Out of

    the Past

    . . . into the present 

Recollections of Byron Eisner

The Old Schaffer Couple

Everyone knew them as the "Old Schaffer Couple." I don't ever recall hearing their given names mentioned, if indeed they had first names. They were German immigrants from the Volga River region of Russia and farmed a small vineyard of perhaps ten acres near my parents' ranch.

They eked out a living through a frugal lifestyle, which they were well accustomed to from their Spartan existence in the old country.

They lived a dated lifestyle unlike any other I had witnessed at the time. It was well into the 1950's, and they continued to drive a very early, perhaps a 1924 Model T Ford coupe. They lived in a very small house without the benefits of electricity and indoor plumbing, other than the hand-operated water pump mounted on the kitchen drain board. For keeping items such as milk and eggs coal, they devised a framework of chicken wire covered with burlap sacks and placed it under a shade tree, wetting the sacks from time to time. It seemed to do an adequate job of cooling.

They, of course had no TV or radio, so it was very quiet except for conversation and the old regulator wall clock loudly tick-tocking in the background. Lighting was provided by a kerosene lamp, which cast eerie, flickering shadows on the walls and people's faces. I recall the ever-present, faint aroma of mothballs in the close quarters of the bungalow. In spite of the surroundings, they both displayed sunny dispositions and possessed wonderful senses of humor.  

A visit to their place was always looked forward to, even into my teen years. It was the experience I can only compare .to going back in time. The Schaffers called my sister Wilma and me "Esther and Orville," off-the-wall names we accepted without correction.

I believe the biggest draw of pleasure in our visits was sampling unusual food items, such as whole pickled sour watermelons and apples which were prepared very much like pickles and stored in wooden barrels. Not only were they unusual, they were unusually tasty. My sister and I acted like starving children.  We ate, with relish, everything in sight because it was so, so good!  

Usually, the first words uttered by Frau Schaffer after the hellos were,"What shall we make today?" soon followed with German/Russian dishes such as blina, crepes prepared with Thomson seedless grapes mixed in the batter: vareniks, a filled dumpling using items like berries, apples, kraut, mashed potatoes, or cottage cheese: greble, a crisp fried dough: noodle making: kuga, a coffee cake, and so forth.  

One weekend we made molasses from watermelons by gathering a vineyard wagonload of overripe melons given to us by my friend Louie Roup's parents. We scooped the pulp from them, extracted the juice using a winepress, and Mrs. Schaffer boiled the juice over a wood fire in a large cast iron pot which was normally used to scald a hog in. She tended the fire throughout the night and made sure the juice did not scorch.

I remember when we came across a melon that was of optimum ripeness, we would scoop out the heart and have a swell snack of it. The vineyard truckload of melons produced about three gallons of molasses. The finished product, called "Latvaria" in German, was highly prized and used sparingly in various recipes including coffee cakes to obtain a superb flavor.    

The "old couple" were generous, not only in sharing their skills in cooking and life experiences, but they also always wanted to give us something to take home, even though they had little to give. I recall my dad once packing home an old White Mountain ice cream freezer with a wooden tub in disrepair.  After Dad mended it using baling wire, we used that freezer for many years to follow.

The memories of the examples they set as wonderful warm human beings and of their little house, with all the sounds, smells, and goodwill remain as clear to me today as they did over sixty years ago. The Old Schaffer Couple certainly proved that a house lacking in modem conveniences could nonetheless truly be a home to be proud of! 

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