Elizabeth Wade lived in Mitchell's Brook, St. Mary's Bay for 83 years. She now resides in a Senior's Complex just across Salmonier Arm in St. Joseph's, St. Mary's Bay. She lives alone and enjoys reading, playing cards and bingo.

HOMEMADE LYE SOAP

Years ago we didn't have laundry detergent for washing clothes. There was sunlight soap but many people made lye soap which was good for laundry soap and for washing floors. You would put about two gallons of water in an old iron boiler or pot and add a can of Gillettes Lye and stir it until dissolved. You would then put in all the left-over fats from meats, which would be saved over time. You would cook this all day and let it cool overnight. Sometimes it would have to be cooked for awhile longer next day. When it was thick enough it would be poured into a large tub. When it was set, it was cut into blocks or bars.

MAKING BREAD

I remember the times when you used barm for making bread. First you would get a pack of hops, which was 'flake-like' stuff. You would put the hops in a pot of water on the stove and let it boil. Then it was strained and put back in the pot and a couple of mashed potatoes were added to it. That was left for a couple of days until it worked. That was called 'barm'. Then you'd take a cup of that mixture to make a sponge. The sponge consisted of a cup of barm and two cups of water and flour to make a light paste. This was made in the evening and left for a few hours to rise. Before bedtime, you'd get your flour ready and add the sponge to it, mix it and let it rise overnight. In the morning you'd punch it down and put it in the pans to rise again. You certainly got good bread from the hops and barm. There was no temperature gauge on the old Waterloo stoves. You made sure the oven didn't get too hot by trying to keep the right amount of wood in the stove. Sometimes there wouldn't be enough heat and the bread wouldn't brown. Doors were usually kept closed in the house when baking was being done.