Sunday, September 08, 2019

Ernest Hemingway and Laura Ingalls Wilder

Literary Authors and their connections

So what is the name Ernest Hemingway and Laura Ingalls Wilder doing on this blog about Iowa and connections to its history?  As far I know Hemingway spent much of his life in Ketchum, Idaho where he is now buried.  For a time he lived and wrote from his home in Cuba.   
Laura Ingalls Wilder spent most of her growing up years (which she wrote of in her very famous Little House series), in Minnesota and DeSmet, South Dakota.  However, she did live for a time in Burr Oak, IA.  I've written about that connection in earlier blog posts both here and elsewhere:
And Hemingway - His parents Dr. Clarence Hemingway was a physician, and his mother Grace Hall Hemingway was an accomplished singer and very musical).  The family lived in Oak Park Illinois and often spent time at  their summer home near Walloon Lake in northern Michigan.  Never in Iowa but his grandmother's family, the Hancocks, had lived in Dyersville, Iowa for several years before his grandmother married Ernest Hall (Hemingway's grandfather)  and Ernest Hall tired of the rural life and moved his family, including his daughter Grace, to Chicago and then to Oak Park, Illinois.  Across the street lived the Hemingways and Grace Hall and Dr. Clarence Hemingway married.  Ernest was the second of the Hemingways's six children. There were four girls: Marcelline, Ursula, Madelaine, Carol, and the youngest child, a brother Leicester.  

 Ernest Hemingway never did live in Iowa - even for a short time but his mother Grace Hall Hemingway had Iowa roots.  And there is an firmer Iowa connection, a more lasting collection.
 The connection is through Leicester, Ernest's younger brother, and Ernest's younger brother.  Leicester gives Ernest Hemingway the clearest connection to Iowa.  Leicester and his second wife, Doris Mae Hemingway 'nee Dunning had been married since 1956, and at the time of his death (suicide as his brother, father, and sister Ursula ended their lives)  in 1982, Leicester and Doris were living in Miami Beach, Florida where he had been publishing a fishing newspaper for five years or so.  Leicester's funeral was in Florida, but his cremated remains were returned to Iowa for burial in Alden Cemetery, Alden, Iowa, Hardin County, Iowa.  Doris Mae Hemingway died 15 years later (1997)  in Florida and is buried in Alden, Iowa as well.  Doris was raised in the Alden, Iowa area and many of her family members are buried in the cemetery.  So finally a firm connection from Ernest Hemingway to Iowa.
The Iowa Connection - A Passing Relationship

Both Ernest Hemingway and Laura Ingalls Wilder have a brief and thin connections to Iowa - but a connection never-the-less.  Ernest's brother is buried in Iowa, Wilder's youngest daughter Grace was born in Burr Oak, Iowa.  But Iowa was not either writer's residence (for long at least).
So What Is the Connection to One Another -- Hemingway & Wilder?

This question is answered by a little known fact - there are only two Presidential libraries that hold major collections of a literary figures papers and manuscripts.  One is the John F. Kennedy Presidential library in Boston, Massachusetts.  And the other - by now you've probably guessed it, or at least part of it.  
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa holds the literary papers and manuscripts of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
For information about why Wilder's papers are at the Herbert Hoover library view the September 1, 2019 presentation at the museum :
Hoover Presidential Library. (2019 November 20) Long Way Home: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Sarah Uthoff.  Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ApdkBc29pJQ . 

The Ernest Hemingway Collection

In a blog entry by Stacey Chandler, Reference Archivist at the John F. Kennedy Library, Chandler explains how the personal papers of Ernest Hemingway came to be part of the presidential library. 
Cahdler, Stacey.  (2018 July 18) JFK & Hemingway: Beyond "Grace Under Pressure. The JFK Library Archive : An Inside Look (Blog).  Retrieved from https://jfk.blogs.archives.gov/2018/07/20/jfk-hemingway/
Information about the Ernest Hemingway Collection is explained on the scope of the collection page: https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/MEHC#overview

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Collection

Information about the connection between Herbert Hoover, and Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter Rose Wilder Lane is discussed on this page on the Hoover site focused on Lane's connection to Hoover, and the link then to Wilder.  The Rose Wilder Lane Collection, retrieved from 
Information about the Laura Ingalls Wilder Collection is explained on the page titled: Rose Wilder Lane and Laura Ingalls Wilder. The page is part of the Herbert hoove Presidential Library and Museum site.  Page retrieved from https://hoover.archives.gov/education/rose-wilder-lane-and-laura-ingalls-wilder.

