure. Then her mother came back into her life. Mary had married an Eber "Sid" Siddons who owned a car dealership in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. So Esther moved west across the state near to Rapid City. She attended junior and senior high school there, met her best friend, Willie Ellen and caught the eye of the most eligible bachelor in town - Francis Robinson. It was love!

Esther about 16 yrs. old in downtown Belle Fourche, SD

Esther visiting before Graduation Day at the Lang farm

Senior picture, Class of 1941

They were married in the fall of 1942 and began their married life as Francis began his military service. The first of their sons, Bill, was born while they were stationed in Portland, Maine. Like many miltary families of WWII, Francis was sent to the South Pacific. Esther made the best of the situation with little Bill as they awaited his return.

(The story of the ship he served on, USS Mindanao can be found in an earlier blog)

Francis P. Robinson in his dress uniform, shortly before shipping out

Esther in Portland, Maine. She was pregnant with Bill in this picture.

The picture of Esther and Bill that Francis carried during the war.

When he returned from the war, they came home to Belle Fourche and family life continued. Francis ran the town bakery, owned a small garage and opened a go-cart track as the baby boys continued to come into their lives. There would eventually be seven living boys.
In 1953 Francis moved the family out in the country to a 100 yr-old stone fieldhouse, the Homestead. The boys had plenty of room to run free - think of "Little House on the Prairie" without the golly-gee moments and you've got the picture. There are so many stories of their adventures at the Homestead; many more blogs to come...

Esther allowed them the freedom to hike the hills and joined them searching for Indian artifacts. They planted the garden and raised a cow, a pig and chickens to feed the family. She bound their broken bones and sometimes stitched their wounds. She taught them respect for nature and a healthy fear of the rattlesnakes and bears that shared their woods. She expected them to do the chores required of a large family. She expected the truth - always! She gave them all love and taught them to love one another and bond closely as a family.
She sent them faithfully, if not always willingly, to church and gave them a strong foundation of faith. Family prayer was a daily experience. The boys recall learning their prayers, especially the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary." And they all remember daily Rosaries, even when they had better things to do!


Family picture from the Homestead -clockwise:
Byron in kitchen, All the boys at Bill's graduation, Boys around the front tree Summer 1955.

Francis came to Las Vegas to seek a better life for the family in 1960. Esther kept the family together at the Homestead through some very rough times until they could rejoin Francis about two years later. When he died after battling cancer in 1969, she still had young boys at home. She ran a daycare to make ends meet and raised seven strong, wonderful men! They all got their sense of family commitment and responsibility from Esther. In her German directness, she always let you know exactly where you stood, even if that made you uncomfortable! She could bake, especially for the Holidays; and loved reading, crocheting and quilting. A radio turned to a talk show always kept her company.
She passed away December 1, 2008. She was a strong woman and we miss her a lot! More stories to come....
(c) CHRobinson 03/2010

Our Lives Are A Journey

Our lives are a journey

Each one a unique path...

The road has many twists and turns;

Some lofty peaks and some dark valleys.

Sometimes the way is smooth and easy -

Or sometimes rocky and rough.

But each journey is important

In that we meet one another

As we walk our paths...

And thereby know who we really are!

May you find peace and happiness as you journey along your path of life

And may the Christ Light shine brightly along your way.

(c) CHR 2010