84-Lancasler Farming, Saturday, August 13 1994
Social life Is centered around the kitchen table for the Grimes family who Caroline Grimes, Mary Fitterlng, Alice Ann Dinger. Joyce Klnch, BLucille
have compiled a cookbook of family favorites. Whenever they gather they eat, Meister, and Bonnie Grimes,
cook, and reminisce about the stories each family favorite entails. From left:
Everything Happens Around
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
COCALICO (Lancaster Co.)
“If you didn’t loiow how to cook
when you married into this family,
you learned,” said Caroline
Grimes, Ephrata.
She and other family members
refer to themselves as “the bloods”
and “the non-bloods.”
The “bloods” are those who
were bom into the Grimes family
and the non-bloods are those who
married into the Grimes family,
who are the offspring from a clan
of 10 children in the county’s town
of Denver. Only two of the original
clan are still living and they are in
their 80s. But the knack for creat
ing great-tasting food has been
passed down to the younger
generations.
“Everything in our family hap
pens around the kitchen table.
Whenever we get together, we eat
Social life is centered about the
kitchen table,” Caroline said.
With that perspective, it is not
surprising that the Grimes family
has hundreds of recipes. What is
unusual is that family has recently
published a cookbook.
They intended only to sell it to
their own family, but as word
spread, the cookbook sparked the
interest of non-family members
and 500 copies were ordered, most
of which are now sold, and a
reprinting is ordered.
The approximately 100-page
cookbook includes recipes reflect
ing the hearty fare of German
ancestry and also those of the
younger generation who incorpo
rate traditional ingredients with a
lighter touch.
“The undetdetlying feature of
all the recipes is that good meals
begin with the best ingredients, a
generous measure of time, and a
general enjoyment in cooking,”
said Lyn Grimes Schlegel.
Compiling the cookbook has
been an exciting time as extending
family members worked together
with typing, proofing, illustrating,
and many behind-the-scenes
duties. The stories that accompany
many of the recipes have brought
much laughter and reminiscing.
At one time, four sisters and
their families lived in Denver.
They didn’t prepare their meals
individually, but cooked and ate
together every night as families.
Alice Ann Dinger, is the daught
er of one of those sisters. She
recalled that the kitchen table was
not laige enough to save everyone
at the same time. So the men and
children were served first, and
when they were finished, the
women sat down to eat
The sisters had such a reputation
for good food that people often
dropped by over mealtime, know
ing that they would be well fed.
Even the mailman planned his
route so that he could stop by the
Grimes home for lunch.
The kitchen, called the cookery,
in the old homestead house was
Famil
Publishes Cookbook
extremely small and had only one
tiny window. Those were the days
before air conditioning. The sisters
devised their own formula for
cooling off. They hung their dres
ses on a hook by the kitchen door
and cooked in their slips with
aprons on top.
Every Sunday the family
gathered for another homecooked
meal. When the dishes were done,
more camraderie took place
around the kitchen table as the
afternoons were spent playing
“Hoss ‘n Peffcr ”
“What is surprising to many
people is that every one of the sis
ters had full-time jobs.”
The sisters had jobs such as
school teaching, secretarial work
and factory work, but they all hur
ried home during the lunch hour to
prepare the evening meal.
They had survived the Depress
ion Era. They had been taught, that
you work for a living and you work
hard.
One of their grandmother’s
favorite sayings was, “It isn’t what
you want to do, it’s what you have
to do.”
Each Grimes family also had
large gardens and canned jars of
summer produce for winter enjoy
ment and they cleaned.
"There is clean then there is
Denver clean,” said offspring Joy
ce Kinch, who now lives in CaU
fomia and was recently home fora
visit
“Denver clean,” is said with
obvious pride. For as extended
family members scattered to other
parts of the country, they discov
ered that not every one scrubbed
their porches and windows the way
they had been taught
They were also taught that char
acter is the most important thing in
life. There was right and wrong—
you did not lie, steal or cheat
The Kitchen Table
Through the years, the Grimes
family has spread into 14 states but
every August, they hold Reunion
Sunday it is actually a week
long celebration as out-of-state
family members travel home and
hold such events as the Grimes’
Family Golf Outing. Of course,
every occasion finds plenty of time
for eating and sharing stories.
Reunion Day is held at Alice’s
nine-acre farm, a lovely place on
the outskirts of Cocalico.
As tradition dictated, each per
son brought the dish that was her
specudty. For the sisters had an
unwritten rule that whatever one
made best was hers and the others
didn’t make it.
The problem with that, Alice
Ann recalled, was that as the older
generation’s health began to
decline, the family realized that
many of their favorite recipes
would be lost
What would life be like without
Aunt Katie’s Banana Cake?
The recipe had never been writ
ten down and exact measurements
had not been developed.
Through trial and error, exact
measurements were determined
and instructions were written
down for many of the family’s
favorite dishes.
“Some of the original desserts
were loaded with sugar, and we
have adapted them over the yean
to use less sugar,” said Alice.
As family memben scampered
to compile recipes and as the youn-
Jfomestead
JTotes
ger generation developed their
own favorites, the family decided
to publish a cookbook.
The Grimes’ family actually
published their first cookbook in'
1985. But there were unintentional
deletions. Family members would
ask, “Where is the stuffed cabbage
recipe? So the recently published
cookbook includes all the former
recipes and many of new ones
from family members who now
live in IS states.
Proceeds from the sales are put
into a scholarship fund given in
memory of Aunt Helen (one of the
original 10 children) who was a
school teacher for 47 years and
known throughout Denver as
Auntie. This past year and in suc
ceeding yean, the scholarship
goes to a Cocalico High School
senior who is pursuing a degree in
elementary education.
For a copy of the cookbook,
send $6.75 to A. Lucille Meissner,
2937 Kings Lane. Lancaster, PA j
17601 or call (717) 898-2723. 1
While all the Grimes tribe is '
considered good cooks. They point'
with pride to one of the younger
generation who is a professional
chef in San Franciso. Another one
is attending Johnson and Wales
Culinary School on a full scholar
ship earned from a cooking "
contest.
But it is Alice Ann who is
upheld as “The Cook” in the fami-
ly. It is at her home that family
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