o<is under the title, “Vegetables for
the Home Pantry.”
(Vegetables for the Home Pantry)
'\ he home canning of vegetables is
a comparatively easy and inexpensive
process, particularly in low altitudes.
The fact that elaborate and expensive
apparatus is unnecessary is to be em
phasized. (On high elevations, steam
cookers must be used.)
A good sized wash boiler and a
piece of rnuslin folded three or four
times and tacked together to fit the
bottom of the boiler are all the neces
sary utensils, and these every house
hold possesses.
Place cloth in the bottom of the
boiler and pour on enough water to
bring it up about two inches on sides
of jars—just enough to prevent boil
ing dry during cooking.
A small
amount of water is more efficient. It
makes the boiler easier to handle; it
heats more quickly; and it cooks vege
tables at a higher temperature. Place
boiler over fire when jars are nearly
ready to go into it.
For home use, glass jars are the
most economical. After the first cost,
the glass can be used indefinitely with
only the additional cost of good rub
bers each year. All vegetables can be
canned in glass.
The jars should be sterilized by
placing them upside down on a folded
cloth in a large pan containing about
an inch of water. Cover until water
boils. The jars may be sterilized sev
eral days in advance, if kept closed.
Always can vegetables just fresh
from the garden. These can often be
improved by allowing them to stand in
cold water a short time.
String Beans.
Use fresh, tender, green beans. The
bean in the pod must be small. Wash
and string, if they are not the string-
less kind. (Do not raise any but the
stringless green pod variety—it saves
time.) The pods should be cut or
broken into small bits from an inch
to an inch and a half long. Cutting
them into small, oblique pieces makes
a choice pack. The cut beans should
be placed in a square of cheese cloth
or wire basket and dipped into boil
ing water—keeping them in it for at
least two minutes. Remove from boil
ing water, pack in jars to within one-
half inch of top and just cover with
boiling water containing salt to sea
son. Partially seal and place in boil
er; boil for sixty minutes. Remove,
tighten lids, and store in dark, cool
place.
Never open jars after cooking to see
if vegetables are cooked.
Count time for cooking when water
is at a jumping boil.
Be sure and leave one-half inch of
space above the liquid when the cans
are filled.
Hot liquids used in canning is best;
it saves time and improves quality
of pack.
Beets.
Select small beets, thinned out from
the main crop. The dark red ones, as
the Early Model or the Detroit Dark
Red are excellent for canning. Cut
off leaf blades, leaving the stem in
tact. Wash, drop into boiling water
containing salt to taste. Cook until
neatly done. Put in cold water, peal,
and drop into jars until within one-
half inch of top. Cover with vinegar
prepared thus: use equal parts of
vinegar and water; sweeten to taste;
add mixed spices, removing red pep
per pods and cloves; add bay leaf.
Barely cover beets with hot liquid.
Partially seal, place in boiler, and boil
ten minutes. Tighten and store in
cool, dark place. Instead of the vine
gar hot water well seasoned with
salt may be used but with this the
beets should be boiled for at least an
hour and the preliminary cooking less
ened.
Peas.
It is best to grade peas as they are
hulled into large, medium, and small
sizes unless one is equipped with grad
ing sieves.
Can each separately.
Place the peas in a square of cheese
cloth. twist the corners together and
plunge into boiling water. To blanch
the large peas requires about three
minutes, the medium ones, a minute
and a half, and the small ones, less
time. Lift from hot water into cold
water. This process of blanching is
important and. in canning peas, must
not be omitted. It removes the mucous
coating and prevents the peas from
looking milky when canned. (Try
some without blanching and compare
your products as to keeping quality
and appearance.)
The peas should be placed in jars
to within one half inch of top, imme
diately after dipping in cold water.
Just cover the peas with hot water
containing salt and sugar to season.
The liuuid may be prepared in advance
by making up a stock solution in boil
ing water, which may be diluted and
boiled again when ready for use. Nev
er use jars larger than pints or num
ber 2 tins for peas. Cook peas on
two separate days, first day GO min
utes, second day 35 minutes.
SOLVES PROBLEM
OF COUNTRY CLEB
(ìurficld Community Associ
ation Provides Social
Advantages for All
SERVICE
SECURES
STABILITY
Incorporation Gives Equity Rights of
All Members to Property of Club,
\\ hilc Money and Labor Donations
Lighten Expenses.
