Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WILKES-BARRE — Who wants to share a sardine sandwich with me? Or a stick of pepperoni? Or some oyster stew?
These are just a few of my dad’s favorite snacks back in the day.
Oh sure, dad loved his roast beef dinners with mashed potatoes and corn or green beans, or a juicy ham, or a nice big roasted turkey to carve.
But it was those late-night, TV-watching snacks that he loved so much.
And, of course, all were served with a bottle of ice cold beer.
The sardine sandwich was made with bread and butter, some sliced onion, salt and pepper and ketchup. Dad absolutely loved them. I couldn’t get past the smell, although I did take a bite one time and, to be truthful, it was my last taste of dad’s beloved delicacy.
I did take the concept a bit further though — buttered bread, onion, bread and butter pickles, no sardines, and yum, a great sandwich. I sometimes add a slice of cheese and light salt and pepper.
Pepperoni is another favorite I shared with my dad. Leave the skin on, he would say. Maybe some potato chips too. And always, ice cold beer. Only one, he would tell me — for him, none for me.
Now let’s move on to the oyster stew. Mom would make it and she would put a lot of oysters in it. She would serve it with a dollop of butter in the middle. Dad would add salt and pepper.
Now this was so good we would often have seconds. Oyster crackers are a must to add.
I challenge you to find oyster stew today — anywhere. There was a stand at the Bloomsburg Fair for years that served great oyster stew. That guy han’t been at the Fair for years. Campbell used to sell oyster stew in a can, but that has disappeared from the shelves. And you never see it offered on restaurant menus anywhere.
Anybody with a recipe — it can’t be that difficult — please email it to me. I will try to make it and let you all know.
All these things came back to me in recent weeks when I spent so much time in my hometown of Plymouth with The Wall That Heals and the Kielbasa Festival. We had several conversations of the snacks our parents used to make and eat — most awesome, some not so good, like sardine sandwiches.
There was a lot of talk about the toughness of the soldiers who served our country, my dad included. Guys who would lay down their lives for their country and for us and those that returned became valuable contributors to their communities.
And they ate snacks like sardine sandwiches because they had the cast-iron constitution that we kids had to train for by daring to try the same foods.
My dad also liked things like ice cold buttermilk with salt and pepper. He used it to wash down hard boiled eggs and Spam sandwiches, not to mention occasional scrapple and egg breakfasts.
This was what guys like my dad enjoyed. But how many of these delicious items are still enjoyed today? If you know, please tell us because we want to go there.
Talking about these things kind of added to the celebration of patriotism that enveloped The Wall That Heals. It was nearly a week of visitors — an estimated 15,000 — walking into Huber Field and paying respect to the names on The Wall and to all veterans — especially those who died in battle.
The Wall brought honor to the Vietnam-era soldiers — something that didn’t follow most of them home from the jungles of Vietnam. It took far too long for America to fully appreciate the Vietnam veterans and to honor them for their service to their country — to all of us.
And it was really refreshing to see so many students visit The Wall and take the tour and listen to the stories of Vietnam. The students really learned and because of that, they earned respect for Vietnam veterans and for all veterans of all wars.
And that is good. We need to perpetuate those stories so that this generation and generations yet to come can appreciate all that was done and sacrificed for them and their country. The lessons learned will galvanize the spirit of patriotism in America forever.
And if these generations can learn the value of sardine sandwiches, pepperoni and potato chips and oyster stew, well, all the better.
Maybe they will understand why millions of men and women — at the time of war, not much older than the students themselves — ran onto beaches under heavy fire, sweated in the jungles, and braved cold winters to fight for us.
Maybe they will search the Internet for more information about our military heroes.
Now if I can just make some good oyster stew.
