Are you recording family memories?

It is getting close to blackberry time. If the promised rains would actually materialize, there would be a bumper crop of blackberries. When picking the family patch of wild blackberries, it seemed like a good time to share some memories.

Our small farm is a remnant of a family farm established in 1839. That is the date on the deeds signed by President Tyler. The story, however, goes back to the late 1800s. Milton Thomas McDonald, my husband’s grandfather, loved blackberry pie. His definition of a good year was “Blackberry pie by the Fourth of July.” The family legend states that the wild blackberries on the Baltimore Township part of the land had fewer stickers than the ordinary wild variety. The family has protected those berries for nearly two centuries. Milton’s daughter, Maude McDonald Ekstrand, related that he would come out of the blackberry patch well scratched and bleeding but there was always a pie on the 4th.

This year Virginia picked two half pints of berries June 29. If the rains come, more berries will be picked and possibly by the Fourth of July there will be enough to make a pie.

Adding to the story, Milton’s son-in-law, Fred “Ek” Ekstrand was also a pie lover. He was also a critic and would name the ladies whose pies did not meet his standards. His favorite quote “it was a jam pie!” was a devastating statement. For those unaware — a jam pie is a pie with two crusts jammed together. Ek felt every pie needed plenty of filling. His favorite place to teach was Wayland. The school lunch ladies made the best pies ever.

Take a few minutes and record a family memory. If you wish to share it, send it to virginia@ekstrandfarm.com or to Gina at andersgi@hotmail.com. Let us share it with the New London community.