I think often of my great-grandmother’s house. She was an immigrant from The Netherlands or Holland as she preferred to call it. Both great-grandma and great-grandpa were immigrants. I am not sure how they ended up living in Dunkirk, but they did. He worked for the railroad when he came to Dunkirk.

Their house was the last house on the street near the railroad. I think maybe he walked to work. I never knew great-grandpa because he died before I was born. However, I knew great-grandma well.

When I was in grade school, they were building schools in town. The older students switched to School 3 while the younger students went to another school. School 3 was right across the street from great-grandma’s. Often, I stopped to say hello as I went through her back yard on my way home. Grandma’s back yard was filled with tulips of every color and hue. There were some with curly petals, too. She had hundreds of tulips growing. I was allowed to walk in the garden when we were picking them. When they were in blossom my grandma would go out and pick some and bring them in the house for great-grandma to enjoy. By the time I remember great-grandma she did not go outside often. We also took a bouquet of them to the cemetery to place on the family graves.

I know just where great-grandma and great-grandpa are buried because I went to the cemetery with my grandma and grandpa.

It was always my job to get rid of the old stinky flowers. I also got fresh water to keep the plants we planted there alive. Sad to say I cannot find my grandparents’ graves as easily.

They are in another cemetery where only ground level stones are allowed. After they first died, I knew exactly where they were. There was a big tree that helped me find the graves. That tree has been cut down so that makes them hard to find.

Great-grandma also had rhubarb plants. My grandmother took rhubarb home and made a pie for grandpa. I did not really like rhubarb in those days. The kind of pie she made was too sour. I have learned to make my own recipe for rhubarb pie and it is delicious. The men always looked forward to when the rhubarb was ready because they knew they would get a rhubarb pie.

I got my rhubarb from a neighbor who had a lot of plants. They invited me to come over to pick it. That was their way of getting me to visit with my children, I think. The small farm had more than enough rhubarb for their whole family plus some of the neighbors. Henry and Mabel always looked forward to our visits. We kept them short because at that point they tired easily. They were in their 90s.

The children and I went outside with a paring knife to cut rhubarb. I always took a big bag because I froze some of it for later. We loved rhubarb sauce. It was a great accompaniment to a meal. We ate it as a fruit although I believe it actually is classified as a vegetable. It grows as a stalk with giant leaves. They say the leaves are poisonous. Their method was to cut away the leaves and lay them beneath the plants to help with the growth for the following year.

We made several trips for rhubarb when it was in season. It was also great in a strawberry rhubarb pie. I made those as well.

I loved that little farm. I thought at one point that we would live there, but it was not to be. I had plans of how to change the house — to make it more livable for our family. The long private driveway was a detriment. It made it hard to get to in the winter. By the time we were able to purchase the place we were already living at Hickory Heights and we had begun to make changes here.

Our daughter eventually came back home and took up residence in that house. I still go to the little farm for rhubarb. The grandchildren help me cut it. I think that both of the grandchildren like rhubarb sauce and I know my grandson likes rhubarb pie.

Rhubarb is one of those things that you either like or you don’t. My advice is to find a good recipe — a tried and true recipe from someone who uses rhubarb to cook with. I have a host of recipes including rhubarb crisps, pies, rolls, and even a cake. It also makes a good sweet bread. I am very much looking forward to when the rhubarb is ready to cut.

A neighbor along the highway has a bed of rhubarb plants. I watch those, then go to my daughter’s, to cut some. I can taste that rhubarb pie now.

RHUBARB CREAM PIE

1 ¢ c. sugar

1/3 c. flour (this may vary depending how moist the rhubarb is)

§ tsp. nutmeg

3 slightly beaten eggs

4 c. rhubarb cut into small pieces

Line 9-inch pie pan with crust. Put in the rhubarb mixture. Top with a lattice crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 min.

To make a mock lattice crust simply cut the second crust into strips. Twist strips and lay them across, first one direction then the other. I wet the bottom crust with water on my finger to get the crust strips to stick. It really looks pretty when it comes up through the crust.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.