Written By John Caverhill
“Let’s have another cup of coffee;
Let’s have another piece of pie.”
Those words from a popular depression-era song reflected the hopelessness of those times when one passed empty hours nursing a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. These same words could have been the slogan for another much more positive event, but in this case one had extra coffee and pie because after several hours of hard work one was ravenously hungry.
The two threshing bees I attended verified the already-established fact that the work was hard but the food was great! Threshing bee meals were rightly renowned for both quantity and quality but little has been said about the incredible amount of planning and work required in their preparation. Indeed, one can plausibly argue that the role of the housewife in a threshing bee was the most demanding of all. For the farmer, with his grain all cut and stooped, it mattered little whether the threshing machine arrived tomorrow or next week. His wife had a much more rigid schedule. The home freezer was still in the future so the huge amounts of food had to be prepared either the day before or during the morning of the actual threshing day.
Preliminary preparation actually began the year before when extra jars of pickles and relishes were reserved for next year’s threshing bee.
I remember my last threshing bee meal. I remember Cameron Rose shutting down the tractor and threshing machine and the general feeling of eager anticipation as, flapping the dust from our clothes, we trooped towards the house.
Our ‘dining hall’ was under the shade trees surrounding the house. First came a refreshing wash-up provided by two laundry tubs of cool water on a washstand, each tub accompanied by two bars of soap and half a dozen towels. Beyond the tubs stood a long table made from planks sitting on high sawhorses and covered with white paper and flanked on each side by a bench, also made from planks resting on wide wood blocks standing on end.
The ladies working together had waiting for us a meal unrivaled for both quantity and quality. First, great platters piled high with thick tender slices of roast beef caught the eye. Beef or pork were chosen because their large roasts, free of bones, could be quickly sliced and provided lots of gravy. Also, the meat could be put in the oven and left to roast while other preparation continued. Beside each platter stood a bowl of thick smooth gravy. Large bowls of mashed potatoes also stood waiting close by the meat platters. Large threshings might require up to a half bushel of potatoes (peeled the previous day and kept overnight in cold water). There were no cooked vegetables due to lack of time and stovetop space, but in their place were platters of fresh sliced tomatoes and a delicious host of enticing pickles (tangy beet pickles were especially popular), relishes, and chili sauce, another favourite. Everyone took second helpings; some young bucks had three! Stacks of sliced bread stood within reach of everyone and you concluded the first course by using a slice or two to mop your plate clean, making sure all of that tasty gravy was soaked up and eaten. Next you sipped a cup of tea (the favourite) or coffee and chatted with those around you while the ladies removed the serving dishes.
Now came dessert, which could best be described as a plethora of pies! A threshing bee of twenty men plus three or four women in the kitchen plus a few kids totaled around thirty people. The men had two pieces, some even had three. Six slices per pie meant at least a dozen pies, all baked the previous day. Raspberry, cherry, and raisin were the early season mainstays; peach, apple, and pumpkin were added as the season progressed. Being homemade these were true pies with real, golden-brown flakey pastry crusts packed with fruit (no filler), sweetened, spiced and baked to perfection. Spicy cinnamon apple has always been my favourite and my second choice that day was a piece of peach with a sharper, cleaner flavour of peaches fresh off the tree.
The meal finished with a final cup of tea or coffee. There was no lingering; a short hour and we were heading back to the field, well-fortified for the afternoon’s work.