A brushing glance at Iowa from both Hemingway and Wilder - but their connection to one another as the only literary personalities to be so represented in Presidential libraries is more firmly implanted in the history of our society.
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Saturday, August 03, 2019

Redwork - and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Bear Paw Quilt

Redwork - and Laura Ingalls Wilder's
Bear Paw Quilt

Quilters look for inspiration in every corner of their lives.  On a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Burr Oak, Iowa - Wilder lived there as a child and visitors will find the museum and visitor center filled with inspiration -- from the redwork that Laura might have stitched onto towels to quilts made with the patterns of the times.

The Ingalls family moved to Burr Oak in 1876 when Laura was just nine years old.  The family lived in the village for just part of the year, in the Master's Hotel  (a bar and tavern and refuge for travelers).  The family helped William Steadman to cook, clean, and do the daily chores.  The family lived in the basement of the hotel, and Ma Ingalls cooked for the traveling guests of the hotel. The museum at Burr Oak (the Master's Hotel) is the only Ingalls family home that is still on its original site.  Burr Oak is where baby Grace was born, however, Wilder did not publish a manuscript detailing her days in Burr Oak but instead incorporated some of the incidents into the stories (On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake) before and after the time the family lived in Burr Oak.
Two other writers have written about the Burr Oak days.  Historian and scholar William Anderson wrote The Iowa Story (Laura Ingalls Wilder Park & Museum, 1989; 62 pages), and Cynthia Rylant wrote Old Town in the Green Groves (HarperCollins, 2007). 
Read more about the Burr Oak Museum on this earlier blog post at http://iowahistory.blogspot.com/2013/09/. 

But back to the quilt inspiration.

When Laura was creating quilt blocks as a child there were not standard names or patterns as have developed in later years.  Researchers who have studied Laura's writings and artifacts at the many museums devoted to her life have consistently mentioned the Bear's Paw as one of the quilt squares she likely would have created for quilts.  So when the Herbert Hoover Museum (in West Branch, Iowa) which holds the Laura Ingalls Wilder (and Rose Wilder Lane) manuscripts decided to hold a quilting bee they solicited quilt blocks from quilters across Iowa (and other states) which were then to be sewn into a  quilt.  They sent out a focus fabric and from there quilters could use their own imagination to piece a block to send back to the museum.

Pattern for the 12 inch block.

I used the focus fabric the museum sent as the fabric #3; and choose a small blue floral for the complementary #4 fabric and for the #6 square.

The 8 1/2 inch square could have been the same fabric as the #3 (focus) fabric but I did not have enough of that for the 8 1/2 inch square.  Scraps of the fabric were all I had left.  I thought about putting a marbleized gray fabric in as the large square but decided that was too blah.  So I choose to use the scraps of the #3 and #4 fabric along with two shades of gray to create a scrappy 8 1/2 inch square.   There is are excellent YouTube tutorials for making a crazy scrap quilt pattern at:
  • Missouri Star Quilt Company. (2012 March 12).  The Crazy Quilt - The Ultimate Stash Buster!  Retrieved from https://youtu.be/l9QKruDO8tk.
This one may be easier for the beginner, the pieces are sewn onto a foundation piece:

But the scrappiest crazy block technique is this one -- 
I love this one - so practical, quick - no pattern, no template, just creativity and fun.  You need a foundation piece - muslin, cheap cotton - use 100% cotton.
For my crazy quilt center block (actually taking the place of the #6 fabric) for the Herbert Hoover Museum Quilting Bee I used a piece of white cotton for the foundation and began with a five sided piece of focus fabric.  Then I incorporated the #3 and #4 fabrics, and two shades of gray together.
And finally using the pattern as a guide for how to sew the blocks together I stitched two claws onto the large scrappy square; and then created a strip with the small square and two claws and sewed it onto the side of the large square ... and here is the bear claw all ready to send off to the Herbert Hoover Museum for the quilting bee.

