PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES

 PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES

A Sager Family Food Story

March 24, 1974 Our wedding reception - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Our 50th Golden Anniversary celebration with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on our cake!!!

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have a peculiar repulsion for me! This certainly has nothing at all to do with our wedding. We relied on the ladies of the church to put together our reception and that’s what Terrie chose. And at our 50th anniversary celebration, daughter-in-law Margaret simply knew we had to have a peanut butter and jelly adorned cake! There is a Sager family story that goes with this.

When I was young my brothers and I fell into the bad habit of complaining about our mother’s cooking. This had to be in the early 1960’s, since it took place in Elkins Park, PA before we moved to Sebring, Florida. Mom got real tired of hearing our complaints, which must have been relentless. So she asked us one day when we complained again to tell her what we liked. We all agreed that we liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Little did we know what we were in for. Mom told us that was good, because she fed us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week! Lesson learned. We were very careful about complaining about her cooking after that, and actually appreciated her cooking. I still do not really like PBJ’s. Ironically Mom had her college degree with a major in home economics and was a very good cook. 

Brother Willi had a food lesson once I remember. He really liked jelly beans. On one occasion he was allowed to eat as many as he wanted, and after that he did not like them. 

Another food story from our youth - my brothers and I had really healthy appetites. The first initials of our first names spell EAT - Ed, Andy, Tom. How about that!

Christmas 1960 - I still have that book of Carols.

Among other food memories from our youth I remember being taught manners. We were required to keep our elbows off the table at the dinner table. Our family always ate together when Dad came home from work. We all sat together and ate in the dining room. It was very traditional American. We had to ask politely to pass things and be sure not to take too much when our turn came. Food was normally served family style at our table. Mom had silver and china only for special occasions, but normally she used her Currier and Ives printed blue and white plates and stainless flatware. We had to say please and thank you. We also were informed that if we put our elbows on the table, Dad would poke it with his fork! That didn’t happen often! We also always prayed together before we ate. Dad would lead us usually in some formal prayer and we’d all say ‘Amen’ and start the meal. We were allowed to talk, but if we got too silly, or went into regions that were off limits we were restrained. If we had company we were to allow the adults to hold conversation. And we always had to ask to be excused, and make sure to tell our Mom how good it was! Very important.

January 1964 at our house on Fernvale Ave. Sebring, FL with our maternal grandparents, W.T. and Ella Llewellyn and paternal grandmother, Fern Sager. I am on the right wearing a white shirt and tie, so it must have been a Sunday dinner.

Mom had a dinner cart she would load up in the kitchen and wheel to the dining room to set the table. Of course all this was way before the era of microwave cooking. In Elkins Park, PA we had a gas stove, and it was very nice during a blizzard around 1961 and we had heat and the power was off in our neighborhood due to ice on the power lines pulling them down. Neighbors came over to cook. 

My silver spoon with EWS initials engraved on one side and the year, 1960 on back. We also have some of the Llewellyn and Stratton pieces dating back to the early twentieth century.

My engraved silver baby cup from around 1952.

Mom’s regular dinnerware - Metlox Poppytrail Provincial pattern stoneware.

One thing we brought to Sebring with us from Elkins Park was a picnic table and benches. We had them in our kitchen and ate breakfast there and informal meals. Mom kept that old set her entire life! My brother Tom and Viki inherited it! We had many good meals at that old picnic table. So it was not all formal type dinners at the Sager home! Maybe someday I’ll follow up with some old family recipes. That might be fun! Stay tuned.