All books using the keywords: Esther Gingerich

Although Suvilla Bontrager Hershberger weighed less than four pounds when she was born at home in 1919, she survived and lived to the ripe old age of 92. Suvilla was expected to pitch in and help with the work while still young and she worked hard all through her life. As she lived through the depression years she learned the necessity for frugality. And as part of a tight-knit Amish community she learned the art of caring and sharing. In 1997 while living in Sun City, Arizona, Suvilla participated in a class for writing life stories. She laboriously hand wrote her story on ruled tablet paper and had it copied for each of her children and grandchildren. Now her daughter has transcribe ...

Although Grandma Hershberger has been gone for a number of years her daughter Rhoda still has the little notebooks that she recorded her recipes in. In order to share them with the rest of the family, they have been preserved in this book. Grandma was born in 1900 and married Grandpa when she was just 17 years old so some of the recipes are quite old. Grandma was an excellent Amish cook and her grandchidren have many fond memories of her kitchen.

From Little Black Bonnet to Oatmeal Box Wedding Veil is the recounting of the first thirty years in the life of Esther Hershberger Gingerich. Esther writes of her earliest memories, her growing up years, the uncertain teen years, and the early years of her marriage. Born in 1943 into a struggling Amish family, Esther experienced many moves, changes, new schools, and hand-me-downs. Playing with her two brothers on the farm was sometimes hilarious and sometimes downright dangerous. She tells of the trauma of leaving the Amish and the agony of losing a brother. Under girding all the uncertainties of her life were the faith, love and support of her parents and extended family.

While disposing of her mother's belongings, Esther Gingerich found the recipe box containing many of the recipes she remembered her mother, Suvilla, preparing. So that all these recipes could be shared with other family members, Esther compiled them into a book. There are many old recipes such as fried mush with tomato gravy and ground cherry pie, but also more recent recipes for barbecued country ribs and sour cream mashed potatoes. The box and Suvilla's cookbooks also contained household tips, poems, and words of inspiration which are included in this cookbook.