Ham and Eggs

 

Ham and Egg Fries

Each year the upper grades of Mt. Ephraim School under our teacher’s direction planned some outside events. One was the Ham and Egg Fry. In the planning stage our teacher would ask us what we could bring. One of the main items was ham. 

This wasn’t ham that one purchased at the store but ham that was home-raised and sugar cured. Sugar cured was a way of preserving ham. Different families used their own variations in its preparation. The way it was done at our house was that of rubbing  coarse salt into the ham along with pepper, and brown sugar and something else that I don’t remember, wrapping it in newspaper then in a muslin cloth and hanging it in a safe place for several months until it was “sugar cured.” Sometimes when it was taken down there could be some mold on it that had to be removed but the fried sliced ham had a distinct taste that is hard to find these days. That was the kind of ham that was needed for the ham and egg fry and some of us voluntarily offered to supply it for this event.

Other people brought utensils (skillets, spatulas, paper plates, plastic eating utensils,salt and pepper, etc.) and of course eggs, bread, etc. We brainstormed all the items that would be needed and assigned the different tasks to class members. 

The event took place at Grant Moore’s farm across from the old Grant Moore’s store on Seneca Lake. In the field above the store there were some gigantic rocks that the kids climbed on. In today’s world, liability because of the chance of falling in the climbing escapades would have been a concern.  This all took place before liability was the focus it is today. I remember the rocks as unusually large and those who liked to climb relished them.

The students were the cooks who put some small rocks together and some wood in between, lit the fire (sometimes with a little difficulty), placed the skillet on the rocks above the fire and cooked the ham and fried the eggs.

All enjoyed eating the prepared items and then we cleaned up the mess.

How did we travel to Grant Moore’s? I think it was by individual cars. I don’t remember the school bus taking us to such an event.

Memories…that’s what the event at Grant Moore’s rocks gave us. Something most of us who were in that classroom will not forget in our lifetimes.

“Old School”

 To me this was a wonderful place…Mt. Ephraim School. Previously, this was a high school where my father graduated. By the time we were in school, it was a two-room school with the primary (grades 1-4) in the room on the left with one teacher and on the right grades 5-8 on the right with Dallas Bates as teacher when I was there. There were no bathrooms, no tv’s, no copiers, and so many of the conveniences that schools have today. It didn’t matter at all. We learned and succeeded in life. For tests, our teacher usually wrote the questions on the blackboard. We were called up by grade and subject to the front seats to recite. Discipline was strict but mostly acceptable. Our library was one set of World Book Encyclopedias. There were many assets…for recess we had freedom to play lots of different group or individual games outside. In the winter we used the “old high school” room for basketball, tag, roller skating and marching or, we donned our winter clothes and skiied on the hill behind the school. Lunch was wonderful. The amazing cooks made homemade bread and other homemade foods that were so good. To me, the door in this painting says “Welcome!” Note: This painting is from a picture I snapped when the building was in collapse mode. Sadly, it no longer exists. I could look at this building and probably write a book of stories. I loved the place so much!