Harold Lian’s book Defining Events Twenty-three Years That Shaped My Life (2001) presents a good example of life on the farm during the late 1920s and 30s. His parents, George and Christina Anderson Lian, arrived in Roseau County in 1927 after being invited by Cousin M. R. Olson to live on his farm just south of Roseau (this farm is now owned by Mike Baumgartner). After Christina’s death in 1936 the family moved to Roseau. Harold and wife Lois live in Los Angeles California. A special thank you goes out to Harold for granting permission to use his book in Roseau County Historical Society columns.

With the holidays coming up, heritage cooking has begun. The section, The Farm Kitchen, gives a good idea of the staples and Norwegian delicacies the Lian family enjoyed. The articles for the next several weeks will be taken from this section.
“Our diet consisted almost entirely of ingredients that were grown or raised on the farm and prepared according to Norwegian recipes-recipes which had been handed down from mother to daughter, the mother usually having grown up in Norway. A Norwegian visiting Roseau would have felt right at home at our dining room table…
“Fresh milk found many uses in our kitchen. Cream was separated from the whole milk for household needs. We had a hand-operated De Laval cream separator in the basement and this centrifuge separated cream from the milk. We grew up accustomed to having cream on our cereal and coffee. It was used extensively in baking. Cream was used much as low-fat milk is today. Mother would make cottage cheese at times. Skim milk, not used for any other purpose, would become slop for the hogs.
Homemade butter was always available. It was used chiefly as a spread on bread and was frequently used in frying food and, mixed with flour, was shortening for pastries and cakes. Butter was made by separating the fat from the milk in a wooden cylinder called a butter churn. Milk was poured into the churn and it was agitated by plunging a wooden stick up and down until the fat broke free and coagulated as butter. The children did most of the churning with Delna and Mildred doing more than Ernest and I… The liquid remaining in the churn was buttermilk; we always had quantities of it on hand. Buttermilk was a thirst-quencher for the men working in the fields. We would carry large quantities out to the hands working on the threshing machine during harvest time.
Our first experience with oleomargarine came while we were still on the farm… As Minnesota was a dairy state, there was strong opposition to anything that might substitute for butter. A state law prohibited colored oleomargarine from being sold. Uncolored, it was an unappetizing pasty, white spread, closely resembling lard. A small capsule of yellow vegetable coloring was included with each one-pound container of oleomargarine. The coloring agent was kneaded into the white margarine; turning it into a spread that closely resembled butter.
We had oleomargarine from time to time…It cost less than butter and possibly the economics favored selling cream to the Land O’Lakes creamery in Roseau and purchasing the lower-cost substitute. (to be continued)
RCHS FOOTNOTES
With the holidays fast approaching we look forward to having you and your children come in and enjoy the exhibits in the museum. Admission is free. Several changes have taken place and each day it looks a little more organized.
A collection inventory was started last week. Some objects will be cleaned after the inventory assessment.
With the holidays upon us many will see family and friends that they don’t ordinarily see. Please pick up military service history forms from the museum, Greenbush Library or service clubs …remind them to return the forms to the museum. Thank you.
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