Teakettle

When I was a kid, a teakettle always sat on the back of the kitchen woodstove. I don’t remember that we ever used it for tea. Nobody in the family drank what I considered at the time the most foul smelling, bad tasting drink that had ever been invented, discovered, or however it came to be. A city relative offered me a drink of tea—the one-time, bad experience.

That’s not to say that the teakettle wasn’t important. It was of critical importance, as it was the only source of hot water on the farm. The kitchen woodstove had a reservoir on its right side, but water there only reached a tepid temperature.

When Ma needed hot water for something she was cooking—the teakettle provided the answer. If one of my brothers or I had a sore throat, hot water from the teakettle and several teaspoons of salt in a glass and we gargled and killed the sore throat—at least tried to.

If a spot of ice on the step to the kitchen door needed thawing—the teakettle was there to solve the problem.

If a bump, bruise or injury required a hot water bottle, the teakettle provided the water.

And when the teakettle was simply left alone, its steady trickle of steam added a little humidity to the too dry air of the winter kitchen. I found the gentle sound of steam coming from the teakettle on a cold winter day pleasing and relaxing.

Today, a teakettle sits on my woodstove at the cabin, adding a little humidity to the air—but more importantly, triggering memories of an earlier day. Ruth also likes the teakettle water for hot chocolate. Still no tea, after all these years.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Home is where your story begins (Annie Danielson) A gift from a Minnesota friend, Nan C. Corazalla.

THANK YOU; A big thank you to the 75 people who turned out for the mid-Wisconsin launch of my new book, NEVER CURSE THE RAIN, at the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose last Saturday.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, February 7, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio.

Saturday, February 11, 2:15. Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison. Roshara Journal

Sunday, February 12, 1:00 p.m. Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison. TV documentary “Never Curse the Rain” book signing and discussion.

Wednesday, February 22, 6:00 p. m. Wild Rose H.S. Auditorium. Premier Showing of Never Cruse the Rain, A Film by Wisconsin Public TV.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)
Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. and Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Jerry’s newest books, Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their stories—are also available.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835