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Letter from the Publisher

Candi Broeffle
Publisher

Ahhhh … the smell of fall is in the air. I love autumn—the crispness in the air, moody days of cold rain and the oranges, reds and yellows of changing leaves. Summers are usually too hot for my liking and winters are too cold, but spring and autumn are always welcomed.

As a child growing up on the farm, fall was a most busy time, bringing in the last of the season’s produce, completing the canning, and butchering the hogs and cows. I realize the latter is not a popular viewpoint today, especially with our vegan friends, but this was back in the 1970s and 1980s and values and mores were quite different.

I loved this time as the whole family came together. Often, our neighbors would join in as my parents had been so generous to share their abundant produce all summer long. From mid-September through Thanksgiving, our home was filled with people working together—laughing, talking and teasing— as we “put up” our food. The wood stove filled the house with cozy, dry heat that warmed you deep into your bones, forcing out the chill from being outside just minutes earlier.

Mornings were often spent cleaning out the gardens, while afternoons and evenings were filled with cleaning, chopping and canning the produce. My mother was so proud of a root cellar filled with jars of beans, carrots, pickles, beets and jellies as well as hundreds of pounds of fresh potatoes, carrots, onions, turnips, pumpkins and squash. My parents were not monetarily wealthy by any means—they were poor—but because of their knowledge of farming and gardening, we were never short on food. That root cellar was security, knowing that everything needed until next summer was there to feed the family of nine.

Three of my siblings and both of my parents have long since passed, but the memories of being together will never fade. All I must do is step outside on a cool October day, close my eyes and breathe in the crisp air, and I am instantly transported to that kitchen of love—inner wealth beyond measure.

This autumn and onward, may we all be so blessed,

 

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