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| Bologna: Food of Kings |
Bologna…
I cannot stand the stuff, now. But, it was once a staple in our childhood. Every Sunday evening, we had bologna sandwiches, bread and butter pickles, longhorn cheese, Sunbeam bread smeared with Miracle Whip, and potato chips.
I recall how we sat down at the table, just as if this were one of my mom’s pot roast dinners.
My father enjoyed, no, he loved bologna. He once told me of a vow he made when he was 9 years old. His father had died in 1932 and the family was left almost destitute. Every school day Dad and sister Helen placed left-over biscuits sliced in half, and smeared with bacon grease in lunch bucket.
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| Dad is in front center, holding the ball. His sister is behind him in the second row. |
That, with a jug of milk, was their daily lunch at the country school.
“I made a promise to myself, that when I was grown-up, I would have all the bologna I could eat.” The other children at the school were better off; they had bologna and cheese on store-bought white bread every day.
So, on Sunday nights, we sat around the table and lived his dream. The image of the pleasure on Dad's face as he took that first bite is fondly held in my mind and heart.
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| My brothers loved fried bologna. Have you ever smelled fried bologna?? |
I love the story of your Dad and his bologna. I'm feeling nostalgic for a bologna sandwich now. It's been, well, forever since I've had one.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great story of your dad and the bologna. I liked bologna as a kid, but I think I've had it too much. It just makes me think "gross" anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were first married the hubs had a thing for peanut butter/mayo and bologna sandwiches. Shiver. I think it's really special that you all had that Sunday bologna dinner for your dad.
ReplyDeleteme too, me too!! to all of the above. But what's even funnier, is that I have gone to Bologna Italy, and no one has ever heard of the "delicacy" that we have over here bearing the name of their city. In Italy, Bologna is known for it's Mortadella!!!
ReplyDeleteand everywhere we went, they wanted us to taste THEIR Mortadella.
:-)
Mimi Torchia Boothby Watercolors
Thank you for sharing your lovely story.
ReplyDeleteI've never had it & will be tracking some down soon :)
I don't eat bologna anymore, but it does smell good fried. Lovely family story. Really nice post.
ReplyDeleteAwww! What a sweet tribute to your father!
ReplyDeleteYour Dad really enjoyed his bologna. I too used to eat it but now I can't even stomach it.
ReplyDeleteLovely story of your dad. Mine used to hold up the jug of gravy, custard or whatever and say "Everyone had theirs? Right - the rest's mine," and pour it all on. He always got more than his share that way. And I learned not to save the best bit till last because he would lean over and pinch it,"You obviously don't want that." Dreadful man - loved him to bits!
ReplyDeleteBologna, food of kings - and inmates!
ReplyDeleteGreat rememberance of your dad. We ate a lot of bologna as kids, for lunch. My brother grew up to fry it, too. I just quit it alltogether.
ReplyDeleteSay "Bologna," and I'd think blech! But it came with a story like your dad's, I think I'd love it, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI used to love this stuff fried to a crisp, but I cannot eat it for anything now. Nice memory walk though, thank you!
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To all who have commented:
ReplyDeleteEither one loves bologna or hates it. It seems there is no middle ground. But, my dad cherished every slice. Thanks for commenting!!
Fried bologna is a staple here... Personally I don't touch the stuff.
ReplyDeleteSusan, Bologna is a neat post for "B". I really enjoyed the story about your dad.
ReplyDeleteMy husband loves balogna, me, not so much
ReplyDeleteA very sweet story especially in these times when some have so much and others have so little.
I used to eat bologna, but it fell by the wayside with Spam. :) Although a bolonga sandwich on Wonder bread with mustard sounds pretty good right now.
ReplyDeleteMust be the pregnancy.
I grew up on the stuff, so not a huge fan now, but I just got a whirlwind of memories reading this post!
ReplyDeleteThat plate sure did bring back memories. Oh boy. When I was little we always had barn dances. In the hay loft, before the winter hay was in. At midnight there was a "lunch" that had all the ingredients of the photo. My Grandpa played the fiddle for the dances and all the little kids danced and jumped around and finally fell asleep on some hay in a corner. The bologna was always the culmination of the evening.
ReplyDeleteMy dad liked bologna also. Whenever we were traveling and got hungry, we'd all want to go to a restaurant but sometimes he'd take the cheap route and get bread and bologna and we'd do the picnic thing. I always hated that. Now I go in phases. Sometimes I'll get on a bologna sandwich kick. I do like fried bologna.
ReplyDeleteLee
A Few Words
An A to Z Co-host blog
could have gone the other way too, where he couldn't stand the sight of bologna ever again! But he sounded like a far too positive person for that. Good for him. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteA great memory for you, Susan. Though I have to say I do not like bologna. I did eat it a lot when I was young, though. Never tried it fried. I do always like to come over here to see your wonderful family photographs! And a very original B word for today!
ReplyDeleteAnn Best, Author of In the Mirror & Other Memoirs
Great job bringing a memory to life ! Wow. My hubby and I grew up on it. He will still get a craving for it from time to time. NOt me. Ick.
ReplyDeleteAh, sweet memories! I used to actually like bologna, but I didn't like the smell of it frying! I haven't had a bologna sandwich for at least 25 years, maybe more, and to be honest, I have no desire to have one. ICK! Kinda rank right up there with spam, which we had at least once a week growing up. Double ICK!
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful "B" post. I love family memories. Reading yours makes me want to write some of my own!
What a nice read. My parents grew up in the Depression, too. It was my dad who was better off and my mother who wore the same dress every day to school. I think that might be why she preferred pants. I used to like bologna, but when I married, that's the only meat my now ex would eat in a sandwich (other than potted meat) and that without even mayonnaise (my family always used butter, never mayo). I love the smell of fried bologna, but really don't enjoy eating it - yet, I love hot dogs and they're virtually the same thing. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A-Z Challenge.
Interesting word choice for today. I only eat bologna on occasion but I didn't eat it often as a kid. Never tried fried bologna. That is an interesting story about your father.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Me too. Buts my folks could not afford the Oscar Meyer brand, no, they had to get the slab bologna with the red plastic wrap. My mon would cut them thick on one end and then on th other always rushing to make our school lunches. For "treats" we would get to roll up a slice with a piece od american "cheese food". This might all have something to do with my now living on an organic farm!
ReplyDeletePS saw your comment on my blog and would love to send some saop your way. Just email me at opies99@gmail.com for specifics
My mother grew up here in Norway during the war. A treat for them was fried rutabaga which they ate instead of meat. Funny how childhood deprivation can stay with a person. Loved this story about bologna :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought about bologna in many years. I used to love it. It was quite an exotic sandwich and you knew you were livin' it up if you had a slice of Kraft cheese with it! I also enjoyed fried bologna with an egg dropped into the center 'pocket'. This is great!
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