When Jerry Apps was growing up on a Wisconsin farm in the 1930s and 1940s, times were tough. Yet most folks living on farms had plenty to eat. Preparing food from scratch was just the way things were done, and people knew what was in their food and where it came from. Delicious meals were at the center of every family and social affair, whether it be a threshing-day dinner with all the neighbors, the end-of-school-year picnic, or just a hearty supper after chores were done. As Jerry writes, "For me food will always be associated with times of good eating, storytelling, laughter, and good-hearted fun."

Inspired by the dishes made by his mother, Eleanor, and featuring recipes found in her well-worn recipe box, Jerry and his daughter, Susan, take us on a culinary tour of life on the farm during the Depression and World War II. Seasoned with personal stories, menus, and family photos, Old Farm Country Cookbook recalls a time when electricity had not yet found its way to the farm, when making sauerkraut was a family endeavor, and when homemade ice cream tasted better than anything you could buy at the store.

Jerry Apps

has been a rural historian and environmental writer for more than forty years. He is a former county extension agent and professor for the University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. He is the author of many books on rural history, country living, and environmental issues, including Old Farm: A History and Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of Gardening. Jerry and his wife, Ruth, divide their time between their home in Madison and their farm, Roshara, in Waushara County.

Susan Apps-Bodilly

has been an elementary and middle school teacher for more than twenty years. She is the author of One Room Schools: Stories from the Days of 1 Room, 1 Teacher, 8 Grades. Susan lives in Madison with her husband, Paul. When she’s not reading, teaching, or writing, she loves biking or hiking in the woods with her family.