The Event ~ Making Fleischkuechle

Fleischkuechle is a type of meat pie wrapped in pastry dough. The dish is traditional Volga Deutsche/Germans from Russia recipe, and through immigration became an addition to the cuisine of North Dakota.  It is primarily made in the Beulah, Hazen, Zap North Dakota area.

My grandparents lived in Hazen and I remember Grandma Gallwas making these alot.  Tim remembers Grandma making them the first time we visited them in Hazen early in our marriage.   I remember making them once or twice early in our marriage.  My kids did not grow up with these, which is a shame.  I don't know why I didn't continue to make these a part of our cuisine. 

Thanks to all my relatives on Facebook, fleischkuekle has been resurrected again.  It seems many of my cousins are making these, which prompted me to make them again.  My recipe is in the church cookbook from the church Grandma and Grandpa Gallwas attended in Hazen.  My mom gave me that cookbook when I was a senior in high school. 

I need to really make these more often.  So good and so easy.

FLEISCHKUEKLE

Dough:  3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup evaporated milk.  Knead together to a soft dough.  Form balls the size of ping pong balls or walnuts.  Roll out into 6" circles.  Flatten spoonful of meat mixture onto half the circle into an oblong shape, and fold other half of circle over the meat, seal edges, and trim with pizza cutter.  Deep fry in hot oil till golden.  If meat doesn't get cooked through, they may be finished in the oven for about 5 minutes.  (Another dough recipe:  3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup evap milk, 3/4 cup water.)

Meat:  1# hamburger,   1 med onion diced fine, 1/2 cup water, salt, pepper, and garlice powder  to taste.  Mix thoroughly.

After making these, I had an urge to also make Blachindla, another recipe Grandma Gallwas always made.  I made it a few times, but then quit.  These, too, are so easy and so good.  I definitely will make these more often.    They are like a pumpkin turnover.

BLACHINDLA

Dough:  4 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 cup shortening, 2 eggs beateh, 1 cup milk.   Knead into soft dough.  Make into about 20 balls.  Roll each into 6" circles.   Place filling on one half side and fold dough over filled half, seal edges and trim.  Place on cookie sheets.  Bake about 30 minutes at 350 until light brown. 

Filling:  2 15 oz cans of pumkin, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, dash pepper. 

Recipe can be cut in half.  These freeze very well.

These old recipes bring many memories back of the time I spent at Grandma and Grandpa Gallwas's house in Hazen.  I remember riding the bus to North Dakota in the summer time and spending about two weeks with them.  I can just see Grandma cooking in her kitchen.  I vividly see her cutting knifla rope into chicken soup.  Knifla is a noodle dough, rolled into long ropes and cut with a scissor into pieces dropping them directly into the boiling pot on the stove. 


Grandma Gallwas and my mom in Grandmas' kitchen, probably in the late 50's early 60's.



Me in Grandma Gallwas' kitchen - 7 yrs old.

Yes, those were eventful days in my childhoood.  Eventful memories worth preserving, as are Grandma's recipes.

The Event ~ Confirmation

On March 2 we travelled to Lincoln to attend the confirmation of grandson Jonathan.  Confirmation is an important event in many churches.  However, many churches are choosing to eliminate this event, along with many other traditions, all in an effort to try to make God and religion and church attendance more appealing to the "new, trendy society of today's modern America".    Whatever is removed from the churches by man, the one constant is God who always was and always will be. 

Jon on his confirmation day.

Confirmation is a ceremony whereby young people proclaim and confirm their belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Confirmation is defined as a sacrament, a ritual or service performed by man ~the shepherd, minister, priest ~ within a church, normally carried out through annointing and prayer for the purpose of confirming a young person's knowledge and faith in Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior.  In some traditions, the sacrament of confirmation is the ritual by which a young person also becomes an official member of the church.  Those who participate in confirmation believe it to be a personal, mature aceptance of their faith.

