BMancaster Farming, Saturday, April 17, 1993
Front, left to right: Lisa, 21; Laura, 3; Sara, 10; Julia, 14; back, left: Nathan, 12;
right: Jonathan, 14.
Family Tradition Means This
Brood Bakes Up A Storm
BILL ESBENSHADE
Chester Co. Correspondent
DOWNINGTOWN (Chester
Co.) In an airy country kitchen,
mix together six brothers and sis
ters, ages 3 to 21; add one mother;
stir in dough, seasonal fruit, and
various utensils and mixing
bowls. Bake until done just right.
Result: pies and short cake, crisps
and cobblers, and breads. And a
family tradition.
The reader may remember the
Lamar and Mary Howe family
from an earlier Lancaster Farming
article featuring their turkey oper
ation. This brood can also bake up
a storm!
A visit to the Howe kitchen
often finds them making apple and
mince meat pies and apple crisp.
A five-fect-by-five-feet kitchen
table, made by Lamar and Mary’s
son-in-law, provides the bakers
with ample work space. A picture
window next to it provides plenty
of light.
Baking is a bi-weekly event for
the Howes. They bake pies in
quantity, usually at least eight at a
lime, for their family and friends.
“We do a lot of cooking for people
in our church,” said Lisa. “When
the women have babies, we [help]
provide meals for a couple of
weeks after the baby is bom.”
Amid the clatter of utensils,
bowls, and voices, Mary patiently
instructs the younger children.
She starts the children baking at a
young age. “As soon as they can
gel their hands in it (the dough)
and roll it with a rolling pin,” she
said.
They begin by making little
snacks from little bits of dough
with butter, sugar, and cinnamon
on them. From that, they go on to
measuring ingredients, helping cut
up fruit, and making pie crust.
Where did Mary get the idea to
start the kids baking when they’re
young?
Mary said, “My mother used to
do this with us (Mary and her
siblings) when we were young.
We got the ends to make our own
pie. It was a way for us to be
involved. So I started doing it with
our kids.”
And what do the Howe family
bakers bake? That depends on the
season. According to Lisa, “In the
summer time we bake strawberry
shortcake. We also have a lot of
fresh fruit in the summer. So we
have fruit cobblers. In the fall we
start baking bread, or pumpkin
pies and pumpkin bread.”
Looking out the kitchen picture
window, past the yard, one sees
the 10 apple trees the Howes tend.
Apples are the only fruit they
grow themselves. A neighbor sup
plies the rest. The turkeys and a
very large vegetable garden lake
priority.
Lamar and Jonathan watch the
goings-on from the kitchen count
er opposite the picture window.
Jonathan helps Laura make roly polies.
Lamar doesn’t help with the bak
ing, but he can cook. His special
ty? Cooked rice and beans.
“When he makes that, we’re all
glad,” Mary said. Lisa nods her
head in agreement. i
The family has never entered
any baking or cooking contests.
But Mary admits to having
thought about it. “The boys’
(Jonathan’s and Nathan’s) win
ning entry,” she said, “would be
breakfast. They love making
breakfast.” Meaning a good coun
try breakfast of eggs, potatoes,
bacon, and sausage.
Meanwhile, little Laura makes
herself comfortable among the
bowls and pie pans on the kitchen
table. The better to reach the flour
and throw it into the air, you see
Mary has a favorite cookbook
A cover-less, dog-carrcd, well
thumbed cookbook. It was a wed
ding gift. She also likes the More
With Less cookbook.
Soon the pies and crisp arc
ready to go into the oven. The
Howe kitchen has a double oven,
to bake all those pies at one time.
And in a short while, the aroma of
fresh-baked goodies fills the
kitchen.
The Howe “bakery” also makes
bread and “pull” buns. Nathan,
Jonathan, and Sara punch and
knead the dough, then portion it
into several bread pans for baking.
Julia and Nathan make some of
the dough into thin, flat strips,
Mixing up another batch of bread dough is a common
occurrence in the Howe family.
which they then rolled up into
“pull” buns. Jonathan helps Laura
make roly polios.
Sometimes Mary prepares
some dough in the afternoon so it
is ready for the evening’s baking
While that dough becomes bread,
Sara mixes another batch lor bak
ing the next day. Mary’s recipe is
basic whole wheal bread, with one
added ingredient. “We lound n
works belter if we put a little oat
meal in it,” she said.
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Sara, Julia, and Laura busy at work.
Nathan and Sara knead dough.
The eight-member Howe fami
ly cats a lot of bread. So, Mary
said, “We make bread every cou
ple of days; three or four loaves at
a lime.”
Between raising turkeys, work
ing the garden, tending the ’apple
trees, and growing plants in their
greenhouse, as well as 4-H, and
church activities, Lamar and
Mary’s busy family still finds lime
to do all the necessary baking.
And to continue a family tradition.