Picnic in the Park
Facilitated By Jenn Ross
December 20, 2016
It’s either a church supper or The Grange. I don’t know exactly what it was, but folks would bring something as a contribution. All the food would be laid out on the table. All the food would be free. It was possibly part of a church thing.
But in Judaism if you keep Kosher it limits what you can eat. If it’s a chicken, it has to be slaughtered in a certain way. Other cultures have similar eating rituals, as well.
It’s a group right after Sunday school. Because the crowd looks like they’re dressed in vests and suits and they’re eating until 4:00 and now they’re ready for the pies and sweets. The women are the ones who do the baking and they’re showing us it’s time for dessert. Probably sometime in the 1930’s or ‘40s. A reunion of sorts. Showing that it’s time. With a religious tint.
It’s a small town. Like near the Mississippi River near Quincy, Illinois.
The enamel is more modern than I believed in the beginning. The baked goods look like they came from bakeries. They’ve got fancy designs.
What I notice first are the clothing and the hair. The clothing looks like it’s depression era. But there’s so much food that it must be near the end of the depression. If there are ribs on the table, it might be too rich for depression era. But it might just be baked goods. Yes, I don’t think they’re ribs at all.
In the back are so many people. I don’t think they’re all part of this picnic. Plus the children. It’s like there are many things happening within the same picture. One might be a picnic. Another might be on strike for something because there are so many people.
It’s just a crowd of people waiting for food. At whatever special occasion it is.
It’s a park. These are reunions. Maybe in August. There’s a Burr Oak over here with the bark opening. And it happens once a year. After church in Payson, Illinois. Everybody knows everybody else.
They’re getting ready to serve food. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith. They’re preparing the food to be eaten. They want to serve people. I’d sure like to be there!
When we went to similar events my family would bring potato salad. But we had to be careful because we were Jewish and kept Kosher. We just didn’t touch it.
They’ve already consumed the main course and they’re going for the baked goods. These ladies seem to be very accomplished in what they do. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith seem to be quite content with what they’re doing. One has a sweet smile. The other looks more serious. Focusing on her baked goods. They’re just going on and making sure things were done right.
It’s everywhere! In some way or another! This annual reunion. I see her hand in this soup and that she’s doing that because it looks like a spatula. But she’s looking to see if it’s hot enough. She’s keeping an eye on the homemade cakes. Because they’re going to be judged. One, two, three.
Everybody is wearing jackets so it might be in September. The men have hats on. About half of them. It looks like fall with the foliage on the trees. It looks like a big stack – a building that looks like a boat – with big smoke stacks.
These picnics happen right before school. So it has to be in August. But it might be on a Sunday.
It can be yours and it can be mine.
These women are caregivers. They like helping and volunteering. The apple slice, with the thick sugar on top is making my mouth water.
They have lots of pies. Most of them are cakes. That looks like a stack of pancakes. They’re all sweets.
The people on the other side aren’t dancing. Those two ladies are serving to their families. Especially for the kids.
In another type of situation, the ladies would make a boxed lunch and nobody would know who made them. They auctioned them off for a dime or a quarter. The men would bid on them. Sometimes a wedding would come out of it.
Cake. It’s all cake. Life is just a piece of cake…
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bC1zaGFyZS0tMDkyIC50Yi1zb2NpYWwtc2hhcmVfX3BpbnRlcmVzdF9fc2hhcmUtYnV0dG9ue2N1cnNvcjpwb2ludGVyO2Rpc3BsYXk6aW5saW5lLWJsb2NrO2JhY2tncm91bmQtc2l6ZTpjb250YWluO2JhY2tncm91bmQtY29sb3I6I2NiMjEyODt9LnRiLXNvY2lhbC1zaGFyZS0tMDkyIC50Yi1zb2NpYWwtc2hhcmVfX3RlbGVncmFtX19zaGFyZS1idXR0b257Y3Vyc29yOnBvaW50ZXI7ZGlzcGxheTppbmxpbmUtYmxvY2s7YmFja2dyb3VuZC1zaXplOmNvbnRhaW47YmFja2dyb3VuZC1jb2xvcjojMzdhZWUyO30udGItc29jaWFsLXNoYXJlLS0wOTIgLnRiLXNvY2lhbC1zaGFyZV9fcmVkZGl0X19zaGFyZS1idXR0b257Y3Vyc29yOnBvaW50ZXI7ZGlzcGxheTppbmxpbmUtYmxvY2s7YmFja2dyb3VuZC1zaXplOmNvbnRhaW47YmFja2dyb3VuZC1jb2xvcjojNWY5OWNmO30udGItc29jaWFsLXNoYXJlLS0wOTIgLnRiLXNvY2lhbC1zaGFyZV9fdmliZXJfX3NoYXJlLWJ1dHRvbntjdXJzb3I6cG9pbnRlcjtkaXNwbGF5OmlubGluZS1ibG9jaztiYWNrZ3JvdW5kLXNpemU6Y29udGFpbjtiYWNrZ3JvdW5kLWNvbG9yOiM3YzUyOWU7fS50Yi1zb2NpYWwtc2hhcmUtLTA5MiAudGItc29jaWFsLXNoYXJlX19lbWFpbF9fc2hhcmUtYnV0dG9ue2N1cnNvcjpwb2ludGVyO2Rpc3BsYXk6aW5saW5lLWJsb2NrO2JhY2tncm91bmQtc2l6ZTpjb250YWluO2JhY2tncm91bmQtY29sb3I6IzdmN2Y3Zjt9LnRiLXNvY2lhbC1zaGFyZS0tcm91bmQgLlNvY2lhbE1lZGlhU2hhcmVCdXR0b257Ym9yZGVyLXJhZGl1czo1MCV9LnRiLXNvY2lhbC1zaGFyZV9fZXhjZXJwdHtkaXNwbGF5Om5vbmV9LnRiLXNvY2lhbC1zaGFyZSAuU29jaWFsTWVkaWFTaGFyZUJ1dHRvbi0tZGlzYWJsZWR7b3BhY2l0eTowLjY1fSB9IA==
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