How fun was that?

Give it a try -- make twenty bear paw squares - and make a 4 x 5 block quilt.

Sharron









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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Iowans and a Woman's Right to Vote

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt
(1859-1947)

Iowans and a Woman's Right to Vote

Amelia Bloomer
(1818-1894)
Carrie Lane Chapman Catt lead the way to women's rights.  The road was paved by a fellow Iowan that came decades earlier.
Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) was for years a resident of Council Bluffs, IA and very involved in the the suffrage movement - even though she was born 102 years before the 19th amendment was finally ratified, 26 years after her death.  More about her life and involvement can be found on this blog in a post titled: Amelia Bloomer - An Early Suffragette.  But it was Amelia Bloomer and her work with Susan B. Anthony that paved the way for Carrie Lane Chapman Catt's work four decades later.
And it is Catt's work that lead us all straight toward rights for women and resulted in the passage and ratification of the 19th amendment.

"If historians are asked who are the most significant of Iowa State University’s alumni, three names surface: George Washington Carver, Henry A. Wallace, and Carrie Chapman Catt.”  —Marsha Readhead, 1989 (president Ames League of Women Voters -1989-1990)

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt dedicated 25 years of her life to leading the women's movement which culminated in the passage and ratification of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution.

Women's Suffrage Involvement Timeline

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt was born January 9, 1859 in Ripon, WI.  That was just eleven years after the Seneca Falls Conference on the rights of women (1848), organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.  Amelia Bloomer was at the Seneca Falls Conference but arrived late so she sat in the balcony and did not sign the resolution. Susan B. Anthony become involved in the women's rights movement in 1851.  Three decades later Carrie Chapman Catt became actively involved when she joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association.

Growing Up Years

When Catt was just 7-years-old her family moved to rural Charles City, IA where her father continued farming.  During her teen years she became aware that her mother did not have the same rights to vote as her father. She graduated from the Charles City schools and decided to continue her education at the Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) in Ames, Iowa.  Her father was not supportive and provided no financial help so she washed dishes, worked in the library and taught to earn money to attend.  In 1880 she was the only woman in her graduating class at the college*, where she graduated with a degree in general science.

Beginning a Career

Her career path took her back, first, to Charles City where she was a law clerk, and later to Mason City where she was a teacher and principal - and eventually was appointed superintendent of the Mason City Schools.  She was the first woman to hold that position.  She met and married Leo Chapman, the Mason City Republican's publisher in 1885.  A political ruckus in Mason City regarding an election was instrumental in Leo Chapman deciding to seek employment in San Francisco.  Before Carrie could get there Leo Chapman caught Typhoid fever and died in 1886, leaving Carrie Lane Chapman a widow.  She stayed in San Francisco for a time, working for a newspaper.  But eventually, in 1887, she returned to Iowa. She joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and became very active in efforts to win the vote.  Her advocacy for women's rights was becoming well-known throughout Iowa (and eventually nationally) as thirteen years she worked throughout Iowa as a professional speaker.

Becoming an Advocate for Suffrage and Peace

In 1890 she married George Catt** - a wealthy engineer she had met in San Francisco.  He was also an alumni of the Iowa College of Agriculture.  They moved to Seattle, Washington. He was very supportive of her work and actually committed to supporting her work for four months of each year.  That support allowed her to travel nationally, and she was invited by Susan B. Anthony to speak at the national convention's 1890 conference in Washington, D. C.   She succeeded Susan B. Anthony as the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1900 and became a full-time advocate for suffrage.  During this time she became aware of the international dimensions of suffrage for women, and founded the International Women's Suffrage Alliance (1902).  However, she resigned her posts in 1904 to care for her ill husband.  George Catt died in 1905.
Now twice-widowed, Catt devoted the remainder of her life to continuing to advocate for women's right to vote.  She became founded and was involved with the International Woman Suffrage Movement, and once again assumed the position of president of  the National Woman Suffrage Association and continued to focus on getting the 19th amendment passed.  The amendment passed by Congress (June 4, 1919) and completed the ratification process on August 18, 1920.  Iowa ratified the amendment on July 2, 1919, the 10th state of the needed 36 states to do so.
Six months before the amendment was passed, Carrie Lane Chapman Catt established the League of Woman Voters (Feb. 14, 1920).  The following year she became the first woman to give the commencement address at the Iowa State University (ISU-her alma mater).  She returned in 1930 to address the ISU graduates at their commencement. Catt died on March 9, 1947 in New York. She donated her estate to ISU.
She is a member of the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame (1975) and the National Women's Hall of Fame (1982).  Her alma mater has honored her with The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics (1992) and with a central campus building - Carrie Chapman Catt Hall (1995).  She was also honored as one of four women selected for the Iowa Woman Achievement Bridge in Des Moines, IA.
====================================================

