Summer

Here at "The River Calls" we like to show you what the life of the first settlers in Northern Minnesota was like. 

I can't help but wonder if the first settlers into northern Minnesota took time to smell the roses. Did they ever have picnics? Did they have family gatherings?

The answer is a loud and echoing "YES".

Some of the old papers I've read say that community picnics were held for nearly any occasion. Each woman on the Bigfork had a recipe that they were famous for. When a couple got married, each family brought food for the whole community. Today we'd call it a pot luck dinner.

Then when it was all done, out came the ice cream churns. Inside went cream, eggs and vanilla. The ingredients went inside the bucket along with the dasher. The lid was put on and ice was packed around the center container. Then salt was put onto the ice to make it extra cold.

Then came the hard part of turning the crank. Sometimes it took over an hour of cranking and the job was shared by many. Just when the ice cream was getting solid, you threw in a couple cups of chopped up strawberries. The crank was turned some more and finally it was declared done. The dasher was removed and the canister was packed in ice and salt for a couple hours. 

What finally came out after all this hard work was well worth the wait. Strawberry ice cream. Does life get any better!

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Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron