n THE CARILLON STEINBACH, MAN. C4
n www.thecarillon.com THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024 Agriculture Now
WES KEATING THE CARILLON Every member of the Froese family has a job during the cutting up of a 200-pound pork carcass at the museum. They are: Bill, Sheila, Mark and Katherine (holding Kianna and Josie), Rachel, and Joanne.
‘Fall on the Farm’ more than just one day for Froese family
After a few minutes of scraping bristles by hand, Bill goes to the more modern method and fires up a small torch to burn off the remain- ing bristles, the easy way. And at the same time, he points out that any visitor expecting to see him turn- ing the handle on an old-fashioned grinder to make sausage in the after- noon, will be disappointed. The first year at the museum’s fall event, the family did grind the pork by hand, but found that dealing with a 200-pound pig, that was too ardu- ous a task. Now the family brings out their shiny new power grinder from Cabela’s and Mennonite Heritage Village manager Robert Goertzen provides a long cord to plug it in.
with some cattle, pigs for butchering and chickens, which supply the fam- ily with the main ingredient of chick- en noodle soup, as well as fresh eggs. Sheila also has a huge garden and Fall on the Farm Day was a break from her steady fall routine of can- ning, canning, and more canning. Bill says Sheila has slowed down a bit recently, though, as she used to can 140-150 jars for the pantry shelves and that is now down to probably just over 100. When asked if all this great food was shared with customers at local farmers’ markets, Bill was quick to say they didn’t need to spend their time that way. Bill has nine siblings, so there is
much needed to be self-sufficient. For many older museum visitors, who dropped by the demonstration table, this was the way they remem- bered it as it used to be, but for the Bill and Sheila Froese family this is very much the way it still is. Froese Heating and Ventilation has been the family business for 23 years, but the family farm is 140 acres
They cheerfully spend a long day of slicing and cutting, while pre- paring a whole hog for everything from head cheese, and crackles, to smoked bacon and spare ribs. All the while, members of the family answer questions and show visitors how each part of the pig was used and how things used to be done by pio- neers on a farm, that, back then, very
by WES KEATING M embers of the Froese fam- ily from the Grunthal area have been demonstrating the pioneer skill of hog butchering at the annual Fall on the Farm Day at the Mennonite Heritage Village for much more than a decade.
Family members know that when they are invited to the Froese’s for dinner, they will be well fed, and may even take home a jar or two
The necessity to finish the job in short order also prompts the use of an electric saw to cut through the bigger bones, in preparing different portions of the carcass on the dis- play table. The pioneers certainly did not have it this easy, but Sheila Froese is quick to note that hard work and healthy eating made for a lengthy life for earlier generations. Froese’s father, John J. Penner, is 96, still lives in his own home and has his own garden. He used to live in Chortitz, west of the Red River, but has retired to Grunthal, Sheila said. While she separates the skin from the layer of fat beneath it, Shiela ex- plains the skin will be ground up and used for the making of headcheese. The ground up skin provides the gel- atin to hold the headcheese togeth- er, she explains. During the cutting process that creates roasts, hams, spare ribs and bacon, not a single scrap was wast- ed. A cauldron was heated up to cre- ate crackles. Boiling water separated the meat from the lard and the re- sulting crackles were put in storage
no shortage of family to help dispose of all they produce on their “hobby farm.” Family members know that when they are invited to the Froese’s for dinner, they will be well fed, and may even take home a jar or two. “No farmer’s market for us. We can eat this all ourselves.” Early in the morning on Fall on the Farm Day, the Froese family was all set up and the cutting process well underway before the arrival of the first visitors. Using the edge of a sharp knife to scrape the bristles off the head of the demonstration carcass, Bill Froese explains this is the first step in mak- ing head cheese and has been his job ever since he was a teenager on the farm. The parts of the head and the rest of the animal are laid out on the ta- ble to explain to young and older visitors alike how every part of the animal was used, “in the old days.” Bill says his dad’s favorite part of the pig was the snout, but his were the ears and the feet, which were boiled, pickled and then eaten cold.
WES KEATING THE CARILLON By her expression you can tell Kianna is not in any hurry to help Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Bill with their annual demonstration at the MHV.
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