*The Iowa Agriculture college was renamed Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1898 and became Iowa State University of Science and Technology in 1959.  When Carrie Lane attended the college was the Iowa Agricultural College.
**George W. Catt (born in Davenport, IA in 1860) graduated from Iowa Agricultural College (now the Iowa State University) with a B.S. (1882) in civil engineering. He helped design bridges for the King Bridge Company of Cleveland and the San Francisco Bridge Company. In 1893, Catt formed his own company, the New York Dredging Company. Catt married Carrie Lane Chapman in 1890. His papers and several images of his bridges are part of the Iowa State University's Special Collections in the University Library.

 ====================================================
References consulted:

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Sunday, April 28, 2019

Ice Cream, Pink Squirrels and Purple Cows


The Ice Cream Connection
This blog focuses on bits and pieces of Iowa history - and today's connection is the delicious ice cream that is produced in Iowa. While not known for a large output, the ice cream produced here is among the best in the country.
Investigate these ice cream shops here in Iowa:
  • In 1913, Fred H. Wells purchased a milk distribution route and insured himself of a supply of milk which he then used to establish an ice cream company.  That company eventually morphed into the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Company in LeMars, Iowa.  In 1994, LeMars was recognized as the Ice Cream Capital of the World, in recognition of more ice cream being made by one manufacturer in one location.
    Read more about the origin and current operation of the Blue Bunny Company at www.bluebunny.com .  Today     Blue Bunny® makes more than 50 million gallons of ice cream a year. 
  • Some consumers say that the deliciousness of Blue Bunny® ice cream is topped only by the ice cream produced by Heyn's Premium Ice Cream shops in Iowa City and North Liberty, Iowa.  As early as 1989, the store was producing premium ice cream and continues today.  Read about the history of this company at http://heynsicecream.com.  In a list compiled by Thrillist Heyns's Iced Cream Shop was named the best ice cream shop in all 50 states, and the winner for Iowa!
  • An upstart company making handcrafted ice cream is Dan and Debbie's Creamery in Ely, Iowa.  The creamery produces 12 signature flavors and limited edition flavors that change each month. In 2016, these two Iowa farmers started their own production facility to produce farm to table dairy products. 
  • For more information about ice cream shops in Iowa visit the Best Things in Iowa website. https://bestthingsia.com/ice-cream-parlors/
Now why our focus on ice cream?  Well it is a main ingredient in two unique party drinks.

During a dinner out a couple of us ended up for a time discussing a favorite “pink drink” – a pink squirrel.  Few others had heard of the drink, although once popular in the 1970s, the drink is not as popular now.  The drink in its original form is created with crème de noyaux (sometimes called crème de almond), white crème de cacao, and vanilla ice cream (some use cream and ice but most prefer ice cream).  Using maraschino cherries, slivered almonds, and perhaps grated nutmeg as garnish is often a favored addition.

The recipe, according to food legend, says that the cocktail was developed in the 1940’s in a cocktail lounge in Wisconsin.  Some sources get more specific and say that the drink was developed by Bryant Sharp in 1941, who was the owner of Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have no verification of this but it seems logical in terms of time period and location as the Pink Squirrel enjoyed popularity in the Midwest during the 1950’s-70’s.  The original recipe called for vanilla ice cream and only later morphed into a recipe calling for heavy cream and ice.  We prefer the ice cream and ice cream is the ingredient in the recipe we share here.

But like much that is in vogue, clothes, programs, and food tastes change over time so the ingredients for the pink squirrel has evolved.  Crème de noyaux is an almond flavored crème liqueur – once actually made from almonds the process became too expensive and time consuming so crème de noyaux is now made from apricot kernels or the kernels of peach or cherry pits.  It is the kernels that provide the almond-like flavor.  Crème de noyaux is most often artificially colored to produce the pink hue needed for Pink Squirrels.  But since few mixed drinks use crème de noyaux as an ingredient and Pink Squirrels have waned in terms of favorite drinks there is little call in bars or restaurants for crème de noyaux.  Thus, most establishments do not carry the liqueur so an alternate recipe for pink squirrels has been developed.

In place of crème de noyaux an equal amount of amaretto can be used.  Amaretto is much like the red colored crème de noyaux, except amaretto is a deep brown.  So in order to obtain the pink color add 2-3 tablespoons of grenadine (which is really sweetened pomegranate juice) and that will give the drink the required pink color.

A mixologist might prefer to create his/her own grenadine as it provides a more robust and fresh flavor.  If you would like to make your own grenadine – really just pomegranate juice – juice with sugar added consider reading Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s full discussion and advice from his December 10, 2009 post “How to Make Your Own Grenadine.”  
And if you don't think a pink squirrel is real, try a purple cow.  It's has a unique taste as well.  

The Purple Cow 

by Gelett Burgess 
(January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951)

I never saw a Purple Cow, 
I never hope to see one, 
But I can tell you, anyhow, 
I’d rather see than be one!

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Sunday, February 03, 2019

Making Baseball History - J.L.Wilkinson "a little white man from Algona, Iowa"

Making Baseball History J.L. Wilkinson "a little white man from Algona, Iowa"

J. L. Wilkinson
Despite being referred to as "a little white man from Algona, Iowa" James Leslie (J.L.) Wilkinson from Algona, Iowa changed baseball history for African Americans and for all lovers of baseball. Wilkinson established a "all-nations" team of baseball players in the early 1900s and eventually became an owner and promoter of the Kansas City Monarchs. The league wanted 100% minority owned but Wilkinson won out and became an active owner-promoter. His efforts changed professional baseball forever. James Leslie (J.L.) Wilkinson from Algona, Iowa established his own baseball team in the early 1900s. Despite being white Wilkinson wanted to promote a diversity of players - his Algona Brownies was a group of ball players that were Black, Latino, White, Asian, and Native American. Eventually Wilkinson became involved in origins of the Negro League and despite the league's desire for all African American ownership, Wilkinson became a owner of the Kansas City Monarchs and was responsible for executing the generator purchase to make possible the first night game in professional baseball, in 1930, and it featured Wilkinson's KC Monarchs (some history books may cite a Crosley Field game in 1935 but they are wrong).
Wilkinson changed baseball forever -- and in 1945 Wilkinson was the first owner to sign a four-sport athlete and all American from UCLA to a Negro League Baseball contract. His name: Jackie Robinson. And when Wilkinson allowed Robinson to sign a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers - he was part of changing baseball history again. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962; it wasn't until 2006 that Wilkinson found a spot as a hall of famer. Most of us know of Jackie Robinson's color barrier breaking days with the Dodgers, and there have been many books written about him. But there was another Robinson that was a great athlete as well - and for many years he missed the acclaim he should have received. Jackie Robinson would have celebrated his 100th birthday this past Wednesday (January 31, 2019) but he had an older brother named Matthew "Mack" Robinson who was a great athlete in his own right and earned the silver medal in the Olympics .4 of a second behind the renowned gold medal winner Jessie Owens. Mack received little or no acclaim when he returned to the USA while the 3rd place winner Martinus Osendarp returned to the Netherlands a hero - but when the Nazi's invaded he joined and later in his life expressed remorse for that decision but his hero status was diminished for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile Mack Robison attended college and returned home to Pasadena. Mack Robinson is a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, holds a silver Olympic medal.
The Robinsons were later honored in their home town of Pasadena, California, but not any too soon. Each has a bust displayed in the city. Mack has had several honors in the past few years. In 2000 the Pasadena Robinson Memorial, the stadium of Pasadena City College was dedicated to him. In that same year, the United States Postal Service named the new Pasadena post office was named the Matthew "Mack" Robinson Post Office. Mack was not only a great athlete, but he served his community well for many years by working with youth in the community. He was a postal worker for many years.