When one accepts Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart and gives assurance that Jesus is present and that we are new creations in Christ.

That being said, it is not the act of confirmation that insures salvation, nor does it insure one will follow their confirmed faith through life.  It is the confirmation from within the heart acknowledging and accepting Jesus as Savior that one can confirm eternity with Jesus, a confirmation between the holy spirit and one's heart, not to be judged by any other.  This doesn't necessarily happen just from going through the rite of confirmation, because many go through confirmation as an obligation and expectation of the parents and the church.  The real  confirmation may not happen until a later date when it truly comes from desire within the heart to follow Jesus.  Only the individual can truly confirm his/her personal relationship with Jesus and can know with assurance the hope of eternal life in heaven.

In essence, confirmation is not to be taken lightly.  It is an important event in the life of a young person who is priviledged to participate in this sacrament.  We have previously attended the confirmation of our two oldest grandsons, Jakob and Joshua.  We pray they hold tight to the truths learned through this education.

Jakob's confirmation



Joshua's confirmation

I went through confirmation in the Lutheran church as an eighth grader.  That seems to be the common age of a confirmand ~ 7th or 8th grade.  It was a two-year class for me, starting as a 7th grader.  





My Godparents (sponsors) Uncle Arnold, Aunt Bertha Kilbur



Confirmation Day with Grandma and Grandpa Gallwas.



My childhood days of attending Sunday School, followed by Confirmation, gave me a foundation and instilled in me many Bible stories that I hold dear to my heart today.  However,  attending and going through the rituals didn't insure eternal life and salvation.  Only when I realized I was missing something in life, feeling empty and void, not complete and full, and a stirring within my heart and soul, did I learn I was lacking the personal relationship with Jesus that completes a person and makes one whole.   I accepted Jesus as my personal savior in 1981.  My life has been complete since.

Each of my children went through confirmation, also as eighth graders. 

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older and departs from it, he will have the foundation to return to."  That is my version of  "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

Confirmation ~ an event not to be taken lightly, an event to be reverent, an opportunity to latch on to the one really important element that brings fullfillment in life now and forever.



The Event ~ The Tree of Ages

This is a very intriguing tree.  If you look closely, you will see ten ~ yes 10~ faces among the tree branches.  I can just imagine the stories within this tree!  I am sure this tree has a solid root in history.

Speaking of history and trees, I had the opportunity to snap a picture of a tree that stood on the battleground of Gettysburg during the Civil War and still stands today.



One of 7 remaining trees that witnessed the Civil War at Gettysburg



Lone tree on the top plateau of Shenendoah National Park

Plum trees in our back yard in the springtime.

Trees dressed in autumn's full color are so beautiful!



The tree I planted in memory of my Dad




A pair of artistic pictures painted by Cash and Annie representing the seasons of life.



The old olive tree in Israel



The thorn tree like what was used for the crown of thorns for Jesus

A silouette depicting the seasons of life.

I love trees.  I must take more pictures of beautiful trees in their seasons of life.  Many eventful photographic moments ahead!

The Event ~ Sad News in the Vent Community

I was struck with heavy sorrow  on January 23, when I read the entry "A Sad, Sad Day" in one of the blogs I follow.

"It is with heavy hearts we inform you that Clinton Detweiler passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on January 22, 2013. His love for ventriloquism and the many ways it allowed him to not just create objects but to connect with people was evident in all that he did. Thank-you for being a part of his life...he enjoyed posting on the blog and trying to help those that had questions.  We are so sad that this blog will no longer continue."

Mr. Detweiler is the person who reimagined and recreated my Woody from a 1950's retro Jerry Mahoney figure.  He's the one whose Maher Course of Ventriloquism I studied in 2007.  He's the one who signed my "Certificate of Completion" after sending in my final test.  He has done the same for many, many ventriloquists through the last 40-50 years. 

