By Lindsay Creviston
Liver pudding and hog maw were on the menu at the first reunions at the Hess family homestead.
Every three years the 12 children of Herman and Iva Hess and their families descend on Waynesboro, Penn., to catch up, eat, play games, eat some more, have a family meeting, and eat some more. The reunions revolve around breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the snacks in between.
Herman (Poppy) and Iva (Hessie) Hess raised their family in the Pennsylvania Dutch community of Waynesboro during the Great Depression. Times were hard and money was scarce. The family grew vegetables and raised hogs on their farm. Hogs would eat anything; therefore they were inexpensive to feed. Herman fed his hogs with garbage from the local restaurants and hotels.
The big event of the fall was Butchering Day when multiple families gathered to butcher their hogs. In a single day, as many as five hogs would be cleaned and made into liver pudding, Pon Haus (scrapple), sausage, and lard. The host family fed the entire crew for the day and sent everyone home with packages of pork and homemade pies.
As the Hess children started their own families and settled in other parts of the country, months and sometimes years would pass without seeing each other. It was declared that a family reunion would be convened every three years. The reunions were at the family homestead for many years while Herman and Iva were still alive. With 12 children and an average of 4 children per family, there were dozens of cousins. They couldn’t wait to play in the creek behind the house, pick green beans from the garden, ride mini-bikes down the lane, make corn cakes with Hessie, and dig into Aunt Hennie’s pretzel jar.
While the kids played, the women cooked…and they cooked…and they cooked. They were either preparing for the next meal or cleaning up the previous meal. With only 12 places at the table, meals were eaten in shifts. Even though it was a tremendous amount of work to feed the entire family the women greatly enjoyed their time together.
They cooked traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dishes; corncakes for breakfast, Slippery Pot Pie for lunch, Hog Maw for dinner, and of course homemade pies and cookies for dessert. Corncakes are similar to pancakes, but have a much thinner consistency and are made with cornmeal. Slippery Pot Pie is made of homemade noodles boiled in beef broth with beef, potatoes, and onions. Hog Maw is baked hog’s stomach stuffed with sausage, potatoes, and onions.
Today the reunions are at Red Run Park. The food is catered and consists of fried chicken, potato salad, and baked beans rather than the homemade traditional Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. Although the location and food have changed, the recipes have been preserved in the Hess Family Cookbook and will continue to be passed on to future generations.
Hessie’s Corncakes
From Iva Hess
2 cups yellow corn meal
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
4 cups whole milk
Vegetable oil – enough to cover bottom of cast iron skillet
Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Beat by hand until all lumps are gone. The batter will be thin.
Pour oil in bottom of cast iron skillet until ¼-inch deep. Heat to 420.
Spoon batter in hot oil to make 4-inch cakes. Cook until light brown on each side. The cakes will brown quickly.
Serve with warm molasses or syrup.
Makes 25-30 cakes, 5-6 servings
Note: An electric griddle may be used instead of a cast iron skillet. The electric griddle requires less oil.
Variation: Oatmeal may be added to recipe to make a thicker cake. Reduce corn meal to 1 cup and add 1 cup oatmeal.
Slippery Pot Pie
From Iva Hess
Beef and Potatoes
2 pound beef roast
1 large onion, diced
3 large potatoes, cubed
2 quarts water
1 teaspoon salt
1. Place roast, onion, and potatoes in large pot on stove. Add water and salt.
2. Simmer for 2 1/2 -3 hours until beef roast is fully cooked.
3. Remove beef from broth and cut into bite size pieces.
4. Put cubed meat back into broth.
Noodles
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cold water
1 ¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
Salt and pepper to taste
Beat the eggs and add the water.
Knead in the flour and salt to mix thoroughly.
On a floured surface roll out half of the dough at a time until 1/8 inch think.
Cut into ½ inch squares and drop in boiling beef broth with meat and potatoes.
Serves 6
Hog Maw
From Iva Hess
1 cleaned pig stomach (small)
1 pound loose sausage
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 small head cabbage, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix ingredients and stuff into stomach.
Bake at 350 for 3 hours until brown and tender.
Variation: Can be made into a casserole if do not like pig stomach or do not have one. Place ingredients in a casserole dish and bake for 1 hour or until cabbage and potatoes are tender.
Serves 4
