My aunts and my mother were divvying up my grandmother, Olive Roll Howes (1910-1996), belongings after she was moved to a nursing home in 1990’s. I think my mother ended up with the bulk of the paper files in several boxes. I was amazed at the number of boxes my mother brought home. My grandmother lived in a senior citizen apartment. The square footage was small, probably around 500 sq. feet.

My mother was sorting through the boxes at our house and there was no time to do it at grandmother’s place. As I watched my mother, I was exclaiming, “Where did Grandma find the space to put all the “stuff” in her tiny apartment? “ Being curious person genealogists can be, I started reading the letters, slips of paper, piles of statements, and et cetera in amazement.

There were cancelled checks from the 1950’s. Garnishment receipts for child support payments from an Uncle. 1952 military training records for the same uncle while he was training in Florida. A letter from her great uncle regarding burial plots, an envelope with a torn out page from the phone book.  The page contain surnames of possible relatives she was trying to track down in Kentucky or Indiana. Genealogy is genetic. I still treasure those items today.

Dutch Coleslaw Recipe

It is amazing what she kept. At the time, I managed to snag a few items and placed them in my room. Lucky that I did. My mother threw out a lot of the boxes during one of her cleaning sprees. I do not want to take a gander what treasure trove was thrown out. A couple of boxes did end up at my sister’s house. I went through and grabbed what I could when I found the boxes in the attic.

In among the paper files were recipes Olive collected. Some came from her friends that I remember from my childhood. Others were copied from newspapers in her own handwriting to index cards. The cards provide a lovely example of her handwriting. Compared to mine, Olive’s penmanship remained flowing and fluid even in her older years.  The handwriting is similar to my own mother’s. Seeing the writing reminds of her and brings a tear to my eyes. My own mother passed away 12 years ago.

I am posting the Dutch Coleslaw recipe today, because it is a play on words.  The word “coleslaw” is derived from the Dutch word “koolsla.” So why call it Dutch coleslaw?   Even though I have Dutch settlers who arrived in the 17th century, this is not a family recipe handed down through time.  Because this recipe lists mayonnaise as an ingredient, which was was invented in the 1800’s.

Dutch Coleslaw
Shred cabbage for 1 quart, plus 2 stalks of celery and 2 carrotsSoak in salt water in refrigerator for 1 hour.  Press out water.
Dressing – 1/4 cup of vinegar,  1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 c of sugar, add salt to taste
[add dressing to shredded cabbage and mix]
Let stand in refrigerator – several hours to blend flavors