Food and entertainment:
The Ministik Ladies Club fall suppers used to be quite the do! They were held before Thanksgiving and we’d often get over 200 visitors. We’d put a sign up on the highway and people coming home from work would just zip in there and get a hot supper that wasn’t too expensive. It was a smorgasbord and they helped themselves, as many times as they wanted.
What we were really known for were our sour cream and raisin pies. People always wanted more of that. Of course we had pumpkin and lemon and all of those other kinds but sour cream and raisin was the pie that people really liked.
I made them but I didn’t know that was what everybody wanted. Whoever made the turkey for the dinner made the pie crust the day before so that their oven was free for the next day. That was the big money maker for the Ladies Club for the year.
Raisin Sour Cream Pie
2 cups raisins
2 cups sour cream
1 tbsp flour
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 c water
3 egg yokes
1/3 c sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Simmer raisins in water, mix sour cream, egg yolks, flour, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon and add raisins. Cook slowly. When thick pour in baked pie shell.
Use egg whites for meringue. Return to oven and brown meringue.
Enjoy!
Vi Roddick on the Ministik Ladies Club Fall Suppers
Strathcona County history:
I ran the first bookmobile and helped design it. Heather-Belle Dowling, Pat Bab and I had a really good picture of how the system should work on the bookmobile. I drove it for the first two years and loved it! I didn’t have any help. Now there’s three on it. I did run out of gas once. I had to call and get some help but it had to run when it was sitting quite a lot because that’s how you got heat.
I really loved that job mind you I loved teaching too but in this job you got to see more of the community and of the people that came and went. I also really enjoyed finding the right book for each kid.
Helen Lavender, first bookmobile driver for Strathcona County
I was talked into running for council by Bob Bryce, the previous councillor in my division. While I was on council, JD Morrow was the reeve. He was so well read and an excellent Chairman. He let people wander on and sometimes talk more than he should but he always said, “I’m not a policeman, I’m just a conductor.” He was there to try to keep people on topic. Sometimes you have to wait until they are done talking a bit to find out if they are on topic. I didn’t do much talking on council but I sure liked the way he operated. He was the most honest man you’ve ever met. His integrity was never questionable. He was a really good guy.
Helen Lavender on JD Morrow as Reeve for Strathcona County
I understand that my grandfather, who was a stone smith, built the gateway to the Clover Bar Cemetery. I can’t tell you what year but they had to move it because they twinned the highway. My brother said he helped. I feel very proud about that and it makes me feel close to the County. Quite a few of our family were buried there.
Jean Milligan on the building and moving of Clover Bar Cemetery’s gates
