For 60 years the Ducie sisters contributed significantly to the women’s section of The Western Producer.
Rose and Emmie were raised, along with their brother, Harold, on a farm northeast of Dundurn, Sask. They were strongly influenced by their feminist mother, Emma Ducie, who participated in volunteer work, took an interest in politics and was never afraid to voice her concerns. She set an example for community service that both Rose and Emmie followed.
Rose, the elder sister, obtained an honours degree in English and history from the University of Saskatchewan in 1930, when she was only 19 years old. In 1937 she joined the staff of The Western Producer as assistant to the then women’s editor, Violet McNaughton.
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When McNaughton retired in 1950, Rose became the women’s editor, a position she held until 1960, when she married Allen Jardine and moved to Oyen, Alta., where they were both active in the community.
From Alberta she continued to write the popular “Garden Chat” column for the Producer until 1996.
Emmie earned her bachelor of household science from the U of S in 1941 and a master of science in nutrition from Washington State College in 1943.
Canada was still at war, so she took a job with the federal agriculture department promoting the canning of produce from wartime victory gardens.
She returned to Saskatchewan in 1944 to work at the U of S extension department as supervisor of Girl’s clubs, the forerunner to 4-H. She travelled the province and resumed a long-distance relationship with Langford Oddie, a fellow U of S student and by then the agricultural representative in Assiniboia, Sask.
They married in 1946, and Emmie moved to Assiniboia to the farm. As a young farm wife she began writing occasional columns for The Western Producer. In March 1949 she began a regular weekly column entitled I’d Like to Know.
Oddie wrote with empathy and first-hand knowledge of what it was like to be a farmer and farm wife on the Prairies. Readers responded to her stories about farm life and conditions with their own stories and questions. The column was read and respected by farm families across Canada. Oddie continued writing the column, unbroken for 47 years, retiring in 1995 at the age of 79.
In 1996, TEAM Resources, a group of four home economists from rural western Saskatchewan, began writing a farm living column to replace Oddie’s. Alma Copeland, Barb Sanderson, Jodie Mirosovsky, Betty Ann Deobald and later Sarah Galvin have now continued this column for almost 30 years.
In 1990, another long-time contributor to the women’s section of The Western Producer, Liz Delahey, retired. She was a home economist and journalist who was hired as the women’s editor in 1975.
This portion of the paper was later renamed the Farm Living section, which she continued to edit. In 1988 she became editor of Western People, the magazine insert of The Western Producer. After retirement she continued with a monthly food column called Cooking for Convenience, which she wrote until 1999. She had a good understanding of women’s issues and the concerns of farm people. Her work made her well-known and highly respected across Western Canada.
A reader of Oddie’s I’d Like to Know column in 1995 was looking for a turmeric cookie recipe. As frequently happened, another reader, identified as D.C. from Irma, Alta., responded with a recipe that her mother and grandmother had used.
Turmeric cookies
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 c. corn syrup 375 mL
- 1/2 c. sugar 125 mL
- 1 tsp. baking powder 5 mL
- 4 c. flour 1 L
- 1 tsp. turmeric 5 mL
- 1 c. flour 250 mL
Beat eggs until thick. Add sugar and corn syrup and beat again. In a separate bowl combine baking powder and turmeric with four cups of flour. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add additional flour as needed. Roll out dough on a floured board. Cut with doughnut cutter or cookie cutter. Bake in 375 F (190 C) oven for five to seven minutes.
Honey-nut seed bread
Enjoy this fibre-rich bread plain or toasted. The recipe yields two large oval loaves.
- 3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 925 mL
- 2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 625 mL
- 4 1/2 tsp. quick-rise instant yeast 2 – 8 g pkg.
