January 20, 2021
Liz Writes Life
Thank you so much for the many kind words and condolences you all have sent. It is very comforting to know there are so many caring folks! I decided to share my personal story, because it seems that so many of us are hurting for a variety of reasons. God will send peace during our trials, so we need to recognize it and embrace it.
This week, I wanted to highlight a wonderful, caring food program hosted by the Methodist church in Etna. It is called Loaves and Fishes and provides noon-day meals on Tuesdays and Fridays -- even through this lockdown pandemic. Volunteer drivers deliver nearly all of the meals. Etna’s Ryck Kramer organizes the drivers.
Michele Estrada is the director. She took over in 2007, after Fran McIntyre and Bev Moran had been running the program for eight years. It started out with a Beulah Foundation Grant to fund the food and is a cooperative church-based program. Members from several churches in Scott Valley help in a variety of ways and all are volunteers.
The program began cooking meals for those in need, especially senior citizens, on Fridays. At some point, it expanded to include Tuesdays. Leanne Jopson and Suzanne Poulson have been cooking with Michele for several years. Michele said that she and Leanne are licensed through a food safety preparation program. The cooks are very careful. They do allow donations from individuals. Local gardeners often share their abundance of vegetables and fruits.
Before the pandemic, sisters from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Etna Ward were taking turns baking desserts for the 50 or so individual meals on Fridays. Since the church is no longer meeting and sign-up sheets are not being circulated, the dessert-making has fallen to the three cooks. Luckily, Lorrayne Hurlbut also makes dozens of cookies every month. But this is where additional volunteers are needed. Michele said they will appreciate all homemade cookies or other desserts.
The Food Pantry in Fort Jones gives its excess food to Loaves and Fishes and the local schools also share its extras. The Salvation Army and Rotary Club of Scott Valley are major supporters. The local Catholic congregation provides a monthly donation and at holidays, like Christmas, concerned individuals also offer a monetary donation.
Michele said she misses the individuals coming to the Methodist church’s cultural hall to eat. The cooks like to interact and have fun. Holidays just don’t seem to have the same joyful exchange and neither do the fun-loving practical jokes.
One time, the cooks announced they would be making lasagne. One patron, Doug Layton, said he really liked lasagne and waited with heightened anticipation. So, when his meal came with a lasagne-type layered cake dessert, he admitted disappointment and will not let the cooks live it down.
Loaves and Fishes lives up to the parable in the New Testament, when Jesus fed thousands with two loaves of bread and five fishes. Yes, there have been times when more people walked through the door than anticipated and the cooks worried. But, the modern local miracle is that the food always stretches to feed all the participants.
If you know of someone who is homebound or may need a meal on Fridays or Tuesdays, please contact Michele. Also, more volunteer dessert makers would be much appreciated. Please call Michele at 530-598-2444.
Garden
I appreciated Judy Bushy’s column, last week, when she suggested it was time to plan the garden. I haven’t received any seed magazines this month. Hum, I guess it is because I have not been ordering seeds and they finally dropped me off their lists. It is hard to get excited about planning the garden, when I am not enticed by the bright and beautiful photos in the seed catalogues.
One problem of planning the garden in January is that I think I can raise more than I really need to. Yep, once again, I am going to try and reduce my plants. Three zucchini plants is ridiculous! One is plenty. I will likely need to let several germinate and begin to grow, but will need the fortitude to pull out the extras. Or, maybe, I will allow a second one to grow for the Loaves and Fishes program!
I would like to grow several giant pumpkin plants and I won’t need as many cucumber plants as I did last year, but I could share the extra with the Loaves and Fishes program. I think I made 11 quarts of dill pickles in July and August. No, I won’t eat those in one year. I did share cantaloupe, potatoes, rhubarb, zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes with friends last year. I will probably still plant a six-pack of Ace or Early Girl tomatoes.
Finally, I did get 20 or so garlic cloves planted. Yep, over a month late, so we will see when they mature. Also, covered them with chicken wire to discourage the cats from using the area to go potty.
And, I did use the wheelbarrow and wheeled a bunch of horse manure over and piled it on the two non-growing rhubarb plants. Yep, that job should have been done last November, too. Thankfully, last June, George Poe brought over a pickup load of horse manure. So, I just had to do the job! Only took 20 minutes! Should have done it sooner!
Hope you have a peaceful week!
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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