Day 1- The Lurvey Fruit Basket

First some pictures and then the story.

This is what I refer to as “my Lurvey Basket”. I think the reason for that is obvious. I have owned this little item since the early 1970’s. My Amsler grandparents lived for a time in Dousman, WI. That is a VERY small town outside of Milwaukee.

Very small.

My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Hank had a cottage up there, on Pretty Lake. One memorable summer I spent a number of weeks visiting the cottage with my grandparents. I read old Life magazines. I read books. I dabbled my feet in the “lake” that was really only a few feet deep. I ruthlessly dug up clams. I made popovers with Grandma. I did not watch TV as I don’t even think they had one there. This was long before computers or the internet but I don’t remember ever being bored. I had my own little room where late at night I read or more likely laid on the bed and listened to “Mystery Theater” on my little transistor radio…AM only. Every morning Grandpa Amsler fried himself a hamburger and made instant mashed potatoes for his breakfast (no one ever said my family was normal) and Grandma and I had something more traditional.

And one day Grandma said, We need to make freezer strawberry jam today so that means we need to pick strawberries at Lurveys.

The Lurveys were great friends of the Amsler grandparents as well as parishioners at the small Presbyterian church that Grandpa was pastoring at (his last posting as a matter of fact). They owned a farm where you could pick fruit….obviously. And so that is what we did. And then we came home and made freezer jam that I can still taste today. I am not sure why I brought the basket home, I just remember doing so.

I have carried this basket around with me from house to house to house. And now it is time to say goodbye. It hasn’t been used for many a year. It has just been sitting, lonely and feeling unloved, on shelves in the basement. I am actually taking this item, along with a number of “newer models” from this years peach crop, over to Beck’s Farmer’s market where it will have a good and happy life. They are always looking for these kinds of things.