The problem of organizing anil con
ducting successfully a country com
munity club for social purposes bus
been solved by the Garfield Country
( lub, of Estacadu, Clackamas County,
Oregon. This club, which has been
organized and at work for more than
four years, held its annual picnic in
its own buildings and on its own
grounds in the Garfield district on
Saturday, August 14. On this occa
sion the Agricultural College was rep
resented by the editor of the Press
Bulletins, who conducted a careful in
quiry into the factors that have made
the club a useful and well-established
feature of rural life at Garfield. This
investigation was made for the pur
pose of learning how this tremendous
ly important work has been made a
permanent success, and especially to
learn whether exceptional conditions
of local leadership and other favorable
influences place this club outside aver
age conditions to the extent that prob
abilities of success in other Oregon
communities cannot be predicated on
success there.
The club was organized by G. T.
Hunt, member of the legislature from
eastern
Clackamas
County
and
formerly a Portland business man
whose failing health indicated a
change to out-door life. That he is
an organizer of more than usual talent
is shown by the fact that he succeeded
in uniting the people of his own
neighborhood in a non-profitable asso
ciation, financially speaking, on lines
practically untried in Oregon. It is
also true that the community counts
among its numbers many persons of
both sexes who have had a liberal
education or especially good training
in one or more vocations. The gener
al location of the place doubtless f a
vors rural community improvement
associations, being six miles from Es-
tacada, a prosperous town near the
terminal of the Portland inter-urban
railway system that runs cars each
way every two hours through the day.
But aside from these advantages,
which are duplicated in some respec:
and matched by others equally goo;!
in most Oregon communities, there is
nothing that makes for success in th
Garfield neighborhood not to he found
in the average Oregon rural commu
nity.
The organization was formed at an
opportune time, when its needs and
possibilities were plainly, almost pain
fully, in evidence. At the time when
the subject was first broached the
Garfield district was still pondering
over a preventable community failure.
An attempt had been made to receive,
care for and entertain properly a
large delegation of Portland business
men that had planned to conduet one
of their boosting excursions in the
then newly opened Clackamas terri
tory on the occasion 01 the completion
ot the electric railway as far as Esta-
c tda, with the iuea of aiding in the
development of future tributary coun
try . The leading feature of the excur
sion was to have been a visit to an or
chard at that time used as a demon
stration fruit farm by the State Ag
ricultural College. The delegation,
composed of men and women, was
much larger than had been expected,
and facilities for transportation and
refreshments broke down under the
unexpected strain. Staid business men
and neatly gowned women were left
to struggle up the long hills over
dusty roads in the hottest weather,
after all mailable vehicles had been
pressed into service. Being of neces
sity late arrivals ut the eating station
they also came in for the shortened
rations, follow ing that, they were
still at a considerable distance from
the orchard, which as a matter of fact,
many of them never saw at all. Many
people complained of this apparent
lack of hospitality, but Mr. Hunt pro
posed a remedy—a country club that
would also serve many other useful
purposes.
The day following this about h f
a dozen men met with Mr. Hunt in
the edge of a small forest jungle and
formulated the scheme of organiza
tion. A portion of the primitive wood
land has since been purchased by the
club and on it have been erected the
club hall, kitchen, horse shed and sim
ple amusement equipment. A still
laiger portion of tne tract, in ail live
acres, has been cleared of under brush
and logs and is being converted into
an attractive park. A hand stand, used
also as a platform for public speaking
and the like, with benches for the
members and visitors, has been erect
ed near the mountain spring that sup
plies water for the grounds. The
grounds were bought on credit while
the buildings were put up with do
nated material and labor. Furnish
ings for the hall and kitchen were also
provided with little or no money cost
to the club. A piano was bought on
installments, but the stoves, tables
and dishes are unincumbered proper
ty of the club.
Organization was effected under the
corporation laws of Oregon, and each
member becomes a joint holder of all
property rights acquired by the club,
in this way the members feel that
their equity in the property is at
all times greater tnan any in
vestment made for membership.
The officers are but two, president anil
secretary-treasurer, with a board of
five directors. Mr. Hunt has been
president ever since the club was or
ganized, and Mr. Harry Le Barre, pro
prietor of the unique and beautiful
Log Le Barre summer resort near the
grounds, is secretary-treasurer.
Constitution and by-laws are as
simple as the general plan of organi
zation. An idea of the broad and un
defined privileges of the members may
be gathered from the three simple pro
hibitions no unbecoming conduct on
or about the grounds, no liquor or in
toxication on the grounds, and no Sun
day dancing. Aside from these re
strictions it seems that any member
may do whatever he wants to do, and
that fact is one of the cohesive fac
tors of the club. Do you want to play
baseball ? Get a crowd and play it.
