WEBVTT - Possom for Supper?

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<v Speaker 1>This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories.

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<v Speaker 1>They show where America is the star and the American people.

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<v Speaker 1>Up next a story from our regular contributor out of Iowa.

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<v Speaker 1>A listener Joy Neil Kidney, and she listens on who

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<v Speaker 1>in des Moines a great iHeart station. Joy is the

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<v Speaker 1>author of Leora's dexter Letters, the scarcity years of the

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<v Speaker 1>Great Depression, and today she shares the story of a

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<v Speaker 1>unique meal her family eight during those tough financial times.

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<v Speaker 1>Take it away, Joy.

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<v Speaker 2>When I heard about someone having to eat raccoon or possum,

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<v Speaker 2>I thought of poor folks in the Deep South. Dad

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't a hunter, and having grown up on an Iowa

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<v Speaker 2>Hogen cattle farm, I couldn't imagine having any kind of

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<v Speaker 2>wild meat instead of good old pork and beef. But

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<v Speaker 2>from old family letters, I learned that both raccoon and

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<v Speaker 2>possum shut upon the table of my mother's family during

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<v Speaker 2>the Great Depression. Some family members reported enjoying them. Clay

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<v Speaker 2>and Leora Wilson had seven children, five sons and two daughters.

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<v Speaker 2>Clay taught his sons to trap and hunt pelts could

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<v Speaker 2>be sent to Sears, Roebuck and Company in exchange for

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<v Speaker 2>food and clothing. Clay insisted that his boys wait until

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<v Speaker 2>they were twelve and could demonstrate safe handling of a

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<v Speaker 2>gun before he was allowed to carry one to go hunting,

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<v Speaker 2>and no animal was to be killed just for sport.

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<v Speaker 2>Squirrel and rabbit were their main sources of protein during

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<v Speaker 2>those days. The saying was that Leora would cook any

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<v Speaker 2>thing the hunters brought her, as long as they were

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<v Speaker 2>already skinned, cleaned, and ready for the skillet or the

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<v Speaker 2>roasting pan. Clave taught the boys how to do that

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<v Speaker 2>and to stretch pelts to cure. During the hard weeks

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<v Speaker 2>of winter, Clay hung carcasses on the porch, where they'd

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<v Speaker 2>freeze until they were needed. Dinner and supper also included

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<v Speaker 2>fruits and vegetables from their big garden. Fresh during growing season,

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<v Speaker 2>leoricnned hundreds of glass mason jars filled with produce anything

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<v Speaker 2>she could put up for winter. Because of the depression,

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<v Speaker 2>Claive had no steady job. The two oldest Wilson brothers,

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<v Speaker 2>Delbert and Donald, graduated from Dexter High School in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>thirty three. No jobs for them either. A classmate had

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<v Speaker 2>joined the Navy and was happy having a full belly

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<v Speaker 2>days filled with activities and an income. Leora said that

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<v Speaker 2>the boys with not enough to do would probably get

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<v Speaker 2>into trouble, so she and clave okayed the plan, only

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<v Speaker 2>asking them not to get tattoos. Those boys in the

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<v Speaker 2>navy were so good to write home. Young siblings followed

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<v Speaker 2>their world travels on a map. Their mother saved all

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<v Speaker 2>those family letters. What a joy for me to read

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<v Speaker 2>through and transcribe them decades later. One was from Leora

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<v Speaker 2>on her forty fifth birthday, dated December fourth, nineteen thirty five. My,

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<v Speaker 2>what a wonderful present from my navy boys. Thanks a lot. Boys.

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<v Speaker 2>They had sent a card in some candy. We had

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<v Speaker 2>roast coon two years ago today, remember, Leora went on,

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<v Speaker 2>that would have been just before Dilbert and Donald enlisted

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<v Speaker 2>in the navy. You caught the last one on December third,

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<v Speaker 2>and the folks that would be her mother and brothers

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<v Speaker 2>from Omaha came and surprised me. But the next day

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<v Speaker 2>was the fourth, and we had that nice fat coon.

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<v Speaker 2>Their next brother, Dale, age fourteen, wrote about a football

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<v Speaker 2>banquet and added, today we had possum and sweet taters. Boy,

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<v Speaker 2>it was sure good. Dale's twin Darlene, enclosed her letter

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<v Speaker 2>in the same envelope. The sun is shining beautifully this morning,

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<v Speaker 2>she wrote, Dad and the boys are out trapping this morning,

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<v Speaker 2>so Mom and us girls clean house and get dinner

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<v Speaker 2>ready for the hungry hunters when they come. They come

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<v Speaker 2>in with two possum yesterday and today we're going to

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<v Speaker 2>have a possum and sweet taters. Yum, yum. She chatted

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<v Speaker 2>about her twin playing football, older sister Doris playing basketball,

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<v Speaker 2>younger brother Danny being old enough to hunt with their dad. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>I'll write more after having a piece of good old

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<v Speaker 2>opossum with the fumes just to oozin out, and some

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<v Speaker 2>gravy and some sweet potatoes. A possum were good for

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<v Speaker 2>something else than food. Clay wrote just before Christmas that

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<v Speaker 2>he'd shipped eight skunks and five opossum to Sears in

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<v Speaker 2>trade for goods from the Male Order catalog. Two years later,

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<v Speaker 2>in November nineteen thirty seven, Dilbert rode home from the

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<v Speaker 2>USS Chicago. You boys coming home with all that game

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<v Speaker 2>makes me sort of hope sick. I thought for a

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<v Speaker 2>while you boys weren't going to take to hunting and trappin'

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<v Speaker 2>so well, But it looks as if you boys will

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<v Speaker 2>break downs in my records, go to her boys. It's

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<v Speaker 2>good outdoor exercise and a lot of fun. Sure like

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<v Speaker 2>to sink my fangs into some coon meat for a change.

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<v Speaker 2>In spite of Dale's and Darlene's comments about how good

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<v Speaker 2>powesome and sweet taters were, and even Delbert's memories of

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<v Speaker 2>coon meat, I'd have to be desperate as they were

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<v Speaker 2>during the Depression to try Annie. Just in case you

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<v Speaker 2>want to try roast coon or possum with the fume

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<v Speaker 2>zoosan out. You can find recipes for both of these

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<v Speaker 2>these days on the internet.

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<v Speaker 1>And great job is always by Monte Montgomery on the

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<v Speaker 1>production and a special thanks to joy Neil Kidney, a

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<v Speaker 1>fan of the show and also one of our best contributors. Hawesome, raccoon,

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<v Speaker 1>and rabbit all showed up at the family dinner table

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<v Speaker 1>during the Great Depression years. The kids they all knew

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<v Speaker 1>how to trap and hunt, and Mom well, she'd cook

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<v Speaker 1>anything that was shaved and clean. Dinner and supper included

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<v Speaker 1>food from the garden they came and any and everything.

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<v Speaker 1>The story of Joyneil Kidney and her family during the

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<v Speaker 1>Great Depression. Their food measurement here on Our American Stories.

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<v Speaker 1>Lee Hibibe here the host of our American Stories. Every

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<v Speaker 1>day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from across

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<v Speaker 1>this great country, stories from our big cities and small towns.

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