- 1/2 c. skim milk powder 125 mL
- 2 tsp. salt 10 mL
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional) 10 mL
- 1/2 c. sunflower seeds 125 mL
- 1/2 c. chopped nuts (almond, hazelnuts) 125 mL
- 2 tbsp. sesame seeds 30 mL
- 2 c. water 500 mL
- 1/2 c. liquid honey 125 mL
- 1/4 c. butter or margarine 60 mL
Combine flours in large mixing bowl. Reserve one cup (250 mL) from the measured amount. Add undissolved yeast, skim milk powder, salt and cinnamon to flour in bowl. Add half the nuts and seeds to flour mixture, and reserve remainder for bread topping.
Heat water, 1/3 cup (75 mL) honey and butter until very warm, 125 F (50 to 55C). Reserve remaining honey for bread topping.
Stir warm liquids into dry mixture. Stir batter vigorously until well mixed. Gradually add enough reserved flour to form a soft ball of dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead, with reserved flour, until dough is smooth and elastic, eight to 10 minutes. Cover for 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Form each half into an oval loaf. Place on two greased baking sheets. Brush tops with reserved honey and sprinkle with nuts and seeds. Cover and let rise until double in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 35 minutes or until done.
Cool on wire racks.
Flax banana bread
In her Oct. 21, 1999, TEAM Resources column, Mirosovsky shared the nutritional benefits of including ground flax seed in the diet. Flax seed contains both soluble fibre, which helps lower cholesterol, and insoluble fibre, which prevents constipation and aids digestion. It is also a source of plant-based omega-3 fats, which are essential for healthy body function, and they are associated with lower rates of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.
Yields 1 loaf (20 slices).
- 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 425 mL
- *3/4 c. ground flaxseed 175 mL
- 3/4 c. sugar 175 mL
- 1 tsp. baking powder 5 mL
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 mL
- 1/2 tsp. salt 2 mL
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c. canola oil 75 mL
- 1 c. bananas, mashed 250 mL
*Grind flax seed in a coffee grinder to a granular, free-flowing meal. Store extra in a seal container in the freezer.
Topping:
- 1/2 c. nuts, chopped 125 mL
- 1/4 c. brown sugar 60 mL
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 2 mL
Mix together, flour, milled flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and oil.
Add dry ingredients and mashed banana alternately to egg and oil mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into a greased 81/2 x 41/2 inch (21 x 12 cm) loaf pan.
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter in loaf pan. Pat down gently into batter.
Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 55 to 60 minutes.
Adapted from A Taste of Flax from the Flax Council of Canada.
Rum ribs
In her Oct. 19, 1995, column Delahey shared that these spicy succulent ribs had won her husband accolades when he prepared them for a golf trip. Serves 5 or 6.
- 4 lb. pork spareribs or back ribs 2 kg
- 1 c. brown sugar 250 mL
- 1/2 c. chili sauce 125 mL
- 1/4 c. ketchup 60 mL
- *1/2 c. dark rum 125 mL
- 1/4 c. soy sauce 60 mL
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershiresauce 15 mL
- 1 tsp. dry mustard 15 mL
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/8 tsp. pepper 0.5 mL
*Rum could be replaced with Coke or Pepsi.
Cut ribs into individual ribs or serving pieces. Line a roasting pan with a double thickness of foil.
Place ribs in pan and seal tightly in foil. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 45 minutes. Unwrap ribs and pour off fat.
Combine brown sugar, chili sauce, ketchup, dark rum, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, garlic and pepper. Mix well and pour half over ribs. Return to oven, uncovered, and bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender, turning ribs occasionally and basting with remaining sauce.
Adapted from the Vancouver Sun’s Five Star Food, printed in Delahey’s Cooking for Convenience column in The Western Producer, Oct. 19, 1995.
Delahey’s April 29, 1993, column focused on the whole grain fibre-rich breads that were gaining popularity, especially since the 1992 Canada’s Food Guide To Healthy Eating had recommended five to 12 servings of grain products. Whole grain products were recommended for the dietary fibre, complex carbohydrates, B vitamins and minerals they provide.
Betty Ann Deobald, one of The Western Producer’s TEAM Resources columnists, will write a monthly column for the next year examining rural life in each decade of the last century.