Woody, before and after

His daily blog was read everyday by vents from all over the world.  Famous vents like Terry Fator and Jeff Dunham were mentored by him. 

His Christianity and love for God shined through the lines of his writings in his blog as he shared God's grace and love through his journal entries.   He was a healthy man who enjoyed supporting and keeping the vent community growing and strong.  He had a massive heart attack while at his computer and was found slumped over the keyboard by his wife. 

This year's vent convention in Cinncinati, Ohio ~ the one I attended in 2008 and 2009 ~ was to be a celebration and tribute to and in honor of Clinton and Adelia Detweiler for carrying the banner of ventriloquism to many through the decades.  It still will be, but he will be greatly missed by all those in the vent world whose lives he touched. 

I'm sure it was an eventful day in heaven when Clinton Detweiler arrived!

The Event ~ This Old House

I have keen memories of growing up in this old house.  We had a fun neighborhood with lots of kids.  We had a big yard, a big open field across the road where often the neighborhood kids would gather for a softball game.

Picture taken January 2013

Living room on the right, dining area on the left, all one room.  Behind living room was Mom & Dad's bedroom (window on the right rear).  Behind dining area was the kitchen.  We had a piano, a couch, a chair, a heating stove and a kitchen table in this living/dining area.   The walls were always done up in big print wallpaper of the era.  The front steps were wooden steps for a long time, until my parents installed cement steps and the black railings seen in the picture above. At the time, that was a really big fancy update to the house.  The house was painted pink when I lived there from 1950 till about 1965.  One can still see some pink on the sides of the front step and the foundation.  Mom and Dad would park the cars in the little drive way area along the trees shown on the right side of the picture above.  This house was located on the far west side of town, a block away from the irrigation canal and farm fields. And about a mile from school, a long walk to school.

This side view shows the back door that went up into a porch or down stairs to the right.  The small square window is over the kitchen sink.  The window to the right was behind the dining table.The whole

front and side yard was planted with grass.  We played on the grass alot!  It was a big yard.  On the west side of the house I remember having big vegetable gardens every year.  Then in the winter, we would create an ice skating pond in the back yard, by building up dirt sides around the area and filling it by hose with water and letting it freeze.  That's when winters in Montana were freezing cold all winter long!  I think we only did this for a couple of winters.

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Us kids had bedrooms in the basement and there was a toilet and a makeshift shower in the basement.  No sink in that "bathroom."  But there was a kitchen sink and counter in what we used as a big playroom.  I vaguely recall an outhouse near the lower left corner of this picture that we used before we installed a toilet and shower head in the corner of the basement.   My brother Allen and I each had our own bedrooms in the basement.  I don't remember where we put Vern and Kelly when they came along!

Following are just a whole bunch of pictures reflecting growing up in this old house.

Christmas 1959



1953



1959



1954 - Allen &  I with the big garden in the background



1954  We didn't have a bathtub, only a shower head on a wall over a cement floor.  Sometimes we took baths in the round galvanized tub in the middle of the kitchen floor.  I was 3 1/2 in this picture and still bathing in the kitchen sink!. 

September 1953

Mom, Allen, me & Vern on front steps

1957

1954 with Luther Wurster, the son of our minister, and my calico kitten

1953

1954

1961



I played lots of records on this record player, including Elvis and the Beatles. 



And there were poodle skirts in this era.  Although this doesn't look like a poodle!



This has nothing to do with this  old house, but couldn't resist the memory of our pet skunk. 
This picture taken in front of Dad's shop.



Our neighborhood was such a wide open space.  It still is today as nothing has been built around this area.

There was something special about growing up in the 1950's.  The 50's era is still popular today, as there are many museums and diners and collections themed around the 1950's and all the nostalgia of this era.  This has been an eventful journey down memory lane.  And these memories will be preserved in the hardbound book.  An eventful memory revisited!


Pictures were mostly taken only at Christmas and birthdays.



Look at those saddle shoes ~ another 50's icon.