Once Upon the Prairie

 The Conductors

Daniel was the runaway’s name.

His life filled with misery and pain.

Maddie and Owen, their families, too,

Knew what they needed to do,

Help Daniel travel that “underground train.”

The two became part of the plan.

Together they spied on the mean old man.

Kansas, bleeding at the time,

Saw good men fight across the line.

Could slavery be stopped with a ban?

Dressed as a girl, Daniel sought to be free.

He was hid in an old, cottonwood tree.

They could not know how effective the train became.

         Each worked in secret, with only conductor as a name.

Risking all so free others might be.

PLEASE NOTE THIS BLOG CHANGES FIRST AND THIRD WEEKS OF THE MONTH.
Be sure to check out The Story Teller's Corner and Up the Family Tree.

                  

Maddie

My name is Madeleine Ann Clark, and I am a ten-year-old girl who moved to Kansas Territory in 1855 from New York. Papa, Mama, Uncle Paul and my cousins, Owen and James, and I traveled by train, steamer and wagon to reach the new town of Lawrence. While living in New York, Papa and Mama took me to hear Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman speak. Their speeches helped convince my family to move to Kansas. We wanted to help Kansas enter the Union as a free state. We are abolitionists.
 

Papa says I am stubborn some of the time, but it is all right to be stubborn if it is for a good reason. My family believes abolishing slavery is a good reason. I am determined to help. I will tell you more about my life in Kansas Territory later. 

A Melt Down

Since my family lived in the country and there were no young children, I imported kids to play with mine. An event I held annually was an Easter egg hunt complete with the usual bunny head cake. One year a friend of mine dressed in a bunny suit and delivered eggs to the wide-eyed three and four-year-olds. Some years were better than others, but I could count on at least one or two youngsters crying before the hunt was over.

The most memorable year was the time I struggled with too much to do, so I purchased “prepared baskets” containing packaged eggs and a big chocolate bunny. I set the alarm for six on Easter morning so I could place the baskets outside. I noted the sun was up, and it was going to be a beautiful sunrise service. My sons burst into the kitchen an hour later ready to see what the bunny brought. I sent them out the front door, and then heard them crying. In one hour the big chocolate bunnies were now chocolate puddles melting all over the rest of the basket.

Thank goodness grandma also purchased chocolate bunnies; she saved the day. I am pretty sure my boys remember that Easter.

Abolitionists

Historically, abolitionist refers to the group of individuals who wanted slavery abolished (terminated) from American society. The people who supported the end of slavery came from every walk of life. Women seeking the right to vote were asked to stop their push for suffrage and to aide those seeking the cessation of human bondage. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony, leaders of the women’s rights’ movement, actively worked for its abolition.

Writers like William Lloyd Garrison, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Elijah Lovejoy dedicated their lives to keeping the subject before the American public. They were aided by the powerful speaker and former slave, Frederick Douglass. Although there were sympathizers in the Southern states where slavery was practiced, most members of this group were from the Northern states. It took a civil war between the sections of the country and much legislation to end slavery.

Resources abound about the abolitionists from this era. A few of these sites would be helpful to provide further information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism

www.history.com/topics/black-history/abolitionist-movement

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/abolitionism/abolitionists.htm

www.us-civilwar.com/abolitionist.htm

Corn Recipes

 Prairie Recipes

By Collette

Most pioneer families grew corn as a staple food. Eaten in many ways, most families incorporated corn meal into some kind of bread. Below is a simple corn bread recipe  Maddie’s mother might have used.

Corn Bread

1 cup flour                                                       ¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup corn meal                                               2 eggs

¼ cup sugar                                                     1 cup milk

4 teaspoons baking powder                            ¼ cup shortening or bacon fat

Use an 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Put shortening or fat in skillet in oven to melt. Mix dry ingredients together. Beat egg and milk together and stir into dry ingredients. Pour hot shortening into the batter and stir together. Put into hot skillet and bake 18-20 minutes until brown around edges. Cut into pie-shape wedges and serve with butter or syrup. Serves nine.

A recipe from the Civil War times is fried corn, another way to use fresh garden vegetables.

Fried Corn

6 ears of fresh sweet corn                                Chopped green onions

Chopped green peppers                                  Oil or lard to cover cast iron skillet ¼ inch

Cut corn from cob, but do not scrape. Chop half a green pepper and several green onions very fine. Heat cast iron skillet over a medium high heat until when you hold the palm of your hand one inch above the bottom and it feels hot. Add lard. When melted, add corn, onions and green peppers. Do not stir. Sprinkle with salt. Lift with a turner and if the bottom is not brown, lift all of it up and cook some more. Do this several more times. Then put into a serving bowl and enjoy. Serves 4.

My boys and the grandkids like the escalloped corn I make. It became our staple vegetable for holiday meals.

Escalloped Corn

1 can cream style corn                                                 ½ cup of milk

1 can whole kernel corn                                              1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

1 stick melted butter                                                   Pepper and salt to taste

2 beaten eggs

Mix all together and pour into 9 inch casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. This does not fall as does regular escalloped corn. Serves 8.