Would you rather play a more quiet
games, cards, dominoes, authors?
Then do so. Possibly you prefer a
Virginia reel or “chase the buffalo,”
as you did when in your ’teens; that
will be all right, too. Just put your
babies on the hinged wall shelf pre
pared expressly for that purpose and
provide music either by singing or by
the piano or by the orchestra, if pres
ent. And thus it is in all other en
tertainments considered moral and
right. But violations of the restric
tions are dealt with immediately, and
several times persons have been put
off the grounds for using liquor. Of
fenses of this kind are growing rare,
and with the exception of occassional
rough speech nothing happens to mar
the pleasure of friendly intercourse.
Preparation for the picnic was lie-
gun hy newly clearing out the
grounds, getting seats and t.tbles in
order, and polishing up the halls and
furniture. This was done by volun
teer labor. The local band, organized
through the dub, had been engaged
and it furnished excellent music.
Honorable C. J. Scheubei, of Oregon
City, and C. J. McIntosh, editor of the
College bulletins, had been secured as
speakers, while an array of local ora
tors from the club and from Estacadu
bud been warned in advance. Mr.
1 ftiiit introduced the speakers and add
ed impromptu contributions of his
own.
in the morning a baseball game be
tween the single and married men was
played, honors going to the married
side. Then came the picnic lunch,
characteristic and fine. After that
followed the only formal pact of the
program—bund music and platform
speaking. i hen a series of spoils
with suitable prizes for the winners of
contests was enjoyed, during which
lime informal dancing was indulged
by parents and children chiefly, the
main club dunce being held in the
evening. No charges were made for
any ot the exercises of the day, but
numbers were sold for the evening
nance for the benefit of the orchestra.
All concessions nad been given the
bund for its services, and its members
conducted the refreshment stand and
bull throwing galley.
in all these features of club activi
ties nothing was seen or heard of that
could not have been provided by rep
resentatives of the average Uregon
rural community. There is nothing
secret about the constitution and by
laws, copies of which were furnished
the writer and will be supplied to
those interested, who request them.
Mr. Hunt himself is strong ill his be
lief that the club enjoys no unusual
advantage, and that like organiza
tions, differing in detail rather than
principle, can be founded successfully
in the average rural community of the
state. If it is local leaders, he says
they have only to be discovered, pos
sibly to some extent developed, and
proficient leaders will appear, if one
questions support of the people, finan
cial and labor and patronage, he says
they will respond to proper induce
ments. Indeed it is only the excep
tional community, which can tlepenu
on outside talent for its social recre
ation or which is exceptionally unfor
tunate in its lack of enterprising
people, that will fail in an attempt to
organize the rural life of its people.
After presenting every conceivable
factor of failure anil having it swept
aside by the logic anil the faith of Mr.
Hunt, the writer thinks that he is
right.
What has the club accomplished?
It has brought to the people of the
country advantages of social, literary
and athletic culture, that otherwise
are denied them. It has done much
to equalize the advantages of coun
try anil city life and even to place the
former in the lead, thus doing more
than any other one thing, possibly, to
check the drift of country children to
the cities and towns. It has improved
home conditions in that community
by promoting association that leads
to comparison and new ideals. It has
united the people of the neighborhood
into a more homogenious group by
making common many of the pur, o
and methods of social activities. It
has resulted in the organization of
musical associations that have evolved
both an orchestra and a band, many
members of which two or three years
ago knew nothing of music or ever
hoped to know anything of it. It has
resulted in bringing to the district
a number of most desirable citizens of
social culture and with means to aid
in developing the country. It has pro
vided a nucleus of capable persons
that are in a position to extend the
hospitality of the community to com
munity guests.
it has foster.:!
the spirit of organization and cooper
ation until it is much easier to organ
ize for special purposes. An instance
of this is seen in the organization this
■i mmer of a marketing association,
which, through its market master,
Stephen I’resznecker, has sold in the
Portland public market more than one
thousand dollars worth of nroduce.
much of which would have otherwise
remained unsold, and returned to pro.
diicers eight hundred dollars of that
sum. To these advantages must ho
"lib'd the more subtle ones of rural
uplift and child inspiration, which
constitute a force that will operate
through generations to come. Lastly,
it has blnzed the way for organizing
community life in the state’s rural dis
tricts, a way already followed sue
cessfully by at least one other com
munity near by and doubtless to be
followed by many others throughout
the state.