The year 2023 had many wonderful highlights but also marked some passings, a trend that continued into the new year.
Last week we lost Bill Hine, 89, on Sunday, Jan. 28.
Just a couple of years ago, I wrote in this column about the passing of his younger brother Larry, who died at age 79 in January 2021 and was the owner of Larry’s Barbershop in downtown Crown Point for 55 years.
Bill is survived by his children, Lynn (Jerry) Vasko of Lowell, Scott of Florida, Kelly (Lane) Keran of California, and Kristy (Monte) Anders of Arizona as well as 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. His siblings Jeannette Wobith, of Mishawaka, who turned age 97 last month, and his retired police officer brother Ray of Franklin, are still doing well.
Bill was a retired operating engineer with Local 150 and a member of Lowell’s St. Edward Catholic Church and the Colfax Blue Masonic Lodge. He was also a longtime volunteer with Lake County Meals on Wheels and loved poker and fishing in his retirement years.
Bill was preceded in death by his wife Ganna, who a decade ago in April 2013, shared her cranberry and walnut sweet bread recipe with readers in this column, as also captured in my 2019 “Back From the Farm” cookbook.
Just before the holidays, on Dec. 17, our small farming town of North Judson lost one of our longtime pioneering businesswomen, a dear family friend and member of our church. Regina Howard had just turned age 80 before her passing. She married her husband Bob Howard, who survives, on Jan. 30, 1965, at St Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in North Judson, the same church where Regina was baptized, confirmed, and where her funeral mass was held on Dec. 23.
Regina and Bob devoted almost half a century as the owners of our local town floral shop Pioneer Florist. Prominent on one of the parallel downtown corners, opposite other nearly century-old family owned businesses such as Fingerhut Bakery and O’Donnell Mortuary, Pioneer Florist is a landmark location at 224 Lane St., a business fixture since the 1950s. It moved to its current location in the early 1980s into what was once our town’s butcher shop, owned by Fred Sramek, which relocated further down the street.
The building, which also has a full basement and two apartments above, was built in 1910. Regina used the original still-chilly walk-in solid oak and tin-lined meat cooler as the storage space for fresh-cut flowers and greenery.
“This florist business, and even the name, began with the original owner, Louie Rozhon, before he sold it to Jack Vanek,” Regina told in December 2019 when she gifted me her homemade anise biscotti cookie recipe to publish in this column.
There are a number of great “comfort food” recipes in my cookbooks from the past 20 years from another family friend, Kareen Nielsen, who was raised on her family’s Schuyler Dairy Farm in North Judson. Kareen remained a dedicated farm wife until her passing at age 91 last year in June 2023. I wrote about the passing of Dick, her husband of more than 70 years, after his death at age 89 in November 2020.
My mom and the fellow church ladies have served up countless funeral luncheons in our church hall throughout the decades and roast beef is standard menu fare.
Last weekend, mom and dad decided on roast beef for our Sunday dinner with my oldest sister Carol, and my oldest brother Tom also was invited.
The weekend marked the five-year passing anniversary for Carol’s husband Bill and the six-month date for the passing Tom’s beloved wife Linda.
Mom, like myself, was certain that her recipe for her slow-cooked roast beef was included among the more than 1,000 recipes in our four published “From the Farm” family cookbooks.
Yet, somehow, it was never published in any of the cookbooks, or this column, until today.
My mom likes to use a traditional beef “rump” roast, even though some will say it ranks as one of the cheaper cuts of beef. Even in my youth, I remember being fascinated that the beef “rump” roasts mom purchased at the supermarket being so neatly trussed in a string netting, just as they still are today in most grocery meat cases.
Like so many meats, the general oven temperature rule applies to mom’s beef roasts cooking instructions: “low and slow.”
My mom makes her pan gravy from the reserved beef drippings and then carves the roast and serves the roast beef slices in the gravy with her mashed potatoes and either green beans or sweet corn as her preferred vegetable side.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa @comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Peggy’s Beef “Rump” Roast
Makes 8-10 servings
3-4 pound (boneless) beef rump roast
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Sprinkle of garlic powder
1 onion, chopped
1 package (1-ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups water
2 cups sliced fresh or frozen mushrooms (optional)
1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
4 cups water (divided use)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons gravy browning
Directions:
1. Using a covered Dutch oven, add oil and place in roast, sprinkling with garlic powder.
2. Place on stove and brown all sides of roast to seal in juices.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees and add to the roast the chopped onions, black pepper, the dried onion soup mix and 3 cups of water. Bake for 1 hour covered.
4. Remove from oven and add fresh mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup with 1 cup of water. Bake an additional 1-1/2 hours. Remove from oven and transfer beef roast onto a platter to cool slightly.
5. To make gravy, simmer remaining liquid with mushrooms from roast in Dutch oven on stove over medium heat, gradually stirring in cornstarch (to avoid lumps) and adding gravy browning for color.
6. Simmer until gravy thickens to desired consistency and serve over sliced roast beef with mashed potatoes and preferred vegetable side.