Madeline (Giles) DeJournett is the Advance writer for the North Stoddard Countian. A retired high school English/history teacher, she spent 32 years teaching in 5 schools in Missouri and Alaska. These days, she lives quietly with a menagerie of wild and domestic animals on 52 secluded acres in the remote Tillman hills south of Advance. She graduated from Dexter High School in 1960 and Southeast Missouri State in 1964. She can be contacted at advancensc@sbcglobal.net.

Potato Punkin:Take Two!

Posted Sunday, October 6, 2013, at 7:16 AM

It's been years since I had the long-necked squash that my father-in-law called "potato punkin." Cook it slowly in a covered skillet, sprinkle with sugar, so that it crystallizes...Yum! Served here with pinto beans!

Sweet memory from the past

Late summer and early Fall on the DeJournett farm west of Dexter brought a harvest of wonderful fresh vegetables from the garden to my mother-in-law's table.

For years, Sundays were "Let's go to Grandma and Grandpa's house."

The food was the stuff of family legends, as everything was raised on the farm.

Reba DeJournett, perfectionist that she was, never fixed just one dish in each category. There were always at least two meats, four or five vegetable dishes, two pies and a cake.

White beans and mashed potatoes were required dishes at practically every meal, but the highlight in the early fall was the potato punkin, which simmered in a large electric skillet on the cabinet, so as to free up the stove for the other items.

I could never resist a peek at this delicacy, impatient for a taste of heaven!

And then there were the pies! Oh, my! I've never known anyone who had pie crust like Reba's! In later years, when she could no longer cook, my father-in-law was able to replicate every dish--except the pies.

She kept a green plastic dish pan in the second drawer of the cabinet. When she was making pies, she took out the pan of flour, made a little crater in the center, added a spoonful of lard or Crisco and some liquid (water, I think), and gently mixed it with her hands.

She never measured; she just knew. Gradually, a soft, perfect ball of pie dough emerged from her fingers. When she rolled it out, there were no flaws, and the flour in the bowl was as clean as if it had just been poured from the bag.

How many times have I tried to replicate that process?

A couple of weeks ago, I was shopping for dog food at Bowman's Milling in Advance, and there--among the decorative pumpkins--was a long-necked striped pumpkin. I hadn't seen one in years.

Nothing would do but I had to buy it, take it home, and see if it tasted as good as it had all those years ago.

It was delicious!

As I savored the sweetness, I thought back through the years to that golden time, when everyone was still alive, children playing in the living room, the family gathered round, telling stories and laughing.

If this story sounds familiar, it should be. I inadvertently deleted the first one, so this new version is for my sister-in-law, Patricia Kay DeJournett Book, who wanted to share it with a friend.

It's the least I can do.

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Love that melt-in-your-mouth potato punkin!!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sun, Oct 6, 2013, at 5:19 PM
first story was better and held good memories of farm life for the kids. hate that it was deleted.

-- Posted by starrynight_3945 on Sun, Oct 6, 2013, at 6:31 PM
Please do not take above response wrong way. Laughter was key to happiness on farm. Sundays were just one of the magical days there. The flour bowl is still a puzzle to me, think it was part of the magic there. So many happy memories.

-- Posted by starrynight_3945 on Mon, Oct 7, 2013, at 9:54 AM
Yes, I agree, starry--the second version is never as good as the first. My fault. If I hadn't been in such a bad mood that morning, I wouldn't have tried to commit literary suicide by pulling the plug on my blogs. I was trying to delete them ALL, not just the most recent.

There was a time when these blogs were actually READ. We talked with one another, argued, exchanged ideas, became friends.

All that's gone. It disappeared about the time that Facebook arrived. Now, we communicate in miniscule posts the size of a pea.

Thanks for commenting. I think I know who you are!

-- Posted by Madeline1 on Mon, Oct 7, 2013, at 7:27 PM
If only I can have the same joyous laughter and traditions to carry on for my grandchildren, if ever I have any. Am lucky enough now to have the land for them to enjoy so like I did going up only wish I had that for my child when she was little. She drives a tractor as if she was born on one, guess she got that from me and I got that from my grandpa. I still remember waiting for him to get done working so I can catch a ride on one of those great tractors. So many great memories with this story, thanks so much even for the rewrite.

Oh by the way I have no facebook acct.

-- Posted by starrynight_3945 on Tue, Oct 8, 2013, at 9:45 AM
Oh, wow! Then this is an amazing coincidence! I guess it shows that these memories are something that many, many people have in common.

You sounded like my nephew, when you talked about sitting on a stool, watching your grandmother rolling out dough.

Now, you sound like my sister-in-law, waiting for her dad to give her a ride on the tractor. In fact, she could tell some stories about going to the field with him and having to sit in a certain spot on the equipment, so she would give it the proper weight to plow the furrows. I'm sure her mother would have had a FIT if she had known that, as protective as she was.

My sister-in-law learned a lot from her dad--how to fix minor plumbing issues, how to change a tire--many of the things only boys learn. As a result, she has always been a remarkable problem-solver in many, many areas of life.

-- Posted by Madeline1 on Fri, Oct 11, 2013, at 10:17 AM
Well I do have DeJournett blood running through me and I have always been happiest with farm life, especially where I learned so much from my grandparents on the out skirts of Dexter.

-- Posted by starrynight_3945 on Fri, Oct 11, 2013, at 2:28 PM
Now you do have me curious! My father-in-law, Clemmer DeJournett had a BUNCH of brothers (about 9?), but I knew very few of them. We were closer to my mother-in-law's side of the family--the Tedfords.

There are not many of that generation left on either side.

-- Posted by Madeline1 on Sat, Oct 12, 2013, at 5:12 PM
Yes, I have Tedford blood too!! Yes we were closer to the Tedford side. Another great memory is great grandpa Tedford always had jelly beans for me when we would visit. Madeline, it is me Dawn. I thought it was a sure give away with me watching grandma in the kitchen and my love of being with grandpa on the tractor. My love for the land came from them and now I only hope I can pass that on.

-- Posted by starrynight_3945 on Sun, Oct 13, 2013, at 8:01 AM
Thanks for the memories. Do not read paper much any more since momma, my mother and father in law died. Just once in a while I check to see what is going on and check on your blogs. You are right not many people do those any more. So sad.

-- Posted by starrynight_3945 on Sun, Oct 13, 2013, at 8:50 AM
Oh, Dawn Lynn! I never dreamed it was you! I guessed it was your brother, Scotty!! You are keeping up on Dexter happenings from afar, I see!

I miss your family. So many are gone. I remember once when your aunt Ruth came to visit, and I thought, "Oh, my, she looks just like Reba (your grandmother), only healthier!" Then, within a few years, disease took her, too. So sad.

I'll try to dig through the memories for more to share.

Thanks for the riddle! It does me good to practice my deductive reasoning!!

-- Posted by Madeline1 on Sun, Oct 13, 2013, at 7:44 PM

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