Another postcard from Aunt Elizabeth and uncle Justin. Anne Miller sent this in.
Addressed to:
Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Sommerer Henley, MO
Postmarked:
Washington, DC Aug 19, 1959 11AM
Text: (Definitely my Grandpa Justin’s handwriting here)
8-18-’59
Dear Folks:
Hope this cards finds all of you healthy and happy. Sure enjoyed our visit with you this summer and we are still enjoying those “son-in-law” (someone has written over this text and revised it to “son-of-a-Bit**”, but the original was “in-law”) potatoes you gave us. Here is another beauty spot, will show you next year when you come out to visit us.
Justin and Elizabeth
Julie Baker says
What is a son-in-law potato?
Christina Rowland says
Maybe Uncle Justin really enjoyed potatoes?
Anne says
I wanna know who “altered” the name of the potatoes?
Anne says
At first glance, I just saw the amended potato description; I wondered if it was a commentary on how difficult they were to grow. Searched the Internet and couldn’t find anything about a variety of potato, called “son-in-law”. Maybe this was an inside joke; I will talk with my dad about it.
Naomi Vetter says
It doesn’t look like anyone’s handwriting that I can recognize. How funny, and I guess the devil just made someone do it!
Aunt Lolly says
I think the son-in-law potatoes,were the small potatoes, that were everyone’s favorites. You could boil them, and then peal and fry in some bacon grease or butter, with spices. they were so good and Justin liked them, Mother and Dady probably sent those home with Justin each summer.
Cleo says
I was racking my brain to think of a reason they were referred to as son-in-law potatoes. I think Lolly came up with the good answer. I was also thinking Justin may have been unlucky enough to get in on the digging of those potatoes, and of course those were the best to eat, those newly dug small potatoes. I wish I had some. I try every year to grow a potato or 2 and I never get more then i plant.
Marylynn says
Dad had a contraption he made to grade the potatoes by size. It was kind of like a long box with moveable slots. You poured in the potatoes and the small ones fell through. The potato grading box is probably still in the smoke house. These small ones needed to be canned or used before the good ones since they wouldn’t keep well. Dad called his son in laws and told them to come and get them. He wouldn’t deliver.
What was left was soon boiled in the huge cast iron pot on a fire outside. Every morning we’d throw out three or four gallons for the chickens to eat. The chickens loved the soft cooked potatoes.
By the way we stored a lot of potatoes. We’d plant three or four hundred pounds in the spring. The cellar was probably 20 feet long and from the door to the south wall was potato storage. The potatoe shelf was four feet wide and 18 inches deep and 20 feet long. It was piled as high as we could get it with good potatoes. Some were sold and some were traded and we ate the rest.
When Lloyd hurt his foot in 1946 we took in a couple hundred pounds of potatoes and some other garden produce and milk products to help pay for his treatment. Anything the hospital would take we put toward the hospital bill.
Julie Baker says
Now we know why he called them as son-in-law potatoes! Thanks!
Jane says
Lloyd says Justin wrote the card because he always printed everything.
He also says in his lifetime they never boiled them and gave to the chickens. They always gave them to the son-in-laws. Happy Birthday Lloyd. Hope you feel better