Memory Lane

Dutch Cuisine

The diet of the average Dutch settler was fairly simple. Meals generally included bread, pancakes, and, occasionally, fish caught from Bear Lake.

Potatos were served with salt and a little butter or lard and were often eaten at every meal. They were peeled and boiled for lunch, and then warmed and mashed for dinner, with leftovers saved for breakfast. Common meals included zuurkoolstamppot (sauerkraut and potato mash) and groentensoep (vegetable soup). Borrimuise, a mixture of mashed potatoes and kale, was also served.

The settlers enjoyed other vegetables grown in their gardens including beets, turnips, carrots, and kohlrabi.

Marie and Ted Van Erp, 1959.

Our grandparents had an amazing garden. The huge cabbages provided an abundance of sauerkraut, which was stored in large crocks in their three-season porch.

Grandma’s mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing were the best around! Even though her recipes still exist, she had a special way of making ordinary food delicious that has been difficult, if not impossible, to replicate.

50 “Historic Event,” mixed media collage.

Lilacs

Because lilacs need cold winters, they are perfect for the Minnesota climate. At their home in Butler, our grandparents planted a row of lilacs at the edge of their lawn, next to the corn field.

We fondly remember enjoying the scent of those pretty plumes when they bloomed each spring.

In April 2021, lilacs still exist on the property that used to be our Grandparent’s farm.

“Mary Ann (Van Erp) Seifert and Peter Van Erp,” mixed media collage.

Wooden Shoes

It rains a lot in Holland, so wooden shoes were worn to keep feet warm and dry. However, there was no need for wooden shoes in Butler Township in 1910. It was the driest year ever recorded in the county at the time.

We remember playing “dress up” with a pair of small wooden shoes at our grandparent’s home. The novelty of walking in those shoes quickly wore off once our feet grew too big to fit.

54 “Johanna Van Erp,” mixed media collage.

Sinterklaas

For centuries, the Feast of Sinterklaas, on December 6th, has been unique as a Dutch event, honoring St. Nicholas, patron saint of children.

The feast is celebrated with the giving of gifts on St. Nicholas’ Eve (December 5th).

Up until the 1940’s, children would awake to find a present in their shoe.

Tobacco & Baseball

Growing tobacco was one of the original agricultural plans for the Butler area. Records show that in 1919, the Butler settlers grew a beautiful tobacco crop. Unfortunately, that same crop was destroyed later in the season by a hailstorm. We remember our grandfather, Theodore Van Erp, smoking his pipe after dinner. He made it a ritual of sorts, as he would pack his pipe with tobacco and enjoy a leisurely smoke.

We never saw Grandpa angry, although he would occasionally let out a few expletives in Dutch if things weren’t going as planned. Grandpa also enjoyed watching baseball games and in his younger days, he was a member of the Butler baseball team.

Butler baseball team with Theodore Van Erp (front row, on right).

The Farmstead

Our grandparent’s farmhouse was built in 1905, so it pre-dates the group coming from Holland in 1910. Though we were pretty young when our grandparents lived there, we have fond memories of the place. In 1975, a tornado wiped out the barn, but the house still stands in 2021.

The farmhouse, 1955.

The farmhouse, circa 2012.

“Strange Farm Girls,” mixed media collage.