The call went out, Peach party at 10. Eight sisters showed
up to peel and chunk a large quantity of peaches for cobbler—a gift from a
benefactor. That prompted memories of other “parties” at the monastery, some
featuring our own farm produce and some from generous families and neighbors. Every
sister remembers her novitiate as including lunchtime “recreation” at these
extra work details.
Picking blackberries on the
property seems to have been a common experience. The berries were not
thornless; the ground was not chigger-free (Off
was yet to be invented), but the dessert was great! Apple trees produced well.
Concord grapes purpled the pickers’ hands and sometimes their coifs, when
served on Sunday as grape juice. There were trips to a strawberry farm near
Union, and to Scott’s peach orchard on Amsterdam. You might get sent to the
field to cut kale or to squash bean beetles.
And then there were the train
wrecks and overturned trucks full of produce. When the produce company was not
able to sell the contents to a store, communities of sisters were often the
beneficiaries. No one will ever forget the bananas. There was a silent retreat
going on, and at every meal sisters looked for the form the bananas would take.
Banana bread, or banana slices on top of the chocolate pudding, or underneath
in the leftover pudding. Lots of eyeball
rolling at the silent meals. One night no one could find the bananas, but the
tablewaiters knew, for they ate before the others. Someone in the kitchen had
let it slip that the bananas were in the meatloaf!
A few years ago Sr. Cathy
started a garden in our back yard, growing cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, dill,
lettuce and sunflowers. We enjoy year-round pickles owing to her efforts and
that of a few others. Families and friends still provide us with produce,
sometimes in large quantities. A generous local market gives us a range of
produce.
Once in a while we get
bananas. Someone makes banana bread, but there have been no repeats of that
famous meatloaf!
Sr. Christa Kreinbrink, OSB
