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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2020)
B Tuesday, April 28, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald BOB’S THOUGHTS Dealing With Stress-Related Diet Diffi culties BOB BAUM Exploring my roots in the Grande Ronde Valley I have pioneer roots somewhere in my citifi ed soul. My mother was a Gekeler whose grandparents were among the fi rst white settlers in the Grande Ronde Valley. There is Gekeler Lane, of course, in the same general area where the fam- ily settled. And there are descendants scattered about the valley and beyond, some still farming the same land. George John Gekeler was born on June 14, 1833, in Lancaster, New York, the son of German immigrants. He married Catherine “Kate’’ King in 1859. He was 20. She was 16. They moved fi rst to Falls City, Ne- braska. That I know this and many other details of their migration west is because of a marvelous compilation of the Gekeler family history written by various family members over the years. The thick booklet I have was picked up by my sister at one of the Gekeler family reunions. My great-grandfather and great- grandmother, along with infant son Edward, joined the Yount wagon train and, on May 7, 1862, began their jour- ney to the Oregon country. The women mostly walked, some carrying a child. When one of the Gekeler oxen died, George hooked up the milking cow, which abruptly went dry but at least pulled the wagon faith- fully. “About the third day out from Fort Laramie, they celebrated the Fourth of July,’’ the Gekeler family document reads. “A fl ag was fl own from a tall cottonwood tree. A member of the train made a speech. Williamson had a fi ddle which several played to furnish music for the merrymaking and dancing. “There were several Southern sympathizers in the train who failed to celebrate with as much enthusiasm as the others, but these were disregarded.’’ Alas, the fi ddle was placed on the ground and crunched by a wagon wheel the next morning. On Sept. 13, 1862, the 42 wagons eased over the hills near Hot Lake and arrived in the Grande Ronde Valley. Joe Yount, the wagon train’s leader, loaned George Gekeler a team of hors- es and he made a trip to The Dalles for a load of fl our. George took the fl our all the way to miners near Boise. He got to keep half the load for his trouble. The journey took six weeks. Meanwhile, Kate Gekeler and her baby slept in a tent made of sheets near the river, waiting for her husband to return. Eventually, the Gekelers had 11 chil- dren. Two died in infancy, including the couple’s fi rst, George. The couple must have liked the name, because their fourth surviving child, my grandfather, was named George Oscar Gekeler. My great-grandfather eventually amassed a large farm and left each of his children 50 acres. On his land, George Oscar settled in with his wife Lena and their three children. My mother was the youngest. She loved her father, tagging along and running through the fi elds. When he came home from work, he would swoop her up in his arms and on to his shoulders. My grandmother had come to East- ern Oregon by train. Decades later she would remember that her bonnet blew away when she poked her head out the window. She was old-fashioned, to say the least. My grandma hated it when women wore short hair or long pants. See Gekelers/Page 3B Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-TNS A snack that combines protein carbs and fat — such as these ginger and molasses energy bars — help you feel satiated when you’re stress eating. S MART S NACKS ■ Stress can lead you away from a healthy diet, but there are tasty options By Gretchen McKay Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Is COVID-19 stressing you out? Me, too. I know that to be a fact, and not just because I’m having trouble sleeping and feel sick to my stomach when I watch the news. I’m also eating. And eating more, even though I’m no longer training for any of my spring races. It’s so easy to do, even if it’s not particularly enjoyable. A handful of chips on your way from the kitchen to the living room. A mindless slice of cheese while you’re aimlessly perusing the contents of your refrigerator like a hungry middle-schooler. And a glass of wine, or beer, before it’s 5 p.m., even on week- days. No one can blame you. In fact, it’s understandable. While some lose their appetite in times of anxiety — and what are we dur- ing this pandemic if not anx- ious — many others soothe the negative feelings with food, even when they’re not particularly hungry. “People grab the foods that comforted them during child- hood and the pleasure chemical in the brain is released, which is self-soothing,” says Kelsey Hut- ter, a registered dietitian and certifi ed diabetes educator with Allegheny Health Network. According to the data tracker Nielsen, we’re not just stocking it’s also bad for your health. Poor nutrition can compromise your immune function, and with the coronavirus spreading across communities, do you really want to increase your risk of getting infected? When it comes to meals and everything else in between, stay- ing healthy means watching not only how much you eat but also what you eat, along with where and when. To that end, Hutter says one should try to be cognizant of what he or she is consuming — a practice that’s known as mindful eating. “It’s about being present and savoring the fl avors with your senses,” she says. How does it taste? What’s the aroma and texture? It’s also about determining your hunger level. For instance, is your stomach grumbling or are you simply munching in front of the computer or TV be- cause you saw that bag of chips on the counter? “It encourages you to slow down and pay attention to food,” she says. This can be diffi cult now that so many people are working Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-TNS from home and within steps Hummus, a creamy Middle Eastern dip made with chickpeas of their kitchens and pantries. and tahini paste, is perfect for mindless dipping. What can help, if you have a tendency to graze or binge eat, up on toilet paper and hand potato chips. Sales of pastry also is to come up with a plan Hutter sanitizer. Americans also are has soared. calls “the role of fi ves.” buying a heck of a lot of choco- Mindless eating doesn’t just See Snacking/Page 2B late, ice cream, popcorn and wreck havoc on the waistline; Greening grass tells the season’s story If you are luckier sand, groundcover than me, you’ve either plants such as sedum, BETWEEN mowed your lawn, low-growing shrubs THE ROWS had lawn service, such as roses and been able to rent a juniper. Most of these WENDY SCHMIDT sheep from a friend, are drought-tolerant or or hired someone to have low water require- bale the lush fi rst cut- ments. ting of your lawn. Yes, it’s that time of year. Garden chores We all wished for spring. Even though • Begin sprays for fi re-blight-susceptible it doesn’t always feel like spring yet, the apples and pears using an agricultural lawns are really in the spirit; especially streptomycin. since we had a bit of rain. Rain does won- • Gradually remove mulch from straw- ders for growing lawns. berries as the weather begins to warm. Lawns are one of the most costly ways to • Enjoy but don’t disturb the many fi ll your landscape. There are other ground wildfl owers. covers such as decorative bark, rock, gravel, • Look for fl owering dogwoods in bloom. • When buying bedding plants, choose compact, bushy plants that have not begun to fl ower. • Oaks and hickories bloom during this time. • When pruning hedges, shear the top narrower than the base so sunlight will reach the lower limbs. • Look for morel mushrooms when lilacs bloom and the forest fl oor turns green. • Hummingbirds begin to return from their winter home in Central America. • Soaker hoses and drip irrigation sys- tems help you save water and money. If you have garden questions or com- ments, please write to greengardencolumn@ yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
