American Heirlooms - January 2021

American Heirlooms - January 2021

302-653-2411

JANUARY 2021

great trail bologna, meat sticks, and jerky, and this is often a great treat to share when having friends or family over. This year, we felt very blessed to have bagged one deer — and to have a story to go with it. I was sitting in our tree stand with Megan and Malcolm, and Kendrick was sitting on a bucket below the stand. As we sat there waiting, our

WITH TARGETS AND HUNTING

As youngsters in our Dad's woodshop, one of the things my cousins and I did was bow and arrow making. Somewhere along the way, we learned that straight grained hickory was the ideal bow material. A long thin piece of hickory was notched on both ends for the string and it was strung with whatever was handy. The arrows were simply dowels with notches cut for the string end and pointed on the other end. I don’t think feathers were included so the resulting accuracy could not have been very good. We had a great time making them, which was a good thing as they did not have staying power: years later I found out Mom was often sending those "bothersome sticks" out with the trash! Today, I no longer have to rely on scrap wood for target shooting. I have my own professionally made bows, crossbows, pellet guns, and other guns. Practicing with targets has become an enjoyable hobby I can share with my boys. The boys ask if they can practice shooting nearly every chance they get, and I’m happy to help them learn the mechanics and safety requirements. With bow and arrows in particular, it takes a lot of practice to ensure you’re hitting the target every time. The arrow follows an arch. If your aim is off by even a few centimeters, your arrow could whiz below or above the bullseye. You have to be confident in your aim and sighting your shot. This can be vital when you’re hunting. Our family is comprised of hunters, but we don’t see much value in taking animals as trophies. Instead, we utilize the meat we can get from the deer. They make

stomachs grumbled, as is common for patient hunters. Bethany was kind enough to pack us some snacks for the adventure, and we had a little fun tossing the cheese and apple slices down to my son on the ground. Sometimes he caught it, and sometimes it became a treat for the squirrels. As fun as that was, we knew that wasn’t great for hunting. (It’s typically advised that you sit still and quietly!) Right after we stopped tossing the food to Kendrick, though, a deer walked out of the woods and caught sight of my son on the ground. I pulled up and shot the deer, and I thankfully managed to down the deer in just one shot. As a hunter, this is your ultimate goal. You never want to cause an animal to suffer, nor do you want to trudge through the woods all night looking for injured game. My eldest daughter and my wife heard the shot and brought the tractor over; we cleaned up, and as we write this, we have jerky and bologna ready for us to eat! We are grateful that this year's hunt provided us with meat and an interesting story, and we feel very blessed to have this harvest this hunting season. This is just one more memory my family has together. Between school, church, and home duties, it can be difficult to carve out enough time to spend together, but when we do, I’m glad we can share hobbies like target shooting and hunting together.

Happy New Year,

–Ethan Zimmerman

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Warp Speed Bananas Two secrets helped Keith’s bananas cross the 7,175 miles from Limón to Seattle in under seven days. The first was the railroad, which United Fruit operated. Railroad cars sped the bananas from their plantations to the Port of Limón. There, they were loaded onto the second secret: the first-ever refrigerated ships. Those ships steamed north, where their precious cargo was unloaded, stacked into yet more United Fruit railroad cars, and dispatched across the U.S. to Seattle at warp speed. This mad scramble of plantation workers, conductors, and captains brought us the plethora of bananas we have today. The Next Banana Battle United Fruit is still pulling the levers of the banana machine today under the name Chiquita. But now the company is facing another hurdle. Our everyday banana — the Cavendish — is under threat from a disease that could cause it to disappear from the breakfast table for good. To find out more about the banana crisis, head to Wired.com and dive into Rob Dunn’s story “Humans Made the Banana Perfect — But Soon, It'll Be Gone.”