Mack Robinson and Jackie Robinson
Busts in Pasadena, California
Jackie Robinson
Mack Robinson

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Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Czechs in Iowa

Kolaches

Family lore has it that my grandmother met my grandfather on 16th Avenue (Cedar Rapids) and anyone who knows the history of Cedar Rapids will immediately associate that avenue with the Czech population that came to Cedar Rapids in the 1850s.  Many immigrants settled in that area and worked in meat packing plants - most notably the Sinclair meatpacking plant owned by T.M. Sinclair.  Sinclair was an Irish immigrant himself and made it a point to hire immigrants as workers in his plant (Sinclair is also part of the history of the Brucemore Mansion in Cedar Rapids - check here for that story).   Cedar Rapids was not the only Iowa spot that Czech citizens came to.  Many settled in the Spillville area in Northeast Iowa.  In fact Antonin Dvorak spent a summer in Spillville, composing music and living among other Czech.

My Day With Anka by Nan Ferring Nelson (HarperCollins, 1996) is actually based on the author's own childhood - a childhood spent in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a center of Czech immigration in earlier decades.  The book is described in a Kirkus review as, "Nelson's first book ... Karrie, a little girl who looks forward to her time with the family's nurturing, maternal housekeeper, Anka. Anka is a Czechoslovakian immigrant who bakes kolaches and other good things, cleans the house, and makes everything fun. In a day of making the house shine, Karrie learns humor, creativity, and tolerance for others with different backgrounds. Anka is a real charmer, bringing memories of her trip to America into everyday activities: The vacuum cleaner is a train to Prague, and the window-washing water is the Atlantic Ocean. The story is loving and respectful, but remains very much a tale of several decades ago; Farnsworth's acrylic on canvas illustrations are muted, warm, and comfortingly nostalgic.".  Bill Farnsworth created wonderful illustrations for the book.  In the book Nelson talks about the savory Czech Kolaches open faced and filled with delicious fruit filling.   Farnsworth was only able to find closed Kolaches popular in larger cities, so Nelson's father who still lived in Cedar Rapids went to a local bakery and shipped a dozen or more kolaches to the publishing party in New York.  A painting of those kolaches ended up on the jacket flap of the book.  They look just like the kolaches often sold in Cedar Rapids -- and made during Nelson's childhood and mine as well.


Here's a great recipe for authentic Czech Kolaches:
  1. Dissolve:
    2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
    1 tablespoon sugar in warm milk [2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)].
    Let Stand for 10 minutes 
  2. While the yeast mixture is standing, mix in a large bowl:
    2 cups flour
    1/2 cup sugar less the 1 tablespoon used with yeast
    4 egg yolks
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/4 cup butter, softened
  3. Stir in the yeast mixture and an additional 3 3/4 cups to 4 1/2 cups flour as needed - mix until smooth and a stiff dough is formed.
  4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. 
  5. Add additional flour, if necessary. 
  6. Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. 
  7. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 
  8.  Punch dough down and allow to rise again. 
  9. Roll out on floured surface to 1/2-in. thickness. 
  10. Cut with large glass or 2-1/2-in. cutter. 
  11. Place on greased baking sheets; let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. 
  12. Firmly press indentation in center and fill each roll with a heaping tablespoon of filling. 
  13. Brush dough with egg white. 
  14.  Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until rolls are light golden brown. Yield: about 28 rolls. 
You may used canned filling - prune, poppy seed, cherry, lemon, or my favorite apricot filling.  But my preference is to make my own from scratch.  Here is one recipe for poppy seed filling -- and the apricot filling.

Poppyseed filling
  • 1 cup poppy seed
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup chopped dates
  • 1/3 cup chopped nuts
  • Dash of cinnamon

    Combine the filling ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until it thickens, stirring often. Set filling aside to cool.
Fruit Kolache filling
  • 1/2 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes, raisins, cherries, whatever you wish.
  • Sugar to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • Lemon zest
Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours or overnight.
When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.

Find a copy of My Day With Anka, bake some kolaches -- read and enjoy.
Sharron
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