Rowan: When you were a child, how did you get your food?

Betty: Wherever we lived, my mother out a garden in right away. And we had chickens. We used to go to the butchers, and we got fresh cut meat. It was fresh, because we didn’t have refrigerators. And then where I lived, in South Vancouver, a Chinese fisherman used to come up. He had the big hat, and he had a pole over his shoulder with two baskets. The baskets had sacking on therm. And he’d lift the sacking and there were lovely fresh fish. He came to the door and all the bread companies had their bread wagons and they came to the door, whatever you ordered, bins or anything, brought to your door, fresh. And the same with the milkman, you put a note out saying you wanted a bottle of milk, a bottle of cream, or butter, and you got it fresh. Or, you could go to the store and get it, but we didn’t have refrigerators, we just had coolers, But now, if you don’t have a fridge, and you think you’ll keep something in an icebox and you buy something from a supermarket, it’ll go rotten in no time. That stuff’s not fresh, it’s old.

Of course, my mother was a wonderful cook, and the women made everything, pies and cakes. Wonderful food. My mother was Welsh, but it was sort of English cooking, meat and veg., that kind of stuff. And they made things that would take a long time to cook, like they’d take tongue and press it, and they’d make what they’d call head cheese, that was out of a pig’s head, and they made all kinds of stuff like that.

R: When you were young, how did you keep your food?

B: In the cooler. Just in the cupboard, but the stuff like milk and whatnot was in the cooler, which was simply a cupboard which had holes to the outside with screen on it, so that animals couldn’t get in.

R: How many days would milk last then just in that cooler?

B: Not too long, I can’t remember exactly except that the stuff was fresh, the stuff was fresh and they didn’t use sprays and all that.

R: How was getting stuff different when you were a kid?

B: I told you that already, a lot of it was delivered. Once a week my mother would go downtown to Woodwards. Woodwards was the big store that is now gone. It was famous for its food department, you went downstairs, they used to say foods from all over the world, and it was. Just once a week she’d go down in the streetcar, which took a long time, cause we lived way out on forty-ninth, and pick up like tinned stuff. We didn’t use a lot of canned stuff. I don’t know, maybe tea, coffee, I don’t remember. And then there were no bags. The girls at the counter had these great big sheets of brown paper, and they were absolutely amazing. They would pile this stuff up in a great big pile, and then wrap it in brown paper, and then they had really strong string…their poor hands! They tied it in a big knot, and then they cut it like that. And it was heavy, and it was big. And then we’d trail all the way home in the streetcar and all the mothers would be carrying this great big thing from Woodwards, as well as shopping bags. My little brother and I, we didn’t want to shop, so my little brother and I would sit on the steps, and of course it was wonderful, because we saw all these people coming into Woodwards, we just sat and watched the people, it was quite famous for its food department. The Woodwards family had a big ranch at the time, so they probably grew a lot of that meat. And then one of the other stores, Spencers, the big department store downtown, had an English couple, and soon in their food department they made crumpets! That’s all they did, this English couple with funny accents you know? They’d put the little metal frame down, and pour batter…they just made crumpets. And they were hot, oh! They were fresh, and so good!

R: What was your favourite local food?

B: Everything! My mom was a good cook.

R: What was your favourite food that your mom would make?

B: Oooooh! She’d say, what do you want on your birthday? And I’d say, roast pork with crackling, with mashed potato, mashed turnips, and gravy…..

R: You would ask for mashed turnips on your birthday?

B: Yeah, but they tasted better. Now, they don’t make….they’re not very interesting. There was no margarine then, and there’s no margarine allowed in this house. Ever! I don’t remember what I asked for for dessert. She used to make a wonderful rhubarb custard. I never tasted anything like it again. It even tasted good cold afterwards.

R: And you never got the recipe and made it yourself?

B: No. I don’t make pies. I can’t make pastry. I don’t like things sticking to my fingers.

R: Tell me about a food memory you have from childhood.

B: Well, my mother was Welsh, and so was my Dad. I’m Welsh. And And she’d just make them on the top of the stove.

R: What seasonal foods do you eat?we had a big wood and coal stove, black, and she’d make what they call Welsh cakes, make them right on the stove, they’re just like a soft round cookie and they’ve got currants in them Like a scone, a little round flat scone only they had currants in it.

B: Now? I like everything except okra. I hate okra. Slimy! Sometimes I find some of the kale and chard kind of strong.

R: How do you overwinter your food?

B: My old stables where I kept the horses is wonderful. There’s an old cupboard in one of the seed rooms, that one of my partners built for me, and I store apples in there, and pears, and I don’t store anything else, because I really don’t grow it. I could store squash, but I don’t have to because I can get it from Daystar.

R: But I know, for example, that you grow peaches, and make jam.

B: I grow peaches, pears and apples. Oh, and I freeze them, I slice the peaches and I just boil them a little bit, and I put them in containers so I basically have fruit year over for dessert. And my freezer is full of frozen peaches. And when my pears ripen I’ll have frozen pears to eat all winter. I make peach jam, gooseberry jam and pear ginger jam.

R: Yeah! Do you ever pick the blackberries?

B: I used to. I used to put a lot of berries in, but I have an itchy skin and I discovered it’s berries that cause it.

R: Oh man!

B: This is sad. So for the last few months I haven’t had raspberries, strawberries or blackberries. But normally I would, I had a lot in my front field and I’ve gotten other people to come and take them.

R: How and where do you shop for your food?

B: Daystar. On Friday. A little bit at the store for the stuff Daystar doesn’t have. Like Scotch. That’s its own food group.

R: How did obtaining food change for you when you moved to Galiano?

B:Well, I freeze a lot more. I think I probably eat more fruit and vegetables. I think Daystar’s a lovely store when it comes in on Fridays. It just looks like a painting in there. If Sandy goes to town I go with her, and then we go to the Red Barn. They sell some meat that’s non-medicated and they buy as much as they can from Vancouver Island. But I don’t like large portions of meat and I don’t eat meat every night.

R: What food makes you think of spring? Why?

B: Well, I guess lettuce and tomatoes and fruit. Those tomatoes you can buy, they look gorgeous and they have no taste at all. I’m growing my own now. I have three pots of tomatoes and a great big thing of green beans. I used to have a great big vegetable garden until…I guess when I went back to work, after my husband died, I stopped because I had so much to do. I was working and I had two horses and cats and dogs and all these things to look after…..but I love gardening.

R: What food makes you think of summer?

B: All the lovely fruits. Fresh vegetables. Corn on the cob!

R:What food makes you think of fall?

B: I guess the squashes, they’re so beautiful, all the different kinds, that’s a fall thing.

R: What foods make you think of winter?

B: Brussels sprouts. Cabbage. Because they grown in the winter!

R: Thank you.

B: You’re welcome. That wasn’t too bad!