Our craftsmen have been perfecting their craft for years. Each one takes care, dedication, and time to practice new techniques and provide our customers with quality hand-built products. We take care of each piece we construct, and part of that starts with homing in on our craft. When they’re not in the shop, many of our craftsmen enjoy creating their own custom pieces, and we enjoy sharing those works of art with others. One of them, Eli Miller, recently built a functional bulldozer completely out of wood (see picture)! The blade of the dozer moves up and down, and the tracks, while not powered, can function, too. Eli says the project took him 50 hours to complete, and those functional pieces, the tracks and the blade, were some of the most difficult components to construct. Visiting children might ask him if they can play with the bulldozer, but Eli isn’t quite ready for his project to become a toy. For now, it sits high on a shelf where it can be admired. Eli hopes to add to his collection and is preparing to construct an excavator next. As for the possibility of selling his handiwork, Eli is unsure of that venture. The joy he gets out of the work he does in the shop and the work he does at home are two very different emotions. Eli enjoys Is any bowl of oatmeal complete without bananas? What about a hotel breakfast? Or three scoops of ice cream lined up in a row? Here in America, the answer is no. Bananas are as ubiquitous as they are quirky — but how did they get that way? United Fruit’s Banana Empire Once upon a time, there lived a man called the “Banana King.” Actually, it wasn’t once upon a time: It was 1890 in Limón, Costa Rica, and the man’s name was Minor Cooper Keith. Keith traveled to Central America to build railroads, but when he planted 800,000 acres of bananas to feed his workers, he ended up in the banana business, too. In 1899, he co-founded United Fruit. Back then, the U.S. market for bananas was in its infancy. Keith wanted to change that, but one huge obstacle stood in his way. The Problem of Perishability Keith’s conundrum was this: How could he get his bananas to American breakfast tables before they went bad? He had to find a way to transport them from Costa Rica to U.S. supermarkets in less than seven days — with only early 1900s technology! To do it, United Fruit came up with something brand new.

his job, but the work he does for recreation — such as building this bulldozer — benefit him by not being for sale.

We appreciate that we work with a craftsman with as much talent as Eli, and we’re excited to see what he builds next. Great job, Eli!

2 • THE SWISS CRAFTSMAN

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INGREDIENTS • 1 lb ground pork sausage • 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice • 12 eggs • 1/2 cup heavy cream

• Salt and pepper, to taste • Fresh basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. In skillet, brown sausage. 3. Spread browned sausage on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. 4. Sprinkle with cheese and crack eggs on top. 5. Pour heavy cream evenly over the eggs and sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper. 6. Bake for 20 minutes. 7. Garnish with basil and serve.

Photo Credit: Heather Brooke Zimmerman

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Brought to you by KCS Builders of American Heirlooms and Penns Creek Furniture 291 Blackiston Rd. • Clayton, DE 19938 Phone: (302) 653-2411 • Email: [email protected] The Swiss Craftsman

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Inside this Issue

Here’s Just One of Our Family Hobbies Page 1

The Great Banana Scramble of 1899

See What One of Our Craftsmen Built Page 2 How This Local Tree Species Shapes the Arts

Deluxe Baked Eggs Page 3

These Old-School Hobbies Are Making a Huge Comeback Page 4

January is National Hobby Month — and for good reason! As people set goals for 2021, they’re also thinking about trying new hobbies. But with so many out there, picking just one can be a hobby in itself. Thanks in part to COVID-19, many people have rediscovered old- school hobbies. Some of these have been around for decades or even longer, and others have established communities that can rely on one another for support, sharing information, and more. Here are four great examples. Making Bread Over the last year, interest in this ancient hobby has skyrocketed. Homemade bread is tastier and more nutritious than store-bought, and it’s so satisfying to watch it come together. Not to mention it’s a great skill to have! With so many types of bread to try, you’re not going to run out of ideas any time soon. Collecting Cards No matter what people were into during the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, there was a trading card game for it. And even going into 2021, that tradition has been kept alive. When many people were stuck at home last year, they rediscovered their card collections and remembered how much fun they were. As a result, card sales went through the roof, and online card communities lit up with activity from all over the world.

Restoring Cars Car restoration is a hobby that lets you get your hands dirty, and it's one that you can do with your children or grandchildren. It can be not only educational for them but also fun! Together, you can track down parts, talk to folks who are also interested in restoration, and learn about the history of your car. Though car restoration can be a bit costly and time consuming, it’s certainly a journey worth taking. Embroidering Embroidery has taken off because it’s both inexpensive and fairly easy to get into. Plus, many people have fallen in love with its meditative quality. One of the great things about embroidery is that you can use it to make amazing personalized gifts, like pillows, wall hangings, and kitchen towels!

4 • THE SWISS CRAFTSMAN

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