Sunday Supper: Homemade Ice Cream

As the end of summer draws to a close, I'm looking back at one of my favorite and funniest childhood memories.

Homemade ice cream was always a favorite treat at our house, even though it took hours and a lot of hard labor to make it. I remember my Mom putting all of the ingredients in the tall silver cylinder and packing the wooden tub with a combination of ice and rock salt.

Then the tub was turned over to my Dad and any other strong man who was available to undertake the job of turning the hand crank for what seemed like half a day to this eight year old. It was a lot of work and the cranking had to remain constant. I would usually beg to get in a few turns of the crank until it wore me out - which didn't take too long.

Relatives on Dad's side of the family had a habit of "just dropping by" which probably was why I developed a life long resentment about anyone who stopped by my house without  advance notice. I digress. Rewind back to about 1959 when the relatives invited themselves over for homemade ice cream (okay, it was my grandmother and my aunt's family). At least that's how I remember it. Mom and Dad were a bit ticked off because none of the guests ever helped out with the work of cranking the ice cream, but were more than willing to eat it.

So - my parents hatched a plan! Dad and I got in the car with the silver cylinder, drove eight miles to the next town which had a Dairy Queen. He turned over the cylinder and asked them to fill it up with the delicious vanilla soft serve. All the way home, I was warned that I had better keep my mouth shut about this dastardly plot. Once home, Mom and Dad packed the bucket with ice and rock salt so it appeared that all of the hard work was over by the time the relatives arrived.

When it came time for dessert, we all sat around the big dining room table as the bowls of ice cream and spoons were handed out. My grandmother took her first bite and exclaimed, "This is so good. It tastes just like Dairy Queen!"

I could hardly contain myself and dove under the table with some lame excuse - probably about dropping my napkin or something. I knew that I couldn't give away the secret, so I really had to behave while we all finished eating our Sunday treat.

Mom, Dad and I laughed about this for years and never once gave up the secret (until now). But to this day, I can't have an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen without remembering the Great Ice Cream Scandal of 1959.

Upcoming Events in Omaha

Greater Omaha Genealogical Society fall conference

The Greater Omaha Genealogical Society fall conference will be October 30, 2010 at Nebraska Methodist College, 720 N. 87th St., Omaha. Advance registration is $20 for membership and $30 for nonmembers. Lunch is available for $4.50

Sessions include:

• Land Records - presented by Lynne A. Farr
• Oral Histories - presented by Lucille Saunders
• Organizing Your Files - presented by Cyndy Salzmann
• What You Can Do With a Digital Camera - presented by Jeff Ramsell

You can download a brochure and registration form here.

Tombstone Tour of Omaha Cemeteries

A motor coach tour of three Omaha cemeteries led by Joni Fogarty is planned for October 24, 2010. The tour includes Forest Lawn, Holy Sepulchre and and Prospect Hill. Cost is $40 and registration deadline is October 19.

For more information and to register, click here.

If you can't make the cemetery tour, I recommend a virtual visit at the Graveyards of Omaha, a wonderful site by Marta Dawes.

Follow Friday: Around the Blogosphere

One of my favorite genealogy pastimes is to read the blogs written by other genealogists. Collectively, we are known as geneabloggers and rally around the geneablogging community coordinated by Thomas MacEntee. Site: Geneabloggers.com.

On the right hand column of this blog is a blog roll of my favorite posts from the blogs I follow via Google Reader. Look under "Around the Blogosphere."

Since there are usually quite a few posts from my fellow bloggers that I find interesting, amusing or helpful, I've decided to make Around the Blogosphere my contribution to the Geneabloggers weekly feature called Follow Friday - recommendations on web sites or blogs of interest.

Here are some of my favorite posts from the last couple weeks:

Essential Items for a Graveyard Hopping Kit - from the Graveyard Hopping blog

See History in Your Reality - A New Flickr Photo Project - from the National Archives

On the Bookshelf - What's on Your Kindle? - by Gena Philibert Ortega of Gena's Genealogy (we Kindle owners are as passionate about our Kindle as we are about genealogy!)

Identifying Major Stone Types - from Escape to the Silent Cities

One Hundred Seventeen Years Later - another great contribution from Graveyard Hopping

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my favorite blog posts every Friday.

RIP: Cass County Historians

Two people who were instrumental in documenting community and family histories in Cass county, Nebraska have died in the last two weeks.

Arnetta Carpenter of Onawa, Iowa died on September 22, 2010 in Whiting, Iowa. Arnetta was born in Greenwood, Nebraska to Gus and Clara Brakage. She helped establish the Greenwood Historical Museum and worked on the community history books of Greenwood, Nebraska. My memories of Mrs. Carpenter go back to my childhood when her daughter and I were in the same grade in school and her son played on the Greenwood baseball team when my Dad was the manager.

Full obituary and guest book from the Lincoln Journal Star

Mary Skalak of Elmwood, Nebraska died October 6, 2010. She was a long-time educator in the Elmwood Schools and was editor of the voluminous Cass County History book. I met Mrs. Skalak in the 1970s when I visited her classroom to learn about a minigrant she had received to help teach her students about the history of Stove Creek Precinct. I returned later to interview her about the project for the Omaha World Herald's Magazine of the Midlands. She was a long time supporter of the Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation.

Full obituary and guest book from the Lincoln Journal Star

Both women were committed to documenting the history of Cass County, Nebraska. Thank goodness for that because their work and legacy shall go on.

Ken O'Malley Brings the Sounds of Ireland to Lincoln on October 17

Ken O'Malley will be bringing the music of Ireland to the Johnny Carson Theater at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska next Sunday, October 17 at 2 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Ticket information